Happy Birthday To Bjorn Ulvaeus !

Happy Birthday Bjorn !

Bjorn turns 70 today - 25 April 2015 !!

Looking great Bjorn :)

ABBA Signed Photos - New Limited Editions !

ABBA The Museum has a great exhibition for the Limited Edition signed photos by Calvero and all images are available in their shop at the Museum, and online:

http://www.abbathemuseum.com/en/shop-en

The prints are hand signed by Torbjörn Calvero and numbered. Limited Editon with only 35 of each available.
The prints come in a gorgeous box with a printed folder that tells the story behind the pictures.

This collection of museum-quality Fine Art Photograph’s has been produced to the highest standards to be framed and displayed as pieces of art. Torbjörn Calvero has been involved in the working process, from scanning of the analogue negatives – all the way to printing, to produce this highly-collectible collection.

The Museum had a small preview exhibition and here are some images from that:

ABBA The Museum - New Signed Photographs By Torbjörn Calvero

ABBA The Museum webshop now has some fabulous hand signed and numbered photographs available.

Sweden’s true rock photographer is without a doubt Torbjörn Calvero. His photographs were never over-arranged but rather reflect private encounters with the person on the other side of his lens. Torbjörn followed ABBA through their careers. The following 15 photos of ABBA have been chosen by ABBA The Museum in collaboration with Torbjörn Calvero, Link Image Art Edition and Premium Rockshotand are part of our Fine Art Collection. The photos are signed by Torbjörn Calvero and numbered. The photos comes in two sizes and each motive/size is sold in an edition of 35.

Size 1 is 30 x 40cm and costs around $730.00AUD

Size 2 is 50 x 70cm and costs around $1175.00AUD

I wish I had a spare $1200.00 - I would love to have the large one of Agnetha - what a beauty this photo is - and an extremely rare one - never released before !

And the gorgeous Frida rehearsing for the 79 Tour would be a nice addition as well :)

http://www.abbathemuseum.com/en/shop-en

Starting tomorrow, 23'd of April, we welcome all visitors to our Fine Art Photography exhibition with 15 fantastic 'forgotten' photos of ABBA taken by the Swedish rock photographer Torbjörn Calvero!  

ABBA Self Titled - Released 40 Years Ago !

This fabulous album was released in April 1975 - 40 years ago this year - my how time flies !

This was ABBA's third album release - second international release - and has the wonderful songs that shot them to the top in Australia - and finally around the world.

Hits include:

I Do I Do I Do I Do I Do - No. 1 in Australia
SOS - No. 1 in Australia
Mamma Mia - No. 1 in Australia

But it also contains other greats like I've Been Waiting For You, So Long, Bang A Boomerang & Rock Me - plus the amazing Intermezzo No.1.

This album went to Number 1 in Australia and was in the charts here for 65 weeks ! The only ABBA album to stay in longer was, of course, The Best Of ABBA.

Check out the Making Of The ABBA Album here:

http://www.abbasite.com/the-making-of-the-abba-album/

Frida & Agnetha Say Thank You

THANK YOU FOR THE MUSIC ("the book of love")

Today we received this message from Frida and Agnetha!!!

To you all,
A message of appreciation and gratitude for your true support over so many years, manifested in this brilliant book, initiated by Polar Music and Mia at Universal Sweden.
We are truly privileged to have had your love and support for such a long time, and how you show us that music has no borders and is the messenger of peace and love in a world in so much need of it!

With our best wishes,
Frida and Agnetha xxx

https://www.facebook.com/ABBA

What a lovely message from the beautiful ladies of ABBA.

I am so pleased to know to know I have a few messages in this book :)

Benny's Rival Hotel Charity Concert 20 April 2015

This coming Monday, April 20th, the Rival Theatre will be the host of a charity concert to raise money for the youths at the Arabat refugee camp in northern Iraq.

Artists who will be performing and/or speaking include Shirley Clamp, Gunilla Backman, Peter Johansson, Anders Borg, Björn Ulvaeus and Hogir Hirori.

There are still a few tickets left! More info and tickets:

http://www.rival.se/se/evenemang-noje/kalendarium/

https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Rival-Hotel/154087041299345?sk=timeline

Mamma Mia! The Party Press Release

Pressmeddelande

15 april 2015

Björn Ulvaeus invites you to Mamma Mia! the Party in Stockholm

Get into the Mamma Mia party mood! In January 2016 Mamma Mia! the Party opens at Restaurant Tyrol in Gröna Lund, Stockholm’s famous amusement park, just across the street from ABBA The Museum. Using the ABBA song catalogue as a base Björn Ulvaeus wants to capture the happy atmosphere of the musical that has played to millions around the world and transfer it to a big party.

Premiere 20 January 2016 at Tyrol, Stockholm.

