Sunday 17 July 2011

Hitkrant, 1979: Is this ABBA’s farewell tour? Stig Anderson confirms rumours

It’s very quiet in the ABBA camp. Björn, Benny, Agnetha and Anni-Frid have withdrawn on their island. They are rehearsing day in and day out, because the biggest tour that ABBA has ever made is right around the corner.

The supergroup from Sweden will visit no less than 35 countries, after the start of the tour in America on September 13. “We have to conquer America now,” says Benny. Because over there ABBA still hasn’t achieved more than a couple of incidental hits. But there are no signs whatsoever of an ABBA mania.

So when reports started appearing in the American media a couple of months ago wherein doubts were expressed if ABBA actually existed in reality, Björn and Benny were furious.
Benny sighs: “We are well-known all over the world, except in America. That has to change now as soon as possible!” That’s why ABBA is working very hard on their repertoire for this tour. Because they are going to show those Americans something else!

But what happens when the tour ends in Dublin on November 15? Will this be ABBA’s last tour? The answers to these questions aren’t that simple. The rumours that this will be the last one are persistent. ABBA will probably continue as a duo.
Allegedly, Björn and Benny are going to retire from the group. They want to concentrate completely on writing and producing. The television performances will then only be done by Agnetha and Anni-Frid.

The most important reason is that the relations in the group are strained. Björn and Agnetha’s divorce didn’t do much good in that respect. The other reason is that writing songs – which is done by Björn and Benny – is getting ever more difficult for them.
A couple of months ago, manager Stig Anderson denied all these rumours, but he isn’t denying them any longer. The only thing he wants to say about it is that there is some truth in all these reports. Either way, the concert in Rotterdam on October 24 might very well turn out to be of a historical value!

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