I have a dream

Don't you think those angels printed on Frida's pyjamas look a little like Benny? Yes, I may be crazy, but it was what I thought when I saw this picture for the first time...

Frida certainly had very quiet nights with Benny everywhere

Chess

No, this title does not refer to the famous Benny and Björn's 1980s musical. I'm just talking about a pretty well-known and charming ABBA photo session done in 1977. Below, I present you with some of its pictures, which may be found in a lot of old newspapers and magazines articles about the group as well as in a lot of sites and blogs devoted to the band. 

Everyone is very stylish in this photo shoot

Did you notice that Agnetha changed her shoes?

I mean, on the pictures above and also on the pictures below, she's wearing red boots

Benny, Frida, and their so-in-love style

Björn, Agnetha and their so-practical style...

Oh, and here's another famous ABBA couple!

Ops, I mean... ABBA pair

Tonight the Super Trouper lights are gonna find me

Gorgeous Frida and Agnetha are posing for one of the many Super Trouper photo shoots, in 1980.

Glamorous ladies...

... glamorous outfits...

... glamorous makeup!

I have no doubts that those two are dolls

Super Trouper lights have found Frida...

... and Agnetha

Dresses and dresses...

Frida really loved them!

And I have to say that her sandals are very nice too!

ABBA shines on 1979 tour

ABBA, the highlights of their '79 show - Hits, blown upon blown - article originally published by German magazine Bravo, in October 1979
 

It was the ultimate ABBA triumph: after an almost two-hour-long show at the Coliseum in Edmonton, Canada, 14.000 spectators were cheering the Swedish supergroup on. It was ABBA’s first live performance after two and a half years, the first concert on the American continent and at the same time the kick-off of their mammoth tour lasting several months through the USA and Europe.

ABBA likes to start their tours high up north. And Edmonton in the federal capital Alberta is the city that is situated the highest up north in Canada.

September 13 was ABBA day in Edmonton: the radio stations played ABBA hits non-stop, and continuously the radio reporters reported the latest news about the rehearsals at the Coliseum. Even late in the afternoon, before the concert, ABBA was on stage to put the finishing touch to their show.

Then the time had come. A narrator announced that ABBA would put on a ninety minute show, without a break. That’s why the concert attendees made sure they had a sufficient supply of sweets, popcorn and coke.

The lights in the hall faded, the deep blue curtains at the end of the hall (where usually ice hockey is being played) were illuminated, festive organ sounds were resonating.

When the curtain was lifted, ABBA was standing on stage in a bright red light. On the left Björn, then Agnetha and Anni-Frid and ultimately Benny who rapidly walked from the organ in the background to the piano in the forestage. During the first chords of the opening song, Agnetha and Anni-Frid were stretching both arms widely. Their beautiful capes in silver and white with the reversed ABBA triangle in three different shades of blue established a large triangle.

In the whole ABBA show, the colours white and blue were dominating and triangles were the predominating shapes. In the background, triangles in different shades of blue – the official ABBA trademark for this tour – were looming in front of a white wall and in all the costumes of the musicians, white was the dominating colour. Even the roadies were wearing snow-white overalls. With the ultraviolet light, the whole stage looked like a giant ice crystal.

They were enthusiastically welcomed by the audience with their opening song ‘Voulez-Vous’. After this latest hit, Agnetha and Anni-Frid went backstage, to take off their triangle capes. They came back in a skin tight white jersey with blue stripes on the upper part. Around their hips, they had wrapped a refined white-blue triangle cloth, that was yet again removed after a couple of songs. White leather boots completed their white-blue stage outfit.

Björn was wearing a shiny jersey in bright violet, completed with a white jacket and white boots. Benny was dressed in white trousers and a white jacket over a naked upper body. On his chest, a blue tie was dangling.

‘Knowing Me, Knowing You’ was the second song, after which Björn introduced all the group members. The last one to be introduced was Agnetha with the words: “The tall blonde, my former wife. And I’m not sure if she is as good as you.” This was a hint to Agnetha’s next song ‘As Good As New’. Subsequently, on her way to the microphone, Agnetha walked past Björn and jokingly insinuated that she was going to give him a blow to the jaw.

