Did You Know?

http://www.stuttgarter-zeitung.de/inhalt.stage-palladium-theater-stuttgart-mamma-mia-wussten-sie-dass.432912e7-a3a2-4966-8929-0652a9bc0bb6.html

... MAMMA MIA! has been seen by over 50 million visitors

... MAMMA MIA! plays for over thirteen years without a break in London's West End

... MAMMA MIA! was by its ensuite and touring productions now listed in over 325 cities

The first non-English ... MAMMA MIA! Premiere was held in Germany in 2002

... MAMMA MIA! in Germany was already seen by over 5 million viewers

German ... the cast recording of MAMMA MIA! a week of its publication in position 3 of the Media Control Charts got in, which is the highest chart entry of a musical CD in Germany

Did You Know?

The girls both had lucky tokens to take to Brighton for the Eurovision. Frida her lucky black hat and Agnetha a stuffed donkey given to her by fans.

Did You Koow?

During the 1975 tour, Benny  fooled , Anna and Frida. He and Björn decided to make exact copies of the dresses the girls were going to wear the next days for a performance. Only two sizes smaller than the original ones. The tailor did a very good job and the cat dresses where identical  except for the fact that the sizes were different.

That night, before the show, Benny sneaked into Anna’s and Frida’s dressing room. “I hugged myself at the very thought ” , Benny says. “When the girls were changing their clothes, Björn and I were conveniently hanging about. We were laughing our socks off when we saw how the girls desperately tried to fit in those dresses!. They were beside themselves because they thought they had put on weight. When we finally, still rolling on the floor laughing, had to admit what we had done, we almost got killed!”

Did you Know?

In 1977, ABBA sponsored a British rowing club named "City Orient", allowing the team to purchase a new and much needed boat for rowing competitions.

Did you Know?

Bjorn is the only member of the groups who has not smoked. Frida has quit in recent years and Agnetha still battles after many years of trying since she had vocal problems early in her career

Did you Know?

Agnetha often wears a slim gold ring on her ring finger since her divorce from Bjorn. It was her mother's conformation ring

Dig In

Top Of The Pops screened a clip fom the Australian special in 1976 when Dancing Queen was number one. This turned into an urban myth that ABBA were in London for the show and hundreds of fans turning up at the BBC.

The rumour continued for many years and has actually been included in some biographies

Did You Know?

Due to the Cold War, Western music was actively discouraged throughout Eastern Europe at the time. Despite this ABBA: The Album sold an unprecedented million copies in Poland in 1977, exhausting the country's entire allocation of foreign currency. In Russia, only 200,000 copies were permitted to be pressed. However, demand within the USSR indicated they could have sold 40 million copies.

SOS

S.O.S (working title: Turn Me On) 
Backing track and vocals on 22 August 1974. 
Overdubs added on 17 September 1974. 


The absolutely strongest recording of the 'Abba' album . This was Agnetha's first "heartbreak classic" where her ability to "cry with her voice" as Michael Tretow once put it, met a hundred percent match in the gorgeous melody and Benny's semi-classic keyboard flourishes.


"It was fun to record that one," says Benny. "I remember that it was all but finished when we decided to add all those guitar and synthesizer riffs that are going on throughout the song." Björn remembers that stig came up with the title, and also wrote a set of lyrics that later were quite heavily reworked. (taken from the books The Complete Recording Sessions and Bright Lights Dark Shadows by Carl Magnus Palm) 

Honey Honey

"Honey, Honey" was written by Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson and Stig Anderson, with shared vocals by Agnetha Fältskog and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. As well as the English version, ABBA also recorded "Honey, Honey" in Swedish on January 30, 1974 at Metronome Studio, Stockholm.
This was the last official recording by the group in their own language, and was released as the B-side of the Swedish "Waterloo" single. In its English format, "Honey, Honey" was released with "King Kong Song" as the B-side.

Rikky Rock 'N' Roller

http://abbatheblogbook.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/abba-jerry-williams-rikky-rock-n-roller.html
"Rikky Rock 'N' Roller" is a song recorded during the recording sessions for ABBA's self-titled album in 1974, but the song was left unfinished. The Swedish rock star Jerry Williams recorded and released it as a single after ABBA had decided their version was unsuitable for release. An excerpt of the demo of the song was released in the box set Thank You for the Music.

Money Money Money

Money, Money, Money: 
Backing track and vocals recorded on May 17, 1976 (Metronome Studio).


Björn: This song was meant ironical.  There was more talking about the millions we made than about our music.  We were called a company instead of a pop group   With 'Money, Money, Money' we wanted to hit back.  If people think we are only in it for the money, well let's write about it. 


Frida's superior skills as an interpretive singer came to the fore on the caberat inflections of 'Money, Money, Money'. Within the confines of a three minutes format, this was a sublime performance, opening in the tradition of European theatrical music, combined with a basic Anglo-Saxon pop rhythm, and finally topped with Frida's dramatic delivery.


The genenis of 'Money, Money, Money' was similar to 'Why Did It Have To Be Me', insofar as it ended up being released under its orginal working title. Björn, who felt that "there were enough 'money' songs around, came up with a set of working lyrics entitled 'Gypsy King'. "But that came out a bit awkward, somehow," he recalled. "In the end, I had to go back to 'Money, Money, Money' - that simply sounded best." This philosophy was endemic to ABBA and fundamental to their succes: whatever their ambitions the group never forsook simplicity and direct communication with their audience.


