3. Additional filming for "ABBA The Movie" in Stockholm - June 77
5. The videos & The Skeppsbron photo session - late summer 77
6. ABBA in the studio working with "The Album" - autumn 77
8. The Name of the Game - the single
11. The Swedish premiere of "ABBA The Movie"
The World Tour 1977
The new musical period in ABBA's artistic life started in March 1977 when the group embarked on their first world tour. The concerts in Australia were recorded for a possible live album. Even an idea for a documentary from the Australian part of the tour was born. This part of the tour was filmed and used later for a full-length movie picture which would be called simply "ABBA The Movie".
Awards in Hamburg, February 77
During their stay in Hamburg on February 8th ABBA were awarded with several prizes in Hamburg. They received gold records for their latest album "Arrival" and the prize Gold Hammer issued by the German music paper "Pop".
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During they stay in West Germany ABBA's records were on the top of West German charts. The album "Arrival" topped the German LP chart followed by the 2LP compilation "The Very Best of ABBA - ABBA's greatest hits". The single "Money Money Money" topped the single chart at the beginning of February but in the middle of the month it lost the fight against "Sunny" performed by the raising disco star group Boney M.
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21.02.1977 |
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Knowing Me Knowing You - Australia
The single "Knowing Me Knowing You" b/w "Happy Hawaii" was released in Australia in February 1977 and it entered the single chart on March 2, 1977 at #24. It stayed on the chart for 11 weeks topping at #5.
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More gold records
Gold records for sales in Finland.
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"Dancing Queen" was a new single released in Japan on April 25, 1977. A picture of ABBA in the "Money Money Money" outfits was chosen for the cover. "Tiger" was on the B-side. The single reached #19 on the Japanese chart where it stayed for unbelievable 55 weeks!
The ABBA caricature published around Easter 1977 in Sweden.
The annual spring party - Stockholm April 18th, 1977
All four members of ABBA participated in the annual Spring party at the Operakällaren-restaurant in Stockholm. Several photos of ABBA and Ingemar Stenmark, well-known Swedish ski-racer were taken during this evening. ABBA was awarded the Golden Wasp by the newspaper "Expressen" for the TV special "ABBA Dabba Do" which had been voted by the readers as the best TV show of 1976.
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Eurovision Song Contest 77
Sweden was represented by the group "Forbes" in Eurovision Song Contest in London. ABBA helped with some promotion of the group by posing together with "Forbes" on the same photo during the spring party in Stockholm on 18 April 1977. The Swedes had though bad luck this year in the Eurovision Song Contest and took the last place.
Arrival in Japan
The LP "Arrival" was released in Japan at the end of May 1977.
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Greatest Hits including Fernando - the LP
The second edition of the Asian compilation album "Greatest Hits including Fernando" was released in 1977 in Malaysia. This version of the LP contained 14 tracks. The side 1 contains old hits released between 1973 and 1975: Waterloo, Ring Ring, Honey Honey, Mamma Mia, Nina, Pretty Ballerina, I Do I Do I Do... and SOS. The side 2 features Fernando and 6 tracks from the album "Arrival" - three chart hits: Money Money Money, Dancing Queen and Knowing Me Knowing You and three no single tracks: Why Did It Have To Be Me, Tiger and Dum Dum Diddle.
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Recording sessions for "ABBA The Album" - late summer 1977.
Recording sessions for the new album started at the end of May. The first song recorded for the forthcoming LP was "The Name of The Game". The first pictures from the recording studio were taken and published in the press all over the world.
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Frida in May & June
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In the middle of May Frida was one of the guests attending the premiere show of the Cirkus Scott in Stockholm. Later the same month Frida and Benny's daughter Helene were seen at the Kungliga Teatern in Stockholm. They attended the premiere of the ballet show "Ishavet". Two weeks later Frida was in Gröna Lund in Stockholm watching together with Lill-Babs and her daughters the new Lasse Berghagen show (pictures to the right).
The red car session
The photo taken someday in the summer of 1977 outside the Polar Music offices in Baldersgatan (see ABBA related places) with Frida's and Benny's car.
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ABBA The Movie - additional filming
In June the group was filming additional scenes for "ABBA-The Movie" in Stockholm.
go.to/ABBA The Movie for more
The Drottningholm session (summer 1977)
This extended photo session was taken in the summer 1977 in the park around the Drottningholm Castle outside Stockholm. A lot of pictures have been taken and lots of alternative shots from this session have been published in the papers, books and magazines all over the world.
More about the "Drottningholm session" in ABBA related.
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That's Me - the single in Japan
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"That's Me" was chosen as the second ABBA single in Japan with "Money Money Money" on the B-side. The single was released in July 1977 and entered the Japanese chart on July 25 reaching #75.
Polar Music was forced to make a video clip for the song very quickly. Lasse Hallström used some parts from the videos "Money Money Money" & "Knowing Me Knowing You" and mixed them with some new shots of Agnetha and Frida sitting and miming to the song.
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ABBA in black & other colours
One of the most classical ABBA photo sessions with the girls posing in the very traditional Agnetha-Frida style. This photo session featured ABBA on their absolute top both musically and visually. The session was taken in the middle of the year 1977.
