“Mamma Mia!” is a franchise built upon ABBA’s fun, catchy tunes. Most people know “Mamma Mia” from the two films starring Meryl Streep and Amanda Seyfried (among others!), but this franchise actually started out as a musical based off ABBA’s hit songs.
In fact, this franchise is much more than just a bunch of dancing queens. We rounded up some things you may not know about the series.
This whole franchise started from a serendipitous car ride.
image: https://static.thisisinsider.com/image/5bd70c7548eb12652b2b2ef6-1200.jpg
Craymer started a friendship with the members of ABBA.
Judy Craymer was 25-years-old when she was asked to pick up ABBA pop star Björn Ulvaeus from the airport. According to Vanity Fair, it was that car ride that started a friendship between Craymer, Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson. She was the one to pitch them the idea of turning their songs into a stage musical.
When Craymer was telling Vanity Fair about the appeal of ABBA’s songs and the franchise, she said, “‘Mamma Mia!’ Makes people comfortable in their own skin.”
Members of ABBA have made cameos in both films.
In the first “Mamma Mia!” movie, Andersson played the piano on the dock while the cast sang and had a memorable dance number to “Dancing Queen,” while Ulvaeus appeared in the ending credits as a Greek god during the cast’s performance of “Waterloo.”
In “Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again,” Andersson is once again playing the piano, but this time in a restaurant while young Harry is trying to woo young Donna with a performance of “Waterloo.” Ulvaeus has a bit of a different role, this time as a teacher at young Donna’s graduation.
The ‘Super Trouper’ number at the end of the second film was 100% authentic.
The cast said they had a great time filming ‘Super Trooper.’
Screenwriter and director for “Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again” Ol Parker revealed that if the Super Trouper scene at the end looks really fun, it’s because it was. Not much was done in order to pull that dance party together.
“When they’re dancing in ‘Super Trouper,’ that’s all real. We played the song loudly and sent them off to different corners … They just had an absolute hoot. The only problem was the men stuffing things down their spandex trousers, that was the only competition through the whole movie, who could get the most down their pants,” Parker told Awards Daily.
Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson were involved in the second film.
Who knew these two were such fans? According to HuffPost, the couple served as executive producers on the sequel.
Meryl Streep really did the splits in the first film.
Streep said that it was “instinct” that allowed her to do splits in the first film, although she’s not sure she could replicate it now.
“I just did the splits on instinct. That’s what always happens with my acting. As an actor, you’re not allowed to think. I couldn’t do the splits for you right now,” Streep told The Guardian.
Cher wasn’t asked to be Sophie’s grandmother, she was told.
Cher told Sky News that she didn’t have much of a choice when it came to playing Sophie’s grandmother in the highly anticipated sequel. The head of Universal Pictures also used to be her agent, so when he called her to tell her about the part, he hung up before she could say no. Pierce Brosnan’s family (and housekeeper) wasn’t too keen on his singing voice at first.
In an interview with Good Housekeeping, Brosnan said when he first tried out his vocal cords with his family, even the housekeeper cringed.
“They kept their opinions to themselves for a while, though. They didn’t want me to be discouraged,” said Brosnan.
But, after practicing all the time (and against his children’s will), Brosnan says he got better.
“Now my family seems to think I’m doing all right. But it’s possible they’re being nice. They’re probably still cringing,” said Brosnan. Many locals were apparently happy to host the cast for the first movie.
Firth said people welcomed them.
In an interview with Popsugar while on tour for the first film, Colin Firth explained that the people of the Greek island Skopelos either welcomed the cast with open arms or completely ignored them.
“Frankly, I think the ABBA factor was the thing that got people excited, and the presence of Pierce and Meryl. I think even if you live on Skopelos and have never seen ‘Mamma Mia!’ You’ll still probably know all the songs. So I think people were really extremely happy,” said Firth.
Lily James said she couldn’t talk for a week in preparation.
James had to give her voice a break.