After that, Björn performed his solo ‘Rock Me’, whereby he was rocking wildly across the stage. This was followed by a song for Anni-Frid: ‘One Man, One Woman’. Then something unusual happened: Agnetha announced a song that was written by one of the backing singers and ABBA switched parts with their backing group: all of a sudden the guitarist had become the lead singer and the backing singer was sitting at the piano. The ABBA stars retreated to the background: Björn was playing the tambourine, Benny was handling the rhythm section and Anni-Frid and Agnetha joined the backing singers.

From then on it was blow upon blow: Agnetha sang ‘Chiquitita’, Anni-Frid ‘Money, Money, Money’ (with a cigarette holder in her hand). They performed ‘SOS’, ‘Fernando’, ‘Name Of The Game’ – one hit after the other.

Then came another surprise: after two verses of Anni-Frid’s song ‘I Have A Dream’, both ABBA girls went backstage and came back with 20 children. They came from a children’s choir in Edmonton, and they finished the song with both girls. The audience was so ecstatic that they had to repeat the last verse. Many a time during the show, Benny’s piano was raised on a hydraulic platform, so that he could play standing up, like he did in ‘Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! A Man After Midnight’, ‘Take A Chance On Me’, ‘Does Your Mother Know’ and ‘Summer Night City’. Anni-Frid offered a special surprise as well. When she appeared on stage during one song wearing a hat and a large Oilers T-shirt – the Edmonton ice hockey team – she got an extra applause from the audience.

For the last three songs, Agnetha and Anni-Frid appeared on stage in a dark blue jersey. And during ‘It’s Gotta Be Rock ‘n’ Roll’, all four of them were centre stage, romping around, while the blue triangles in the background suddenly started moving and an illuminated ABBA logo became visible. The audience was raging with excitement.

However, this was the finale of the concert. But obviously the 14.000 spectators were clapping their hands until they got an encore. The four Swedes came back on stage. Benny was provided with an accordion and together they sang ‘The Way Old Friends Do’, a sentimental song that tells the story about old friends that will always stay together. And this was followed by the big bang: the song was segued into ‘Dancing Queen’, the biggest hit that ABBA ever had in the USA. The ovations seemed to have no end.

14.000 delighted audience members left the hall in Edmonton. And the four Swedes can rest assured that they will gain a lot of new fans with their amazing stage show on this tour.

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O ABBA e os destaques de sua turnê de 79 - Hits, um atrás do outro - artigo originalmente publicado pela revista alemã Bravo, em outubro de 1979

Esse foi o mais recente triunfo do ABBA: depois de quase duas horas de show no Coliseu, em Edmonton, no Canadá, 14000 espectadores aplaudiram a super banda sueca. Após dois anos e meio, essa foi a primeira performance ao vivo do grupo, assim como o primeiro show no continente americano e, ao mesmo tempo, o pontapé inicial de sua gigantesca turnê pelos EUA e pela Europa, que duraria vários meses. 

O ABBA, de fato, gosta de começar suas turnês no extremo norte e, Edmonton, na capital federal, Alberta, é a cidade situada no mais alto ponto do norte do Canadá.  

Para o grupo, treze de setembro foi seu dia especial, em Edmonton: as estações de rádio tocaram, sem parar, os hits da banda e, continuamente, os repórteres das estações divulgavam as últimas notícias a respeito dos ensaios no Coliseu. Já no final da tarde, antes da apresentação, o ABBA subiu ao palco a fim de dar um toque final aos preparativos para seu show. 

Então, a hora chegou. O narrador anunciou que a banda faria uma apresentação de noventa minutos, sem pausa; daí a necessidade de o público se certificar de que possuía um suprimento suficiente de doces, pipoca e coca-cola.

As luzes do hall (onde, geralmente, são realizados jogos de hóquei no gelo) diminuíram e, no final do salão, as cortinas azul-marinho foram iluminadas, enquanto um alegre som de órgão se fazia ouvir.

Quando as cortinas se levantaram, o ABBA estava ali, no palco, sob uma brilhante luz vermelha. À esquerda, encontrava-se Björn e, então, Agnetha e Frida, aparecendo, por último, Benny, o qual, rapidamente, correu do órgão, situado nos fundos do palco, até o piano, à frente. Durante os primeiros acordes da música de abertura, Agnetha e Anni-Frid esticaram totalmente seus braços. Suas belas capas nas cores prata e branco formaram, de ponta-cabeça e em três tons de azul, o enorme triângulo-símbolo do ABBA.

