ABBA are the most successful musical artists in history, after only The Beatles, Elvis Presley and Michael Jackson. They never disbanded, and now the band are getting their own arena in London: a purpose built home for a concert residency, following the release of a new album on 5th November...
A long, successful hiatus…
The Swedish foursome who became a global phenomenon never disbanded but, in 1982, blighted by divorce and tiredness, they went their own ways. There was no Oasis style punch up. Nor was there a melodramatic retreat from the limelight. Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson and Anni-Frid Lyngstad (each multi-millionaires) remained friends. By 2013, they’d had a museum erected in Stockholm, a transatlantic stage musical (running non-stop for 22 years), then two blockbuster mega films, grossing almost $1billion together at the box office. For the past five years, the O2 Arena has been home to a Mamma Mia! party, performing twice daily, and they’ve all been regular guests on radio and television shows, including countless documentaries on their rise to fame.
Time to return…
Announced during a broadcast on Thursday, live from Stockholm and London, 39 years, 11 months and 7 days after the release of The Visitors, Voyage will be ABBA’s ninth studio album. Two singles (I Still Have Faith in You and Don’t Shut Me Down), originally recorded in 2018, came out that evening. In the UK, an arena is being put up in the Olympic Park to house a concert residency featuring songs from the album. This will start in May next year but, too old to perform, it’s their holograms who’ll take to the stage. They’re versions of the ‘old ABBA’, configured with movements of the ‘new ABBA’. Speaking to Fika Online, Swedish journalist Jan Gradvall (who was interviewed live during the launch) said he was “surprised” to hear there was a full album. It’s a fusion that proves this band never ended, and this new music is simply a reinvigoration of a decades-long rule.
This article is a Fika Online exclusive.
Fika 