CAIRO - Hello. Are you still here? Then you might remember that last week I wrote about movies based on songs of the Beatles covered by others. I wanted to tell you about another movie based on hits by another legendary band but wizards, witches and many other forms of evil powers grabbed my computer away and… Never mind. The exceptional band I wanted to tell you about is Abba. The name of course comes from the initials of the members' first names of Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson and Anni-Frid Lyngstad, who was also known as Frida. A movie was made in 1977 and it did not only feature the quartet's songs but also the artists themselves. Yes, the four Abba members starred in that film, which was appropriately title “Abba the Movie” and somehow coincided with the release of “Abba the Album”. It was a cross between drama and a documentary and I recently watched and enjoyed it very much. It was mainly about a Radio DJ who was trying to interview the band while the four artists were in Australia. He kept chasing them everywhere until he finally bumped into them in a lift. The movie featured live footage from Abba concerts in Australia and those who are familiar with this magnificent band don't need me to remind them how wonderful these songs are. When you listen to most of Abba's tracks you feel that they are very simple, but once you listen to the details you will be amazed – the arrangements are very rich and the techniques are amazing in every way – playing techniques, singing, harmony, music arrangements and of course songwriting. When a song seems to be very simple and it's actually not, I can't help but appreciate the talent and work of the team behind it. Abba's numbers remind me of the works of Mozart – they don't go to my ears… they go straight to my heart. The success of Abba is a bit like that of the Beatles – each of them lasted for less than a decade. While the latter shot to fame in 1962 and split up in 1970, Abba was introduced to the whole world after winning a big prize in 1974 and remained exceptionally successful till the 1983 split. Needless to say, this split broke the hearts of countless fans all over the globe… so I will say no more! I mentioned that Abba won the First Prize and I must tell you the story. It was the Eurovision Song contest with the hit “Waterloo”, which was the band's debut international hit. Ironically, in 1973, Abba was supposed to represent Sweden in the same contest with “Ring Ring” but did not qualify. Are you serious? Was Abba rejected? Anyway, the band returned in full force a year later and didn't only win the first prize, but also the hearts of many fans. After the split each of the two girls pursued a solo career. In case you are wondering, the girls are Agnetha and Frida. Just thought I'd make things clear because some might not be familiar with these Swedish names! Frida had her album “Something's Going On” produced by Phil Collins, who also played the drums and even sang a duet with her. If you don't believe me, listen to the hit “I Know There's Something Going On” and “Here We'll Stay”. Agnetha had a couple of hits as well but frankly her solo work was boring. Unfortunately nothing compared to the collective work of the four members. Before I move on and before I forget, I should tell you that Frida was married to Benny and Agnetha to Björn. This is amazing. So it was music, family and business. The boys worked together and wrote or co-wrote brilliant musicals like “Chess”, which featured the hits “I Know Him So Well” by Elaine Paige and Barbara Dickson and Murray Head's “One Night in Bangkok”. Then, Benny went on and worked on “Mamma Mia”. This is not only the name of one of Abba's biggest hits, but the title of a musical which included 24 of the band's songs. It was so successful that someone decide to turn it into a movie of the same name. They did and it was released in 2008. Benny himself worked on the soundtrack – he re-recorded the music to Abba's songs used in the movie. He even enlisted the help of musicians from the original recording sessions. As much as I hate to say it… this movie has become the most successful movie musical of all time, breaking the record previously held by “Saturday Night Fever”, which featured great tracks of the Bee Gees and others. However, Barry Gibb of the Bee Gees admitted that, even at the peak of his band's success, Abba was competition. No-one can deny that fact. So “Mama Mia” is the other film I wanted to tell you about because Abba originals were covered by actors like Colin Firth, Pierce Brosnan and of course the star of the movie, Meryl Streep, who also sang the title track. I wouldn't compare their performances to Abba's but I do believe that the involvement of Benny made a huge difference. I should watch that movie again because after all this talk I realised I miss listening to Abba. What am I saying? Why shouldn't I listen to the original material instead? Send me your “Money, Money, Money” to: [email protected]
