2000 - 2006
2000
On April 5, Agnetha celebrates her 50th birthday in a small Stockholm
restaurant with close friends. Björn and Benny are among the
guests.
Pictures
taken at Agnetha's 50th birthday
Agnetha has to testify in court in September. She confesses that she
was romantically involved with Gert, but wants to be left alone. Gert
van der Graaf is now known as Agnetha's stalker.
In May, the 'Mamma Mia' musical stages in Toronto, Canada. Björn, Benny and Frida attend the premiere on May 23. Surf to the official 'Mamma Mia' website for more information.
2001
Björn is at the Mamma Mia afterparty in Los Angeles at the
Century Club on February 28.
Late June
Benny releases an album with his orchestra: 'Benny Andersson's Orkester'.
In November he is interviewed by BBC Radio Scotland in Glasgow.
Only a month after the Twin Towers attacks in New York and very close
to 'ground zero', 'Mamma Mia' premieres on Broadway, October 18.
2002
The 'Chess' musical is played in the Swedish language with music by
Benny and lyrics by Björn.
Surf to the 'Chess The Musical' website for more information.
Benny is asked by Elvis Costello to play instruments on his album
"For The Stars" he is recording with Anne Sofie von Otter. Anne-Sofie
does a cover of the ABBA song: "Like An Angel Passing Through My
Room".
Benny
in the studio with Elvis Costello and Anne Sofie von Otter
Björn
and Benny's 'Mamma Mia' (in the German language) premieres in Hamburg
in November. Benny is present, but Björn does the talking
on tv shows. Surf
to the official 'Mamma Mia website for more information
Frida records a duet 'La Barcarolle' with Italian soprano Phillipa
Guardino. The song is released in Japan only. Surf
to the 'Frida - Twist In The Dark' website for more information.
Agnetha seems ready to record in the studio again!
May 23, Benny and Björn are in London for the 2002 Ivor Novello Awards.
August 5, Björn
is spotted in Moscow. He claims that his visit has nothing to do with
a possible Russian version of 'Mamma Mia'.
Read
this revealing interview with Benny Andersson on the ABBAMAIL website
about his compositions for the 'Hepstars' until 'Benny Andersson's Orkester'.
November 9, Björn is guest on German tv show Wetten Dass.
2003
Björn and his company Noteheads
publish digital sheet music for the ABBA tracks used for Mamma Mia musical.
Björn
Ulvaeus, Christer Sturmark, Per Gessle (Roxette) from Noteheads
February 13, Benny and Frida attend the premiere of Mamma Mia in Las Vegas. Visit this Frida group at Yahoo for fan pictures: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Fridalasvegas
In April Benny is working on a CD by Per Myrberg and is busy writing new songs for the next album with Benny Anderssons Orkester. On May 19, Frida attends the annual Polar Music Prize in Stockholm.
June 10, Benny and his two co-owners: Christer Sandahl (Chairman of the Board of MyTravel) and Christer Hägglund (major stockholder of Proffice) present Hotel Rival. This new hotel with 99 rooms will be opened on August 6 in Stockholm.
Early June, Björn and Frida are present at Per Gessle's (Roxette and Björn's business partner in Noteheads) party to celebrate the release of his solo album.
Early July, 'Mamma Mia' is watched by its 10 millionth audience member. Björn is interviewed for Dutch television about the success of Mamma Mia. He also says some interesting things about the ABBA's performance in 1999 at Görel Hanser's 50th birthday.
July 22, Agnetha attends the Rolling Stones concert in Stockholm.
Frida releases a charity single in November together with a Swiss friend, artist Dan Daniëll. The single contains three songs: 'Lieber Gott', 'I Have A Dream' and 'Wenn Ich Dann Gehen Muss'. You can listen to a short soundclip of the song 'Lieber Gott',
http://www.abba-remember.com/LieberGott/
October 28,
co-worker Staffan Lindé confirms that Agnetha records a
new album which is due to be released in March 2004. A single will be
released in January 2004.
