I have said it before and I say it again - I LOVE these newsagent street posters !
All Australian - advertising various magazines and newspapers.
Just fabulous :)
My blog about ABBA and my ABBA collection
Tuesday, 26 March 2013
Monday, 18 March 2013
ABBA The Museum Sweden - Making Of The Commercial
These videos are a sneak peek at the making of the commercial for ABBA The Museum - due to open on 7th May 2013 !
The first 8 videos
ABBA The Museum Will Release on A Worldwide Basis 3 Video's on 16 April 2013
1. One and a half Minutes Long.
2. 45 Seconds.
3. 30 Seconds.
Check out my page about the museum on my website ABBAFanatic:
http://www.abbafanatic.com/#/abba-the-museum/4574748029
Sunday, 17 March 2013
New Agnetha Faltskog Article
Abba's Agnetha Faltskog: Could the girl with the golden hair get lucky at last?
Life’s been hard for Agnetha Faltskog since Abba, but the super trouper is taking a chance with a comeback album
7:00AM GMT 17 Mar 2013
The details of Agnetha Fältskog’s return to pop remain sketchy, although it
is safe to assume that the rarely-spotted ex-Abba singer has given more thought
to her comeback than she did to joining the business in the first place.
Back in the good old glam-rock days when Agnetha was pumping her knees in
hotpants and platform boots, it wasn’t immediately obvious that she had been a
musical prodigy. At the age of three, she had learned the harpsicord, and by
seven was composing complex piano pieces. Then, one night at a small town
concert in Sweden, she met a hairy guitarist called Björn Ulvaeus, joined his
band, married him, and became a world famous wreck.
Agnetha’s long, troubled stint as a pop recluse has, over the years, become
as much a subject of fascination as her work with Abba. Rumours of a comeback
have circulated for years, but last week brought confirmation that a new album will be released in May. Called
simply 'A’, it will feature ten tracks, including a duet with Take That’s Gary
Barlow, and arrives at a time when her old outfit – the band the pop purists of
the 1970s most liked to snigger at – is bigger than ever.
“I have been so lucky, I am the girl with golden hair,” Agnetha, 63, sang in
'Thank You for the Music’. Even if the audiences believed it, she knew it wasn’t
true. Agnetha had always felt herself to be the odd one out in Abba. She lacked
the confidence and the vigour of the others, her English was less fluent, her
poise less assured, and when the band became a global phenomenon in the
mid-Seventies she felt unable to establish a distinct personality.
While the other members, Björn, Benny Andersson and Anni-Frid Lyngstad
revelled in the fan worship and the perks of fame, Agnetha yearned only to be
home. “I’m a country bumpkin,” she told her (ex) friend and biographer, Brita
Ahman. “I’m not a showgirl. The others like to party. I like to be by myself.”
Performing in public filled her with dread, and although she understood the
commercial drawing power of her leggy figure and blonde-bombshell looks, she was
never comfortable as a sex symbol.
Her stage fright reached the point that she was unable to perform without
whisky. What the average rock star accepted as adulation, she saw as something
close to intimidation. “No one who has experienced facing a screaming, boiling,
hysterical audience,” she told Ahman, “can avoid feeling shivers in the spine.
It’s a thin line between celebration and menace.”
Then there was the sheer bad luck. In 1979, during a tour of the US, the group’s private jet flew into a violent thunderstorm while approaching Boston. Although the plane landed safely Agnetha developed a morbid fear of flying, and afterwards travelled whenever possible by road. This provided only temporary relief, for in 1983 she was on a coach which crashed outside Stockholm, hurling her through a window and into a frozen ditch. She has rarely travelled anywhere since. When Mamma Mia!, the blockbuster Abba musical, premiered in London in 1999, she was the only member of the group not to be present.
For the last 25 years, her home has been a secluded lakeside farmstead on Ekerö, eight miles from Stockholm, one of the loveliest of the thousands of islands around the Swedish capital. Not that it has provided much solace to Agnetha. Fans regularly turned up her gates. Sometimes she would come out, sign a few autographs and ask them to leave. Then came the strange case of the man who wouldn’t go away.
Agnetha’s love life has never been simple. Her marriage to Björn, with whom she has two children, ended in 1979, by which time both of them were seeing psychiatrists. Ulvaeus later slipped into the arms of Lena Källersjö, an advertising executive to whom he remains happily married. Agnetha had no such luck. She fell first for a Swedish ice hockey star, then for a fashion designer, and later for her marriage guidance counsellor. In 1990, she married Tomas Sonnenfeld, a Stockholm doctor, but the union lasted barely two years.
Into the void stumbled the bizarre figure of Gert van der Graaf, a bespectacled Dutch factory worker. Abba fans first became aware of his existence in 2003 when Agnetha complained to the police that she was being stalked by a maniac, and was in “fear of my life”.