Tickets on sale from 25 August 2015 via www.mammamiatheparty.com

Björn Ulvaeus is executive producer and one of the initiators of Mamma Mia! the Party.  His vision is one of guests, waiters, waitresses, musicians and artists interacting and creating the atmosphere of a party in a Greek taverna, inspired by the tavernas in Skopelos, where Mamma Mia! the Movie was filmed; complete with olive trees, fountain and the scent of rosemary and a warm breeze from the Mediterranean Sea. With the help of ABBA songs the participants will write the story of that particular night, then and there. Mamma Mia! the party will be a new major tourist attraction at Djurgården along with ABBA The Museum and Gröna Lund. Tyrol, which has been an Austrian ”bierstube” for over forty years, is being transformed into a Greek taverna this summer.

-          I’ve experienced the happy, warm and expectant mood of audiences in theatres around the world when the first notes of Mamma Mia! ring out across the auditorium. And when people stand up in the aisles and sing and dance at the end. That’s the feeling I’d like to create with Mamma Mia! the Party, says Björn Ulvaeus.

Over 55 million people all around the world have seen Mamma Mia! The stage musical premiered at London’s Prince Edward Theatre the 6th of April 1999 and since then a total of 49 productions in 16 different languages have been set up. Currently 9 productions are being played around the world, in 4 different languages. The movie premiered in 2008 with actors like Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth, Amanda Seyfried och Stellan Skarsgård. Mamma Mia! the Party opens in January 2016.

-          This is an experiment, just like the musical was. This time around the audience/guests are part of a story in real time with not only song and dance being the ingredients, but also food, wine and environment. If it turns out the way I hope, there are no limits. It could become a very big party, indeed. We start at Djurgården in Stockholm, only a few yards from where ABBA the Museum is located. A perfect place for it, Ulvaeus continues.

Mamma Mia! the Party is produced by Eventum in collaboration with Björn Ulvaeus.

Press information and press images:

Moa Abrahamsson, ByströmBalodis, moa@bystrombalodis.se, +46707912000

For more information, please visit www.mammamiatheparty.com

Mamma Mia Themed Restaurant To Be Launched In Sweden by Bjorn Ulvaeus !

Swedish Abba legend Björn Ulvaeus has launched plans to create a restaurant attraction in Stockholm inspired by the musical Mamma Mia. The Local reports live from the press conference.

Ulvaeus' entertainment venue will be built as a Greek taverna and will be part restaurant, part stage show and part role play, where guests can be the stars of their own personal version of Mamma Mia! The Musical.
Abba fans will be greeted by waiting staff and actors playing the parts of the cast of the famous Abba musical as soon as they walk through the doors. They will be able to listen to music, eat Greek food, watch and, which will perhaps excite fans the most, take part in the show.
Mamma Mia! The Party is set to open on January 20th, 2016, at Gröna Lund, one of Stockholm's main tourist attractions.

The mysterious project sparked a global social media buzz when a website was launched last week, hinting at Ulvaeus' "new entertainment experiment", with some Abba fans hoping the project would spell a reunion for one of the world's most loved pop bands.
"That's probably not going to happen. Although, you never know..." Ulvaeus teasingly told reporters at a press conference on Wednesday.

Mamma Mia! the musical has been seen by 55 million people around the world since its debut in London in April 1999 and has been translated into 16 different language.
The movie version of the show featuring star actors Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth, Amanda Seyfried and Stellan Skarsgård was also a global smash hit.

More to follow.

http://www.thelocal.se/20150415/abba-themed-party-to-be-launched-in-sweden

From ABBA The Museum:

" We are so happy to launch next year's big tourist attraction, 'Mamma Mia The Party', together with Gröna Lund. Hopefully the first of many successful collaborations!

Tickets will be available from the 27th of August. Premiere date 20th of January 2016. Keep posted!"

 More to follow .......

Mamma Mia! The Party - The Local se - I'm Quoted !

Secret ABBA project stirs global social media buzz

A mysterious message from Abba legend Björn Ulvaeus promising a big announcement on Wednesday has sent fans into a frenzy around the internet – and not just in his native Sweden.

A website titled 'Mamma Mia! The party' emerged last week, with Swedish music composer Ulvaeus writing he had created a “new entertainment experiment that I will tell everyone about on Wednesday”.
Another message sent to Abba fans across the globe, signed by Ulvaeus, said: “I've been working on this experiment for quite a while now and it's actually starting to feel ready.”
The project's PR agents refused to tell The Local more when prompted. But the secrecy has not stopped fans from speculating. After all, a potential Abba reunion – which several of its former members have hinted at in the past – has been high on the list of fans' hopes ever since the group split up in the 1980s.