November 9, Björn
attends the premiere of the Dutch Mamma Mia in Utrecht, the Netherlands.
On December 2, Frida and Benny attend the screening of a restored version of 'ABBA – The Movie' in Stockholm.
2004
Agnetha's new album "My Colouring Book" will be released
in March or April. The album is a tribute to all the artists who have
inspired Agnetha during her years as an artist. The
first single that is going to be released:, "If I Thought You'd Ever
Change Your Mind," was originally recorded by Cilla Black in the
1969. Agnetha also recorded a song called "Somewhere, Someplace,
Sometime", originally performed by Denise van Houten and originally
from the musical "Tell Me On A sunday". Surf to Agnetha's
website at: www.agnetha.se
Björn, visits Seoul (Korea) on January 23. The Korean version of 'Mamma Mia' premieres on January 25.
Thuesday, February 24, Warner Music Sweden publishes the cover for the single 'If I Thought You'd Ever Change Your Mind' and a photosession for Agnetha's new album 'My Colouring Book'. http://www.warnermusic.se/artistContent.jsp?pagetype=artist_gallery&id=11548&topic=artist
4 March, Broadway’s 'Mamma Mia' plays its 1000th performance at the Cadillac Winter Garden Theatre.
Swedish national radio station Rix FM premieres Agnetha's brand new comeback single "If I Thought You'd Ever Change Your Mind" on Monday morning March 8 at 07.30 CET / 01.30 ET exclusively on Rix FM.
 |
Agnetha Fältskog
"My Colouring Book" 1. My Colouring Book
|
Late March,
Benny and his orchestra pay a visit to the good old Polar
Studios.
May 1, the legendary studio is closing down because the company can't
pay the rent of more than 2 million SEK per year anymore.
Benny and his orchestra in the Polar
Studios
On April 6, Björn, Benny and Frida attend the 5th anniversary of the Mamma Mia musical at the Prince Edward Theatre in London.
On April 7, Agnetha allows a Swedish tv host on her farm to interview her about her new album.
Source left picture:
http://www.allaboutabba.com/
2 stills from 'If I
Thought You'd Ever Change Your Mind'.
On May 12,
ABBA make a small scale comeback as puppets in the Eurovision Song
Contest.
All four former ABBA members make an appearance in the video.
24 May, Frida is present at the Polar Music Prize 2004 at the Konserthuset in Stockholm.
More
info: www.abba-news.de
May 31, a short version of Agnetha's tv-special premieres on Geman tv-channel Sat 1. Agnetha is interviewed by Lotta Bromé. She speaks openly about her private live, her fear of flying and her years in ABBA. The special also features several video clips of the "My Colouring Book" album.
Stills from "Past, Present
& Future (left) and "What Now My Love" (right)
Two stills from "When
You Walk In The Room" with daughter Linda contributing backing vocals.
Please
visit this page to see 125 stills!! from the Agnetha
special screened on VH1 in June
Watch the complete video for
When You Walk In The Room'' (Windows Media Player) here
June 10, Frida, Björn, HRH Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles attend the Royal Charity Gala Performance for the musical "Mamma Mia" at the Prince Of Wales Theatre. The performance raises £100,000 for the 'Princes Trust'. The Prince Of Wales officially opens the newly refurbished venue.
June 23, Benny
Anderssons Orkester new album BAO! is released. Björn submits
lyrics to two songs. Benny and his orchestra will do a summertour in Sweden
in August. Mono Music
offers two soundfiles of BAO!:
This photo of Benny was taken
by Andy Buchanan: http://homepage.mac.com/andybuchanan/PhotoAlbum2.html
July 18, Björn and Frida attend the Mamma Mia premiere at the Palladium Theater in Stuttgart, Germany.
