Get ready to hit the dance floor, because iconic Swedish pop band ABBA has announced that they are set to release their first new music in 39 years.
Comprised of Anni-Frid Lyngstad, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Agnetha Fältskog, ABBA last recorded music in 1982 and have not performed publicly since appearing in 1985 on a Swedish television program honoring their manager Stig Anderson. The band did briefly reunite for a private event in Stockholm in 2016.
The huge announcement was teased on the group’s new ABBA Voyage website and social media. Their post on Twitter references next Thursday, while the website encouraged fans to register for early news about the Voyage.
According to the Sun, a source has confirmed that ABBA will drop new songs next Friday, and the group is expected to announce the dates or more information for their new hologram tour show featuring “ABBA-tars” of the band in a purpose-built London venue. Plans for the hologram tour were first announced in 2016 and is expected to open in May 2022.
Join us at https://t.co/AAFQLIrqJu #ABBAVoyage pic.twitter.com/7LYw3kojzB
— ABBA Voyage (@ABBAVoyage) August 26, 2021
Talking to the BBC about the project, Ulvaeus says the idea came from Spice Girls manager Simon Fuller.
“He came to Stockholm and he presented this idea to us that we could make identical digital copies of ourselves of a certain age and that those copies could then go on tour and they could sing our songs, you know, and lip-sync,” he says. “I’ve seen this project halfway through and it’s already mind-boggling.”
Ulvaeus also confirmed earlier this year with the Heard Sun that new music would be coming.
“It is not a case anymore of it might happen, it will happen,” he says.
Known for their hit tracks like “Mamma Mia,” “Dancing Queen,” and “Super Trouper,” the group is expected to release two earlier recordings and at least three additional new songs. It is currently unknown whether or not they will reunite for live performances, but they do plan to attend the unveiling of their ABBA-tars.
Considered a dream team, ABBA burst into the homes of a much wider audience after winning the 1974 Eurovision competition with their performance of “Waterloo.” Since then, they have sold over 400 million singles and albums, the Broadway musical Mamma Mia!, produced by Ulvaeus and Andersson, has become a smash hit both on stage and film, and their pop tunes have developed into LGBTQ favorites.
ABBA has always acknowledged their queer fans, saying they are “very proud” of the community’s love for their music.
“We found out quite early that ‘Dancing Queen’ had become an anthem and we were very proud that we’ve been chosen by the community,” Uvaeus said in a 2019 interview.
He went on to call “Dancing Queen” a “liberating anthem” and “a wonderful thing.”