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Alternative shots
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Agnetha & Frida - more alt shots
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The "happy colours" session
One more alternative photo session taken in the summer 1977.
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The boat photo session - July 77
This session was taken in the summer of 77 in Stockholm's archipelago.
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Two new videos "The Name Of The Game" and "Take a Chance On Me" directed by Lasse Hallström were filmed in September.
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The "Honey Honey" session
This photo session was taken in the summer 1977. One of the shots appeared on the cover of the German LP "Honey Honey" re-released in 1979.
(Thanks to Australia for the tips)
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The "box" session
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The "chess" session
Probably one of the most famous ABBA photo sessions ever - the "chess" session which would be used on the cover of the second single from "ABBA The Album" - "Take A Chance On Me" was taken in the autumn of 1977. This photo session has been spread out all over the world and lots of different shots have been published during the years. Here are some of them.
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Recording sessions for ABBA The Album
The recording sessions for a new album continued in the late summer and autumn. They were held in various studios.
The Skeppsbron photo session - late summer 1977
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This session was taken in the late summer of 1977 in the heart of Stockholm in Skeppsbron Street on the Eastern side of the Old Town. (Check ABBA related places). More pictures were taken the same day in the studio (see below) and in some other locations in Stockholm.
Recording sessions - early autumn 1977
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LILL-BABS show & Bond premiere - September
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Benny and Frida attended the show of Lill-Babs in the beginning of September. Frida wore a big hat. One week later the new Bond film "The spy who loved me" had its premiere in Stockholm. Frida was one of the special guests who received a Bond-car.
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Anni-Frid did not know her father. She knew that he was German and his name was Alfred Haase. He disappeared from Norway in 1945 and Frida thought that he had died during the trip back to Germany at the end of the second world war in 1945. In 1977 "Bravo" published a big article about ABBA and the story of Anni-Frid's life..
The story of Anni-Frid's father was read by Andrea Buchinger, an ABBA fan, who realized that it had to be about her uncle Alfred Haase who was in Norway during the war. She called her uncle and he ... called Stockholm trying to get in touch with Anni-Frid.
Some weeks later on September 9th, 1977 Alfred Haase came to Stockholm where he met his daughter. Haase stayed in Stockholm a couple of days but the press decided to leave them alone. Only some photos were taken during the stay by the "Bravo" photographer Wolfgang Heilemann.
The parrot session
One of the most famous photo sessions from 1977 featuring the ABBA members with parrot birds.
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The happy-colours session
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The Name Of The Game - the single
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The first single from the forthcoming LP was released in Sweden on October 17 and in Great Britain on October 22. It reached the top of the British chart on November 5 and stayed there for 4 weeks. The song was not a typical "happy hit" and it was probably the first sign showing the group's seeking for a new sound. The B-side was a big surprise for all ABBA fans as it contained a live track - "I Wonder" recorded in March in Australia. The single was successful in most of the countries all over the world.
In Germany it reached #7, in Sweden #2, in Finland #5, in Norway #3, in Austria and France #12, in Irland, Belgium and Holland #2, in Switzerland #6. In Canada and USA "The Name of the Game" came to the Top 20 reaching respective #15 and #12. "The Name of the Game" reached #6 in Australia and #4 in New Zealand.
The photo for the single cover was taken from the "Drottningholm session" shot earlier the same year.
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ABBA and art...
At the end of October 1977 ABBA bought an art gallery "A H Grafik" in Strandvägen in Stockholm. Björn, Benny and Frida came on the inauguration. Agnetha stayed at home because of her advanced pregnancy.
Heinz Angermayer's new studio
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A well-known Swedish photographer who had even taken a lot of pictures of ABBA opened his new studio in the Old Town in the Österlånggatan Street at the beginning of November 1977. Frida & Benny represented ABBA. Even Frida's daughter Liselotte was there. Agnetha & Björn did not attend any parties during this time because of Agnetha's tougher and tougher pregnancy.
ABBA - 24 Greatest Hits - Japan
In October 1977 a double album with 24 ABBA hits was released in Japan. The album featured even the latest hits up-to-date in Japan: That's Me and Dancing Queen.
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The Name of the Game - the single in Japan
The single "The Name of the Game" was released in Japan in November 1977. The cover had different layout to the European and Australian editions but the same photo shot from the "Drottningholm photo sessions" was used.
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The secret premiere of ABBA The Movie, November 1977
The film was shown in one of Stockholm's cinemas at the end of November for buyers from all over the world. Benny and Stikkan participated in this event making promotion for ABBA The Movie.
Björn and Agnetha's second child Peter Christian was born on December 4, 1977 at the Danderyd hospital in Stockholm. The photos were taken some days later at the hospital. These pictures were published in newpapers all over the world.
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ABBA on SVT without Agnetha
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Anni-Frid, Björn and Benny were interviewed on Swedish TV in the show "Nöjesliv".
ABBA/LIVE 77
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This flexi-disc was released in December 77 and distributed as a bonus to children magazines selling door to door for Christmas. It contained a medley of 5 songs recorded live in Australia. Probably still one of the rariest ABBA items in the world as these songs are still unavailable on any other ABBA issue.
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