ABBA

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Bono: Pressure to Be Macho Kept Him Quiet About Abba

The Edge owns up to liking the Bee Gees, as well

(Newser) - Since his youth in Dublin, Bono has hidden something from the world: his affection for the music of Abba. He just wasn't brave enough to announce it. Macho factors were involved, he confessed on a BBC Radio show ; his peers were into punk at the time, not Swedish pop....

Before Concert's Start, Man Falls to Death, Kills Another

It happened at a concert hall in Sweden where an ABBA tribute concert was to begin

(Newser) - Wednesday was supposed to be the day ABBA released a trailer promoting its "highly anticipated comeback tour," reports NPR . Tour organizers tweeted Wednesday that they were holding off in light "of the tragic news at the tribute concert in Sweden last night." That was a reference...

40 Years ABBA Fans Have Waited for This

Band finishes a new album and plans a virtual stage show in East London

(Newser) - Here's something you don't hear often: ABBA has a couple of new songs out. And the early word is they're pretty good. The music happened when the band, which broke up in 1982, started working on a virtual concert that will start its run in May in...

ABBA Went Into the Studio, Came Out With 2 New Songs

Swedish pop supergroup makes surprise announcement 35 years after breakup

(Newser) - Mamma mia! The members of ABBA say they've recorded new material for the first time in 35 years. Per the AP , the Swedish pop supergroup says it has recorded two new songs, including one entitled "I Still Have Faith in You." The news was announced Friday in...

ABBA Performs for First Time in 30 Years

Band sang part of a song together Sunday in Stockholm

(Newser) - Lucky guests to a private party in Stockholm on Sunday witnessed what a guitarist calls "a piece of music history." Swedish band ABBA performed together for the first time in decades, marking 50 years to the day that band members Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson first met,...

ABBA Reunited Wednesday Night—Sort of

More importantly, there now exists an ABBA singalong restaurant

(Newser) - The four former members of iconic Swedish pop group ABBA have made a rare joint appearance for the opening of a Stockholm restaurant inspired by the Mamma Mia! musical. Benny Andersson, Agnetha Faltskog, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad showed up Wednesday for the opening night of fellow former band member Bjoern Ulvaeus'...

The 10 Most- Misheard Song Lyrics

 The 10 Most- 
 Misheard 
 Song Lyrics 
new poll

The 10 Most- Misheard Song Lyrics

Starring Abba, Queen, Bon Jovi

(Newser) - "See that girl, watch her scream": British music website Blinkbox has polled 2,000 adults on the most-misheard pop lyrics ever, and the results are amusing. While Ozzy Osbourne, Lady Gaga, and Shaggy topped the list of least-understandable singers, it was Abba, Queen, and Bon Jovi whose individual songs...

ABBA: Crazy Costumes Were a Tax Dodge

Outfits could be deducted, as long as they were outrageous

(Newser) - The crazy outfits ABBA was known for donning onstage? The band didn't pick them solely based on a love of sequins and spandex, the Guardian reports. Rather, Björn Ulvaeus confesses in a new book, Swedish tax laws allowed bands to deduct money spent on costumes, as long as...

ABBA, Stooges, Genesis Enter Rock Hall of Fame

Star-studded NYC bash also honors Jimmy Cliff, Stooges

(Newser) - ABBA, the Stooges, the Hollies, Genesis, and Jimmy Cliff made their way into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame last night. "I'm very angry that Madonna got in before us," joked ABBA’s Anni-Frid Lyngstad; she and ex-husband Benny Andersson attended the New York ceremony while their...

40 Most Glaring Rock Hall of Fame Omissions

 40 Most 
 Glaring 
 Rock Hall 
 of Fame 
 Omissions 
Abba's in, why not alice cooper?

40 Most Glaring Rock Hall of Fame Omissions

But the Beastie Boys should get in soon; Alice Cooper not so much

(Newser) - Five artists enter the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame tonight—the Hollies, the Stooges, Jimmy Cliff, Genesis, and, no kidding, ABBA—but as always "it seems like whoever gets anointed, or shunned, generates more controversy than the abortion debate and the death penalty combined," writes Jim Farber...