Officers raided a rickety wooden cabin on the shores of Ekerö, in which they found 37-year-old van der Graaf, a decomposing turtle and thousands of mementoes of Agnetha’s career. The Dutchman was charged with threatening behaviour, but in a spirited court defence produced a letter from the singer suggesting their relationship was rather more than that of stalker and victim. It quickly emerged that the pair had enjoyed a full-blown romance and had been on holiday together only weeks before Agnetha called in the police.
Sweden was outraged. Brita Ahman says it was the end of their friendship. “When she told me about it, I was extremely shocked,” recalls Ms Ahman. “I warned her and said it could be dangerous. Instead she continued to encourage him. I think it was the point at which many people simply gave up on her.”
Those who remain close to Agnetha say she never had the aptitude for stardom. That it might have been better if she had stayed in Jönköping, the small town in southern Sweden where she was brought up, the daughter of a department store manager, and become the classical musician she seemed destined to be.
Yet Abba would never have reached the same heights without her. Björn and Benny created those beautifully polished pop tunes, Anni-Frid provided the funk, but it was Agnetha’s pure voice and arresting beauty that made the group both eye-catching and irresistible to the ear. No one knows how her comeback will unfold, but when we see her again we can at least say a proper thank you for the music.
Agnetha Fältskog's new album, 'A', is released on May 13
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/rockandpopfeatures/9933274/Abbas-Agnetha-Faltskog-Could-the-girl-with-the-golden-hair-get-lucky-at-last.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter
Then there was the sheer bad luck. In 1979, during a tour of the US, the group’s private jet flew into a violent thunderstorm while approaching Boston. Although the plane landed safely Agnetha developed a morbid fear of flying, and afterwards travelled whenever possible by road. This provided only temporary relief, for in 1983 she was on a coach which crashed outside Stockholm, hurling her through a window and into a frozen ditch. She has rarely travelled anywhere since. When Mamma Mia!, the blockbuster Abba musical, premiered in London in 1999, she was the only member of the group not to be present.
For the last 25 years, her home has been a secluded lakeside farmstead on Ekerö, eight miles from Stockholm, one of the loveliest of the thousands of islands around the Swedish capital. Not that it has provided much solace to Agnetha. Fans regularly turned up her gates. Sometimes she would come out, sign a few autographs and ask them to leave. Then came the strange case of the man who wouldn’t go away.
Agnetha’s love life has never been simple. Her marriage to Björn, with whom she has two children, ended in 1979, by which time both of them were seeing psychiatrists. Ulvaeus later slipped into the arms of Lena Källersjö, an advertising executive to whom he remains happily married. Agnetha had no such luck. She fell first for a Swedish ice hockey star, then for a fashion designer, and later for her marriage guidance counsellor. In 1990, she married Tomas Sonnenfeld, a Stockholm doctor, but the union lasted barely two years.
Into the void stumbled the bizarre figure of Gert van der Graaf, a bespectacled Dutch factory worker. Abba fans first became aware of his existence in 2003 when Agnetha complained to the police that she was being stalked by a maniac, and was in “fear of my life”.
Officers raided a rickety wooden cabin on the shores of Ekerö, in which they found 37-year-old van der Graaf, a decomposing turtle and thousands of mementoes of Agnetha’s career. The Dutchman was charged with threatening behaviour, but in a spirited court defence produced a letter from the singer suggesting their relationship was rather more than that of stalker and victim. It quickly emerged that the pair had enjoyed a full-blown romance and had been on holiday together only weeks before Agnetha called in the police.
Sweden was outraged. Brita Ahman says it was the end of their friendship. “When she told me about it, I was extremely shocked,” recalls Ms Ahman. “I warned her and said it could be dangerous. Instead she continued to encourage him. I think it was the point at which many people simply gave up on her.”
Those who remain close to Agnetha say she never had the aptitude for stardom. That it might have been better if she had stayed in Jönköping, the small town in southern Sweden where she was brought up, the daughter of a department store manager, and become the classical musician she seemed destined to be.
Yet Abba would never have reached the same heights without her. Björn and Benny created those beautifully polished pop tunes, Anni-Frid provided the funk, but it was Agnetha’s pure voice and arresting beauty that made the group both eye-catching and irresistible to the ear. No one knows how her comeback will unfold, but when we see her again we can at least say a proper thank you for the music.
Agnetha Fältskog's new album, 'A', is released on May 13
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/rockandpopfeatures/9933274/Abbas-Agnetha-Faltskog-Could-the-girl-with-the-golden-hair-get-lucky-at-last.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter
Saturday, 16 March 2013
Agnetha Fältskog Interview by Skavlan - Full Clip
This is the full interview with Agnetha on Skavlan. In Swedish of course, but still fabulous to watch :)
Friday, 15 March 2013
Agnetha Faltskog Radio Interview With Lotta Brome
Here is the English translation - in summary - of the interview Anna did recently with Lotta Brome in Sweden.
