ABBA Mania to hit Melbourne 2009 |
ABBA is back - kind of: 35 years after the band first rocked the world with Eurovision smash Waterloo, Abba mania is set to sweep Melbourne.
Songwriters Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus, the sexagenarian duo behind Abba's hits, have surprised fans with their first joint composition in 15 years.
Industry experts have hailed the return of the Swedish group's trademark sound, with some predicting the pair's album to move quickly up the charts.
Story of a Heart - The Benny Andersson Band features Swedish singer Helen Sjoholm.
It is the first international single for the band, which Andersson has fronted for 20 years. Known as Benny Andersson's Orkester in their native Sweden, the single is one of 13 tracks on the album, also called Story of a Heart.
Ulvaeus has written lyrics for the album, which features several older Orkester songs translated into English, as well as material only previously released in Sweden.
"I wanted to make music based on the Swedish folk tradition, but with new songs written by me,"Andersson told Abba's official website.
Melbourne music stalwart Molly Meldrum predicted the single would be a smash.
"It's very good. It's very Abba but why not?"he said. "There's a whole new audience who are so internet-savvy, people will discover it - it'll get immediate international attention no mater what,"he said.
The Benny Andersson Band will perform in London in July, but there are no plans for further touring. The album looks to be the closest the world will get to an Abba revival. The foursome split in 1982 and last performed together in public in 1986.
But lasting Abba fever has moved promoters all over the world to outbid each other to secure the group's reunion. Andersson and Ulvaeus still refuse to re-form the group, despite a billion-dollar offer. But the group reunited in July last year for the premiere of Mamma Mia!
With 380 million albums sold, the band's back catalogue remains one of the most lucrative in music.
Story of a Heart will be released here on July 6, 2009.
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➼ ABBA Mania to hit Melbourne 2009
➼ Source: Herald Sun
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