Frida and ex-Deep
Purple keyboard player r Jon Lord
Mid August, sources report that ex-Deep Purple/Whitesnake keyboardist and composer Jon Lord has recorded a song with Frida in July 2004. Frida and Jon are friends since 1999. The song "The Sun Will Shine Again" will be released on Jon's album with the Gemini Orchestra "Beyond The Notes" in September 2004. This album is a mixture between classiscal compositions and crossover elements. Both Frida and Jon will perform the song at the gala "Sunday Night Classics" on September 6, in Munich, Germany.The gala will be broadcasted by the ZDF on September 19.
After leaving Deep Purple in 2002 Jon turned his attention to classical music and joined Norwegian chamber orchestra "The Trondheim Soloists". Jon already composed his first cassical piece "Concerto For Group And Orchestra" in 1969.
September 9, Frida and Björn attend the Mamma Mia premiere in Dublin, Ireland.
September 14, the Swedish media reports that Benny and Björn have finished the English translation for 'Kristina Från Duvemala' and are ready to emigrate the musical to America.
September 22, Frida and Jon Lord perform "The Sun Will Shine Again"on the Goldene Henne Gala in Berlin.
Björn
and Frida are in Madrid, Spain on November 11 to attend the Mamma
Mia premiere at the Lope De Vega Theatre.
On November 22, Jon Lord and Frida perform "The Sun Will Shine Again" on the German Adventsshow (ZDF).
In December, Agnetha is being interviewed for Swedish television (TV4) Source pictures: www.pylad.se
After 36 years,
Agnetha's early work is finally released on CD. A boxset includes
her five Swedish albums and a bonus CD: Agnetha Fältskog (1968),
Agnetha Fältskog Vol. 2 (1969), Som jag är (1970), När
en vacker tanke blir en sång (1971), Elva kvinnor i ett hus (1975).
The sixth CD is entitled 'Singlar och andra sidor' (Singles and B-sides).
There are 15 tracks on this bonus CD: När du tar mig i din famn,
Tio mil kvar till Korpilombolo, Vart ska min kärlek föra, En
sång om sorg och glädje, Någonting händer med mig
(Duett med Jörgen Edman), Litet solskensbarn, Så glad som dina
ögon, Nu ska du bli stilla, Sjung denna sång (Duett med Jörgen
Edman), Vi har hunnit fram till refrängen, Here For Your Love, Golliwog,
The Queen Of Hearts, Det var så här det började (Intervjuer
och radioinslag, from My Love, My Life), Borsta tandtrollen bort.
Frida and Jon Lord perform during the final dress rehearsal prior to the Jose Carreras Gala 2004 at the Messehalle on December 16, 2004 in Leipzig, Germany.
On 24 December, Frida and Jon Lord perform on "Alle Jahre Wieder" with 'The Sun Will Shine Again' and a Christmas medley, "The Christmas Experiment' written by Jon Lord and sung by Frida.
source:
http://www.abba-news.de
2005
January:
2005-01-10 In presence of the King Carl Gustav of Sweden, Benny Andersson performs with his orchestra at a somber ceremony, at the Stockholm City Hall on 10 January, in memory of the Asia tsunami victims of the December 26 tragedy that killed more than 156,000 people. Almost 2,000 Swedes are still missing after the Asian tsunamis.
The performances for the Swedish version of Mamma Mia begin on 12 February 2005 at Cirkus Stockholm.
A Christmas message from Benny and Björn recorded late December 2004
at Circus Theatre, Stockholm
2005-01-30 Benny and Björn are interviewed by TV4 at Circus Theatre about the Swedish 'Mamma Mia'.
February:
2005-02-02 'Mamma Mia' press conference.
2005-02-07 More promotion for 'Mamma Mia'.
2005-02-12 Björn, Benny, Frida AND Agnetha attend the premiere of the Swedish 'Mamma Mia' at Cirkus Theatre, Stockholm.