Exclusive Interview with Swedish Radio
Abba Agnetha: "I've taken singing lessons"
The rest of the song has been written by Jörgen Elofsson, the man behind huge hits for Britney Spears and Backstreet Boys for example.
In an exclusive interview with Swedish Radio's P4 Extra programme, Agnetha explained how the project came about.
"It was a process, you could say. Firstly I was contacted by Jörgen Elofsson and Peter Nordahl and they wanted to play some songs for me. And I thought that that sounded really nice, I've never closed any doors and I wanted to listen to the songs, I thought it'd be fun. And then I thought that, wow, the songs are really good, how will I be able to say no to this?
So then I said ok, they sound fantastic, but how will I be able to interpret these songs in a good way? What if my voice sounds old? 'No, we don't think so at all', they said. But I wasn't at all sure. When you haven't sung for a while your voice gets almost rusty, you feel that you haven't kept that muscle working. "
Agnetha told presenter Lotta Bromé she even took singing lessons to freshen up her vocal chords.
"Two, actually. Then I didn't need any more. It might sound a bit cocky, but once I learnt how to breathe properly again I felt, no, this might work. And then it started sounding better and better."
One of the tracks on the album was written by Agnetha herself. She wrote a lot of songs before the Abba years, but since then had left songwriting behind her. But she decided to sit back at the piano just this once.
"Yes, exactly", she told Lotta Bromé. "I felt that this was an album with Jörgen's songs, at least nine of them, and he writes together with others too, but I thought it'd be fun to have one song on there. And then I started to write songs as well and that started to work well, I managed to squeeze a song out, and it will actually be the last song on the album. It's called "I keep them on the floor beside my bed". A long title."
The media image of Agnetha is of some kind of recluse, almost the Greta Garbo of pop, but that is an image she resents.
"I'm very down to earth, I think I'm the same person now as I was when I first went into a studio to record my first song when I was just 17 years old. I'm the same, but I have a load of life experience now. A lot of experience, and you get quite hardened in this industry, but you never get free from.... you want to do a good job the whole time, the best. So I have high expectations on myself. But to go from that to say that I'm mysterious, that's been created by the media.
I actually get quite hurt by it actually, it's something that has sprung up along the way, because of certain things. Maybe because I withdrew for a little while, but there are periods in your life when you have to take care of yourself, and things happen and you have to be alone and have things quiet around you for a while."
Agnetha has also suffered from a fear of flying for years, following a traumatic experience during one of the ABBA tours, but now she says that she has learnt to deal with it, somewhat.
"Well, I'm not out flying all the time, but I've had some therapy and learnt to think in a different way. That helps a bit, but I never think I'll be free of it. I've spoken to the therapist to find out what my hang-up is. I'll never sit there and be thinking there is nothing to worry about, I do have worries and fears. But I have learnt how to deal with it to some extent now, so I can deal with a flight of about 3 1/2 hours. But I don't fly several times a year, or once a month, I make some trips every now and then when I feel that I can cope with it."
But those hoping to see Agnetha appear at the new Abba Museum may be disappointed, she is booked for promotional appearances in London at the same time as the museum opens. And she also says that she has left the days of live performances behind her, so there will be no performing at the Eurovision Song Contest in Malmö either, but she will watch it, she adds. She says she saw the Swedish contest at the weekend, and thought that the right song won.
"I thought it was fantastic", she told Lotta Bromé, "I'm so impressed by these young artists today who can deal with all the pressure, and that they can dance so well as well. I thought the winning song was fantastic, a really talented guy. I thought there were a lot of good songs there. It's a fantastic competition."
And the obligatory question. Will ABBA ever reform?
"I don't think it's going to happen. It doesn't feel like any of us are particularly tempted to do it, because we all have our own lives now and it was such a long time ago. We have to deal with that question all the time, but we'll take it easy and see what the future holds. You never know what might happen. But I think there is a only a very very small chance that we'll do anything together again."
Reporter: Lotta Bromé, P4 Extra.
Transcription: Kris Boswell, Radio Sweden
Transcription: Kris Boswell, Radio Sweden
Agnetha Faltskog 'A' .. Order The CD Now !
Here is a link for fellow Aussies to pre-order Anna's CD - a physical CD.
A bargain basement price too - $13.95
Check out my new page dedicated to this new album on my website ABBAfanatic:
http://www.abbafanatic.com/#/agnetha-a/4574745527
Agnetha Faltskog on Skavlan TV Show - Pictures !
Agnetha on Skavlan Talk Show in Sweden on 13 March 2013.
This is the recording of the show to be aired on 14 March.
The show claims to be one of Europe's largest talk shows, offering in-depth and earnest interviews with some of the world's most famous politicians, musicians, stars, etc.
Wednesday, 13 March 2013
Agnetha New TV Interview - Italy - In English !
Click the link to watch this fabulous new interview with Agnetha on Corriere TV in Italy !
