Sunday 31 May 2015

Abba Date - 1st June 1992

On the 1st June 1992 Erasure released their "Abba-esque" EP in the UK - one week later the single was at the number 1 spot where it remained for 5 weeks eventually being replaced by Jimmy Nail's "Ain't No Doubt".

In the UK the single was the 6th biggest selling single of the year ; it was also a big hit in Europe reaching number 1 in Austria, Finland, Ireland and Sweden.

Chart positions from other countries are shown below -

  • Number 2 - Germany
  • Number 3 - Switzerland
  • Number 4 - Belgium, Netherlands
  • Number 13 - Australia
  • Number 38 - Canada

The record also kick started the Abba revival in the UK - by September "Abba Gold" was number 1 in the album chart.

June 2015 Abba Calendar Pictures

My 2015 Abba calendar includes this wonderful picture of Agnetha for June...

Friday 29 May 2015

Abba Magazine No. 11 Pictures #1

The image below shows some of the pictures from issue 11 of the official Abba Magazine...

More pictures from "Abba In America"

A few more pictures from the book "Abba In America" which I mentioned in my post earlier today...

Thursday 28 May 2015

Collection - "Abba In America" Book

The updated version of "Abba In America" was published in 2010 and included great pictures of the group from both their 1979 tour of North America and the 1980 dates in Japan.

More Pictures From Agnetha's "As I Am" Book

Here are a few of the great pictures of Agnetha from her book "As I Am"...

Wednesday 27 May 2015

Collection - Agnetha's "As I Am" Book

Today i am posting some images from another book from my collection - this time it's Agnetha's biography "As I Am : Abba Before & Beyond" which was first published in 1997. The book, which was co-written with Brita Ahman, had been published in Sweden in 1996 titled "Som Jag Ar".

I have to say that I read a lot of biographies from musicians and people in the entertainment business and I was pretty disappointed with this book - I think Agnetha has had an amazing life and has a great story to tell but this wasn't it. 

So with any luck we may yet get the definitive story of Agnetha's life ; however on the plus side the book included some great pictures - more of which later...

Tuesday 26 May 2015

Abba Article On Irish Central Website

I have just found this article on the Irish Central website which has an interesting (but not especially cheery) take on the dark side of Abba's lyrics and music - click the image below to read the article...

Collection - "The Winner Takes It All" DVD

The image below shows the DVD "The Winner Takes It All - The Abba Story" from my collection which was released on DVD in 1999. The original TV show was first broadcast on the 15th May 1999 and includes interviews with Bjorn, Benny and Frida which were filmed at the Prince Edward Theatre.

East German Abba EP

Here is another version of the Abba "Greatest Original Hits" EP from my collection - from what I have been able to find out this version was released in East Germany in 1982.

Monday 25 May 2015

Collection - "Greatest Original Hits" EP

Here is an image of a 4 track 7" Abba EP from my collection titled "Greatest Original Hits" which was released in the UK by Epic in 1982. The following tracks were included on the EP -

  • Super Trouper
  • Lay All Your Love On Me
  • The Winner Takes It All
  • One Of Us

Apparently Epic also released this as a cassette single, containing the all four tracks on both sides, however I have yet to add that to my collection.

AbbaWorld Gifts #2

Along with the drinks tumblers I posted earlier I also bought some mugs whilst the "AbbaWorld" exhibition was in London...

AbbaWorld Gifts #1

The image below shows a set of drinks tumblers which I bought during my visit to AbbaWorld...

AbbaWorld Book Pictures #2

More pictures from the "AbbaWorld" book...

Sunday 24 May 2015

AbbaWorld Book Pictures #1

Here are a few pictures of the "AbbaWorld" book which I bought when I visited the exhibition in Earls Court, London in 2010. From memory layout and content is virtually identical to the one used by the "Abba The Museum" book with just a few references to "AbbaWorld" removed.

More Abba Gold Pictures

Here are some pictures which were included in the "More Abba Gold" CD booklet...

Saturday 23 May 2015

Mirror Mentions Abba...

The Mirror newspaper website includes an article looking back at various Eurovision winners including this piece on Abba...

Classic Pop Magazine Mentions Bjorn...

The current issue of the brilliant "Classic Pop" magazine in the UK includes a mention of Bjorn's "Mamma Mia" themed restaurant...

As you can see from the cover the magazine also includes a great feature of A-ha.

Abba Date - 24th May 1993 "More Abba Gold"

In the 24th May 1993 "More Abba Gold" was released following the amazing success of "Abba Gold" - the album reached number 13 in the UK charts - the table below shows chart positions from other countries ;

  • Number 3 - Belgium
  • Number 7 - Austria, Norway, Sweden (and number 3 in 1999)
  • Number 9 - Germany
  • Number 10 - Netherlands, Switzerland, Denmark, France
  • Number 16 - Hungary
  • Number 20 - Mexico

Abba Magazine No. 10 Pictures #2

Here are some more pictures from issue 10 of the official Abba Magazine...

Friday 22 May 2015

Abba Magazine No. 10 Pictures #1

Here are some pictures from issue 10 of the official Abba Magazine...

Bjorn Interview In The Guardian

Yesterday's Guardian newspaper in the UK included an interview with Bjorn where he talks about his favourite thinks about living in Stockholm - click the image below to jump to the article....

Agnetha "The Way You Are" Photo Shoot

Here are a few of the pictures taken with Agnetha and Ola for the cover of their single "The Way You Are"...

Thursday 21 May 2015

Collection - Agnetha "The Way You Are" 12" Single

The image below shows the 12" version of Agnetha's duet with Ola Hakansson "The Way You Are" from my collection. The single, which was originally released in Germany in 1986, includes an extended version on the a-side with an instrumental version and the single version on the b-side.

Wednesday 20 May 2015

Collection - Frida "Shine" White Vinyl 12"

The image below shows a white vinyl 12" version of Frida's "Shine" single from my collection. The single, which was released in Sweden in 1984 where it reached number 6 in charts, included an extended mix of "Shine" together with "That's Tough" on the b-side.