Source:
http://www.abbaplaza.com/index.asp?ID=170
Agnetha and Görel
Hanser. Source: http://www.abbamail.com/
2005-02-13 Tonight's "Sixties" show on Swedish national Television ends with Benny about John Sebastian (Lovin' Spoonful) and Gary Brooker (Procol Harum) - with Gary playing on a screen behind him: "It's incredible that these guys are still around, working, and enjoying themselves ... you'd like to get together with them, talk about their songs, play - form a band!" (smiles) "You can't have too many piano players in a band, though." source: http://www.procolharum.com/whatsnew.htm
April:
2005-04-10 Benny and Björn attend the premiere of comedy-drama
'THE PILLOWMAN', at the Booth Theatre, New York.
May:
2005-05-02 Frida's solo albums 'Ensam'
(1975) including bonus tracks: Man vill ju leva lite dessemellan, Ska
man skratta eller gråta),
'Something's Going On' (1982) including bonus tracks : I know
there's something going on (single edit), Here we'll stay (solo version)
and 'Shine' including the bonus tracks: That's tough, Shine
(extended mix)(1984) are re-released.
Source:
www.abbf.nl
More pictures on
the ABBAMAIL website: http://www.abbamail.com/feature/2005_frida_remasters.htm
2005-05-17 Mamma Mia International Tour comes to Brussels (Belgium) at Vorst Nationaal theatre from 17 May - 26 May 2005. Björn is present at tonight's performance.
Source pictures:www.musicalfan.net
and www.abbainter.net
2005-05-30? Benny and Helen Sjöholm win the 'Thore Ehrling Bursary' prize at the annual Spring Meeting of SKAPs (Swedish Conposers of Popular Music).Benny's two sons Peter Grönvall and Ludvig Andersson, accompanied by grandchildren Felix, 13, and Charlie, 15, perfom the Hepstars-classic "Weddings". Frida is also present.
June:
2005-07early Björn and Benny are filmed in
Stockholm for a "thank you" message after the closing performance
of "Mamma Mia" in Melbourne on 9 June. Bjorn standing and Benny
sitting at the piano sing the chorus to Vera Lynn's war hit "We'll
meet again, don't know where, don't know when; but I know we'll meet again,
some sunny day". Benny rounds it off with the closing riff of
"Thank You For The Music".
July:
2005-07-16 Björn performs 'Marianne' with the Hootenany
Singers at the at the end of Visfestivalen in Västervik.
In July and August Benny Andersson Orkester (BAO) go on tour (www.monomusic.se)
2005-07-22 Frida is interviewed at Chez Vrony skihütte in Zermatt, Switzerland for her CD/DVD boxset.
Pictures:
www.raffem.com
2005-07-28 Helsingborg, Sofiero Slott
2005-07-29 Göteborg, Trädgårdsföreningen
August:
2005-08-03 Stockholm, Skansen
2005-08-04 Örebro, Stadsparken
2005-08-05 Leksand, Sammilsdal
2005-08-14
Release of remastered Agnetha's solo albums:
'Nu tändas tusen juleljus' (1981),
'Wrap Your Arms Around Me (1983) with the following bonus tracks:
'Never Again', 'It’s So Nice To Be Rich', 'P&B', 'The Heat Is
On (Super Dance Music Mix)' and 'Ya Nunca Más'
'Eyes Of A Woman' (1985) with the following bonus tracks: 'You’re
There', 'Turn The World Around', 'I Won’t Let You Go' (Extended Version)
'The Way You Are' and 'Fly Like The Eagle'.
September:
2005-09 Madonna's new single
'Hung Up' samples ABBA's 'Gimme Gimme Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)'.
2005-09-22 DVD release of 'ABBA - The Movie'.
Read more information
about 'The Movie' on Carl
Magnus Palm's website
2005-09-22 Frida attends a charity gala performance of 'Mamma Mia' at Circus Stockholm
October:
2005-10-17 Madonna's new single 'Hung
Up' with ABBA's 'Gimme, Gimme, Gimme' sample premieres on radio stations
worldwide.
