Hitkrant, 1984: Abbacadabra, a fairy-tale in videoland

In this festive new year's time, the first real ABBA musical 'Abbacadabra' had its premiere at the Lyric Theatre Hammersmith in London. This fairy-like spectacle is part one of Björn and Benny's double project that won't be completed until the spring of 1985. We were in first row.

Björn and Benny are calling 'Abbacadabra' a musical adventure. It's a story about a couple of children playing a video game, in which they have to take a number of characters to the castle of the good fairy, while all of a sudden meeting these fairy-tale figures in reality. To stage this big spectacle, Björn and Benny made an appeal to a number of well-known employees. A familiar face was recruited for the female lead: Elaine Paige, the British girl that was about to give up her singing and acting career for a job as a nurse. When she suddenly succeeded in getting the leading role of Evita in Andrew Lloyd-Webber and Tim Rice's musical, she realised that her future actually was in show business.

Apart from Elaine, B.A. Robertson is playing an important part in 'Abbacadabra' too. Things had been very quiet around this Scottish singer since his 1979 hit record 'Bang Bang'. And except for his striking nose, he actually seemed to be completely forgotten. So he was over the moon when he found out that Björn and Benny were looking for the leading male part in 'Abbacadabra' and they actually had him in mind for the job. I'm sure we won't have to introduce the third eye-catcher in 'Abbacadabra'. Indeed, Finola Hughes is the fantastic dancer John Travolta falls in love with in 'Staying Alive'.
The music for 'Abbacadabra' was composed completely by the magic ABBA composers duo. The repertoire not only consists of well-known ABBA songs but a number of songs have been composed especially for the occasion. Mike Batt was hired for the orchestration of the project. You might recognise his name from Art Garfunkel's beautiful ballad 'Bright Eyes'. The interest for the first few performances of the show in London was overwhelming. That's undoubtedly an encouraging sign for Björn and Benny who now are very busy with their next musical 'Chess' of which a double album is planned to be released in the autumn of 1984. For the live performance of 'Chess' we will have to be patient until early '85. But there's no doubt about it, 'Abbacadabra' and 'Chess' will probably turn out to be extremely successful, just like ABBA's previous projects.

Elaine Paige/'Like An Image Passing By'/Polydor 817 2887
This song was released under the title 'My Love, My Life' on the ABBA album 'Arrival'. Now it is featured in 'Abbacadabra' with adapted lyrics and performed by Elaine Paige. I think it completely falls flat. It's almost a violation of the original version. I wonder what Agnetha - who sings the original version - thinks of this bad cover version.

Bravo, 1984: ABBA musical, Björn and Benny's wonderful chess move

Venue: Merano. The chess world championship between the American and the Russian. The American is accompanied by Florence Vassy, an exile from Hungary and the Russian is accompanied by the KGB delegate Molokov.

Florence and the Russian fall in love with each other during the match, that is eventually won by the Russian. With the world champion title in his pocket he doesn't return to Moskow but he asks for a political asylum in the West...

Second act: chess world championship in Bangkok. The 'traitor' the Russian has to defend his title against the new Russian champion Vilgand.

The American - present at the venue as a TV commentator - tries to win Florence back. Because her love for the Russian is put to the test when he finds out that his wife Svetlana is detained in the Soviet Union.

The end: Vilgand wins the world championship. The Russian and Florence make up their private balance...

That's the plot of the musical Chess that the two ABBA-boys Björn and Benny have written together with the Englishman Tim Rice (Jesus Christ Superstar).

The live world premiere of Chess has already taken place at the end of October - albeit in the shape of a concert performance. In the autumn of 1985 - that's what Björn and Benny are hoping - the chess drama should be staged as a musical in London.

The song 'One Night In Bangkok' from the second act of Chess has already made it onto the charts.

It's being sung by Murray Head. The 39-year-old Englishman is known as a multi-talent. He's a singer, a movie star (Sunday, Bloody Sunday), a composer (among others for Cliff Richard, The Hollies and Roger Daltrey) and a musical star (Hair, Jesus Christ Superstar). The eighteen month long work on Chess has left ABBA as a group more or less checkmate. While the boys realised their dream of writing their own musical, the girls spent time with their families and preparing their own solo projects.

Anni-Frid - she only calls herself Frida nowadays and she lives in Paris - has already released her second solo album 'Shine'.

Agnetha is still working on her new album in Stockholm, that should be released in the spring. Nonetheless, Björn and Benny don't rule out the possibility that there will be a new album with all four ABBA members at some point in the future. But this won't be in the near future. At least that's what Björn said in our Bravo interview.

Björn: "The whole year 1985 Benny and I will be busy staging Chess. We are hoping the same people as on the record will participate: Murray Head as the American, Tommy Körberg as the Russian, Elaine Paige as Florence, Barbara Dickson as Svetlana and Dennis Quilley as Molokov."

Bravo: What gave you the idea for Chess?

Björn: "We met Tim Rice for the first time at the end of 1981. One year later, it was clear that we were going to write a musical together. We already decided on Tim's concept when we started writing in 1983. From October '83 until September '84 we worked on the recordings in the ABBA studio."

Bravo: Do you actually know how to play chess?

Björn: "I don't, but Benny does."

Bravo: Will there be a German version of Chess?

Björn: "If there is going to be a translation at all, I believe the German version will be the first one."

Bravo: Could you imagine playing a part in the musical on stage?

Björn: "No, for God's sake. The only thing I can imagine is being in the audience and watch the show."

Bravo: Actually we could have conducted this interview in German.

Björn: "Yes, when you speak slowly, I can understand you in German as well."