Interview is in English with Italian subtitles :)
Abba's Agnetha Fältskog is causing a stir – with her first album in nine years
She's been silent for nearly a decade, but now 'the blonde one' from the hit Swedish group is back at the age of 62
The Guardian,
Appearance: No-nonsense Scandinavian returning to work after a period in the wilderness.
I don't watch The Killing. This has nothing to do with The Killing. Agnetha isn't even Danish; she's Swedish.
I'm sure there's a difference, but I don't care what it is. Who is she? She's the blonde one from Abba.
I love Abba! What are they up to? They broke up in 1982.
Oh yeah. What's Agnetha been doing in the, um, interim? Keeping herself to herself, mostly.
She's sometimes described as a recluse, although "publicity-reluctant" might be more accurate.
But did you not say something earlier about her returning to work? Well spotted. Agnetha is about to release her first album in nine years.
What's it called? A.
A? A what? A as in Agnetha. Abba, you will recall, was an acronym formed from the band members' first names, so it's fair to assume she's reclaiming her initial.
Can she handle the spotlight without her famous band to back her up? Fältskog is a respected singer-songwriter in her own right, with 18 solo Swedish chart singles and a string of international hits dating from before, during and after her work with Abba.
What about all the tiresome publicity? Won't she balk at having to pretend to date Justin Bieber? In the past the famously private Fältskog has shied away from doing any promotion, but this time she has been kitted out with a website, a Facebook page and a Twitter account, @agnethaofficial.
Is her new record any good? We shall see – it's not out until May. On the plus side she worked with Grammy-nominated producer Jörgen Elofsson, with whom she co-wrote her first song in many years. On the minus side, it contains a duet with Gary Barlow.
Could its release be a sign that Abba are getting back together? No. Abba consisted of two married couples who subsequently divorced, so the split has always had an air of permanence. Fältskog herself is said to be dead set against a reunion.
Do say: "Thank you for the music, and the occasional Facebook status update."
Don't say: "That's Agnetha with an A, and Fältskog with an umlaut."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2013/mar/12/agnetha-faltskog-abba-releases-album
The Guardian,
Appearance: No-nonsense Scandinavian returning to work after a period in the wilderness.
I don't watch The Killing. This has nothing to do with The Killing. Agnetha isn't even Danish; she's Swedish.
I'm sure there's a difference, but I don't care what it is. Who is she? She's the blonde one from Abba.
I love Abba! What are they up to? They broke up in 1982.
Oh yeah. What's Agnetha been doing in the, um, interim? Keeping herself to herself, mostly.
She's sometimes described as a recluse, although "publicity-reluctant" might be more accurate.
But did you not say something earlier about her returning to work? Well spotted. Agnetha is about to release her first album in nine years.
What's it called? A.
A? A what? A as in Agnetha. Abba, you will recall, was an acronym formed from the band members' first names, so it's fair to assume she's reclaiming her initial.
Can she handle the spotlight without her famous band to back her up? Fältskog is a respected singer-songwriter in her own right, with 18 solo Swedish chart singles and a string of international hits dating from before, during and after her work with Abba.
What about all the tiresome publicity? Won't she balk at having to pretend to date Justin Bieber? In the past the famously private Fältskog has shied away from doing any promotion, but this time she has been kitted out with a website, a Facebook page and a Twitter account, @agnethaofficial.
Is her new record any good? We shall see – it's not out until May. On the plus side she worked with Grammy-nominated producer Jörgen Elofsson, with whom she co-wrote her first song in many years. On the minus side, it contains a duet with Gary Barlow.
Could its release be a sign that Abba are getting back together? No. Abba consisted of two married couples who subsequently divorced, so the split has always had an air of permanence. Fältskog herself is said to be dead set against a reunion.
Do say: "Thank you for the music, and the occasional Facebook status update."
Don't say: "That's Agnetha with an A, and Fältskog with an umlaut."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2013/mar/12/agnetha-faltskog-abba-releases-album
Agnetha Faltskog On TV ! New Interview
Agnetha to appear on Skavlan TV show on Friday.
This is a rough translation of the announcement:
Weekly Skavlan attended by Agnetha Fältskog and after several years of silence is back with new album. Even tennis star Mats Wilander, Norwegian author Dag Solstad and Danish actress Sidse Bebett Knudsen, known from the television series Castle, interviewed in Friday's program.
This is a rough translation of the announcement:
Weekly Skavlan attended by Agnetha Fältskog and after several years of silence is back with new album. Even tennis star Mats Wilander, Norwegian author Dag Solstad and Danish actress Sidse Bebett Knudsen, known from the television series Castle, interviewed in Friday's program.
After nine year hiatus from the music could Agnetha Fältskog not say no when the producer Jorgen Elofsson got in touch with the three songs he had written to her. The album "A" comes out in May and the first single "When you really loved someone" was released earlier this week. In Friday's episode of Skavlan we will see the former ABBA star in his first Swedish TV appearance in a long time.
