ABBA: Last News

ABBA have welcomed the one millionth visitor to their Voyage show, with Björn Ulvaeus telling NME about what the future has in store for the ambitious live experience. Watch our video interview with Ulvaeus above.Last night (Monday April 17) saw young ABBA fan Josie Felix chosen as the winner to the one millionth visitor to see the show at the purpose-built ABBA Arena in London.

ABBA’s longterm guitarist Lasse Wellander has died at the age of 70.Wellander played guitar on many of ABBA’s most well-known tracks, toured with the band for years and helped to create the Mamma Mia! soundtrack.The musician passed away on Friday (April 7) after being recently diagnosed with cancer according to a statement from his family on Facebook.“It is with indescribable sadness that we have to announce that our beloved Lasse has fallen asleep,” the statement read. “Lasse recently fell ill in what turned out to be disseminated cancer and early on Good Friday he passed away, surrounded by his loved ones.”Calling him an “amazing” and “humble” musician, the statement also remembered Wellander as a “wonderful husband, father, brother, uncle and grandfather.” They went on to describe him as “hub in our lives, and it’s unbelievable that we now have to live on without you.”ABBA have also shared a tribute to Wellander on their social media pages.“Lasse was a dear friend, a fun guy and a superb guitarist.

ABBA guitarist Lasse Wellander has died at 70 years old, the musician's family announced. The Sweden native died on Friday, April 7 after a battle with cancer. Taking to Wellander's official Facebook page, his family wrote, «It is with indescribable sadness that we have to announce that our beloved Lasse has fallen asleep.

Sex Pistols bassist Glen Matlock has weighed in on the idea of the punk band doing an ‘ABBA Voyage’ style hologram show with late member Sid Vicious.Matlock said in a recent interview with The Mirror that he thinks that the concept of hologram shows can’t live up to the real thing. “There’s nothing better than a band playing with passion, vim and vigour in front of a live audience – in tune, with a couple of beers inside them, or a coffee, going for it,” he said.He continued: “If they can dig up some 3D imagery of Sid at this stage, that would be an achievement in itself.”Sid Vicious passed away from a drug overdose in 1979 at the age of 21.In another interview with PA, Matlock said he feels punk music can be a “small brick in the wall of change” during politically turbulent times.“In England back then there was a lot going on and there’s a direct parallel to what’s going on now,” he explained.

ABBA‘s Voyage virtual concert experience could be making its way around the world.Universal Music Group chairman Lucian Grainge revealed in a company earnings call per Variety on Thursday (March 2): “Plans are now in development to take ‘ABBA Voyage’ around the world”. No other information – including targetted cities, venues and dates – has been announced.ABBA’s Voyage experience debuted at the ABBA Arena in London in May 2022.

Avicii have announced that they have sold 75 per cent of the late musician’s recording and publishing rights to the Swedish company Pophouse.Avicii, real name Tim Bergling, died by suicide in 2018. Subsequently, his parents Klas Bergling and Anki Lidén have overseen his estate as well as a charitable foundation set up in his name.Klas Bergling said in a statement today (September 28): “My wife and I feel that as we are getting older, we do not have the right energy level or required skills to fully keep ahead of the new streaming and digital developments vital for such a big, international artist as Tim.”“Through this deal, we are also securing the Tim Bergling Foundation’s long-term finances, creating opportunity to act decisively on the foundation’s commitments to supporting such important issues as mental health and well-being of young people.”He went on to argue that the deal would bring Avicii’s music “to the widest possible audience” and “take care” of his international fanbase.“Since Tim took his life, as a family, we have not had sufficient time for his fans that they so deserve, and have lacked the ability to follow up on their correspondence and other contact with us.”“We leave neither Tim nor his contribution to the world.

