Oct 1, 2021
They were an iconic band that re-wrote the rules of pop music.
This November, ABBA will release their first studio album in 40
years, Voyage.
And what a voyage it's been! The
band has racked up an astounding 28 UK Top 40 singles since their
breakout moment on Eurovision back in 1974. Two of those
chart-toppers are 2021 singles from their forthcoming album.
According to Billboard, they've sold a half a billion albums during their ‘70s and ‘80s heyday.
If you came of age in the ‘70s,
‘80s, or ‘90s, chances are you had an ABBA record in your
family collection of vinyl or 8 tracks or cassettes or CDs. Their
music has spawned a museum, a hit musical, and a film franchise
with an estimated box office of $1 Billion and counting.
Mamma Mia, here we go again! This
May, ABBA are set to reunite in a very unexpected way.
Digital avatars of Agnetha, Björn, Benny and Anni-Fried will
perform new songs on a reunion tour of sorts, backed by a 10-piece
live band. The groundbreaking Voyage show will
take place in May of 2022
at a custom-built arena in Queen Elizabeth
Olympic Park in London. The cutting-edge ABBA-tars were
designed by Industrial Light and Magic, the special effects outfit
behind Star Wars. Those technical wizards brought together a
massive team of visual effects artists to create a show featuring
ABBA as they looked in their prime back in 1979! Their breakout
back in 1974 was game-changing, so why should their comeback be any
different?
ABBA is big business. And that commercial success has earned them
detractors over the years. But no matter what your feelings are
about ABBA -- and everybody's got feelings about ABBA -- they were
about far more than just “Money Money Money.” They
were among pop music's all-time most successful hitmakers, they
defined an era, and they were innovative technological
trailblazers.
On this show, we’re going to dig into the roots of ABBA's folk
influences, look at the many ways they broke the music industry
mold, and reflect on the scope of their influence and
popularity.
Our guide on this Voyage through ABBA's
career is Carl Magnus Palm. The Swedish writer,
historian, and preeminent ABBA researcher is the author of the
authoritative book Bright
Lights, Dark Shadows: The Real Story of
ABBA.