Learn English with ABBA

Czech newspaper "Dnes" released textbook and CD "English in the car with ABBA". Lyrics to 8 ABBA hits are analyzed in the 39-side-textbook and the CD contains all songs and a pronunciation course. The songs are: The Winner Takes It All, Thank You For The Music, Does Your Mother Know, Fernando, Gimme Gimme Gimme, Knowing Me Knowing You, Mamma Mia and Money Money Money.

Voulez-Vous Deluxe edition

Finally the "Deluxe" version of the 1979 album "Voulez-Vous" is out (May 31, 2010). This one year and 1 month delayed release contains one CD and one DVD. The CD features 10 tracks from the original album and 5 bonus tracks - all of them well-known and released before. The long version of "Dream World" must have been taken from the Swedish Radio tape with the show in which Michael B. Tretow played this song once in 1978. According to Carl Magnus Palm the previously released version of "Dream World" was shorter because of a damage at the end of the original tape with the recording. The radio version of the song has been known from several bootlegs and the cut at the very beginning of the song on this CD seems to be exactly the same as on the radio version.

The DVD contains no bigger surprises: a 39-minute-special ABBA in Switzerland filmed at the beginning of 1979 - a very nice show and a great memory for all old ABBA fans. ABBA in Switzerland has been available on bootleg DVDs in good and very good quality before and it even saw its release on video at the beginning of the 1980s in certain territories in the Middle East. There are even videos for Chiquitita from Unicef, I Have A Dream live (long version), If It Wasn't For The Nights from BBC, Chiquitita from Snowtime special. A Björn and Benny interview from BBC (Swap shop) is added as well as two commercials for Greatest Hits Vol. 2 (but not Voulez-Vous). The booklet contains a couple of alternative shots from the Voulez-Vous session.

So one more nice addition to the ABBA collection.

The ABBA guide to Stockholm

New ABBA related book is a guide book to Stockholm written by Sara Russel and issued in April 2010. A very nice book with some rare photos of ABBA. The guide book covers main ABBA related places in the capital of Sweden.

It is nice that raffem. com was a kind of inspiration in this case (and not only) as we started our ABBA related places section already in February 2002.

ABBA in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

Anni-Frid and Benny attended the 25th Annual Rock And Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony at the Waldorf Astoria on March 15, 2010 in New York City. Benny said: "I just think it's quite a flabbergasting thing... It's like being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame was not on the map, really. And I think we're the only non-Anglo-Saxon act ever to be inducted. I'm not sure, you have to check that - but I think that's true."

Anni-Frid has ruled out a much-anticipated band reunion, insisting it's "too late for that". The other half of the band, Bjorn Ulvaeus and Agnetha Faltskog, missed the event due to prior engagements - ruling out a reunion at the ceremony. And, despite constant reports of a get together, Reuss insisted the chances of an Abba reunion are slim.
She said, "We haven't performed or sang together for 28 years; we broke up in '82. And I never think we will reunite again - it's a bit too late for that."
Andersson teamed up with Faith Hill and the house band to perform Abba classic The Winner Takes It All at the ceremony, where Jimmy Cliff, The Hollies, The Stooges, Genesis and music boss David Geffen were also inducted.

New ABBA related books

A new ABBA-related book "ABBA in America" (in two language versions: Swedish and English) is out in Sweden. It is an extended version of the book "Succen på världsscenen" which was issued in Scandinavia in 1979 by the journalist Leif Schulman and photographer Charles Hammarsten (both from the weekly "Hänt"). The book had 96 pages with rare pictures and a reportage mainly from the American leg of ABBA's tour. The 2010 edition has 160 pages and surprisingly contains several pictures from the Japan where ABBA toured in March 1980. A little mystery why the title is "ABBA in America" and not "ABBA Tour 1979/80"?

The well-known book "From ABBA to Mamma Mia" originally issued in 1999 has a new updated version now. The new edition of the book came out in February 2010. There are some

differences comparing to the 1999 edition. Mostly lay-out changes, several pictures included in the first issue are missing in the new one. The musical Mamma Mia section is extended with some new pictures from the Stockholm set-up of the musical

ABBA world

Frida and Björn attended the premiere of the ABBA world exhibition in London on 26 January 2010.

ABBA in the Hall of Fame

ABBA will be inducted into the Rock Hall of Fame next year at a special ceremony on New York on March 15th.
 

ABBA The story in Czech language

The Czech language version of Carl Magnus Palm's book  "ABBA The Story" has been issued in Czech Republic in the late autumn. This is the the fourth language version of the book after Swedish, Danish and Norwegian. The book features different cover to the Swedish version with ABBA picture taken in Warsaw in October 1976.

There are not so many photos inside as in the Swedish and Danish versions of the book but some of them are quite rare alternative shots taken during the group's concert in Amsterdam in 1977.

The complete ABBA

A new ABBA book has been issued in the UK at the beginning on 31 October 2009. "The Complete ABBA" written by Simon Sheridan gives information about all ABBA single and album releases as well as the most important TV shows featuring the group.

ABBA in Japan DVD out

The DVD ABBA in Japan was released in Sweden on 26 October 2009. The special edition of the DVD contains 2 discs. The special edition features even special attachments as the tour sticker and three photo cards and a special booklet with the Japanese story of ABBA. The running time is: 1 h 21 m (disc 1) and 36 m (disc 2).

Disc 1
The TV show 1978
Eagle, Take A Chance On Me, Money, Money, Money, SOS, That's Me, Tiger, Dancing Queen, Waterloo, Fernando, Summer Night City, The Name Of The Game, Knowing Me, Knowing You, If It Wasn't For The Nights, Thank You For The Music

Behind The Scenes Documentary 1978

If It Wasn't For The Nights (Alternate Mix)


Disc 2
Behind The Scenes Documentary 1980
Photo Gallery

Single And Album Sleeve Gallery