Hitkrant, 1984: Chess album review / Nobody’s Side single review

Various artists/‘Chess’/RCA 70500(2)
Together with lyric writer Tim Rice (among others Evita), ABBA’s Björn and Benny spent two and a half years working on their musical dream: the musical ‘Chess’. It’s plain to hear, because on the album (better than the live performance that I saw), everything comes across perfectly. However, the music on this album needs to grow. It’s a record that you really have to absorb a couple of times before you learn to appreciate it. After a few listens, you really get convinced that the gentlemen have done it again: melodies that will last, beautiful orchestrations and excellent performances, especially by singer Elaine Paige.
However, I have one side note: it’s a pity that Björn and Benny have sacrificed their own style to some extent to make this musical. Lyric writer Tim Rice definitely deserves a compliment. ‘Chess’ is the story of a political and romantic game of chess. An excellent subject for a musical. For the many ABBA-fans, this gigantic piece of work will definitely be hard to swallow, but you’d better grin and bear it, because ‘Chess’ contains exquisite pieces of music.

Elaine Paige/‘Nobody’s Side’/RCA PB-68241
Full of inspiration, the tiny Elaine Paige (provided with a big voice) sings this song from the musical Chess, backed by a ‘pop’ choir. This song, composed by ABBA’s Björn and Benny, is still fairly accessible and therefore it could very well become a hit.

ABBA Info, November 1984: Frida in Holland again

Here’s a report from a Dutch fan magazine about Frida’s promotional visit to Holland in October 1984. It also includes an interview with Frida that shows that she was still full of plans at the time, considering a new album and even a tour.

For the second time in one month, Frida arrived at Schiphol Airport. We were at the airport very early and later on, we saw some other fans. Frida arrived at five minutes to eleven. When she saw us (we were waving at her) she walked up to us leisurely and gave Görel and Jan Bakema (Polydor) a sign that they had to wait for the suitcases. Of course, we walked to the door as quickly as possible but Frida thought it was better to stand in the middle of the hall so that we wouldn’t bother anyone. We gave Frida some flowers and took our time to take pictures. Meanwhile, we talked a little about ‘Shine’ and about several other artists. We gave her a compliment for her appearance on Met Mike In Zee in Belgium. Frida was rather surprised that we had seen it. Frida told us that she had been listening to Sade on the plane, on her walkman. She also told us that she had just got back from America where she had been with Hans and Liselotte.
Frida asked us if we didn’t have to go to school because it was an ordinary weekday (Tuesday October 9). When we told her that all of us were terribly sick, she laughed in her familiar way. We were fortunate that it took quite some time before the suitcases arrived. Therefore, we could talk to her in a relaxed manner about for instance Cyndi Lauper, of whom she thought ‘Time After Time’ was a very good song, about Chicago that she loved to listen to and about Sade, the singer who, as Frida explained, brought back some of the old jazz music for the first time in many years. The jazz music that was the start of Frida’s long career as an artist.

Finally, Görel and Jan joined us. Of course, we had flowers for Görel as well and when we gave her a nice bouquet later that same day, she whispered in our ear: “That’s the reason why we come back to Holland time and time again, those flowers are so beautiful!”
Görel was dragging around a strange long bag. When we made a joke about it and asked whether she was planning to play some golf, she smiled and told us that it wasn’t her bag, but Frida’s. For that matter, in the bag was the instrument that has to provide new songs for Frida’s next album.
That’s right, Frida’s own keyboard that lays the foundation of her songs. We didn’t hear any complaints from the hotel, but it’s certain that she had been playing it for a while. The suitcases in the car, the flowers on the hat stand, the collars wrapped tight around the necks, since it was a typical Dutch rainy day, and Frida was off to Rotterdam.
We travelled along with Frida in our car. Headed for the Ahoy venue in Rotterdam where the rehearsals for the Platengala would take place in the afternoon.
The security of the Ahoy knew that we were coming so there were no problems getting in. Luckily, the same went for the other fans who were waiting in the hall. Frida had walked by already but when she realised she had already missed the first rehearsal, she went to the hotel first to put away all her stuff. After that, she came back to the Ahoy venue where she was welcomed extensively by the AVRO people who were taking care of all the proceedings.

Frida had just arrived when they started preparing her rehearsal. We were allowed to get into the hall and we picked a spot in front of the stage so that we could take good pictures and wouldn’t have to miss anything. Frida gave the impression that she was freezing since she had her hands tucked away in her dark blue suit. The scarf she was wearing was appropriately coloured in dark blue (to go with her suit) and red (the same as her hair). Matched with blue glasses and some jewellery, Frida was a remarkable appearance between all these technicians and artists in jeans. The rehearsal went very smoothly, actually it was only a test for the sound and lights, because Frida said she would put on more of a show tomorrow and walk around the stage more. This was immediately briefed to the cameramen by the floor manager who informed Frida about the plans for the show, the camera positions and so forth. The first song ‘Shine’ would be filmed from a wide angle and ‘Come To Me’ with Frida in close-up. A decision that would have some consequences for the recordings the next evening.
As usual, Frida walked up to Görel immediately after the rehearsal to discuss the performance. Görel gave some more suggestions and pointed Frida to the fact that there would be a lot of people sitting behind the stage as well. We followed Frida on her way to the dressing room. Thanks to Jan Bakema, who asked Frida if she had some time for her fans and the fan club, we could go with her to the artists’ lounge where we could sit cosily around a table with a group of about twelve people, take a drink and have a chat. As usual, Frida made a very relaxed impression and she apparently felt at ease. On the next pages, you can read what we talked about. But first, some quotes from Frida, taken from a Swedish interview with the magazine Revyn on the occasion of the release of her new album.