One of the greatest Swedish tennis star Mats Wilander, is current in the tournament the Kings of Tennis in Stockholm this month. Between games against big names like John McEnroe and Henri Leconte takes Mats Wilander time for a visit to Skavlan.
Dag Solstad is one of Norway's most award-winning and critically acclaimed author. In the new book "Dag Solstad. Oskriva memoirs "we learn a lot, not the least of man Solstad and the life he has lived.
Even Danish actress Sidse Babett Knudsen comes to weekly schedule of Skavlan. She has become a favorite of many politicians through its role as prime minister Birgitte Nyborg in "Castle".
SVT121:00 Friday, March 15.
Skavlan
SVT1 21:00 fredag 15 mars (9:12)
Gäster: Agnetha Fältskog, Mats Wilander, Dag Solstad, Sidse Bebett Knudsen
Pressansvarig:
Malin Nyberg
malin.nyberg@svt.se
0768-672548
Skavlan
SVT1 21:00 fredag 15 mars (9:12)
Gäster: Agnetha Fältskog, Mats Wilander, Dag Solstad, Sidse Bebett Knudsen
Pressansvarig:
Malin Nyberg
malin.nyberg@svt.se
0768-672548
Monday, 11 March 2013
Agnetha Faltskog 'The One Who Loves You Now' Audio
A little taste of Agnetha's German single release from the upcoming album.
This one is 'The One Who Loves You Now'
I love them both !
Agnetha Faltskog New Video !!! When You Really Loved Someone
'When You Really Loved Someone' video clip in full:
Agnetha Faltskog - New Album Photo Shoot
Some beautiful photos from the photo shoot for her album 'A'
Agnetha Faltskog Promotional Tour UK !
Abba's Agnetha comes out of retirement
Agnetha Faltskog says the media
has formed the wrong impression of her as a mysterious Greta Garbo of pop
One of pop's most enigmatic voices has emerged with her first album in nine years. Agnetha Faltskog's new album sees her duet with Gary Barlow and collaborate with Britney Spears' Swedish songwriting team. Just don't call her "mysterious".
Forty-five years ago, before Abba were even a twinkle in
Eurovision's eye, Agnetha Faltskog made her very first TV appearance.
Aged just 17, she performed Jag Var Sa Kar (I Was So In Love), a syrupy self-penned waltz, on Swedish TV show Studio 8.
The melancholy lyrics, inspired by her idol Connie Francis, were a stark contrast to the exuberant blonde singer, who "took the radio in my arms and danced around" when she first heard her single on the air.
Little did she know, misery would become her musical forte, especially when she teamed up with Benny, Bjorn and Anni-Frida to form Abba.
"I'm very earth-grounded and very normal, I just like to stay at home”
The songs on which Faltskog took lead vocals - Hasta
Manana, The Name Of The Game, Chiquitita - were the band's biggest tear-jerkers.
On The Winner Takes It All, recorded as her marriage to Bjorn Ulvaeus fell apart, the emotion is almost too much to bear.
Faltskog is by turns defiant and broken. "I was in your arms, thinking I belonged there," she cries, as her husband merely shakes her hand and turns away.
Oddly, the singer calls it "her biggest favourite" from the band's back catalogue. "It's a shame we never got to play it live," she adds.
Since the band went their separate ways in 1982, the girl with golden hair has been the band's most elusive member. She largely shuns the limelight, living quietly on the secluded island of Ekero, west of Stockholm.
Perhaps because of those world-weary lyrics, she was portrayed as a frail recluse - the Greta Garbo of pop.
The revelation in 2000 that she had entered a relationship with an obsessed Dutch fan, 16 years her junior, who turned dangerous when she broke off the affair, only added to the perception that she was lonely and unhappy.
Nervous return
Today, she cannot talk about the relationship for legal reasons, but Faltskog says the media have the wrong impression of her private life.
"I have been described as a very mysterious human being and that hurts a little bit, because it's not like that at all," she says.
Agnetha Faltskog says she had
totally fallen out of the practice of singing since her Abba days On the phone from Stockholm, she is neither awkward nor reticent, although she chooses her words carefully, sometimes with the aid of an interpreter.
Laughter peppers the conversation, and she denies any suggestion she's a hermit.
"I'm very earth-grounded and very normal," she says. "I just like to stay at home."
Fate came to her house 18 months ago, when Swedish producer Jorgen Elofsson rang the doorbell, hoping to to play Faltskog three songs he had written for her.
An internationally successful composer, his credits include Britney Spears' Crazy and Kelly Clarkson's Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You). His dream was to coax Faltskog out of a nine-year hiatus and back into the studio.
"It was flattering," says the singer. "It really was."
"I just couldn't say 'no'. I really loved the songs from the beginning."
But before Faltskog would enter the studio, she had some conditions.