In any event, the storytelling, musical-like layers of 'Money, Money, Money' made it Benny's favourite track on the album. "Of all the things we have done, that one is the best ever," he said. "It's a very basic recording you could say that it's constructed like a stage number. I imagine someone else doning it, not necessarily us: someone standing on a platform singing these lyrics." (taken from the book Bright Lights Dark Shadows by Carl Magnus Palm) 

Thank You For The Music:
Backing track on June 2, 1977. (known as the Doris Day version). (Marcus Music Studio)

The group attempted a studio recording of this mini-musical song. They removed themselves slightly from the loose cabaret mood of the live version, arriving at an arrangement characterised by a slight ragtime feel. Agnetha put in a solid, Doris Day-inspired lead vocal performance and the whole group added backing vocals. This was as far as the recording got, however: it was still not the right way to present the song, and the track was shelved. (taken from the book Bright Lights Dark Shadows by Carl Magnus Palm)

2nd backing track on July 21, 1977 (Glen Studio)

They decided to start all over again. The group finally hit upon the arrangement and feel that were right for the song on November 7, 1977.

But Here I Am Again!!!!

As Good As New: 
Backing track on 14 March 1979. 
String overdubs on 27 March 1979. 
Mixing on 29 March 1979. 


One of the typical uptempo disco-era ABBA pop songs, featuring an interesting contract between the 'squarish' European string arrangement and Janne Schaffer's funky guitar riff. (taken from the book The Complete Recording Sessions by Carl Magnus Palm)

You and I can share the silence

The Way Old Friends Do: 

Timpani overdubs for the live recording from November 1979 on October 81980. 
Mixing on October 10, 1980. 
Final mix for Super Trouper on October 11,1980. 
'The Way Old Friends Do' is a live recording from the group's shows at Wembley Arena in November 1979. In hindsight, this Auld Lang Syne-style song functioned as a farewell to the more public part of the group's career. (liner notes by Carl Magnus Calm for the 2001 issue of 'Super Trouper')

Knowing Me Knowing You

Knowing Me, Knowing You (working titles Ring It In and Number One, Number One): 
Backing track and vocals recorded on March 23, 1976 (Metronome Studio).
Guitar overdubs added on may 24, 1976(Metronome Studio).


'Knowing Me, Knowing You' was probably the first ABBA song to truly acknowledge that the group consisted of four adults. Whereas previous lyrics about love troubles had been more generic, couplet's like "in this old familiar room, children would play" indicated that 'Knowing Me, Knowing You' dealt with the collapse of a marriage, as opposed to any old teenage romance.


The title came from Stig Anderson, but the rest of the words were written by Björn. He has since denied that the lyrics had any bearing on his own situation at that time. "Even if the roots are somewhere deep inside, form something what has happened to you, it's still 90 per cent fiction, he said. " I was just working from images. I saw a man walking through an empty house for the last time as a symbol of divorce. I just described what I saw. I hadn't been through that myself then." (taken from the book Bright Lights Dark Shadows by Carl Magnus Palm)

Why? Down memory lane

"Memory Lane" is a third title of "Why Did It Have to Be Me"/"Happy Hawaii" that is said to have been recorded but never released

Hole In Your Soul

Hole In Your Soul (working titles: High On Your Love and Rock'n Roll): (taken from the book The Complete Recording Sessions by Carl Magnus Palm)
Backing track on 3 August 1977. (Marcus Music Studio)
Mixing on 1 November 1977. (unknown studio)


It is doubtful whether as weak as 'Get On The Carousel' from the mini-musical had ever been seriously considered for inclusion on 'The Album'. In any case, this day's recording session made sure that it would now definitely be scrapped, since its chorus had been pinched for the brigde in what was to become 'Hole In Your Soul'


Incidentally, some of the names mentioned in this song's lyrics were references to real people - 'Jerry', for instance, was apparently a nod to Jerry Greenberg, head of Atlantic Records, who released ABBA's records in the United States.




The Names of the characters mentioned in the second verse are all real people who worked with the group

Just A Notion

"Just a Notion" is a demo recorded in 1978. A snippet of this track was released in the box set Thank You for the Music. A complete version was recorded by cover band Arrival, which features original ABBA bass player Rutger Gunnarsson, and was included on their 1999 album First Flight. This recording features a full set of lyrics (which are identical to those which ABBA used), unlike the small snippet of the released ABBA version. Carl Magnus Palm has also confirmed that the verse included in "ABBA Undeleted" is in fact the second verse of the song. Just A Notion was intended to be released in full on the 2010 Voulez Vous Deluxe Edition but for some unknown reason it was not included

"In the Arms of Rosalita"

"In the Arms of Rosalita" is an early demo version of "Chiquitita". An excerpt can be heard in the TV documentary The Winner Takes It All. It featured lead vocals by Lyngstad. A later version "Chiquitita Angelina" was sung by both girls in unison.



In The Arms Of Rosalita:
Backing track on 4 December 1978. 
A first attempt at recording a backing track for Chiquitita. The arrangement of this backing track was much too heavy to suit the melody . Frida and Agnetha shared the lead vocals on this first attempt, but when the the song turned into 'Chiquitita on 13th December, Agnetha took the more prominent role. An interim version of the song with different lyrics , entitled 'Chiquitita Angelina', was also recorded along the way. (taken from the books The Complete Recording Sessions and Bright Lights Dark Shadows by Carl Magnus Palm)