Durante todo o show, na verdade, branco e azul foram as cores predominantes e, os triângulos, os símbolos da vez. Essas formas - que representam a marca do grupo, nessa turnê - apareciam, em diferentes tonalidades azuladas, nos fundos do placo, em frente a uma parede clara. O branco, por sua vez, dominava o figurino de todos os músicos, de forma que mesmo os rodies o usavam em macacões próximos à cor da neve; e, em meio a uma luz ultravioleta, o palco se assemelhava a um gigante cristal de gelo.

O quarteto foi entusiasticamente aplaudido pelo público, ao abrir o show com Voulez Vous. Então, após se apresentarem com seu mais novo hit, Agnetha e Anni-Frid se dirigiram aos bastidores a fim de trocar de roupa. As duas logo retornaram em um macacão branco colado no corpo e com listras azuis na parte superior. Ao redor de seus quadris, por outro lado, as garotas traziam enrolado um refinado lenço azul e branco em formato de triângulo, que, contudo, foi removido após determinadas performances; botas de couro claro completavam seus trajes de palco em azul e branco.

Já Björn vestia um apertado macacão em um tom de roxo claro, acompanhado por jaqueta e botas brancos; Benny vestia calças também brancos e uma jaqueta que deixava seu peito à mostra, com uma gravata pendurada sobre o mesmo.

Após Knowing Me, Knowing You, a segunda canção tocada, Björn introduziu o quarteto. A última a ser apresentada foi Agnetha, sob as palavras "A loira alta, minha ex-esposa. E não estou certo de que ela seja tão boa quanto vocês", o que representou uma deixa para a música seguinte, As Good As New, cantada por Agnetha. Na sequência, enquanto caminhava até o microfone, a loira aproximou-se de Björn e, brincando, fingiu estar prestes a lhe dar um soco no queixo.

Após a terceira canção, Björn apresentou seu solo em Rock Me, balançando-se energicamente no palco. Então, Frida cantou One Man, One Woman e, em seguida, algo incomum aconteceu: Agnetha anunciou uma canção que tinha sido escrita por um dos backing vocals e o ABBA juntou-se aos cantores de apoio, transformando, num instante, um guitarrista em vocalista e, um backing singer, em tecladista. As estrelas da banda retiraram-se para os fundos: Björn tocava um tambor, Benny controlava a área rítmica e as garotas davam suporte aos cantores de apoio.

A partir daí, foi sucesso seguido de sucesso: Agnetha cantou Chiquitita e, Anni-Frid - com um cigarro na mão -, Money, Money, Money. Apresentaram-se também com S.O.S., Fernando, The Name Of The Game - um hit atrás de outro.

Logo, veio outra surpresa: após dois versos da canção I Have A Dream, de Anni-Frid, ambas as garotas do ABBA se dirigiram aos bastidores para, então, trazer consigo vinte crianças oriundas do coral infantil de Edmonton, que, com Frida e Agnetha, cantaram a música. O público ficou tão excitado que chegou a repetir o último verso. Muitas vezes, durante o show, o piano de Benny foi erguido por uma platoforma hidráulica, de modo que ele pudesse tocar em pé, como em Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (a man after midnight), em Take A Chance On Me, em Does Your Mother Know? e em Summer Night City. Anni-Frid também ofereceu uma surpresa especial: ao aparecer com um chapéu e uma larga camiseta do Oilers - o time de hóquei de Edmonton -, ela obteve aplausos extras do público.
Para suas três últimas performances, Agnetha e Anni-Frid vestiram um macacão azul-escuro. Durante It's Gotta Be Rock'N'Roll, o quarteto manteve-se no centro do palco, rodopiando por ele, enquanto, nos fundos, os triângulos azuis começavam, momentaneamente, a se mover, e um iluminado logo do ABBA se

tornava visível; a plateia ia ao delírio.

Esse teria sido o final do show, se os 14000 espectadores presentes não estivessem batendo palmas a fim de pedir ao grupo para continuar; assim, o quarteto voltou aos palcos. Benny havia providenciado um acordeão e, com isso, a banda cantou The Way Old Friends Do, uma canção sentimental que conta a história de velhos amigos, os quais estão sempre juntos; e isto foi seguido de um big bang: o mais famoso hit do ABBA, Dancing Queen, foi cantado, assim como o grupo o tinha feito nos EUA.
Os 14000 presentes saíram encantados de Edmonton. Os suecos, por sua vez, puderam descansar, certos de que ganhariam muitos fãs novos com seus maravilhosos shows nessa turnê.