"I told him, 'we have to talk about a lot of things first,'" she recalls. "It was nine or 10 years since I'd sung, so I didn't know if [my voice] worked."
"I said from the beginning, 'if it sounds old I don't want to do this, because... Why should I?'"
Tasteful and sumptuous
Listening to the album, simply titled 'A', it is clear that Faltskog's vocal cords are in fine shape.
Agnetha Faltskog has
collaborated with Gary Barlow but they have never met Elofsson, for his part, has ditched the upfront production of his teen pop hits for a sound Faltskog calls "very mature and worthy".
"When you love someone, and you've lost that one, then nothing really matters," sighs Faltskog on the first single, When You Really Love Someone.
On the closing track, the singer scatters photos of an old lover across her bedroom floor and wonders what happened to their relationship.
Ripe with bittersweet emotion, the song is her sole contribution as a composer. You wonder why she didn't write more.
Faltskog says she simply fell out of practice.
"During the Abba years the boys were writing nearly all the material and I didn't have any time. They asked me a lot - but when we were at home, I just wanted to be with my children.
"For this album, we had an idea that maybe I should try to write one song. I didn't want to do more. I'm not that composer that composes every day. But it was very exciting to see if it still worked - and it did!"
The album doesn't reinvent the pop wheel, but is tasteful and sumptuous, rarely raising its tempo above "mid".
One exception is Dance Your Pain Away, where disco strings stab at a gymnastic bassline, apparently summoned from the dusty off-cuts of Abba's Voulez Vous.
Another stand-out is I Should Have Followed You Home, where Faltskog trades lines with Gary Barlow.
"We haven't even met," Faltskog reveals. "I spoke to him once on the phone - but I was on holiday when he did his singing."
She hopes to meet Barlow on a forthcoming promotional trip to the UK, but says there are currently "no plans" for them to perform the song together live.
Tornado trauma
Faltskog's trip to the UK may come as a surprise to some seasoned Abba-watchers. During the band's heyday, she had a rule that she would never leave home for more than two weeks at a time, so she wouldn't be separated from her children (both born in the midst of Abbamania).
A nervous flyer, she arranged to travel separately from Ulvaeus for the sake of the children, in case anything should happen to either of them in mid-air.
Agnetha Faltskog says an Abba
reunion is unlikely ever to happen Then, towards the end of Abba's 1979 US tour, the band had a quick turnaround between gigs in New York and Boston.
Faltskog boarded a chartered jet, which previously belonged to millionaire aviator Howard Hughes, and flew straight into the middle of a tornado which forced Boston's airfield to close.
Running out of fuel, in a pitch black sky, the pilot performed an emergency landing in Manchester, New Hampshire. The first attempt was aborted at the last minute, pulling up just before the wheels hit the runway. Fortunately, the plane touched down on the second try.
Since then, she has largely avoided flying - even coming to the UK "by bus once" for a promotional trip.
"But nowadays I have started to fly again," she says. "I have gone to a man - a therapist - who taught me to think in another way, a very positive way. It works. It helps, at least."
The 62-year-old says she's looking forward to coming back to the UK, and speaks fondly of Abba's seven-day residency in London's Wembley Arena in 1979.
"People's reaction was fantastic on Dancing Queen," she says. "And otherwise, it was very nice with Thank You For The Music."
She enjoys the memories of Abba, and has donated costumes and memorabilia to the Abba Museum which will open in Sweden in May ("it is very strange to have a museum in your honour!"), but cannot see the band reforming.
"It was such a long time ago, and we are getting older, and we have our different lives," she says.
For now, she is concentrating on the new record - one she thought she might never make, and one which could be her last.
"I think to look in the future, to plan another one, it's not realistic right now. But I don't close any doors. I'm very open for what comes up. At the moment, we are so happy with this one. I really hope people will like it as much as we do."
Agnetha's single When You Really Love Someone is out now. Her album, A, follows later this year.
Agnetha When You Really Loved Someone Available Now !
Agnetha's single 'When You Really Loved Someone' is available on Itunes now !!!
Her album 'A' is also available for pre-order.
Track list:
1. The One Who Loves You Now 3.30
2. When You Really Loved Someone 3.31
3. Perfume In The Breeze 3.31
4. I Was A Flower 4.08
5. I Should’ve Followed You Home 4.04
6. Past Forever 3.30
7. Dance Your Pain Away 4.10
8. Bubble 4.21
9. Back On Your Radio 3.43
10. I Keep Them On The Floor Beside Me 4.06
2. When You Really Loved Someone 3.31
3. Perfume In The Breeze 3.31
4. I Was A Flower 4.08
5. I Should’ve Followed You Home 4.04
6. Past Forever 3.30
7. Dance Your Pain Away 4.10
8. Bubble 4.21
9. Back On Your Radio 3.43
10. I Keep Them On The Floor Beside Me 4.06
Apparently in Germany, they are getting a release of 'The One Who Loves You Now'
Sunday, 10 March 2013
Agnetha Faltskog New Album Set For May Release ?