“I doubt it will be a reunion – and most serious fans would agree that will not happen. There has been a suggestion of a Mamma Mia themed dinner party for 100 people and then a performance. Sounds like fun, but only for the 100. I think we all hope it will be something all fans can enjoy – not just a select few,” Australian Abba fan Roxanne Dickson told The Local on Tuesday.
“Someone did suggest it could be a global Skype dinner party – can't imagine that would be it though!” she added.
Like many Abba fans, she remains emotional when talking about the group.
“I have been an Abba fan since 1975. They got under our skin, in our hearts and never left – impossible to say why. They were simply perfection and affected people of all ages. They were different, and had mass appeal. No other group ever affected me the way Abba did,” said Dickson.

Abba was formed by Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, Agnetha Fältskog and Anni-Frid 'Frida' Lyngstad in Stockholm in 1972. After winning the Eurovision Song Contest two years later with mega hit 'Waterloo', the band went on to become one of the most commercially successful acts in the history of pop music.
After the group's break-up, Fältskog and Lyngstad pursued solo careers with mixed success. Andersson and Ulvaeus went on to write music for the stage, including hit musical 'Mamma Mia!', which was turned into a feature film starring Meryl Streep and Sweden's own Stellan Skarsgård in 2008.

http://www.thelocal.se/20150414/secret-abba-project-stirs-global-social-media-frenzy

I didn't realize I was going to be quoted - although I should have known when asked questions by a journalist ! LOL

Thank ABBA For The Music Book !

Last year over 10.000 fans world wide sent their greetings to the ABBA members to say THANK YOU FOR THE MUSIC.

We gathered all the greetings and the book (680 pages, 3 kg, printed in only 4 copies) is now ready to be handed over to Frida, Agnetha, Björn and Benny!


https://www.facebook.com/ABBA/timeline

http://www.abbasite.com/

Benny and Björn at ‘Hjælp Søges’ Premiere In Copenhagen

On Sunday 12 April, Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus, Kristina Lugn and Lars Rudolfsson were in Copenhagen for the premiere of Hjælp søges, the Danish production of their 2013 Swedish hit musical comedy Hjälp sökes.
The production is being staged at Østre Gasværk Teater, a Victorian gasometer, which was converted in 1979 into a unique theatre space by Danish actor and theatre manager Morten Grunwald.
Outside the theatre, crowds of fans and members of the press jostled for position along the red carpet in anticipation of Benny and Björn’s arrival. They were not disappointed. Accompanied by their wives, Mona Nörklit and Lena Kallersjö, Benny and Björn appeared well ahead of the performance and spent a considerable time signing autographs and posing for photographs.
Once inside, the audience was instantly transported into the yard of a traditional Danish smallholding, complete with thatched roofed barns, picket fencing, trees, sawdust and all the smells of the farmyard!

The show’s format and running order remain unchanged from the Stockholm production. However, the original Swedish script and lyrics have been translated into Danish by author Pia Tafdrup and singer Anne Linnet.
Speaking before the premiere, Kristina Lugn told icethesite that she thought her words worked equally well in Danish as in Swedish and that therefore the dialogue had required only very minor changes.
“They have the same use of language and a similar sense of humour,” she explained. “Well, I hope they do anyway,” she said. “But maybe they don’t! I think we are about to find out,” she laughed.
Hjælp søges features a cast of just four actors, Jesper Asholt (Axel), Jesper Lohmann (Engelbrekt), Sara Viktoria (Hillevi) and animal trainer Suzanne Berdino (Moderen), who share the stage with seventeen animals, including Duglas the horse, two giant cows, pigs Flora and Kira, Kallerman the goat, three dogs, geese and chicken. They are supported by a five-piece orchestra who play on a platform built high above the set.
Sunday’s premiere went without a hitch and the cast were rewarded with a rapturous standing ovation. When Benny, Björn, Kristina and Lars joined the line up for the finale the audience whooped and cheered with delight.
In Sweden, Hjälp sökes received glowing reviews from the critics and so far, the Danish media are in agreement. One newspaper described the cast as “perfect” and the music as “charming”, while another awarded the production a 5/5 star rating.
Hjælp søges is scheduled to run at Østre Gasværk Teater until 7 June 2015

http://www.icethesite.com/2015/04/benny-and-bjorn-at-hjaelp-soges-premiere-in-copenhagen/

Trundle ABBA Festival 2015 - Catch The Train !

Take a step back in time and travel in the LVR's 1930s style, compartment carriages as we traverse the old Tottenham railway line to Trundle's ABBA Festival. 

This year the Trundle ABBA Festival will host 'Bjorn Again', the worlds number 1 ABBA show! The Trundle ABBA Festival provides a day packed full of family friendly entertainment. With Fashions of the Festival, busking competitions, professional dancing displays and a disco dancing competition there will never be a dull moment.