Madonna reveals
that she had to write a grovelling letter to the ABBA songwriters asking
if she could use their music on her new single. `I had to send my emissary
to Stockholm with a letter and the record begging them and imploring them
and telling them how much I worship their music, telling them it was an
homage to them, which is all true.`
`And they had to think
about it, Benny and Björn. They didn`t say yes straight
away. They never let anyone sample their music. They could have said no.
Thank God they didn`t.`
Benny said: `We get so many requests from people wanting to use
our tracks but we normally say no. This is only the second time we have
given permission.`
`We said yes this time because we admire Madonna so much and always have
done. She has got guts and has been around for 21 years. That is not bad
going. If it wasn`t any good we wouldn`t have said yes. It is a wonderful
track, 100% solid pop music.`
The Fugees used a sample from ABBA`s The Name Of The Game on their 1996
track 'Rumble In The Jungle'.
2005-10-22 In Copenhagen (Denmark), the classic ABBA hit
'Waterloo' is voted the best song in the 50-year history of the Eurovision
Songcontest.
2005-10-25 In a private ceremony Björn and Benny
receive the prize. It is presented to them by Mårten Aglander, Managing
Director of Universal Music Sweden, who attended the live broadcast in
Copenhagen and received the prize on behalf of ABBA.
November:
2005-11-07 Release of the box set containing ABBA's complete
studio-recorded output, plus two DVDs, one of which features a previously
unavailable live concert
ABBA: THE COMPLETE STUDIO RECORDINGS (0602498723272)
2005-11-18 Benny records a mobile ringtone for Red Cross: 'Red Christmas' http://www.aftonbladet.se/vss/streaming/radio_fonster/0,5231,s1ny05111801_RXFini_I_wmradio,00.html (Windows Media file)
2005-11-29 Swedish paper Expressen reports that Björn and wife Lena bought the house of Stikkan Anderson's son Lasse Andersson on the Viggsö island.
Back
toViggsö
December:
2005-12-08 Agnetha visits Club Plaza in Stockholm with Bertil
Nordström (61), a friend.
2005-12-05 Frida's 60th birthday is celebrated with a CD and DVD box set containing her four solo albums 'Ensam', 'Something's Going On', 'Shine' and 'Djupa Andetag'. The DVD contains over three hours of clips from Swedish television appearances as well as videos spanning Frida’s career, and her work with Phil Collins and other international stars. Follow Frida from her 1967 debut and breakthrough in Hylands hörna to her favorite club in Zermatt in the summer of 2005. More info about the tracklist: http://www.abbasite.com/news/index.php?id=1503
2006
February:
2006-02-03 Agnetha
(with Thomas Ledin) is spotted in Stockholm's nightlife.
March:
2006-03-18 Benny Andersson's orchestra BAO (with Helen Sjöholm and Tommy Korberg) performs at the Sheraton Bloomington Hotel in Bloomington, Minnesota (USA) at a dinner party hosted by the American Swedish Institute:
2006-03-19
Benny's BAO performs at the Dakota Jazz Club in Minneapolis.
2006-03-30 Björn and Benny are in Antwerp
(Belgium) to attend a Mamma Mia performance.
2006-03-30 An interview with B & B for Dutch Tros 'TV Show' is recorded today.
April:
2006-04-19 Hollywood newspaper 'Daily
Variety' says that actor and producer Tom Hanks is to produce a film
of 'Mamma Mia' next year along with the ABBA songwriters Björn
Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson.
Björn, representing his company Stagepool,
hands scholarships to two future musical stars in Hamburg (Germany)
2006-04-21 French
authors Jean-Marie Potiez (ABBA - The Book) and Philippe Elan (co-writer
of Potiez' newest release " A Tribute To Frida" http://atributetofrida.online.fr/
meet Frida in Stockholm.
