Mikory's ABBA-blog

"Where can I get the Frida-book?"

I have received several e-mails with the above question. It has been a little difficult to order the book  since most of the pages on the internet offering it were in German. But not anymore! Now it's easy to order your copy of this fantastic tribute to Frida.

Order the Frida-book here!  It's easy to do it and the price is listed in US dollars, and I can really recommend this book.  It's a fantastic tribute to Frida with 156 pages of beautiful photos from here childhood until today. It's written by Jean-Marie Potiez and Philippe Elan, who are, just like me, long-time ABBA-fans. This is a must-have for any ABBA-fan! It is a bilingual book, both in English and German. So what are you waiting for?

From the back cover comes this description: "On the 15th of November 2005, Anni-Frid Lyngstad, known as Frida, celebrated her 60th birthday. She became famous as the brilliant lead singer of some of the best-known songs of one of the most successfull popgroups of all time - ABBA. Hits such as "Fernando", "Money Money Money", "Knowing Me, Knowing You" and "Super Trouper" have become part of the worldwide collective consciousness.

This book is a tribute to Frida and a celebration of her career before, during and after ABBA.

The fascinating story of this talented and enchanting singer is traced through a collection of over 200 photographs, many never seen before. Here we have a photo album which touches on all aspects of the singer - her beauty, her elegance, her charisma - but also those private, relaxed and often funny moments. She is a genuine, talented and courageous woman who has reached the peak of fame while facing and accepting many setbacks in her life.

An important part of the book is of course dedicated to Frida's quite fabulous career with ABBA, including shots with Agnetha, Björn and Benny. But this photographic journey also guide us through the fashion and zeitgeist of the sixties and seventies up to today.

The authors, ABBA-specialists Philippe Elan and Jean-Marie Potiez, have selected the most beautiful photographs from several archives to make "A Tribute to Frida" an absolute gem."

Extreme closeup of Frida

Thanks to a dear friend, Matt, who knows the photographer Wendy James I was given permission to show you all this wonderful closeup of Frida attending the Polar Music Awards earlier in May of this year. Enjoy!

Benny gives the Eurovision schlager a thumbs down

On 3 June, 2006 Benny talked to Aftonbladet about his feelings about the music in the Eurovision Song Contest.

Benny Andersson: There are too many bad songs in the Song Contest of today.

Why does the winners of today last so much shorter? Is more advertising and more tours the answer? No, not if you ask Benny Andersson.

     - The songs are to bad. To well adjusted. To plain. To shallow.

Benny Andersson and ABBA found their way out in the big world after they won the Eurovision Song Contest with "Waterloo". Noone has managed to achieve the same result after winning.

     - I read somewhere that they are concerned about the fact that there is no longevity in the songs from the Song Contest, Benny Andersson says. They are talking about the winner should go on tour to make the song last longer. The simple explanation is that the songs aren't good enough. There hasn't been any good songs in the Eurovision Song Contest for years.

Couldn't you write one yourself to make them better?

     - I think that ship has sailed. Tommy Körberg and I have been joking about the fact that he has competed every 19th year. I said "of course we will write a song for you Tommy the next time (which is next year). I don't know.

So you're not totally against it?

     - No, nothing's impossible. But it has to be something worth competing with. Together with Benny Anderssons Orkester (BAO) he has had some longrunners on Svensktoppen, but Benny will not take all the credit for that.

     - It's unbelieveable. "Du Är Min Man" is a fun and direct song that you might be able to stand for a few weeks, he says. The reason it stayed so long on the chart is because of Helen's (Sjöholms) voice and Björn's lyrics. The lyrics are original but still simple, from a woman's point of view. The willingness she expresses to ignore his little faults. "Du Är Min Man" is also on the new concert record with BAO, which was recorded during last year's summer tour.

BAO did three ABBA-songs on the tour. You didn't think of including them on the CD?

     - No, I didn't. You have to draw the line. It's a lot of fun when we are out there playing. Like a little surprise. But on a CD - no. I don't want to make the claim that these songs are as good as the originals.

Now it's time for Björn and Benny to start working with the ABBA-music again. The veterans are recording the music when a movie is made out of "Mamma Mia!" the musical together with Tom Hanks.

     - Björn and I will be responsible for the music. We will have to begin from scratch. I'm going to ask our old band if they will play on the backgrounds. It's difficult to know how it should sound. Should it be 1970's or 2007?

The musical takes place on a Greek island, and the movie will be filmed in that kind of environment.

     - I have just received the third version of the script. We will have to sit down and adjust the music to the reality of the movie. The music must be ready before they start shooting it.

Are you interested in movies?

     - Yes and no. I don't see enough movies in the movie theatres. I am interested in the media. It would be fantastic if the next project would be a movie.

"Mamma Mia!" has been produced in 130 cities and made 10 billion kronor. That is a lot of money to handle. Recently Skattemyndigheten (tax office) wanted Björn to pay tax for money he has in foreign companies.

     - Well, I'd rather not talk about that, because Björn is my friend. It hasn't been decided if Björn has done anything wrong yet, Benny says. I myself am not involved in that kind of business. I'm a member of the small club who agrees with Mona Sahlin (Swedish minister): It feels good to pay taxes.

So you don't have any plans to move to Monaco then?

     - No I don't. The thing is if you pay a lot of tax it means that you have a lot of money left. I have never understood (rich) people who say that they can't stay in Sweden because they can't afford it. I'm a living example of that's it's very possible.

Agnetha buys new summerhouse

According to Expressen, Agnetha has bought herself a new summer house in fashionable Båstad in the southern part of Sweden. Expressen, of course, refers to it as "Agnetha's love nest" and are insinuating that Agnetha will spend the summer there with Bertil "Bersan" Nordström. The house itself isn't very big, 95 m2 and costs SEK 5,3 million. It's very close to the water so she can go for a swim every morning if she likes.