Abba to reunite and release new music for the first time in 35 years
Swedish pop group ABBA was one of the most commercially successful acts in music, selling more than 400 million records worldwide. They topped the charts from 1974 to 1982, and their smash hit "Dancing Queen" was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. (And it probably just started playing in your head now that I mentioned it. In 1999, their music was adapted into the stage musical Mamma Mia, which toured worldwide, and earned rave reviews.
Their last album was 1981's The Visitors and their last public performance was in 1986. The band never officially broke up, but the four members haven't always gotten along. Benny married Anni-Fried, and Bjorn married Agnetha, but both marriages ended in divorce. In 2014, Agnetha said she was skeptical they'd ever get back together, saying, "We are too old and each one of us has their own life. Too many years have gone by since we stopped, and there's really no meaning in putting us together."
Well, never say never! 35 years after their last album, ABBA has announced that they are reuniting to make new music. On Instagram, they released an official 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!
"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."
This news comes a couple days after Bjorn announced that they're designing virtual representations of the band called "Abbatars." (Of course.) Ever since the 2pac hologram wowed audiences at the Coachella Music Festival, there's been a renewed interested in seeing virtual creations of musical acts. However, they've typically been reserved for artists who passed away. The "Abbatars" will show ABBA as they were in the 1970's, when the group was on top of the world. They are expected to represent the band on a tour in either 2019 or 2020.
In an interview, Bjorn explained the process of being turned into an "Abbatar." "We thought we looked good that year," joked the singer "They photographed us from all possible angles, they made us grimace in front of cameras, they painted dots on our faces, they measured our heads. Apparently a cranium doesn't change with age the way the rest of your body falls apart."
Well, their bodies stay together long enough to record a new album. It's an exciting time for Abba fans.