2006-04-22 Frida
attends the Amaranter Orden Ball in Stockholm. Frida is elected "Stormästarinna"
of the year. Official website: http://www.amarantherorden.com/index.asp
Frida
surprises her fans with a new look. Pictures on http://atributetofrida.online.fr/
page "Meeting with Frida".
2006-04-28
Frida is interviewed for the German ZDF tv-special "Majestät"
about the Swedish Royal Family.
2006-04-29 Frida is guest at a private dinner celebration party of Sweden's Carl Gustaf's 60th birthday, wearing a dress by Italian fashion-designer Emilio Pucci.
May:
2006-05-04 Agnetha seen
at Club Plaza again with the same man she dated in December 2005
More pictures: http://www.tv4.se/kandis/462161.html
2006-05-10 Release of album 'Feel' by female trio 'Florence' http://www.florencelove.com/default.htm produced by Benny Andersson'Florence' are: Sara Jangfeldt, Lisa Östberg (wife of Ludvig Andersson) and Anna Granath. The three shared a dressing room for the Chess På Svenska musical and formed a trio.
2006-05.19 Re-release
of Björn and Benny's album "Lycka" with 14
bonus tracks in Austria, Germany, Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland
and UK. More info: http://www.abbasite.com/news/index.php?id=1534
2006-05-22 Björn and Benny (absent) win the Cubus Oeuvre Award 2006 (€ 12,500) at the Dutch Musical Awards Gala.
Björn between the Dutch
Musical Awards winners
2006-05-22 Frida attends the Polar Music Prize 2006 event in Stockholm. More pictures at http://abbamikory.blogs.com/
Frida with John Paul Jones
and Robert Plant of Led Zeppelin
2005-05-23 Frida attends the "Protecting Our Children" gala dinner and auction at the Natural History Museum in London held by the Mentor Foundation. The Mentor Foundation (Mentor) is a non-profit, non-government organization with a mission to prevent drug abuse and promote the health and well-being of children and young people. Princess Anni-Frid Reuss (Frida) is member of the Mentor Foundation Gala Steering Committee
August:
2006-08 Release of Anne Sofie Von Otter's album "I Let
The Music Speak, produced by Benny Andersson. http://www.deutschegrammophon.com/special/?ID=vonotter-abba
The album contains covers of ABBA, Chess and Kristina Från Duvemala
songs with Folk, jazz, pop and classical arrangements.
September:
2006-09-14 Frida attends the Sunflower Jam charity
event in London on 14 September http://www.thesunflowerjam.com/
Source: http://www.abbaupdate.com/
2006-09-25 Björn visits the Russan cast of Mamma Mia in Moscow.
October:
2006-10 Release
of Arrival Deluxe Edition CD and DVD with
previously unreleased tv-footage.
More information:
http://www.abbasite.com/news/index.php?ret=/news/index.php&id=1546&flash=yes
2006-10-14
The Russian version of Mamma Mia premieres in Moscow today. Björn
and Frida are present.
Source Frida
picture: http://abbatoday.googlepages.com/
Source middle and right picture: http://www.supertroupers.blog.com
Source picture: www.raffem.com
2006-10-18
Björn attends the 5th anniversary performance of Mamma
Mia on Broadway, New York. More pictures and information: http://www.broadwayworld.com/viewcolumn.cfm?colid=13033
Video: http://youtube.com/watch?v=Z8w5QlzSV2c&mode=related&search=
2006-10-30 Broadway actress Alice Ripley performs a US Kristina song in concert: 'You Have To Be There' (Du Måste Finnas). Listen to a sample
November:
2006-11-04 Björn is special guest star on UK X Factor
show. The X Factor finalists are singing ABBA songs with help from Björn.
Watch this video with Björn on You Tube
Video
of Eton Road: "Does Your Mother Know", with Björn's comments
Björn
during the X factor masterclass
2006-11-25 Agnetha seen with firiends in Club Plaza Stockholm.
 |