Spice Girls to Get Mamma Mia! Treatment

Creator Judy Craymer back for similar musical

(Newser) - Mamma Mia! creator Judy Craymer has signed a deal to make a Spice Girls musical in the same vein as her ABBA-themed megahit. The new show won’t actually be about the British pop outfit; it’ll just link their greatest hits with an unrelated story, the same way Mamma ...

Rock Hall to Induct Stooges, ABBA

Genesis, Hollies, Jimmy Cliff also gets the call

(Newser) - The Stooges, Genesis, and ABBA will head next year’s class of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees, along with the Hollies and Jimmy Cliff. The ceremony will be March 15, with all the inductees invited to perform, though some, particularly ABBA, may be tough to bring together, notes...

UK Minister Denies He Bet Governing Party Would Falter

Lord West got 66-1 odds on Labour defeat

(Newser) - Lord Alan West, the UK’s colorful security minister, today denied he’d bet on the Labour party’s defeat in the next election, the Times of London reports. The Telegraph yesterday alleged that West placed the bet when Gordon Brown succeeded Tony Blair as prime minister, grabbing 66-1 odds....

Putin Denies Digging ABBA Cover Show

But spokesman admits that ex-KGB agent is a fan

(Newser) - Vladimir Putin is no dancing queen, the Kremlin insists, denying reports that Russia’s prime minister attended a hush-hush ABBA cover concert, AFP reports. “Officially and for sure Vladimir Putin never took part in any concert of the kind,” Putin’s spokesman said. “He wasn’t there....

Mamma Mia! Putin's a Dancing Queen

Putin's secret Abba tribute band concert

(Newser) - Russia's Vladimir Putin may appear to have ice flowing through his veins, but beneath that arctic exterior is the pulsating heart of an ABBA fan. The Russian PM paid $30,000 to have Abba tribute group Bjorn Again secretly flown to Moscow for a private concert for himself and a...

Mamma Mia! Drowns Titanic's UK Take

Money, Money, Money at UK box office

(Newser) - The movie version of the fluffy romantic musical Mamma Mia! has become Britain's biggest box office hit of all time, E! Online reports. The Meryl Streep flick, based on the tunes of the '70s Swedish pop group ABBA, earned $107.7 million in 22 weeks in theaters, sailing beyond the...

Batman or Spidey? McCain, Obama Weigh In

Candidates reveal pop-culture picks

(Newser) - Closet ABBA fan: Obama or McCain? The two presidential hopefuls recently bared all to Entertainment Weekly, revealing their pop-culture preferences:
  • Favorite superhero: Obama: Spiderman, McCain: Batman
  • iPod playlist: Obama: Frank Sinatra, Sheryl Crow, John Coltrane, Bob Dylan; McCain: Roy Orbison, Linda Rhonstadt, Usher, and yes, ABBA

Take a Chance on Mamma Mia!
 Take a Chance on Mamma Mia! 
MOVIE REVIEW

Take a Chance on Mamma Mia!

Golden oldies save cheesy musical adaptation from being a stinker

(Newser) - Mamma Mia! doesn't quite pull off the leap from stage to screen, but ABBA fans will find it worth taking a chance on, critics say. The "jukebox musical that strings together 19 ABBA hits on a narrative thread flimsier than dental floss" had Carrie Rickey of the Philadelphia Inquirer ...

Top 10 Musical Movie Moments
 Top 10 Musical Movie Moments 

Top 10 Musical Movie Moments

The perfect sound clip can make a scene unforgettable

(Newser) - Forget soundtracks. CNN zeros in on fleeting scenes that use image and sound to send a shiver down your spine. The top 10 marriages of audio and video:
  1. “Born to Be Wild” blasting while Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper ride down the highway in Easy Rider (1969)
  2. Mr. Blonde
...

Not So Fun to Stay on the Pirate Bay
Not So Fun to Stay on the Pirate Bay

Not So Fun to Stay on the Pirate Bay

Village People head up groups taking aim at file-sharing site

(Newser) - The Village People head a list of music industry has-beens pondering legal action against file-sharing site The Pirate Bay, after the service was indicted in Sweden for copyright infringement. The artists would join Prince, who’s been on the war path against the site for some time, reports Ars Technica.

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