Jim_Colyer
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Resurrection of ABBA
« on: Jan 4th, 2008, 4:53pm » |
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I bought ABBA in the 70s and drifted from them in the 80s like everyone else. My divorce in 1985, was the turning point. It left me a bitter 40-year-old living in my parents' basement in Louisville. I had no job and was separated from my one-year-old son. I turned against music. The Madonna and Michael Jackson videos made me want to puke! I barracaded myself with books, thousands of them, from the local libraries. As time went on, I slowly returned to the record shops. I began buying used ABBA vinyl LPs, the same ones I had listened to a decade earlier. Somehow I came across the address of an ABBA fan club in Holland. The club began in 1985, ABBA's lowest point. It was this small core of Dutch fans who would eventually engineer an ABBA revival. I joined them in 1988. They are still the official fan club, the one approved by ABBA.
ABBF Club http://www.abbafanclub.nl/
ABBA Revival http://jimcolyer.com/papers/entry?id=29
After a couple of years, I was corresponding with fans from 20 different countries. These were hand-written or typed letters, no email yet. I realized that what I had known of ABBA in the 70s was the tip of an iceberg. ABBA had been a massive music machine. They fronted an organization which wrote and recorded around the clock while traveling the world for TV shows and live concerts. The 4 visible members: Bjorn Ulvaeus, Agnetha Faltskog, Frida Lyngstad, and Benny Andersson, had been stars in Sweden before becoming a unit. Agnetha and Frida had been pop singers while Benny and Bjorn harbored ambitions of writing songs in the tradition of The Beatles. ABBA consisted of two couples. Bjorn and Agnetha had two kids.
Anyway, I listened to ABBA for years, hours on end, in my parents' basement. My friends were fellow fans scattered around the globe. We networked relentlessly. I acquired ABBA video, TV shows and performances from the many countries they visited. I have ABBA video and radio interviews from Sweden, Norway, Denmark, England, Ireland, Germany, Switzerland, Holland, France, Belgium, Poland, Italy, Australia, Japan, and the United States. It was the compassion and empathy emanating from the group which attracted me. They were not self-centered dope addicts. Their lyrics conveyed a sense of responsibility. It truth, it was blonde Agnetha's voice which consoled me night after night as I healed from my divorce. She was my fantasy. She restored my sanity!
There is no other music group that I would go out on a limb for like this. And I fight for ABBA not merely because I like them but because I am convinced of the worth of their catalog. Tom Hanks must feel the same because he purchased the movie rights to Mamma Mia! Hanks is the film's producer. Mamma Mia! is built around 20 or so ABBA hits. It stars Meryl Streep and Pierce Brosnan. It will be released worldwide, opening on July 18, in the U.S.
Mamma Mia! trailer http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fyID7...eature=related
For a while, I wanted to be the one to write the definitive ABBA book. That was impossible. No matter what I knew, the Swedes and Europeans would always know more. What remains of my writing is posted on my site.
ABBA Biography http://jimcolyer.com/papers/entry?id=40
ABBA from Sweden http://jimcolyer.com/papers/entry?id=31
ABBA Reflections http://jimcolyer.com/papers/entry?id=39
ABBA Music http://jimcolyer.com/papers/entry?id=35
ABBA Video http://jimcolyer.com/papers/entry?id=44
Agnetha & Frida Solo http://jimcolyer.com/papers/entry?id=43
Chess Musical http://jimcolyer.com/papers/entry?id=30
Kristina from Duvemala http://jimcolyer.com/papers/entry?id=32
Mamma Mia! http://jimcolyer.com/papers/entry?id=49
Swedish author Carl Magnus Palm became the authority on ABBA. I reviewed his book called "Bright Lights Dark Shadows."
Bright Lights Dark Shadows http://jimcolyer.com/papers/entry?id=171
Mamma Mia! will be huge. The ABBA phenomenon will start again as a new generation of kids see the film and become curious about the group who wrote and originally recorded the songs. ABBA CDs will sell.
The Rock n Roll Hall of Fame cannot ignore this. They have finally nominated Donna Summer. They will have to acknowledge ABBA as well.
ABBA The Site http://www.abbasite.com/news/index.p....php&flash=yes
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