Wednesday, July 28, 2010

ABBA with Bravo in 1978

Bravo with ABBA - Meeting place in Stockholm: as the only magazine, Bravo was allowed to photograph the Swedish quartet exclusively - article originally published by the German magazine Bravo, on April 3, 1978



"If it were up to the photographers, we wouldn't have any time left for concerts, television performances or recording sessions. We would have to let ourselves be photographed every day. That's why we turn down requests for photo sessions whenever we can", Björn says. For the first time in months, ABBA can be found in a photo studio again. It's the first session since the birth of Peter Christian, Björn and Anna's son. And it will be the last one for months to come...
At eleven o'clock sharp, Björn and Anna arrive at the photo studio, together with Lars Svensson, their costume advisor. "We nearly had to cancel the session, Anna was still in bed yesterday. She had the flu. But she feels a little better now," Björn says. Anna is wearing a light leather coat with a fur collar, skin-tight yellow Cord jeans and a T-shirt. Björn is dressed casually in blue jeans, a white shirt and a black coat that almost touches the floor. Lars Svensson is dragging along 14 suitcases with the latest costumes that he has designed for ABBA.
Five minutes later, Benny and Anni-Frid arrive in a dark-red BMW. They've had this car for over four years already. Both of them look good, they are slightly tanned. "Indeed, we have just returned from our holiday. We were in Austria, in Lech, to do some skiing," they smile. "Meanwhile, we were freezing here in Stockholm with ice and snow," Björn and Anna reply.
The atmosphere within the group is fantastic, it seems better than ever. Both girls immediately disappear in their dressing room to apply make-up to their eyes and lips. Anni-Frid is powdering her face. "To keep the skin from looking shiny, that doesn't look good in pictures," she explains to me. In between proceedings, Benny reveals a genuine surprise: "We are planning to get married this year. In May, we will go to America for two weeks, we will record a couple of television shows over there and do some interviews. On May 11, we will be in Germany for an appearance on Starparade. Possibly in the summer, we will go to the municipal registry."
I can't believe it, but Anni-Frid confirms it as well: "It's Benny's idea. I’m not too keen on it myself. After all, I've been married once before. But the last word hasn't been spoken about this yet. Benny would love to get married. For him, it's his first marriage."


ABBA get dressed; for nine hours long – until after 8 o'clock in the evening – they are patiently changing into new costumes, they pose and smile at the camera. They have brought along the double album Saturday Night Fever. The album side containing the Bee Gees songs is playing incessantly for hours. Anni-Frid: "At the moment, this is our favourite record."
The four of them don't even allow themselves a lunch break. Hellas, an associate of their record company, gets two hamburgers for each of them. With that, Björn and Benny are having a beer and Anna and Anni-Frid black coffee. In between, they are signing postcards. Finally, the job is done. Exhausted, Anna says: "This was the longest photo session that we've ever done. But after all, we do have a special understanding with Bravo. You were the first one that was interested in us, even before we achieved our enormous success." Anni-Frid: "And after all, it was Bravo that helped me find my long lost father."                                                  
Before we say goodbye, we are allowed to take a look at the recording studio that ABBA is building at the moment for two million German Marks. It should be ready in the beginning of May. Then, ABBA wants to record their new album there as well. You will soon be able to see the pictures that were taken at the session in Bravo: we are preparing a huge ABBA Star-Album for magazine number 20...

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Bravo encontra ABBA em Estocolmo: única entre as revistas, Bravo foi permitida a fotografar o quarteto com exclusividade - artigo originalmente publicado pela revista alemã Bravo, em 03 de abril de 1978

Se nos devotássemos aos fotógrafos, não teríamos tempo algum para concertos, performances na televisão ou gravações. Nós teríamos de nos deixar ser fotografados todo dia. É por isso que recusamos os pedidos para realizarmos sessões de fotos, sempre que podemos", diz Björn. Contudo, pela primeira vez em meses, o ABBA pode ser visto novamente em um estúdio de fotografia. É a primeira sessão que o grupo faz desde o nascimento de Peter Christian, filho de Björn e Anna; e também será a última pelos próximos meses...
Às onze horas em ponto, Björn e Anna chegam ao estúdio de fotos, juntamente com Lars Svensson, seu consultor de moda. "Nós quase tivemos de cancelar a sessão, pois Anna ainda estava de cama pela manhã; ela ficou gripada. No entanto, agora já se sente um pouco melhor", Björn diz. Anna está vestindo um casaco claro de couro com gola de pele, um apertado jeans Cord amarelo e uma camiseta. Björn está vestido de maneira casual, com um jeans azul, uma camisa branca e um casaco preto que quase toca o chão. Lars Svensson, por sua vez, está arrastando 14 malas com as últimas roupas por ele desenhadas para o ABBA. Cinco minutos depois, Benny e Anni-Frid chegam em um BMW vermelho-escuro. Eles possuem esse carro já há mais de quatro anos. Ambos parecem bem e bronzeados. "Na verdade, acabamos de retornar de nossas férias. Estivemos em Lech, na Áustria, onde esquiamos", dizem, sorrindo. "Enquanto isso, nós congelávamos aqui em Estocolmo, em meio ao gelo e à neve", retrucam Björn e Anna.
É fantástico o clima no grupo; parece melhor do que nunca. Ambas as garotas imediatamente desaparecem no interior de seu camarim, a fim de maquiarem os olhos e os lábios. Anni-Frid aplica pó em seu rosto. "Não é bom aparecer com a pele brilhante nas fotos", ela explica para mim. Em meio a isso, Benny revela uma verdadeira surpresa. "Estamos planejando nos casar este ano. Em maio, vamos aos Estados Unidos, onde ficaremos por duas semanas, a fim de participar de alguns programas de televisão e dar algumas entrevistas. Em 11 de maio, estaremos na Alemanha para uma aparição no Starparade. Então, possivelmente no verão, iremos ao cartório."
Não consigo acreditar nisso, até Anni-Frid confirmar: "É idéia do Benny. Eu mesma não estou muito interessada. Afinal, já fui casada antes. Mas a última palavra a respeito disso ainda não foi dita; Benny amaria se casar. Para ele, é seu primeiro casamento."

