Abba announce a reunion

Abba announce a reunion

main

norman lebrecht

October 26, 2016

It will be strictly virtual, but they’ll capture a whole generation once again.

Agnetha Faltskog, Bjorn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad broke up in 1982 and have never sung together since.

The new project, involving the Spice Girls manager Simon Fuller, will be a ‘groundbreaking venture that will utilise the very latest in digital and virtual reality technology’.

Sad, for more reasons than we can enumerate.

abba

Frida Lyngstad: ‘Our fans around the world are always asking us to reform and so I hope this new ABBA creation will excite them as much as it excites me!’

Sir Lucian Grainge, Chairman and CEO of Universal Music Group: ‘Having the privilege of working closely with the band for over two decades, I can comfortably say there are few recording artists who like ABBA bring together their mastery of craft, a high level of professionalism and enormous commercial success. I’m thrilled to be involved in this innovative new project that will introduce the band who are responsible for some of the greatest songs and melodies in pop music to a new generation of fans.’

Comments

  • Mikey says:

    “Sad, for more reasons than we can enumerate.”
    Really?
    Why don’t you try.
    This just comes across as a pretentious put-down.
    You’re supposed to be some fancy writer, so how about writing something?

    • Martin Bloor says:

      Well said.

    • V.Lind says:

      My only sadness — and I am prepared to withhold judgment — is that it is a virtual rather than an actual reunion.

      It is fashionable to excoriate ABBA, for reasons presumably of musical snobbery (and not only from the classical community — they less than most in this instance, I suspect) but from my classical upbringing through a natural wish to enjoy some of the music of my peers, I found ABBA to be one of the more engaging groups. Their songs are usually joyous, beautifully harmonised, melodic, nicely sung — a real pleasure. (And, I have to admit, there is nothing like popping on ABBA Gold to jolly me along through a bit of tiresome housework!).

      • Pamela Brown says:

        Well, a group like ABBA goes out into the cold real world, creates their own music, develops a fan base, and forges their careers on their own.

        An orchestras, on the other hand, finds people to play expertly and sometimes with artistry other people’s music and (though I respect them) sometimes whine when they are not being treated in the manner to which they have become accustomed.

        Guess which group Norman favors? 🙂

        • Plush says:

          Norman’s a thin skinned futz. A pushy Zionist.

        • Maria says:

          “creates their own music”

          Not from scratch, they don’t. They build on musical creations and developments from the past, like everybody else.

          Abba deserve respect for their achievements. They’re successful in what they set out to do and their well crafted music provides a massive amount of enjoyment for huge numbers of people. I doubt, however, if many people put on an Abba record and listen to it intently time and time again. I doubt if Abba would expect them to.

          Comparisons with what orchestras do are just plain silly.

          Not difficult to find whiners in the pop/rock world either.

      • Maria says:

        “It is fashionable to excoriate ABBA, for reasons presumably of musical snobbery”

        Glad you pointed that out. The classical world is frequently accused of snobbery on this site, often for something as uncontroversial as wanting to be able to hear the music clearly, but it’s nothing compared to the various factions within rock.

        Try telling a rock fan that you like Abba. You’ll need a thick skin.

        • V.Lind says:

          Too right. And I commit the further sin of liking the Bee Gees. I was raised around sung music and all manners of descant, harmony, etc. were encouraged. (With perfect pitch and good tone, of course). Laughed out of the room, till the plebs got on board with Queen.

          Although my own preferences in pop music are limited — if eclectic — in part because I devote little time to it (my current predicaments centre around whether to go to a Fauré or a Duruflé Requiem — or both), I do appreciate that there is a wide range of it, much of musical fascination and quality. But the prevailing tastes seem so reductive — when everything hangs on “the beat,” it drowns out all else around it.

  • MissThing says:

    Ugh.

  • Hanna Nahan says:

    How exactly can Sir Lucian Grainge (and a better name for a supervillain I’ve yet to hear….) claim to have worked closely for two decades with a band that split up in 1982 and have never sung together since? What a pile of guff.

  • Dave says:

    ABBA sold hundreds of millions of albums. Evidently more than few people enjoyed their music. Most orchestras these days can barely sell a few hundred discs. The headline comment about being ‘sad’ comes from an elitist old man who should have been put out to pasture long ago.

  • MOST READ TODAY: