Will Abba reunite? - here's the latest rumours!
After The Times and the rest of the world's press got caught up with Benny's casual remark about an ABBA reunion, Görel Hanser ABBA's super-woman behind the scenes steps in and publicly admits to telling Benny off and quashes the rumour.
UK Telegraph piece on March 26: Fans of Abba were offered a glimmer of hope when former band member Benny Andersson said they could reunite for a one-off show. However the group has now apologised for raising fans expectations and admitted that the comment had been nothing more than a "joke". Speculation over a comeback mounted after Benny and Bjorn were asked if they would consider a one-off ABBA performance that could be beamed around the world. Despite previously turning down a raft of lucrative offers to reunite, including a £600 million tour deal, Benny replied: "Yeah, why not?" But in a blow to millions of fans the band have swiftly back tracked on the idea.
Görel Hanser, the group's manager, said: "Its simply not true. It was a passing comment Benny made, almost as a joke - nothing more than that. I've spoken to Benny and given him a stern telling off. I have told him not to make such ridiculous suggestions anymore. There is no prospect of ABBA getting back together - its never going to happen. I think the fans know that deep down but we're sorry if we got anyone's hopes up. It was great in the good old days but we should remember them as they were." The band split in 1982 and previously dismissed any suggestion of a reunion, insisting they would never take to the stage again. In 2000 they rejected a $1 billion (£600 million) offer to play a 100-date world tour. At the time Bjorn 64, said "This is the budget of a small country so we had to give it some thought. In the end we decided that whatever offer was on the table, it would be stupid to re-form and utterly ludicrous to change the images people all over the world have of us." And two years ago Bjorn said: "We will never appear on stage again. There is simply no motivation to regroup. Money is not a factor and we would like people to remember us as we were - young, exuberant, full of energy and ambition. I remember Robert Plant saying Led Zeppelin were a cover band now because they cover all their own stuff. I think that hit the nail on the head." Benny has also previously dismissed talk of reunion saying "We'd need a good reason to re-form and I just don't see one. We could never recreate the old days. I'd rather be remembered for the way we were 30 years ago." It remains to be seen whether former band mates Frida and Agnetha would support the idea of a reunion. Frida 64, who married a German nobleman, said in an interview in 2005 that she had no interest in returning to a music career. Agnetha 59, has enjoyed a solo pop career since ABBA split but has not hinted at a reunion. Staffan Linde, her spokesman, said that she was not aware of Benny's recent reunion suggestion. Benny and Bjorn are promoting their musical Kristina which opens at London's Royal Albert Hall on April 14.
Here is The Times extract on March 26:
Abba to re-form? 'Yeah, why not?'
A reunion? Don't talk to Abba about a reunion! Except of course that its hard not to. Benny and Björn are aware of the protocol. "Don't worry I know you have to ask" says Benny, a baby-faced 64, when he sees me edging towards the question. The last time I edged uneasily towards the question in May 2002, Bjorn said flatly: "There's no amount of money in the world that could persuade me to do that." Since then they've regularly been politely rebutting requests to re-form. Every time the thought of "the looks on the faces in the audience as they realised we had grown old" meant that Abba had long faced their Waterloo. And yet for one extraordinary moment at the end of our encounter, a realisation stirs into life that there may be a way to turn the longed-for reunion into a reality. Reunions can take all sorts of different forms. A lucrative world tour might be out of the question, but what about something more low-key? I float the idea of an intimate one-off performance for invited guests and families, perhaps with a small orchestra, focusing on some of the more mature material from the later albums. The whole thing could be filmed and the rights licensed out to TV stations around the world.
Bjorn's first response is seemingly in jest: "We could sing The Way Old Folks Do!". Benny by contrast seems deeper in thought. "Yeah, why not?" he nods. As if working through the logistics, he adds: "I don't know if the girls sing anything any more. I know Frida was recently in the studio." And on her most recent solo album five years ago, Agnetha was in fine voice. "If you can sing, you can sing" he concurs. Then a little later "Its not a bad idea actually." Like the song goes: "If you change your mind . . ." My Mama Said was recorded on 16 October 1973 and released on the album Waterloo on March 4 1974.