According to this Dutch site, Agnetha's new album is due for release on 10th May 2013.
Another teaser ?
The record label listed here is 'Island' - previous teasers have said the label is Verve - we still just wait and see :)
Saturday, 9 March 2013
Agnetha Faltskog Single Update
Abba’s Agnetha Faltskog New Song Sample Surfaces LISTEN
Abba star Agnetha Faltskog is about to return with her first new song in eight years. A sample of the song has surfaced online.
‘When You Really Loved Someone’ was written by Jorgen Elofsson, who also wrote ‘What Doesn’t Kill You (Stronger)’ for Kelly Clarkson, ‘You Drive Me Crazy’ for Britney Spears and Guy Sebastian’s first single ‘Angels Bought Me Here’.
Agnetha’s last album was ‘My Colouring Book’ in 2004. Her last Abba album was ‘The Visitors’ in 1981.
Universal Music is yet to confirm a release date for the album although a 30 second sample of ‘When You Really Loved Someone’ has surfaced on Allmusic.com.
You can listen to a sample of the song at Allmusic.com.
Noise11.com contacted Universal and was told that the album was on their schedule for a TBA (to be announced) release date but that it has since been removed. It is currently unknown at this stage why the album has been taken off Universal’s upcoming release schedule or when it will resurface.
Watch this space…
Agnetha’s last album was ‘My Colouring Book’ in 2004. Her last Abba album was ‘The Visitors’ in 1981.
Universal Music is yet to confirm a release date for the album although a 30 second sample of ‘When You Really Loved Someone’ has surfaced on Allmusic.com.
You can listen to a sample of the song at Allmusic.com.
Noise11.com contacted Universal and was told that the album was on their schedule for a TBA (to be announced) release date but that it has since been removed. It is currently unknown at this stage why the album has been taken off Universal’s upcoming release schedule or when it will resurface.
Watch this space…
Friday, 8 March 2013
Agnetha Faltskog - New Single Preview !!! When You Really Loved Someone
'When You Really Loved Someone'
Listen to a preview here:
Tuesday, 5 March 2013
Agnetha Faltskog New Single - When You Really Loved Someone
Amazon has now removed the listing for this single.
As there has been no official information on this release, it would appear to have been inaccurate.
A shame - although we still know there is an actual album coming which is the main thing :)
The issue may be that Amazon listed it too early - so watch this space for further details !
As there has been no official information on this release, it would appear to have been inaccurate.
A shame - although we still know there is an actual album coming which is the main thing :)
The issue may be that Amazon listed it too early - so watch this space for further details !
Agnetha Faltskog New Single - When You Really Loved Someone
Please be aware there is much skepticism in the fan community about this listing on Amazon.
There is no other information at this point to verify this news.
I will post more information as it becomes available :)
Sunday, 3 March 2013
ABBA 1977 Tour Australia - 3rd March Sydney
On the 3rd of March 1977 - 36 years ago today - ABBA performed their first concert in Australia in Sydney.
Most would know this was the concert with the rain - as featured in ABBA The Movie - who can forget that image with all the umbrellas !
Or the image of Frida on her hands and knees after slipping and falling - face down - on that wet slippery stage. This should never have happened !
This was the concert I was at with my Mum and 3 sisters - what an awesome experience !
I find it hard to tell the story of that experience without getting emotional - as does my Mum :)
And for those that may not have seen or read it before, here is my story:
I was 8 years old - it was 3rd March 1977. We boarded a train on the Central Coast at 4am - my Mum, 3 sisters and myself. We arrived at the R.A.S Showground in Sydney at 7am. Fully loaded up with food & clothes in a suitcase, we sat and waited outside the Showground with everyone else. There were people everywhere, and as the day passed, the crowd swelled to huge proportions. The thrill of the wait was almost too much to bear - the buzz in the air was electric.
The time approached for the roller doors to open. The crowd surged towards those doors - and as the time approached 5pm, the crowd began to push forward. The excitement became panic for those at the front - being crushed against those roller doors - and it seemed to take forever for the doors to start moving up. People were calling for everyone to stop pushing - there were many children amongst this crowd ! My Mum and 2 older sisters did what they could to surround and protect me and my little sister - Mum showed no fear - so we felt no fear. We simply felt the adrenalin building in anticipation of getting in to the Showground - hopefully getting good seats - and of seeing ABBA. I can feel it now !
By the time those roller doors started to open, you could barely breathe - it was all too much. Mum told us 'When those doors go up, RUN !' mostly to avoid being knocked down by those behind us ... and that is what we did. My little sister in between Mum and one sister - and me holding onto my other sister. As she ran, my feet did not touch the ground. I was simply flying along behind her. We reached the seating on the lawn area of the Showground and she continued to run - all the way to the front rows of seats. We were in the 2nd row ! And we were there alone - Mum and my other sisters had not caught up yet. So my sister layed down along the seats to save them - no one else was getting those seats !