ABBA‘s Anni-Frid Lyngstad made a surprise appearance at last night’s ABBA Voyage show in east London.The “revolutionary” concert series began in May at the purpose-built ABBA Arena in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. It sees digital versions of the Swedish pop icons perform a hits-filled set, backed by a 10-piece live band.Following the finale of yesterday’s edition (September 15), an announcer made an unexpected revelation over the PA.

vinyl collecting capital of the UK, according to a new study.Up to 32 per cent of the UK’s vinyl collectors live in the Scottish city, The Royal Mint found via DJ Mag.The study also discovered that Glasgow was followed closely by the North East of England in boasting the most record collectors in the nation, with 25 per cent of vinyl collectors living there.It comes after vinyl record sales in 2021 were at the highest they’ve been in 30 years, despite widely publicised issues with backlogs and delays.According to figures from the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), more than five million vinyl records were sold last year, an 8 per cent increase on 2020. It marked the 14th year in a row that the format has increased sales, with vinyl records making up 23 per cent of all albums sold.The biggest-selling vinyl album of 2021 was ABBA‘s comeback record ‘Voyage’, while Adele‘s huge ’30’ and Sam Fender‘s ‘Seventeen Going Under’ – NME’s Album Of The Year – also sold big on wax.Campaigns such as LoveRecordStores, Record Store Day and National Album Day also helped rally sales for independent record shops and specialist chains.Earlier this year, it was also reported that vinyl sales in the UK look set to overtake CDs.Vinyl albums brought in £135.6million in 2021 (up 23.2 per cent year-on-year) compared to £150.1million in CD sales (down 3.9 per cent year-on-year).

ABBA have paid tribute to Olivia Newton-John who died yesterday (August 8) aged 73.The Australian singer and Grease actor passed away peacefully at her Ranch in Southern California, as confirmed by her husband John Easterling in a statement.“Olivia has been a symbol of triumphs and hope for over 30 years sharing her journey with breast cancer,” the message read.Today (August 9), ABBA’s Agnetha Fältskog and Anni-Frid Lyngstad (aka Frida) both paid their respects to Newton-John in a post on the Swedish group’s official social media pages.The pair crossed paths with the late star in 1974 when both she and ABBA competed in that year’s Eurovision Song Contest in Brighton.Newton-John, who was representing the United Kingdom, came in fourth place with her track ‘Long Live Love’. ABBA were crowned overall winners that evening with their hit ‘Waterloo’.Alongside a photo of ABBA and Newton-John on-stage together, Frida wrote: “What do you feel, what do you say when the nice, kindest and most loving woman leaves us to travel somewhere else.“The heart aches to know Olivia’s brave fight against an, in her case, invincible enemy.

ABBA have announced a new 30th anniversary version of their greatest hits collection ‘ABBA Gold’.The collection is one of the most successful releases in recorded music history, with more than 32 million sales worldwide.It’s the second highest selling album of all time in the UK, spending more than 1,055 weeks on the Official UK Albums Chart, making it the longest running album in the Official Albums Chart Top 100 ever.Released on September 21, 1992, ‘ABBA Gold’ contains some of the Swedish pop legends’ biggest hits including ‘Dancing Queen’, ‘Knowing Me, Knowing You’, ‘Take A Chance On Me’, ‘Mamma Mia’ and ‘The Winner Takes It All’.To mark 30 years since it was released, a version in new formats is being released on September 23 [available to pre-order here].The formats are as follows: new 2LP Picture Disc in heavyweight vinyl, housed in die-cut gatefold sleeve; new gold cassette – also available in black; and gold 2LP – gold 2 x 180g vinyl. Brand new limited edition ABBA merch will also be available to pre-order soon.It follows the recent news that ABBA’s Benny Anderson and Elton John worked together on a new song mash-up for TikTok – watch it here.The pair remotely performed a live rendition of each of their songs before they were blended in the TikTok audio app.

ABBA’s Benny Anderson and Elton John have worked together on a new song mash-up for TikTok.The pair remotely performed a live rendition of each of their songs before they were blended in the TikTok audio app.Anderson played ABBA’s 1979 hit ‘Chiquitita’ while John played his 1973 smash, ‘Bennie And The Jets’.Anderson can be seen sat at his piano playing the opening bars to ‘Chiquitita’ before it later pans to John who is sat at his piano playing ‘Benny And The Jets’.“Heard that ‘Chiquitita’ was trending again… with Elton John!” the caption on the official ABBA TikTok account reads.The TikTok user captioned the source video: “For all your gorgeous summer transitions.” The audio has since been used in over 54,000 videos on the app.Check the video out here:Heard that ’Chiquitita’ was trending again…with @Elton John! #ABBA #pop #piano ♬ Benny and Chiquitita – reymifasol  John recently began the UK leg of his Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour in Norwich on June 15. Having first announced the first UK dates for his final ever run of shows in 2018, he had been set to play a run of rescheduled UK headline dates between October and December 2021.