“The events in my childhood were some of my strongest driving forces when I was young. After all, insecurity doesn’t disappear just because you are successful. It’s only now that I’m starting to enjoy myself and I can be myself.”
“My hair is now extremely red, the stuff that I put into it is called ‘Crazy Colour’ and the colour is called ‘Fire’.”
“I started to write songs because Phil told me to. He said, if others can do it, you can do it as well. I wrote about ten songs by now. I might have a talent for this after all.”
“Going to concerts is too time-consuming for me. I’d rather listen to records at a high volume.”
“The most expensive garment was a sable fur coat that cost about 60.000 Dutch guilders. That’s quite a price. I can’t describe a typical day from my life. There are no typical days for me. Sometimes I work in a very disciplined manner for four or five hours a day, when I’m filming a video it’s totally different. On other days, I like to be lazy. Meet people or read good books. Most of the time, I read in English to keep that up. I also read trade magazines like The Business World.”
“My musical dream is a new album with ABBA. That could turn out to be a big surprise, since we all have new experiences now. It’s a dream!”

In the artists’ lounge of the Ahoy venue, we talked to an admirable woman about her new album, the fans and herself.

Can you explain how you feel now, after the recording of ‘Shine’, because so much has changed since ‘Something’s Going On’.
Frida: “I’m exhausted.”
Why?
Frida: “No, I feel fine. The album represents exactly the direction of music that I was looking for. I had something special in mind and I’ve found it.”
You wanted the album to turn out like this?
Frida: “I’ve tried to enhance my music and put some more rock ‘n’ roll into it. That’s the direction I was looking for and the plan was that I would see where we would end up. When I’m going to record my next album, it will probably be produced by Steve again. We have a lot to give to each other.”
Steve said almost the same thing at the Polar Studios, that you inspired each other a great deal.
Frida: “Yes, that’s definitely true.”
It just clicked.
Frida: “Yes, it all felt very natural from the start and we had a great time in the studio. However, Steve wasn’t the only one I worked with in the studio. The others have helped me a lot too. We had so much fun together and that gave me a boost. They deviated from the schedule and weren’t afraid to try something new.”
Maybe because they were so young.
Frida: “Yes, and because they don’t have that musical tradition like older musicians who have been working in the music business for years”
Don’t you have that problem after twelve years with ABBA? After all, you have chosen a completely different musical direction.
Frida: “No, Benny and Björn wrote our songs and our sound was created by them. I have always loved to listen to other music as well. I’ve had my own musical taste for ages.”
First it was jazz, now it’s rock ‘n’ roll.
Frida: “Yes, rock ‘n’ roll mixed with jazz, because I feel that music always comes back, we go around in circles. Music always goes back to its roots. I notice that young people feel that too. The old styles of music are mixing again, that’s exactly what I want as well.”
So there won’t be a real jazz album by Frida.
Frida: “No, those times are gone.”
What do you think about the fact that most articles about you first and foremost are about ABBA and only the last few lines about you?
Frida: “Yes, they all do that. But I think it’s impossible to get rid of your past. I will always carry ABBA with me. And I don’t mind that either. Two years ago, I started out as a solo artist and I’ve worked with ABBA for twelve years. Things don’t happen that fast. I have to be patient.”
What you are doing at the moment is completely different from ABBA, yet they keep calling you Frida from ABBA.
Frida: “Yes, true. But they also say Benny and Björn from ABBA and Agnetha from ABBA.”
You mean that we can now read about the ‘ABBA’ musical Chess?
Frida: “Exactly, and ABBA has nothing to do with it. It’s Benny, Björn and Tim Rice but I think we’ll have to get used to it. And ABBA has meant a great deal to me, so I don’t mind. For that matter, ABBA still means a great deal to me.”
At Schiphol Airport, you told us that ‘Twist In The Dark’ was your favourite song from the album. Why that song?
Frida: “I think it’s a very dramatic song. It comes from the inside and I feel very strongly for that song. It sounds a bit ordinary, but that’s why I think the song is so good.”
So there will be more songs like that on your next album?
Frida: “Yes, I think I will be heading in that direction.”
You wrote ‘Don’t Do It’ yourself, a very quiet number, and ‘That’s Tough’, a tougher track. Will there be more of your own songs on the next album?
Frida: “I hope so, I don’t know yet.”
Is that the reason why you brought your keyboard along?
Frida: “Yes, I’ve been in America for a week and you get so much inspiration when you listen to the radio over there. They have a special kind of music there, it’s more rock ‘n’ roll. You rarely hear it here in Europe. It gave me a kick and when I got back home, I started writing. I started yesterday.”
And?
Frida: “Yes, I have a melody already.”
How do you usually start out?
Frida: “Just with the melody. First, I record my voice on a tape, so that’s only the singing and then I work with my keyboard.”
When did you start playing the keyboard?
Frida: “Two years ago. Haha, no, I played the piano when I was ten, just like everybody else.”
Well, I can’t play.
Frida: “Well, almost like everybody else then. I started when I was ten years old and I was quite good at it. But when you haven’t played for such a long time, you have to learn how to play all over again and get used to it.”
Obviously, there are so many possibilities with a keyboard.
Frida: “Oh yes, all you have to do is push a button and you have a melody.”
Some groups make their music like that.
Frida: “Yes, but that makes it a bit too easy. When you are composing, it’s better when you don’t have to think about everything. And you don’t have that problem when you are singing and playing the keyboard. After that, I go into the studio and record a demo of the song, to see if it’s any good. Whether it’s good or bad.”
Do you ask for the opinion of other people?
Frida: “No, because with this album there were so many people involved who all had their own opinion. That can be very confusing, so I stopped doing that and did exactly what I wanted to do myself. That’s actually the only way to do it.”
What do you think about the fact that you’re back in the same hall after five years?
Frida: “To be honest, I don’t really remember, haha. But I know that we’ve been here to perform, but you know, all these arenas are the same. When you have seen one, you’ve seen them all.”
Isn’t it strange to wake up, not knowing where you are?
Frida: “Well, it’s not that bad. I always know in which city I am, but I don’t know exactly in which hall or arena I’m performing.”
Do you remember MIES, the show that you did two years ago?
Frida: “Yes, I remember, that show was great fun with a lot of enthusiastic fans. I guess it will be more difficult for you tomorrow in that big hall with 7000 people. But when you start screaming, the rest of the audience might join you or something like that. But I want to hear you tomorrow night!”
What’s the deal with ‘Shine’ in America?
Frida: “The album hasn’t been released over there. They don’t think it’s good. They don’t want to release it. Probably, it’s because the album isn’t really American, it’s more British oriented. We are now considering to record a special single, only for the American market and then see what happens. If they want it, we can still release ‘Shine’.”
Does it bother you that the Americans didn’t take to the album?
Frida: “No, I don’t mind. For the time being, Europe is enough for me. I’m not aiming for the kind of success that we had with ABBA. That’s far too much work. I want to do it at my own pace and I don’t want to travel too much. I want to concentrate more on Europe than America. Lately, I’ve been thinking about doing a tour in Europe, not too big, not too many gigs.”
Görel: “She’s even thinking very hard about it!”
Frida: “I would love to do a tour, but first I would like to record another album and that depends on Steve’s time schedule. Maybe we will record the album in Paris again or London, but I think that we will end up in the Polar Studios because Steve likes them very much.”
By the way, the video for ‘Shine’ was very good!
Frida: “Thanks, I worked on it for three days. Twelve hours. The rest of the crew worked on it day and night. So I was pretty lazy. We have also filmed a video for ‘Twist In The Dark’. I think that’s the best one.”

Muziek Expres, 1984: Shine album review

A (very) short review of Frida’s second international album Shine from Dutch magazine Muziek Expres.

With a producer like Steve Lillywhite and musicians from young groups like, for instance, Big Country, it isn’t surprising that Frida’s album ‘Shine’ sounds extremely contemporary. Concerning content, it’s a mixture of solid rock songs and sensitive ballads.
The track ‘Slowly’ was written by Björn and Benny, but for the rest, the album doesn’t sound like ABBA in any way. Frida has chosen her own path and we can only compliment her with that.

Hitkrant, October 1984: “Tim Rice saved us from unemployment”

This article appeared in Dutch magazine Hitkrant in October 1984, shortly before the Chess album was released. Later that month the musical would be introduced through five live concerts in big European cities, starting in London on October 27.
“The future of ABBA is indeed very unsure,” Benny Andersson confesses. “One thing is indisputable though: nothing and no one can separate me from Björn. Especially since we’ve found the ideal lyricist for a genuine rock-musical.” The male half of ABBA reveals its big plans.

Just like Frida, Björn and Benny are hesitant to speak their minds about ABBA’s future as well. “Nothing is certain,” the bearded pianist smiles. “I think all four of us would love to work together again, but it’s practically an impossible task to get the four of us together in the studio at the same time in the near future. We are all extremely busy with our own projects. For the time being, there are no ABBA-recordings or concerts planned until the end of 1985, but the fact that Agnetha has started her own production company doesn’t mean that the group is now permanently a thing of the past.”
It’s clear why we haven’t heard anything from the Swedish foursome for more than two years already.
“When we had just completed the recordings for the “Visitors” album, we met Tim Rice rather by coincidence,” Björn explains. “His Jesus Christ Superstar and Evita have always been our favourite musicals, together with West Side Story. That’s why we felt extremely flattered when he suggested that we’d compose the music for his brand new project. On top of that, we were a little tired of the ABBA-formula. You might say that Tim has saved us from unemployment.”
Tim, Björn and Benny worked on Chess for two years without interruption. “The musical is the story about a couple of chess players,” Tim Rice explains. “Except for being an entrenched cricket fanatic, I’m a passionate chess player as well. I’m a very mediocre player myself, but when the American Fischer and the Russian Spasski clashed with each other for the world championship in 1972, I came under the spell of that game in such a way that I decided then and there that at some point in the future I would write a musical with a sportsmanlike East-West confrontation as its subject.”

Chess has become an extremely expensive project. “The recording alone has cost about 400.000 dollars,” Benny says, “and we don’t even dare to think about what it will cost to let the stage play travel around the world in one year’s time. That’s why we’re very happy that the Swedish automobile giant Saab has come to our aid to finance the try-outs that will take place in five big European cities at the end of this month. Chess was tied to the promotional campaign regarding the latest Saab automobile. I can assure you that there wouldn’t have been any talk of a collaboration if a new combat plane had been on the stocks.”
The musical is yet another example of Björn and Benny’s craftsmanship. “We complement each other perfectly,” Björn says. “Benny is the dreamer, the creative spirit who is occupied with his music continuously. I’m far more down to earth. Still, I want to get rid of that ‘clever businessman’ reputation. With the lyrics of most ABBA-songs I think I have proved that I’m a true artist as well. Benny and I still get along extremely well and with Chess we hope we can prove that we have more to offer than nice three-minute pop songs. I think we will succeed at that with performers such as Elaine Paige, Murray Head and the well-known English top actor Dennis Quilley. Obviously it’s unsure whether Chess will be just as successful as the ABBA-records, but Benny and I won’t lose a night’s sleep over that.”

