Here’s a good news for all the music lovers – Swedish supergroup ABBA is releasing its first new music in four decades, along with a concert performance that will see the ‘Dancing Queen’ quartet going entirely digital.
The forthcoming album ‘Voyage,’ to be released Nov. 5, is a follow-up to 1981's ‘The Visitors,’ which until now had been the swan song of the Swedish supergroup. And a virtual version of the band will begin a series of concerts in London on May 27.
In a statement, ABBA said, “We took a break in the spring of 1982 and now we've decided it's time to end it. They say it's foolhardy to wait more than 40 years between albums, so we've recorded a follow-up to The Visitors.”
Soon after, fans piled online to celebrate the long-awaited reunion of one of the world’s most successful bands. “2021 has been saved by new ABBA music,” one of them wrote on Twitter..
Other posted a video to express his excitement.
“I’m so excited to see this new project after so many years! I can’t wait,” wrote another user.
“New ABBA means at least ten more 'Mamma Mia' films and I do not think there is anything wrong with that. A 120 year old Christine Baranski singing with Colin Firth dancing in the background with a walking frame #ABBAVoyage.”
“THIS. this is the highlight of summer 2021. White heartWhite heart couldn't be more excited !!! Smiling face with heart-shaped eyes #ABBA #ABBAVoyage”
The group has been creating the live show with George Lucas' special-effects company, Industrial Light & Magic. They say the virtual versions of themselves are ‘weird and wonderful,’ and go beyond holograms.
“It was suggested to us that we could go on tour as a hologram. And this is now four, five years ago," Björn Ulvaeus, ABBA's 76-year-old guitarist, backup singer and co-songwriter said at a news conference Thursday. “And we found out very soon that that wasn't even possible because holograms is an old technology, but I mean, the vision was there of having our digital selves, that even was a possibility.” “And also,” said Benny Andersson, 74, who plays keyboards, sings and writes songs with Ulvaeus, “we want to do it before we were dead.”
(With Inputs From AP)
