John Cleese and ABBA
Björn and Benny already
had met John Cleese on Barbados in January 1980 and had dinner with him.
According Carl Magnus Palm's book the 'Complete Recording Sessions', Björn
and Benny had a vague idea for a musical set on a New Year's Eve.
"A few people in a room, looking back on what has been, thinking about
the future, that sort of thing", remembers Benny. They wanted John
to write the story for it, but Cleese wasn't too keen about it
A quote from the book
'Cleese Encounters' (Dutch translation) about ABBA and this idea:
...Meanwhile, the quest for a plot for the movie "The Meaning Of Live"
continued. It definitely didn't come in July 1980, when ABBA, the
Swedish supergroup, was in London to promote The Winner Takes It All,
and hinted that they wished to work with Cleese. "We absolutely
want to work with John....he is the funniest man in the world" ......
Cleese left the attractions
from Stockholm for what they were and left for Los Angeles.
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