Hitkrant, 1984: Frida suddenly fell into the arms of her ex-husband

A report about Björn, Benny and Frida having a reunion of sorts when they met each other in Holland in October 1984 while performing on the same television show.
After the rehearsals for the Platengala at the Ahoy’ in Rotterdam, a very affectionate reunion between three of the four ABBA-members took place. Frida as well as Björn and Benny had to perform in the television programme. Benny and Björn were there with lyricist Tim Rice and the principal character from ‘Chess’, Elaine Paige, and Frida was there by herself. She sang a couple of songs from her new solo album. It became very clear that there definitely isn’t any rancour between Frida and Björn and Benny when Frida fell into the arms of her (ex?)-colleagues.
Björn wanted Frida to tell him exactly how it is to live in London. Björn and his new wife Lena are planning to move to the British capital in the very near future. Ultimately, Björn still thought he had to give away a very large percentage of his hard-earned money to the Swedish taxes, therefore he will move to England from his much-loved Sweden before too long.

Studio, 1984: Frida solo again (Shine album review)

Anni-Frid Lyngstad, ABBA’s brunette, has recorded her second solo album, ‘Shine’. It’s very different from the first one and that probably has a lot to do with the fact that that one was produced by Phil Collins and this one by Steve Lillywhite. The latter already has an impressive string of productions credited to his name, with artists such as U2, Simple Minds, Ultravox, Peter Gabriel and Siouxsie & The Banshees. Lillywhite’s influence is clearly audible and sees to it that this record doesn’t remind one of the first album at all and much less of ABBA, except for the one song that Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus contributed to this album.
‘Shine’ is a bad album, despite all the efforts that have been made on the production and the hard work in the studio. It turns out that Frida doesn’t have enough vocal personality to take on a project like this. It takes more to do a solo album than participating in a group.
On the other hand, the press release that accompanies the album does offer some interesting information. It says (for those who didn’t know already) that Anni-Frid was born in 1945 from a relationship between a Norwegian woman and an officer from the German occupying force. When the war ended, her father returned to Germany and her mother died in the confinement bed, whereupon her grandmother moved to Sweden with her. You can wonder whether this had anything to do with the fact that her background was rather controversial in Norway, right after the war. This made Anni-Frid one of the many people whose life was scarred by the tragedy of World War II. It didn’t stop her from building a career as a singer at a very young age. A career that apparently has had its peak.

Story, 1984: Frida is putting ABBA's comeback to a standstill

This article was published in Dutch gossip magazine Story, shortly after Björn, Benny and Frida had appeared at the Dutch Platengala.

“It’s not over yet for ABBA,” is what Björn and Benny are saying. According to the men there will be a new ABBA-album eventually. The biggest obstacle however is Frida. She seems to be the spoil-sport.

“Officially, we never put an end to ABBA. At some point in the future, we will release an album again,” according to Björn Ulvaeus.
Benny Andersson adds to that: “I think that ABBA will be heard of again in one or two years time. It also depends on Agnetha and Frida’s solo careers.”
By saying that, Benny touches upon the big obstacle, however without saying it clearly. Frida seems to be the spoil-sport. She’s putting an ABBA comeback to a standstill.
“Because Frida is living in London, we’re not in touch with her very often,” says Benny, her former husband. “It’s so much fun to run into her once again here in Holland. But unfortunately these occasions are very rare. On the other hand, we see much more of Agnetha. At least three times a week. Of course that’s due to the fact that she remained living in Sweden.”
Apart from that, the blonde singer’s solo career didn’t take off as successfully as Frida’s. The latter has a lot of success with her solo records and therefore doesn’t feel the need to take up the thread of ABBA again.
“No doubt it will happen at some point,” Frida confirms. “ABBA has never been dissolved officially. We didn’t feel the need to do that. However, at the moment I’m far too busy with my own career. That’s the most important thing for me now. Apart from that, I’m having a great time in London. ABBA is not very important for me at the moment.”

In all honesty, it has to be said that Björn and Benny are far from occupying themselves with ABBA these days. They’d rather talk about ‘Chess’, the musical they have written. They are very curious how the general public will take to this new project, that will have its premiere in 1985. “Maybe our lives will take a different turn because of ‘Chess’,” says Björn, as if he is carefully trying to suggest the end of ABBA. “Maybe ‘Chess’ will be the first incentive to even more musicals, who knows. When it comes to Benny and me, we’d love to. Actually, there’s nothing we’d rather do than writing and composing. We’re enjoying working in the studio much more than performing. But obviously we’ll have to wait and see which fate awaits ‘Chess’.”
Not without reason, the ABBA-men decided to have their first try-out in Amsterdam recently. “Holland has always been very important to us,” according to both Swedes. “We’ve had many hits here with ABBA. Every time that a record became a success in Holland, we knew we could release it elsewhere in the world with confidence. The Dutch audience has very good taste and isn’t afraid to give their opinion. Indeed, we’re not the only international artists who think this way about you Dutchmen. There are several others who give their record a try in Holland first. If we ever will continue with ABBA again, you will undoubtedly be the first ones to know about it.”

