By Emily Caulkett-
Swedish pop sensation ABBA will be reuniting for the first time in almost 40 years at a digital concert in Olympic Park.
The band, which reunited to sing their hit Me and I at a private gala in 2016 for the first time since 1986 have not performed to the public for almost 40 years and are looking forward to putting on a brilliant public display. The concert experience Abba Voyage, featuring avatars of the group performing along with a live band at a custom-built arena in east London, begins in May.
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Directed by Baillie Walsh, the concert is poised to have Agnetha, Björn, Benny and Anni-Frid performing digitally with a live 10-piece band, in a purpose-built 3,000 capacity arena on May 27.
A representative of the group told The Eye Of Media.Com: ”The group is looking forward to showcasing its talent and thrilling an exciting audience in an epic show they are looking forward to”
Last month , lawyers for Abba settled a lawsuit they filed in December against Abba Mania , arguing that the British group was indistinguishable from the original act, and adding that they had asked Abba Mania to change their name but the quartet had refused.
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The lawsuit was filed shortly after the announcement that Abba were themselves returning to the live stage – or, at least, a motion-captured digital version of the group.
Abba Mania which was formed in 1999 and describe themselves as “the world’s most successful touring Abba show” are scheduled to tour France in March and the UK in April, and have previously toured across Europe and the Americas. They are a class act and have a decent following
The Swedish pop group were formed in Stockholm in 1972 by Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. They were one of the most popular and successful musical groups of all time, and became one of the best-selling music acts in the history of popular music, topping the charts worldwide from 1974 to 1983, and in 2021.
During the band’s main active years, it consisted of two married couples: Fältskog and Ulvaeus, and Lyngstad and Andersson. With the increase of their popularity, their personal lives suffered, which eventually resulted in the collapse of both marriages. The relationship changes were reflected in the group’s music, with latter compositions featuring darker and more introspective lyrics
Abba released their first album in 40 years in 2021, Voyage, which reached No 1 in the UK and saw the group nominated for Grammy and Brit awards.
The band members’ digital avatars were created following months of motion-capture and performance techniques as well as an 850-strong team from George Lucas’ visual effects company Industrial Light & Magic.
The digital concert will be held in a purpose-built 3,000 capacity arena – Image: StuFish Entertainment
Ten years after the group broke up, a compilation, ABBA Gold, was released, becoming a worldwide best-seller. In 1999, ABBA’s music was adapted into Mamma Mia!, an outstanding musical that gained worldwide acclaim and still played a lot in the West End (still running). A sequel, Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, was released in 2018.
They exceptional band also released a studio album, Voyage, last year in November 2021, 40 years on from their last offering, The Visitors.
Two of the band’s new songs, I Still Have Faith in You and Don’t Shut Me Down, will both feature in the concert which will be followed by a series of digital performances throughout the year.
They said the main inspiration to record again came from their involvement “in creating the strangest and most spectacular concert you could ever dream of”
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