-ABBA TODAY-

 

 

 

 

JULY3:  BJÖRN ABOUT MICHAEL JACKSON´´S DEATH

 

--Bennyand myself ate lunch with his first producer Quincy Jones in the beginning of the 80´s. He had just began to work with Michael Jackson as solo artiste and said: "He will be biggest artiste of the 80´s"

 

 

 

 

 

JULY3:  ABBAWORLD

 

The fprmer ABBA THE MISEUM, now ABBAWORLDprogresses. Over 1.000 original ABBA items are collected. Thet arfe creating around 30 different enviroments where the ABBA story is told chronologically, for ex Polar Studios and backstage.

 

Visitos will also be able toperform with ABBA. The group will bepresented with  hologram projector. The performance will be filmed automatically and one gets the video to home via internet, using yhe code from the entrance ticket. You can send the video of yourself singing with ABBA to friends.

 

So ABBAWORLD will be more an experince house than traditional museum.

 

 

 

 

JULY3:  STORY OF A HEART REVIEWS

 

 

Svenska Dagbladet gives *** of *****. The ctitic is not very keen on compilatrions so the review is rather short.

 

Same points from Barometern.  This critic is not keen on instrumental songs but finds title song and FAIT ACCOMPLI good pure pop songs.

 

3 of 5 poist also from Dagens Nyheter. The ctitics asks why Benny markets his Svenstgoppen music abroad.  And answers that the reason is the same as usually when Benny Andersson does something, becauseit is fun.  It is hard to guess how these songs are taken abroad as they are very Swedish, writes DN.

 

Gefle Dagbladet **** of ***** thinks that Benny wastes  his talentas he is not writing more pop songs. STORY OF A HEART´s title track would have became a bighit with different arrangement and in pop costume.  Now  it is "only" good dance band music which suits for BAO´s repertoire.

 

 

The title track is regarded by Expressen as best song of the CD. Points: *** of *****

 

Hallandsposten,  **** of *****, joins the group of critics who find SOAH as best song of the compilation,

 

 

Change of language works well, writes Metro and gives *** of *****

 

 

The songs loose something when translated into ENglish, says Uppsala Nya Tidning, (*** of *****)

 

 

 

 

JULY3:  CHARTS

 

 

STORY OF A HEART enters number 5 on Swedish album chart.

 

 

 

 

 

 

JUNE 23:  HELEN THE ONLY SWEDISH ARTISTE IN NY

 

 

Benny Andersson tells in Swedish press about plans for KRISTINA after Carnegie Hall.

 

-We take one thing at a time. But what may come out of this is a piece for orchestras and choirs to be performed on different stages for ex in the USA and England. It may  happen that sort of spin-pff takes place.

 

The September concerts are based on KRISTINA workshop in NY two years ago

 

-We did the theatre performance with minor scenery in a rehearsal location to see what we have., and by then we thought it would be interesting to present it musically.

 

After the auditions the creative team realised that Helen Sjöholm has to be involved if there were an English production. The other Swedish artistes are though replaced by American and British singers.

 

 

-We found noone who was even near as good as Helen, so we had to be sure she is willing to to appear, before we decided to go on with the project.  That the other Swedes are not involved is because we want to be as close to English idiom as possible.

 

About the CD recording says Benny:

 

-Actually it is one of the reasons that we do the concerts, to get KRISTINA on record, so that it exist on record in English.

 

Helen Sjöholm says she constantly rehearses the English  lyrics. The Swedish ones sit so deeply in her that must try to get some ofit out of herself to be able  to put  in the new lyrics.

 

Lars Rudolfssonsays that the rather decorated Carnegie Hall suits as place to perform the story poor Swedes. He says that they attempt with simplicity, music, lyrics  and singing to find a way to tell conditions in which  Kristina  and others lived.

 

 

 

JUNE 23:  MORE AGNETHA PICS

 

Again we have added more photos to the Stadshuset gallery.

 

 

 

 

JUNE 22:  MORE AGNETHA PICS

 

We have added more photos to the Stadshuset gallery.

 

 

 

 

 

JUNE 22:  AGNETHA DID NOT PERFORM?

 

 

We have been informed that Agnetha Fältskog was NOT one of the performers at Marianne Bernadotte´s award/birthday gala.

 

 

 

more new Agnetha photos here.

 

 

Happy  Midsummer