O ABBA apronta-se. Por nove longas horas - até depois das 8 da noite - eles pacientemente trocam de roupa, sorriem e posam para a câmera. Consigo, eles trouxeram o álbum duplo Saturday Night Fever, cujo lado contendo as canções dos Bee Gees toca incessantemente durante horas. "No momento, este é nosso disco favorito", diz Anni-Frid.
O quarteto sequer se permite uma pausa para o almoço. Dessa forma, Hellas, um associado de sua gravadora, traz dois hambúrgueres para cada um deles; Björn e Benny tomam cerveja e, Anna e Anni-Frid, café preto. Nesse meio tempo, eles autografam cartões postais; o trabalho está terminado, finalmente. Exausta, Anna diz: "Esta foi a mais longa sessão de fotos que nós já fizemos. Contudo, temos um relacionamento especial com a Bravo. Vocês foram os primeiros a se interessar por nós, mesmo antes de atingimos nosso enorme sucesso." "Além disso, foi a Bravo que me ajudou a encontrar meu pai", complementa Anni-Frid.
Antes de nos despedirmos, fomos autorizados a dar uma olhada no estúdio de gravação que o ABBA está construindo, pelo custo de dois milhões de marcos alemães. Ele deve ficar pronto no início de maio e, então, o ABBA quer gravar seu novo álbum ali. E você logo poderá ver as fotos que foram tiradas durante a sessão da Bravo: estamos preparando um grande álbum de estrelas do ABBA para a edição de número 20 da revista...

Text In English from ABBA The Articles Blog

PARA NAVEGAR COM MAIS PRIVACIDADE USE O INTERNET EXPLORER 8. INSTALE GRÁTIS.

Sunday, July 25, 2010

Everything I Do - I Do It For You

Unfortunately, YouTube hasn't accepted my newest video for Benny and Frida, because of its audio's copyright. As I have my blog to post it, I'm doing it here! It has a nice hit from the early 90s, Everything I Do - I Do It For You by Bryan Adams.

Hope you enjoy this video I did with much love.

Friday, July 23, 2010

Tropical ABBA

A 1977 photo session, with ABBA in a tropical mood.

Look at the beautiful macaws! *.*







Frida enchants us with her warm eyes

And what about this thoughtful Agnetha?

Friday, July 16, 2010

Ring, Ring costumes

I have to admit I quite like Ring, Ring costumes, even though they are a bit... hum... okay, a lot fancy. Anyway, those were one of the first costumes worn by ABBA, which became one of the group's great trademarks. That's why I'm doing a whole post devoted to them. 

Let's laugh a little - or a lot - with ABBA's Super Heroes!

The Super League of Music

These are its brave members:
Frida, The Super Mezzo-Soprano!



Agnetha, The Super Soprano!



Björn, The Super Lyricist!

"I have the Power!"

Benny, The Super Feathered!

Of course you are ABBA's Super Musical Genius, Benny!

ABBA...

... a truly united...

... and passionate group!



A talented quartet, who has enchanted everyone...

... with their music...

... since 1972!









Can there be a better group than this?
The answer is not a mystery to be solved at all!

Friday, July 9, 2010

Pretty unusual Frida

Continuing the post Rare Frida, I'm publishing other Frida's pictures, quite unusual for the fans.

Frida in a picture from the 1960s

In some scrapbook, with a young Benny in the detail

Dancing during ABBA 1979 Tour

Traveling in 1979

At Polar Studios, in 1981

In front of her house in Lidingö, also in 1981

Signing an autograph, in 1982

In 1983

Frida attends an opera, in 2002 

In 2003

Saturday, July 3, 2010

Having fun

Well, I don't know if the sequence below is the correct. I oriented myself only by Frida's laugh reactions in order to organize the pictures. Anyway, these photos are quite fun and I would like to know about what Frida and Benny were laughing at loud!

Frida has a fit of laughter!

I guess it was a really good joke!

Benny and Frida go crazy here