ABBA’s Björn Ulvaeus has shared a message of support for the English women’s football team (aka the Lionesses) after they celebrated a 4-0 win over Sweden earlier this week.The Lionesses dominated Sweden, where ABBA hail from, in the semi-final match of the 2022 UEFA Women’s Euro Championship. The game took place at Milton Keyes’ Stadium MK on Wednesday (July 27) and is to be followed by the final match this Sunday (August 31).There, the Lionesses – who are currently eighth in the FIFA Women’s World Rankings – will face off against Germany at London’s Wembley Stadium.As reported by the Evening Standard, the Lionesses celebrated their semi-final victory with a singalong to ABBA, who feature prominently in the team’s dressing room playlist.When asked what she and her team listened to after scoring the final goal, forward Alessia Russo told journalists: “It was a little bit of ABBA – there’s always ABBA – but also Proud, West Virginia, a couple of old songs.”Leaning into the irony that the Lionesses marked their win over Sweden by singing along to Swedish music, Björn took to Instagram with a message of congratulations the team, which he delivered wearing the jersey of Sweden’s own football team.In the message, he said: “I understand that you celebrated your well-earned victory the other day with ABBA music, and I have to say, that makes the defeat a little easier to bear.

Hugh Jackman well after the actor tested positive for COVID-19, with a montage of their friendship soundtracked by ABBA.On Monday (June 13), Jackman announced on Twitter he had tested positive for a second time. The news came a day after his performance at the Tony Awards.

ABBA Voyage digital concerts have spoken to NME about the experience of recreating the magic of the pop legends, and how long they expect to be playing for. Watch our video interview with some of the band above.Premiering earlier this week at the purpose-built ABBA Arena in Stratford, East London, to a delighted response from fans, the ambitious production sees a “digital” version of ABBA (or ‘ABBAtars’) performing alongside a 10-piece live band (put together with the help of Klaxons’ James Righton).Speaking to NME on the red carpet ahead of the performance, guitarist Dom John said that they were “buzzing, locked in and ready.”John recalled the first time he met ABBA in rehearsals – when he looked up to find Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson watching him play. “We played one of their songs, and I was playing both guitar parts and then looked up and realised that Benny and Bjorn were standing right in front of me!” he said.

ABBA Voyage live experience have spoken to NME about how it was made, as well as what could be next for both the show and the band. Watch our video interview above.Premiering earlier this week at the purpose-built ABBA Arena in Stratford, East London, to a delighted response from fans, the ambitious production sees a “digital” version of ABBA (or ‘ABBAtars’) performing alongside a 10-piece live band (put together with the help of Klaxons’ James Righton).Working on the show with ABBA were Svana Gisla (who produced Jay-Z and Beyoncé‘s On the Run Tour), choreographer Wayne McGregor, Johan Renck (who directed David Bowie‘s videos for ‘Blackstar’ and ‘Lazarus’), Baillie Walsh (who has directed for Massive Attack and Bruce Springsteen) and producer Ludvig Andersson (son of ABBA’s Benny Andersson and producer of And Then We Danced, Yung Lean‘s ‘In My Head’ and Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again).“We did an awful lot of research and development on this, as you can imagine,” Gisla told NME from the red carpet.

Zara Larsson has covered ABBA‘s ‘Lay All Your Love On Me’, as well as telling NME what the band mean to her and revealing that work is progressing well on a “dark” and “vulnerable” new album. Watch our interview with Larsson above.Today sees Larsson release her cover of the Swedish pop giants’ 1981 track for the Spotify Singles series, just after the premiere of the band’s ambitious new ABBA Voyage show in London.Speaking to NME on the red carpet of the event, Larsson admitted being a little starstruck to have pop royalty nearby.“They were like, ‘Oh, can you believe the Swedish Royal Family is here?’ and I was like, ‘I know, ABBA are right there’,” she said.