In an interview with Build Series, James talked about how since she had just come off a press tour for ‘Baby Driver,’ she had to save her voice to prep for the role of young Donna.
“I’d just been on a really big press tour for Baby Driver and all I’d done is talk for so long and my voice was shot to hell it was just croaky and disgusting. So, it was me being really neurotic, as usual, but it was also me being told by the doctor I had to shut up … I just didn’t talk for a week,” James told Build Series.
A third movie isn’t out of the question.
image: https://static.thisisinsider.com/image/5b4e3138ba4943b90b8b45cd-1200.jpg
A third movie isn’t out of the question.
That’s right “Mamma Mia” fans, there might be a third movie to dance and sing along to. In an interview with Vanity Fair, Dominic Cooper, who plays Seyfried’s on-screen love interest in both movies, spilled the beans that ABBA is back in the studio!
“I’d spoke to Benny and Bjorn the other day – I love talking to them about their past and the history of the band. And they have got the band back together in the studio now recording … So, who knows? They made such successful music, and they always said, ‘If we knew, we’d do it again, and again, and again.’ And maybe them all being together again will do it. After this amount of time, after all the pressures of everything have gone…and if they do, then yes, there will be a third,” Cooper told Vanity Fair.
Mama Mia! I'll never stop thanking Abba for the music
Judy Craymer created the ‘Mamma Mia!’ musical juggernaut and has remained the driving force through the making of the original musical and two smash hit films. Here, she talks about the project from its roots to its record breaking successes
The Independent
Back in 1982, I was working with Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus on Chess. I was employed as Tim Rice’s assistant. Abba had just disbanded and my first job was to go and meet Björn from the airport. I’d always loved the Abba songs but that was when I fell in love with them. Meeting Benny and Björn and working with them over the next five years I became very interested in those songs, which I think they thought they had left behind, as they were working on other musical projects.
When I was younger I was a kind of Abba fan but I was more into Bowie, and I went through the rock phase of the Led Zeppelins and the Emerson, Lake and Palmers. I loved “Dancing Queen” but I never went to an Abba concert.
Fellow Abba-hating queers – you’re not alone. I can’t stand Mamma Mia!
Yet I was compelled by the songs and by meeting the guys. The song “The Winner Takes it All” was the inspiration for Mamma Mia! and when I met Björn I wanted to know what must have been going round in his head when he wrote that song.
It’s a huge kind of romance/breakup song; a woman having a conversation in her head with a man who has hurt her and let her down or maybe cheated on her. "Tell me does she kiss, like I used to kiss you?" The lyrics are full of hurt; it’s a rollercoaster of emotions. But how do you make a musical out of a song that is taking you towards Greek tragedy? That’s what I love about Abba songs. They take you on this journey, and even if they hit a certain emotional spot, you’re still left feeling in a good mood.
Judy was compelled by Benny and Björn and by the songs they had crafted in Abba (PA)
I felt that the idea of hearing somebody sing that song in the theatre was kind of like “Don’t Cry For Me Argentina”; it was "the 11 o’clock number " as they say on Broadway – the second act show-stopper.
Benny and Björn were against anything that would be a tribute or a biographical story; but that didn’t interest me either. Björn was interested at first more than Benny because the musical was to use his lyrics as the source material. Those amazing words took us through the stage show and now two films.
It was funny working on the second film because people would say: “Are there enough songs?” I certainly thought there were, and in fact I think there’s a whole new audience that didn’t know Abba, didn’t grow up with Abba, didn’t know them as a band and yet know those songs as Mamma Mia! And I think that tickles Benny and Björn quite a lot, actually.
The girls haven’t been so involved because Benny and Björn wrote the songs. But Frida has always been very supportive. And Agnetha too for that matter.
Of course, I was passionate and keen about the show, but I had to work hard convince people that it wasn’t just a performance in which people were going to be dressing up as Frida and Agnetha and Benny and Björn.