Studio, June 1984: ABBA The Movie on TV

A Dutch TV guide announcement of the broadcast of ABBA - The Movie.
Although ABBA officially still exists, there hasn’t been any group activity for a considerable amount of time. Together with Tim Rice, Björn and Benny are working on the musical Chess, that should be finished in January. In Paris, Frida has just completed the recordings for her second solo album, produced by Steve Lillywhite who also worked with U2, Big Country, Simple Minds and Joan Armatrading, among others. The album will be released in September. In the near future, Agnetha will start working on a second album, probably with 10CC’s Eric Stewart as her producer.
Whether the four will ever do something together again as ABBA remains a big question mark. How things were going in ABBA’s glory days can be seen once again coming Saturday in ABBA – The Movie. For the most part, this movie is a report of an Australian tour of the group in early 1977. In the middle of the concert footage, among which a gigantic open air performance in Sydney, there’s a little storyline about a reporter who wants to interview the group time and time again, but always shows up just a bit too late. Apart from that, first and foremost a lot of ABBA-hits.

Veronica, 1984: Platengala with many stars

A small article from Veronica magazine about the Dutch Platengala (at the time this was an annual event, promoting the record industry). Björn and Benny were there to promote Chess and Frida to promote her album Shine.
The recent Platengala attracted many international artists to our country. Especially the attendance of the Everly Brothers turned out to be a highlight of the evening.
The same could be said of Elaine Paige, a leading character from the ‘ABBA’ musical Chess. Also due to the fact that the composers of the musical, Björn and Benny from ABBA, had come to the gala, and ABBA-singer Frida did a solo performance, an extra sparkle was added to the evening. The ABBA-trio was only missing Agnetha. ABBA’s record company did go through some trouble to get the missing ABBA-member to Holland. Unfortunately, they didn’t succeed. You will be able to see Elaine Paige live on October 29 at the Concerthouse in Amsterdam. There she will be the star in the musical Chess.

Muziek Expres, 1984: Agnetha is leaving ABBA

Actually, ABBA has not existed as a group for a long time now. Only in name, but the members of ABBA have been going their separate ways for quite some time. Björn and Benny as a writers duo and Agnetha and Frida as solo singers. Recently, the blonde Agnetha has said goodbye to the group officially.
“I want to concentrate even more on my own career,” according to the comment of the 34-year-old singer. “Apart from that, I’m becoming increasingly aware of the fact that I’m still regarded as a ‘piece of ABBA’. And I want to get rid of that. I’m simply an independent, working woman. Someone who wants to shape her own course. And ABBA prevented me from doing that.”
Indeed, when her career is concerned, everything is going Agnetha’s way. From her solo album ‘Wrap Your Arms Around Me’, almost one and a half million copies were sold all around the world! Not a bad ‘start’...

Pop Foto, 1984: There's one thing that Frida will never forget

Fans don’t often get the opportunity to acquire an autograph from their idol. Superstars simply are getting protected around the clock and therefore are unapproachable most of the time.
However, in every country that she visits, Frida always takes the time to have a chat with them.
“That’s obvious, isn’t it?”, the singer told Pop Foto. “When I arrived at Schiphol airport this morning, so many enthusiastic people were waiting for me with flowers and presents! I still think that’s a lovely sight. Apart from that, these are the people who make sure that I’m successful at what I do, and an artist, no matter how famous, should never forget that!”

Hitkrant, 1984: Shine single and album review

Reviews of Frida's Shine single and album from Dutch magazine Hitkrant. The single was very well received with a rating of 4 out of 5. The album review was considerably less positive.
Frida/‘Shine’/Polydor 881 282-7
Yet again, this is a completely different Frida than the Frida we’ve come to know from her previous solo album, produced by Phil Collins. A delightful rock-song, written by Guy Fletcher, among others, and produced by Steve Lillywhite. Kirsty McColl is singing along on backing vocals. A very contemporary, danceable track, sung with attitude. I’m very curious about the album.

Frida/‘Shine’/Polydor 823 580-1

With clenched fists, Frida is portrayed on the album sleeve; with her new solo album and her new producer, Frida apparently wants to prove that she has kept up to date. Actually, she underlined that already with the single ‘Shine’, the title-track. ‘Shine’ is a delightful rocker, sung with attitude. I wish she had sung the rest of the album like that! Unfortunately, on the contrary. Of course, Frida is certainly not a bad singer. She has a recognizable tone of voice that stands apart, but on ‘Shine’ her singing is generally very whimpering and whining. Of course the songs are to blame as well. There are nice songs on the album, especially ‘Slowly’ by Björn and Benny, a song with beautiful lyrics, that are tailor-made for Frida. The rocker ‘Chemistry Tonight’ by Simon Climie and Peter Glenister has some spunk as well. For the rest, the album is very disappointing to me. I think especially side 2, that contains slow, almost tiresome songs, is bad. It's a shame, it could have been so good. After all, a lot of big names have collaborated on the album, that was recorded in Paris. The fans will probably not thank me for this, but I can’t make it any better than it is. This really isn’t a first class album. Perhaps Frida should act a little less modern.

De Telegraaf, 1984: Chess needs a lot of finetuning

A Dutch newspaper report about the Chess concert performance at the Amsterdam Concerthouse.
Because Benny Andersson, Tim Rice and Björn Ulvaeus obviously had seen it coming that the old saying ‘let the cobbler stick to his last’ would be the main focus of all criticism, at the concert performance of their musical Chess they explicitly chose the position of underdog.