ABBA premiered their highly-anticipated digital concert tour, ‘Voyage’ today (May 26). View official photos from the event below.The concert, which took place today (May 26) at ABBA Arena in London’s Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, Stratford, marked the first time in 36 years Benny Andersson, Agnetha Fältskog, Anni-Frid Lyngstad and Björn Ulvaeus were seen as a group together in public.Speaking to NME on the red carpet during the opening night of their ‘Voyage’ residency, Lyngstad told NME “It feels fantastic” to be at the premiere. “Really looking forward to seeing the show again.

Penny Lancaster caused heads to turn this evening as she took to the red carpet in a leopard-print mini dress and a pair of thigh-high black boots.The wife of rocker Rod Stewart, 51, dazzled as she attended the first performance of ABBA Voyage.Penny was all smiles as she struck a pose on the red carpet of the glitzy event, which marked 40 years since ABBA's last performance in the UK.The mother of two dazzled in a leopard-print mini dress which hugged her curves in all the right places.Penny cinched in her tiny waist with a black belt and accessorised with a black scarf tied fashionably around her neck.But it was her over-the-knee black boots which garnered the most attention as they added inches to the supermodel's height.Showcasing her long limbs, Penny grinned as she clasped her black and gold handbag close to her.She wore her blonde dresses in big curls which fell down her shoulders.The model appeared on the red carpet on her own and without her rock husband, Rod Stewart.

NME on the red carpet during the opening night of their ‘Voyage’ concert residency, ABBA told us what fans can expect after their digital tour. Watch our full video interview with the Swedish pop band above.The event, which took place today (May 26) at ABBA Arena in London’s Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, Stratford, marked the first time in 36 years Benny Andersson, Agnetha Fältskog, Anni-Frid Lyngstad and Björn Ulvaeus were seen as a group together in public.“It feels fantastic,” Lyngstad told NME when asked what it was like to be at the premiere.

Abba finally reunited in London in full for the first time in 40 years for the Abba Voyage red carpet on Thursday night.Benny Andersson, Anni-Frid Lyngstad, Agnetha Fältskog, and Björn Ulvaeus smiled for cameras as they posed altogether ahead of kicking off their hotly anticipated hologram tour.The Swedish pop superstars were last together in the capital for an appearance on The Late Late Breakfast show hosted with Noel Edmonds in 1982.Speaking on the red carpet outside a purpose-built stadium at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in east London, Agnetha enthused: ‘It’s amazing to see all the English fans.’The group’s highly anticipated concert features younger ‘Abba-tars’ of the foursome performing songs from their back catalogue with a live 10-piece band.Benny admitted he expected himself to cry during the concert, saying: ‘Oh definitely, all the time.’Speaking about why she had enjoyed the project so much, Anni-Frid said: ‘I think the most exciting thing about this project was to come together as a group again after so many years not doing anything as a band together.’Abba was catapulted to worldwide success after winning the Eurovision Song Contest with Waterloo when the event was held in Brighton in 1974.They have since sold more than 400 million albums and singles.The popular quartet parted ways after last performing together in 1982 following a successful 10-year stint.In 2018 they announced they had recorded new material and it arrived in November.Abba Voyage shows begin in London on Friday, May 27and are running until December 2022.It’s then expected that the show will hit the road, on a world tour lasting until the year 2026.The lengthy run is possible all thanks to ‘Abbatars’ – aka the four holograms which

ABBA‘s upcoming ‘Voyage’ digital tour have been shared.Fashion house designers, including Dolce & Gabbana, have worked on making outfits for the shows that will see avatar versions of ABBA’s Björn Ulvaeus, Agnetha Fältskog, Anni-Frid Lyngstad and Benny Andersson perform to fans as part of the “revolutionary” concerts.The tour opens at London’s brand new ABBA Arena on May 27, with the world premiere taking place the previous day (May 26).‘Voyage’ costume designer B. Åkerlund, who is best known for her work with the likes of Madonna, Lady Gaga and Beyoncé, collaborated with leading designers and studios from the worlds of fashion and entertainment including Manish Arora, Erevos Aether and Michael Schmidt to create looks for the band.Concert producers Svana Gisla and Ludvig Andersson said in a statement: “Rather than recreating a ‘nostalgic’ 1970s look for ABBA Voyage, our vision, along with director Baillie Walsh, was to dress the band as the contemporary pop stars they are.