Text in English from ABBA The Articles Blog

Top model

Frida's posing individually during an ABBA photo shoot taken in Stockholm, in 1972.

I love Frida's hair at that time

She should have kept that haircut for more time...

"Hello, I'm here!"

Hard work on 1979 tour

                                  

ABBA is being mysterious - article originally published by German magazine Rocky, in 1979

During the rehearsals for their 41-city-tour, ABBA was almost completely shielded from the outer world. Still, Rocky was able to talk to them.

“Actually, this time we didn’t want to do any interviews at all, until the rehearsals for our new tour had been completed”, Björn explained, when the four from ABBA arrived right on time for the scheduled photo session. “Because we don’t want to take the risk that glitches will occur during the first concerts of our tour and our fans will be disappointed.”

The team from Sweden has plenty of fans. The concerts in England, Scotland and Ireland with 75.000 tickets available, were sold out within one day. In Denmark, the ABBA tickets were even on sale for only half a day.

“Of course, that’s a great success for us”, says Anni-Frid, “but it means a tremendous obligation as well. We have to be better than ever.”

And to live up to these expectations, the entire ABBA crew, together with six musicians and three backing singers, withdrew in a film studio in Stockholm for almost a month.

“We have tried out every step, every song, every sound and light effect, until we were fed up with it”. No one wanted or was allowed to tell us how their costumes and their show will look like. “Whoever says something, will be sacked”, Benny threatened, “because we want to offer a real surprise to our fans. Everything that’s being said about it before the start of the tour is very far-fetched”.

When ABBA comes to Germany at the end of October, they will already have performed 19 concerts. “But you don’t need to worry that we will be too worn out by then to put on a good show”, Agnetha remarked preventively. “We love our job, and when we get a good response from the audience and we don’t get bugged too much in between the concerts, the stress of the tour doesn’t matter to us”.

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O misterioso ABBA -  artigo originalmente publicado pela revista alemã Rocky, em 1979

Durante os ensaios para sua turnê por 41 cidades, o ABBA esteve quase completamente protegido do mundo exterior. Ainda assim, a Rocky foi capaz de falar com a banda.

 

"De fato, desta vez, nós não quisemos dar quaisquer entrevistas até que os ensaios para nossa turnê estivessem terminados", explicou Björn, assim que os quatro membros do grupo chegaram, na hora marcada, para uma sessão de fotos agendada. "Afinal, não queremos correr o risco de que falhas ocorram no decorrer de nossos primeiros shows, o que desapontaria nossos fãs."

A turma sueca tem muitos admiradores. Os shows na Inglaterra, na Escócia e na Irlanda tiveram seus 75.000 ingressos disponíveis vendidos num único dia, enquanto, na Dinamarca, eles estiveram à venda por apenas meio dia.

"É claro que isso representa um enorme sucesso para nós", diz Anni-Frid, "mas, também, significa que temos uma grande obrigação. Temos de estar melhores do que nunca".

E, para estar à altura de tamanhas expectativas, toda a tripulação do ABBA, contando seus seis músicos e suas três backing vocals, reclusou-se, por quase um mês, em um estúdio de gravação, em Estocolmo.

"Nós experimentamos cada passo, cada canção, cada som e cada efeito de iluminação, até que estivéssemos satisfeitos com todos". Ninguém quis ou teve permissão para nos revelar como seriam seus trajes e seus shows. "Quem disser algo será demitido", ameaçou Benny, "uma vez que desejamos oferecer uma surpresa genuína a nossos fãs. Têm sido ditas coisas muito exageradas a respeito desses assuntos, mesmo não tendo começado a turnê".

Quando o ABBA chegar à Alemanha, no final de outubro, o quarteto já terá realizado dezenove shows. "Isso, porém, não significa que vocês devam se preocupar e temer que o nosso desgaste nos impeça de realizar um bom show", previne Agnetha. "Nós amamos nosso trabalho e, quando recebemos um retorno positivo do público e não ficamos muito aborrecidos entre as apresentações, o cansaço da turnê simplesmente não nos incomoda".

 

Text in English from ABBA The Articles Blog

Frida in 1996

Below, some very nice Anni-Frid's pictures taken at the time of the releasing of Djupa Andetag album.

This one you can also see here

I haven't found this picture in a very good quality, it's better than nothing, though

I'm not sure if this alternate was taken in the same photo shoot as the ones above, but it's likely as Frida apparently has the same clothes and jewelry in it