That’s how Rice addressed the owner of the car with licence plate this or that with the request to remove his car, “coincidentally the brand name of our sponsor”, from the entrance of the Concerthouse.
All three of the multi-millionaires sang an off-key song, in which they swore to be willing to kill for “merchandising”. In the end, Ulvaeus confessed that tonight was actually all about the Swedish entry for the 1985 Eurovision Song Contest.
All of this, to make the mortuary atmosphere in the Concerthouse, created by an unusual mixture of guests and people who had been willing to pay 75 Dutch guilders for a ticket, just a little less solemn.
With so much exuberantly displayed modesty, the very heavy character of Chess was even more conspicuous than it had already been on the album, but on the other hand it was also notable that pretensions and ambitions could be fulfilled for the most part.
Even in the static concert performance – it won’t be a genuine stage play until next year – Chess was an impressing spectacle, almost perfectly executed by the full London Symphony Orchestra, a band, two choirs and soloists such as Murray Head, Elaine Paige and the Swedish opera singer Tommy Körberg, who claimed the applause for the most part.

Rice, Andersson and Ulvaeus are all notorious perfectionists, but in the interaction between 233 (!) individuals, just enough tiny things went wrong to turn the concert performance of Chess into a job done by actual people, distinctly much more lively, and especially with much more warmth than the version on the perfect, but almost produced to death double album.

In the concert performance, the genuinely terrifying thin storyline about Russian and American chess players and their political and amorous motivations wasn’t all that obvious, but for West End and Broadway, Chess needs an awful lot of finetuning to turn it into a real musical.
But anyone who knows the “Track Record” of its creators, has no doubt whatsoever that Chess will eventually get there.

Limburgs Dagblad, October 1984: Frida - free from ABBA - is rocking better than ever!

In the old days, it used to be practically impossible to rope one of the members of the group ABBA in for an interview, these days it’s a piece of cake. Ever since Agnetha and Frida are musically on their own feet, they travel all around Europe to advertise their product personally. Therefore, Frida was in our country a few weeks ago. A conversation with Frida passes off rather formal. She restricts herself to short answers and cleverly manages to leave most questions about her personal matters unanswered.

The thing that she does want to talk about is her new album. This time, the album was produced by the well-known producer Steve Lillywhite, known for his productions with U2, Simple Minds, XTC, Big Country and Peter Gabriel. Indeed, an album that differs considerably from the previous one ‘Something’s Going On’, that was produced by Phil Collins, although both producers prefer a powerful drum-sound. From this, it becomes very clear how big the input of the producer is and how relatively small Frida’s own part actually is. Although the singer herself has a different opinion.

She explains that she has been involved from start to finish in the choice of the song material and for the rest everything proceeds in good consultation with the producer concerned. Obviously, it’s true that a really good producer puts his stamp upon the product, but it can’t come to the point where the album is saying more about the producer concerned than about the singer who actually should be the centre of attention. But fact is that both the first album as well as now this new album are extremely successful. Just how much this is due to Frida’s reputation as an ABBA-singer will probably always remain a question mark. And fair is fair, as Frida is getting older and breaking away more and more from the ABBA-genre, she is rocking better than ever.

The album contains ten tracks that are versatile in composition, due to the fact that various people are responsible for the music. On the album, there are songs by, among others, Chris Rea, Guy Fletcher, Kirsty McColl (Steve Lillywhite’s wife), Stuart Adamson (Big Country frontman), a song written by Frida herself as well as a track by ABBA-colleagues Björn and Benny. The album was recorded at the Studios de la Grande Armée in Paris.
Frida explains that she actually would have loved to have continued with Phil Collins, but as it turned out, he didn’t have time for her. She admits to having been a bit disappointed by that, but everything turned out well in the end. Her manager sent her a couple of records produced by Steve Lillywhite, among them one by Joan Armatrading, and Frida was impressed by them. Also on a personal level, the singer and the success-producer, who is ten years younger, hitted it off.

Anni-Frid Lyngstad was born in 1945 in the Norwegian town Narvik. Her mother died soon after she was born and her father, a German officer, returned to his native country immediately after the war. A few years ago, Frida met him for the first time, but “then it was too late as far as I’m concerned”, according to Frida. She was raised by her grandparents, who moved with her to Eskilstuna in the North of Sweden. She chose music as her profession and found herself in Bengt Sandlunds Big Band. There she met Ragnar Fredriksson, whom she married and later on she started the band Anni-Frid Four with him.

Marriage, motherhood and musical aspirations were hard to combine and this resulted in her first divorce and the end of Anni-Frid Four as well. At the end of the sixties, she met Benny Andersson, who was a pianist with the at the time extremely successful group the Hep Stars, at a club in Swedish Malmö. They started an affair. Meanwhile, Benny was writing music together with Björn Ulvaeus, who played with another Swedish top-group, the Hootenanny Singers. They contacted manager Stig Anderson and he suggested that Björn and Benny’s music needed female singers. What was more natural than ask both girlfriends. This is how ABBA came to be.

At the moment, Frida still says that she doesn’t know whether or not ABBA still exists. She leaves open the possibility of recording an album at some point in the future. In any case, the group definitely needed a break, also in view of the problems between the band-members on a personal level. Frida and Agnetha rushed into a solo career and Björn and Benny wrote the musical Chess together with the extremely successful Tim ‘Evita’ Rice. This musical will have its premiere in London at the end of 1985, but the complete London Symphony Orchestra, together with a rock-group, a choir and a couple of solo vocalists, among them Murray Head, will venture on a short tour, starting this Saturday in London, then coming to Paris on Sunday, arriving in Amsterdam on Monday October 29 and then subsequently via Hamburg going to Stockholm. A gigantic production.

In conclusion, Frida says to be very impressed by this musical by her colleagues Björn and Benny. We can convince ourselves at the end of this month by going to the Amsterdam Concerthouse or simply by buying the soundtrack that will be released at the end of this month as well.

