Tuesday 31 March 2015

Abba Calendar - April 2015

For the month of April in my 2015 Abba calendar I have this great picture of Bjorn...

Monday 30 March 2015

Collection - Abba "Estoy Soñando" Single

The images below show the Abba single "Estoy Sonando" (the Spanish version of "I Have A Dream") from the 40th Anniversary box set. The original version of this single (which included "Does Your Mother Know" on the b-side) was released in Argentina where it reached number 4 in the charts during 1979.

Agnetha "My Very Best" Pictures #2

Here are some pictures from the booklet included with Agnetha's CD "My Very Best"...

Agnetha "My Very Best" Pictures #1

Here are some pictures from the booklet which is included with the Agnetha compilation "My Very Best"...

Sunday 29 March 2015

Collection - Agnetha "My Very Best"

The Agnetha compilation "My Very Best" was released in Sweden in 2008 and includes 35 tracks split over two CDs. This first CD contains tracks recorded between 1968 and 1979 with the second showcasing songs from her international solo career together with "The Winner Takes It All".

The second CD is one of my personal favourites which I listen to on a regular basis - the first three tracks in particular ("Wrap Your Arms Around Me", "Little White Secrets" and "Can't Shake Loose") are some of my favourite Agnetha songs.

I think the only change I would make would be to swap "Take Good Care Of Your Children" (my least favourite track from "Wrap Your Arms Around Me") for "Its So Nice To Be Rich" or "One Way Love" either of which would have been a great addition to this compilation.

 

Agnetha's "A" On Vinyl

As its a wet and windy Sunday morning in the UK I am relaxing and listening to the vinyl version of Agnetha's album "A"...

Saturday 28 March 2015

March 29th 1999 - "Thank Abba For The Music" Released

On the 29th March 1999 the single "Thank Abba For The Music" was released in the UK. The medley, performed by Steps, Tina Cousins, Cleopatra, B*Witched and Billie, had been included in the 1999 Brit awards and included the following Abba hits -

  • Take A Chance On Me
  • Dancing Quern
  • Mamma Mia
  • Thank You For The Music

The single, which was released in a number of formats including a 12", was a big hit in the UK reaching number 4 in the charts and also made the top 10 in Ireland (5), New Zealand (6), Sweden (8) and Australia (9).

Abba Magazine No. 3 Pictures #2

More pictures from issue 3 of the official Abba Magazine...

Friday 27 March 2015

Thursday 26 March 2015

Frida International Issue 16

The image below shows the front cover of issue 16 of the Frida International fanzine which included the following content -

  • News that various fan clubs were planning to celebrate Frida's 40th birthday.
  • A chart update on Sue Pollard's cover of "Come To Me (I Am Woman)" which at the time was climbing up the UK charts.
  • An extract from a Frida interview taken during the promotion for her album "Shine" during which she seemed to say that she wasn't too keen on the last Abba album other than the title track "The Visitors".
  • Text from the TV special made during the recording of "Something's Going On" where Phil Collins discusses the various instruments used during the making of the album
  • Readers letters included in a section titled "Viewpoint" - these included the usual comments concerning Epics lack of promotion in the UK.

Abba's "Greatest Hits" CBS Clipping

The image below shows a promotional item produced by CBS marking the success of Abba's "Greatest Hits" album in the UK...

 

Spanish Greatest Hits Cover

As a follow-on from my post this morning looking back at the release of Abba's "Greatest Hits" in the UK here are a few images of the Spanish version of that release...

 

Wednesday 25 March 2015

Abba Date - 26th March 1976 "Greatest Hits" Released

On this day in 1976 Abba released their "Greatest Hits" album in the UK. The album reached the top of the charts on the 8th May where it remained for 9 weeks only to return to the number one spot in October for another 2 weeks.

The album went on become the biggest selling on 1976 in the UK (and the 9th of 1977) and the second biggest selling of the 1970s.

Frida Solo Press Clipping #3

Last Frida press clipping of the day from my archive - this one is from the week her single "I Know There's Something Going On" was released in the UK...

Frida Solo Press Clipping #2

Here is my second Frida solo press clipping of the day - this one is titled "Rich, Happy - And Alone At Last" and was written during the promotion for her album "Something's Going On".

 

Tuesday 24 March 2015

Frida Solo Press Clipping #1

Today I will be posting a few clippings relating to Frida's solo career - the first one stated that her latest single was "To Turn The Stone" and that she would be re-joining Abba to promote their new single "The Day Before You Came".

"Chess Pieces" Special Offers

As a follow on from my post earlier today regarding "Chess Pieces" here is a scan of the special offers which were included inside the album cover. The Chess sweatshirts for only £11 seem like a bargain now - I wish I had bought some at the time...

Agnetha's "A" On Amazon Chart

Following the re-showing of the Agnetha documentary last night in the UK her album "A" is currently at number 3 in the Amazon "Movers And Shakers" chart.

Monday 23 March 2015

Collection - "Chess Pieces" Album

A few weeks ago I managed to buy a copy of the album "Chess Pieces" which includes 12 tracks from the original double album. The back cover includes the following text under the heading "Authors Note" -

"The single album CHESS PIECES consists of selections from the RCA double album CHESS which was released worldwide in late 1984. CHESS is to be staged in London at the Prince Edward Theatre in Spring 1986 with productions on Broadway and elsewhere following. The original double album, still available, was produced by the authors Benny Andersson, Tim Rice and Bjorn Ulvaeus and has achieved gold and platinum all over the world. At the time of this note, the two most successful songs (included here) have been "One Night In Bangkok" by Murray Head and "I Know Him So Well" by Elaine Paige and Barbara Dickson."

Sunday 22 March 2015

Abba Awards Map

The image below (which is from one of the early Abba Annuals) shows countries across the world where Abba had been given awards based on record sales.

Collection - French "Waterloo" Single

Here are a few pictures of the French version of Abba's "Waterloo" single from last years 40th anniversary box set. The single also included "Gonna Sing You My Lovesong" on the b-side.

Saturday 21 March 2015

Collection - 3 CD Box Set

This is quite an interesting box set from my collection which includes the following CDs -

  • Abba's "Waterloo" album with an updated cover
  • The Agnetha and Frida solo compilation "The Voice Of Abba"
  • An Abba compilation titled "The Music Still Goes On"

The last of these includes a mix of Abba hits and album tracks...

  • Does Your Mother Know
  • Ring Ring
  • On And On And On
  • When I Kissed The Teacher
  • If It Wasn't For a The Nights
  • As Good As New
  • Eagle
  • The Visitors
  • When All Is Said And Done
  • So Long
  • Bang-A-Boomerang
  • Me And I
  • Move On
  • Arrival

Abba Magazine No. 2 Pictures #2

Here are some more pictures from the second issue of the official Abba Magazine...

Friday 20 March 2015

Abba Magazine No. 2 Pictures #1

Here are some pictures from the second issue of the second issue of the official Abba Magazine...