Finally the others arrived and we settled in for the next 3 or so hours - happily eating the food Mum had packed, and staring at that stage. Were ABBA really going to be right there in just a short time ?
It started to grow dark - it started to rain. Did we care ? Absolutely not. It was time !
Lights flashed on the stage, music boomed. Frida's voice rang out from backstage. We all screamed. And suddenly, there was ABBA - right there in front of us. Pure magic. Mum moved us around closer to the stage. We ended up directly behind the Police who were supposed to be guarding the stage, but couldn't take their eyes off ABBA. I was standing on the suitcase so I could see over them, and my sister was picked up by one of the Policemen and sat on his shoulders for the rest of the show. She had the best view ! We saw Frida fall on the stage, and we were horrified - but what a magnificent woman she was - so professional. That rain ! We didn't care about the rain.
After the show we went to an Aunty's house to stay for the night. She was terribly worried about us being all wet and cold. My Mum said to her, "We don't care about that. We just saw ABBA ! We would have stood up to our waists in mud to see ABBA". And to this day, we all still feel the same.
Most would know this was the concert with the rain - as featured in ABBA The Movie - who can forget that image with all the umbrellas !
Or the image of Frida on her hands and knees after slipping and falling - face down - on that wet slippery stage. This should never have happened !
This was the concert I was at with my Mum and 3 sisters - what an awesome experience !
I find it hard to tell the story of that experience without getting emotional - as does my Mum :)
And for those that may not have seen or read it before, here is my story:
I was 8 years old - it was 3rd March 1977. We boarded a train on the Central Coast at 4am - my Mum, 3 sisters and myself. We arrived at the R.A.S Showground in Sydney at 7am. Fully loaded up with food & clothes in a suitcase, we sat and waited outside the Showground with everyone else. There were people everywhere, and as the day passed, the crowd swelled to huge proportions. The thrill of the wait was almost too much to bear - the buzz in the air was electric.
The time approached for the roller doors to open. The crowd surged towards those doors - and as the time approached 5pm, the crowd began to push forward. The excitement became panic for those at the front - being crushed against those roller doors - and it seemed to take forever for the doors to start moving up. People were calling for everyone to stop pushing - there were many children amongst this crowd ! My Mum and 2 older sisters did what they could to surround and protect me and my little sister - Mum showed no fear - so we felt no fear. We simply felt the adrenalin building in anticipation of getting in to the Showground - hopefully getting good seats - and of seeing ABBA. I can feel it now !
By the time those roller doors started to open, you could barely breathe - it was all too much. Mum told us 'When those doors go up, RUN !' mostly to avoid being knocked down by those behind us ... and that is what we did. My little sister in between Mum and one sister - and me holding onto my other sister. As she ran, my feet did not touch the ground. I was simply flying along behind her. We reached the seating on the lawn area of the Showground and she continued to run - all the way to the front rows of seats. We were in the 2nd row ! And we were there alone - Mum and my other sisters had not caught up yet. So my sister layed down along the seats to save them - no one else was getting those seats !
Finally the others arrived and we settled in for the next 3 or so hours - happily eating the food Mum had packed, and staring at that stage. Were ABBA really going to be right there in just a short time ?
It started to grow dark - it started to rain. Did we care ? Absolutely not. It was time !
Lights flashed on the stage, music boomed. Frida's voice rang out from backstage. We all screamed. And suddenly, there was ABBA - right there in front of us. Pure magic. Mum moved us around closer to the stage. We ended up directly behind the Police who were supposed to be guarding the stage, but couldn't take their eyes off ABBA. I was standing on the suitcase so I could see over them, and my sister was picked up by one of the Policemen and sat on his shoulders for the rest of the show. She had the best view ! We saw Frida fall on the stage, and we were horrified - but what a magnificent woman she was - so professional. That rain ! We didn't care about the rain.
After the show we went to an Aunty's house to stay for the night. She was terribly worried about us being all wet and cold. My Mum said to her, "We don't care about that. We just saw ABBA ! We would have stood up to our waists in mud to see ABBA". And to this day, we all still feel the same.
Check out the book I put together to celebrate the 35th Anniversary of ABBA's tour here in Australia:
New ABBA Collection Item - Posters
These are my latest additions to my Australian Newsagent Street Posters.
Really love these posters that were used to advertise the magazines and newspapers.
Always looking for more :)
New ABBA Collection Item - Keyring
This is the Official Keyring released recently. by Polar Music International.
It is quite a good size and has a nice weight to it.
Looks great !
Wednesday, 27 February 2013
ABBA 1977 Tour Australia
36 years ago today, 27th February 1977, ABBA arrive in Australia for their legendary concert tour.
11 concerts with an audience of about 160,000 out of a population of approximately 14.1 million.
And so the word 'ABBAmania' is born !
Saturday, 2 February 2013
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