Muziek Expres, 1984: Why is Phil Collins letting Frida down?

Whenever he’s not on stage himself, musical wizzard Phil Collins is always willing to help out other artists in the studio. But recently it all got too much, even for Phil, and ABBA’s Frida became a victim of that.

“If you only knew how much I regret that I don’t have the time to produce Frida’s second solo album...!”
Phil Collins emphasizes his words with a sad look in his eyes. “I don't mind confessing that I thought it was amazing to help her out on ‘Something’s Going On’. And I was very satisfied with the result as well. Yes, Frida and I had quite a party when it turned out that her first solo album dropped like a bomb! And when she asked me if I wanted to work on her upcoming album as well, I’ve tried to put everything aside for that. But unfortunately, it’s impossible for me to take part this time. A big disappointment for both of us, because we are very fond of each other and our collaboration went very smoothly. But you can’t have it both ways, can you? As it is, I make music myself as well, with Genesis and of course as a solo artist.”
Phil takes a deep breath and then continues: “I’ve just finished an extensive American tour with Genesis and at the moment I’m producing Eric Clapton’s new album. And right now I’m very busy with my new solo album that will probably be released this year.”
Again, we hear a weary sigh from Phil, but then he suddenly concludes briskly: “Yes, I’m a very busy man. If I wasn’t going bald already, my hair would turn grey, hahaha!”

Veronica, 1984: Benny sweet to Frida

The ABBA-members don’t see much of each other lately. The separate members are working on solo-projects at the moment and that’s why it definitely was a coincidence that three-quarters of ABBA met each other during the Platengala of the Platen-10-daagse foundation.

Benny and Frida greeted each other very exuberantly and by doing that, they indicated that the divorce between Frida and Benny was an amicable one. Benny was even excessively sweet to Frida. Does this mean a reconciliation between the two ABBA-members?

We asked Björn. He said: “Benny and Frida are getting along really well lately. Still, I don’t believe they will ever get back together again. Just like I would never remarry Agnetha.”

Pop Foto, November 1984: Doesn't Frida have any dreams left?

When all your wishes in your life have become true, what’s left to wish for? “Simply lead a quiet life,” is what Frida thinks. “And every now and then go into the recording studio to record an album.” But when you look into the bottom of her heart, the ABBA-singer still has one big wish.

Frida clears her throat when we ask her what’s in store for ABBA. Can we expect another album, are there any plans for a farewell tour? “I can only speak for myself,” she starts. “When it comes to Björn, Benny and Agnetha, I really don’t know. We rarely see each other nowadays. I would love to record another album with them, but now Agnetha has left the group, that’s really out of the question. It’s a shame. That’s why I’m concentrating completely on my solo career. I’m really very proud of my new album ‘Shine’. It turned out exactly the way I expected. At first, I was very disappointed that Phil Collins didn’t have the time to produce the album, but when I met Steve Lillywhite, I knew he was the right man for the job. I think it’s very important to work with young people, they’re still very unrestrained and they’re not stuck to old ideas. ‘Shine’ has really become an album of the eighties.”

Frida takes a sip from her champagne and continues: “When I received the first copy, I immediately went to my home in London to listen to it and it really gave me goosebumps. I hope that other people will get that same feeling when they play my album. For me, recording an album is much like giving a piece of yourself. The music is a part of me, and with this album that feeling is stronger than ever. I’m also thinking about performing with a band. But something like that is a difficult decision. It has been a long time since I performed on stage, and the more time passes, the bigger the step gets to tour again.”
Frida gazes into the distance for a while. “I will have to give it some serious thought,” she says. “A small series of performances would be okay, but I wouldn’t be able to do it at the same level that we used to do with ABBA. Those days are gone. Everything I used to dream of, has become reality. The success, money, travelling, really everything! These days I’m concentrating more and more on the things I never had the time for. Simply lead my own, quiet life, just like any other, because I’m in desperate need of that after the hectic existence with ABBA!”

Dagblad voor Noord-Limburg, 1984: ABBA-album released only in our country

A Dutch newspaper article about the release of a compilation album, designed exclusively for the Dutch market. The record company was eager to release a new ABBA-product and since there were no new recordings available, they opted for a compilation album. The choice of songs was interesting; the album included rare B-sides such as Elaine and Cassandra, as well as the edited single versions of Frida’s To Turn The Stone and Agnetha’s Wrap Your Arms Around Me. The album was also available on CD for a short period of time.
Out of sight, out of mind, is how the old saying goes. As it turns out, this is not always applicable, considering what’s happening with ABBA at the moment. Record company Polydor, apparently tired of the fact that there’s still no ABBA-news, asked and got permission to release a special ABBA-compilation, titled ‘From ABBA With Love’.

And that is rather special, because the ABBA-clan vetoes a lot of initiatives, that don’t originate from themselves. Alas, this compilation-album will exclusively be available in our country. It includes a lot of well-known ABBA-hits, such as ‘One Of Us’, ‘The Day Before You Came’, ‘The Winner Takes It All’ and ‘Head Over Heels’.
To give the album the appearance that it has something new to offer, it also includes two songs – ‘Elaine’ and ‘Cassandra’ – that haven’t been included on an album before. They are, you guessed it, single B-sides. For the time being, we can’t expect something really new from the ABBA-front. An ABBA group-album is on their schedule, but it will definitely not be released this year. As reported, Björn and Benny are working together on a musical double-album. But that won’t be released in our country until next year either. In September, Frida will release a new solo-album, on which several big names from the pop-world will co-operate.