OGAE Rest of the World members Kent and Michele Acott (Perth, Australia) were fortunate to attend the opening of Abba The Museum two years ago in Stockholm, Sweden. The following article was written by Kent Acott (Perth, Australia) and appeared in The West Australian Newspaper on May 9 2013. The three attached photographs were taken by Michele at the opening and during Bjorn’s address to the media.
STOCKHOLM
Abba fans around the world finally have their mecca — a place to pay homage to the Swedish quartet who dominated international music charts for most of the 1970s and 1980s.
The Abba Museum opened on the island of Djurgarden in Stockholm on Tuesday after years of planning and almost exactly 30 years since the supergroup called it quits.
“I wanted somewhere where I could take my grandchildren and show them what all the fuss was about, ” band member and museum co-ordinator Bjorn Ulvaeus said just hours before the doors opened.
“This is the place that tells our story — in our own words.
“When I walk around the museum, it is difficult to understand that it really did happen — and that it happened to us, to me.
“All of those numbers — the 380 million records sold, the 50 million people who have seen Mamma Mia the musical — are too difficult to understand, to contemplate.
“We took our music very seriously. Everyone else was fun.
“It has been 30 years since the group was together and I think that time has given some perspective to the Abba story. It is this perspective that makes the story so interesting, I think.”
The West Australian was among a handful of international media organisations provided with a preview of the museum, which offers a highly interactive journey through one of the biggest success stories in contemporary music history.
Patrons have the opportunity to record their own song and dress up like Abba members.
There is even the chance to become the fifth member of Abba — thanks to the magic of animated graphics and holographics.
There is also a self-playing piano that is linked to Benny Andersson’s studio in the Stockholm suburb of Skeppsholmen.
When Andersson plays, the museum piano plays.
And to recognise the 1973 hit Ring Ring, there is a red telephone. Only four people in the world have its number so, when it rings, you know it is a member of Abba.
“We wanted to create both a documentary and a spectacular music exhibition, ” museum manager Ingmarie Halling — the group’s former stylist — said.
“We had a solid archive, to say the least. Everything was saved.”
Museum chief executive Mattias Hansson said the four members of the group had “cleaned out their closets” to donate items to the museum.
Other pieces were found or bought. For example, the band’s original music mixing table was found in a garage in Germany.
Abba toured Australia in 1977, including five concerts in three days at the now-demolished Perth Entertainment Centre from March 10-12.
The significance of Australia to the band’s success is not lost in the museum, with frequent references, including a section devoted to the movie shot when they toured.
The museum opening marks a big week for Abba. Ulvaeus and Andersson have co-written the theme song for next week’s Eurovision Song Contest in Malmo, in southern Sweden.
And Agnetha Faltskog is about to release her first album of new material in 25 years.
The single, When You Really Loved Someone, is already charting well in some parts of Europe.
By Kent Acott
The West Australian
[table id=6 /]
