ABBA in 1974 – the year they shot to fame after winning the Eurovision Song Contest (Photo: CC BY-SA 3.0)
One of the most beloved bands in the history of music have confirmed that they are set to release new music.
In a posting to the office ABBA Instagram account, the band members posted the following statement.
‘The decision to go ahead with the exciting ABBA avatar tour project had an unexpected consequence.
‘We all four felt that, after some 35 years, it could be fun to join forces again and go into the recording studio. So we did. And it was like time had stood still and that we had only been away on a short holiday. An extremely joyful experience!
‘We may have come of age, but the song is new. And it feels good’
‘It resulted in two new songs and one of them ‘I Still Have Fair In You’ will be performed by our digital selves in a TV special produced by NBC and the BBC aimed for broadcasting in December.
‘We may have come of age, but the song is new. And it feels good.
‘Agnetha, Benny, Bjorn, Anni-Frid – Stockholm, Sweden, 27 April 2018.’
ABBA history
ABBA were formed in Stockholm in 1972 by Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. All four had already had some success as singers and songwriters in their native Sweden. The name ABBA came the first letter of each of their names.
They shot to international fame by winning the Eurovision Song Contest in 1974 in Brighton, UK. A string of international hit singles followed, including the likes of Mamma Mia, Dancing Queen and Take A Chance On Me.
At the start of the band’s life, the band members were in relationships with one another – Agnetha married Björn and Benny married Anni-Frid. However, both relationships faltered – in turn leading to some of the band’s most poignant songs.
Although they never officially ‘split’, they have not recorded new music since The Visitors album in 1982.
Interest in their music has not diminished, with new generations discovering them through the success of the musical and film, Mammia Mia.
Hologram tour
In 2013, a museum dedicated to ABBA opened in Stockholm. An ABBA exhibition is currently on show at London’s Southbank center.
In 2016, the band’s UK manager, Simon Fuller said the band were reuniting to work together on a ‘new entertainment experience‘. This is believed to consist of a hologram tour capturing the band in their late 70s heyday. The ABBA Avatar tour is expected to debut in 2019.
There is no mention yet of a release date for the new ABBA material.