Click the link below for details and tickets:

http://www.lvr.com.au/sched.htm#abba

Email From Björn Ulvaeus - Mamma Mia! The Party ! Updated 15 April !

Update: 15 April 2015

Press conference being set up right now !

I cannot believe I have just received an email from Björn Ulvaeus personally !

What an absolute thrill !! :)

I am sure many others received it also - but I still feel special :D

This is what the email says:

"Hello!
For quite a while I’ve been working on a cool experimental thing which
is actually beginning to feel ready. Today I’ll post this in my own and
ABBA’s social channels.

I really hope you like it and if you feel that your readers would feel 
the same I’d love for you to share it.
Best,
Björn Ulvaeus"

How cool is that ?

Two links - one for the Mamma Mia! The Party website - join up to follow what happens:

http://www.mammamiatheparty.com

And a youtube video with Bjorn - a teaser for Mamma Mia! The Party:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Dg_2X88PqQ

I wonder where this is heading ?? How exciting !! :)

Update - new email:

"Great to hear you’re interested. I’ve been working on this experiment for quite a while now and it’s actually starting to feel ready.I’ll get back to you as soon as there’s more I can reveal.
Björn Ulvaeus"

Ingmarie Halling Now Director Of ABBA The Museum !

Ingmarie Halling has become director of ABBA The Museum.

Three years ago, Mattias Hansson was commissioned on a consultancy basis to draw up the guidelines for a new concept and lead efforts to build, launch and market what was to become ABBA The Museum at Djurgården in Stockholm. Today, almost two years after opening, success is a fact. And now a new principal owner is taking over operation of the museum. Phase two is underway. POP HOUSE SWEDEN, which already owns the property at Djurgårdsvägen and runs the hotel and restaurant, is now taking over the operations of ABBA The Museum as well. Ingmarie Halling, curator of the museum, will become Museum Director.

“Mattias has been a key figure in the creation of the museum. Without his creative ability it would not look like it does today,” said Björn Ulvaeus, who led efforts to establish the museum in close collaboration with Hansson.

Now that the address at Djurgårdsvägen 68 is becoming POP HOUSE SWEDEN, with shareholders Conni Jonsson, Björn Ulvaeus and Pelle Lindberg, the corporate structure will change. POP HOUSE comprises three operations: a hotel, restuarant and museum, with ABBA The Museum being a major crowd-puller.

“Taking on the position as Museum Director of one of Stockholm’s and perhaps Sweden’s most popular destinations is incredibly exciting,” says Ingmarie Halling. “I have been working with the museum for several years, and have also been on tour with the exhibit, so now the challenge is to maintain our high visitor numbers and get our visitors to come back again and again,” continues Halling, “Mattias has done a fantastic job, both commercially and creatively, and I can only congratulate the next group that manages to get him on board.”

”Now my part is done and the role of consultant CEO is being phased out. Three years of hard work with the world’s best employees has yielded fantastic results – and our visitors are loving it! Nine out of ten would like to come back and are happy to tell others about their visit,” says Mattias Hansson. “I am proud to be able to hand over a success story - it feels great.”

“We will continue to fine-tune our vision of a House of Music, creating a pilgrimage destination for all who want to experience Swedish pop music,” says Björn Ulvaeus. “We will also be developing an educational offering for schools and training programs, an area for which Mattias Hansson will retain responsibility.”

Article from ABBA Intermezzo International Fan Club

https://www.facebook.com/abbaintermezzo?fref=nf

Ingmarie Halling with Christopher Patrick - ABBAWORLD Opening Melbourne 2010

Send Bjorn A Happy Birthday Message Now !

On 25th April 2015, Bjorn will turn 70 !

Send him a Birthday wish through ABBA's Official Site now !

http://www.abbasite.com/happy-birthday-bjorn/

The Soundtrack Of ABBA The Museum !

We are featured on the Soundtrack Your Brand blog by Spotify Business! Get the great story about how the museum came about and who's behind our Spotify playlists.

https://www.soundtrackyourbrand.com/cases/the-soundtrack-of-abba-the-museum/

https://play.spotify.com/user/abbathemuseum/playlist/3NhFvcBQ7KLy8tNM17QeNe?play=true&utm_source=open.spotify.com&utm_medium=open

Agnetha Fältskog Birthday Messages - Write Yours Now !

Beautiful Agnetha will turn 65 on Sunday 5th April 2015.

Be sure to write her a birthday message here:

http://www.abbasite.com/happy-birthday-agnetha/

This is the Official ABBA website and all messages will be received by Agnetha as long as they are received in time for her Birthday

If you are in Australia keep in mind that Sweden are 7 or more hours behind us, so there is still time to write that message !