I knew that those songs worked for two generations. For the younger audience members there was “Honey Honey” and “Dancing Queen”, the dancing songs. And then there’s the more emotional breakup songs, for more mature viewers. I toyed with different ideas, then in the mid-nineties, Björn told me that if I could find the right story he and Benny might be interested. That’s when I met playwright Catherine Johnson and pitched all my thoughts to her about generations, and it had to be weddings or holidays. It had to be something nostalgic that took you to a happy place and she came up with the genius mother-daughter idea; set over a wedding, and the idea of a mother and a daughter and three possible fathers. And that immediately appealed to Björn and Benny.
I hadn’t thought of it then as becoming a film – actually, I thought it might make a small TV film. But I always had a pull towards a stage show. And now I’ve overseen 50 productions.
The show opened in 1999. And the original film we shot in 2007. I wanted to do another film and so did Universal. I wanted Catherine and Phyllida [Lloyd, director of the first film] to be involved, but Phyllida thought it was time to wish someone else well, and Catherine I think felt that she loved it as it was and she couldn’t quite see where another story would begin and end. I was enthused to do a prequel, but if we did a prequel how would we bring our original cast back. That’s where Richard Curtis came in.
The stakes were high because Mamma Mia! had done 20 years in London and the last film was one of the most successful musical films.
I had seen Love Actually. I adored Richard Curtis’s work. If we were to do another film we had to explore different emotions, and he is so brilliant not just at romance but also taking risks on life and loss: at the heart of all his comedies is loss. He thought of this in the sense of going back and forth and to different places, and all he had to say to me was The Godfather: Part II and I completely got it.
Even the music is like The Godfather: Part II; rich sweeping ballads. It underscores. There’s a rich palate of Abba in there.
It was always the intention to use songs from the first film. You have to have “Dancing Queen”. Why would you go and see your favourite band if they’re not going to play your favourite songs?
There were songs that I knew still had the power of storytelling and also the power of comedy, something fun which has come from the stage show, whether its “Chiquitita” or “Take a Chance”.
Curtis said he loved Mamma Mia! and Abba, and though he didn’t have time to write it himself, he was happy to support and if there was a writer he liked and wanted to work with. That writer was Ol Parker, who came on board as a writer at that time (and then later the director).
So it was a matter of making the story work. Meryl Streep had always been very affectionate to Mamma Mia! and being in a possible sequel but I knew she never was going to take on a role as big as the first one. And for her to be part of it, what song? You can’t really top “The Winner Takes it All” from the first film, and she wasn’t going to be running along rooftops and jumping off cliffs singing lots of Abba songs. “My Love My Life” is an incredibly affecting song and I think equal to “The Winner Takes it All”.
I’m going to claim Cher as my idea, though Ol would probably also claim it as his. I’ve always loved Cher, and actually had a conversation with her for the last movie before we cast Christine Baranski, to see whether Cher would be interested in playing Tania then. She wasn’t, but she said to me recently it worked out well this way round. I also felt, if we’re going to do a second film, we hit a high with Meryl on the first and now we’ve got to hit it out of the park. Who is one of the greatest actors who can sing? There’s Cher, there’s Bette Midler and there’s Barbra Streisand. There was always going to be a mother character. Ol wrote it as the ultimate rock chick, and with Cher in mind. But I was always fixated that Cher would be the perfect casting.
She really embraced it, and Mamma Mia! has traditionally had great female roles which we lack in musical theatre and in movies. And we cast brilliant actors. So now we have three generations with Cher and Meryl; Christine Baranski and Julie Walters; and Amanda Seyfried and the Lily James generation – and Cher gets the guy.
mamma-mia.jpg
Cher duets with Andy Garcia in a show-stealing scene from the upbeat sequel (Universal Pictures/AP)
“Fernando” was a favourite Abba song of hers and it was very tempting for her to sing it. I think with this film we could have a wink at the audience with how we use this old song, and it’s a brilliant moment when they discover each other again, and she tells that story through the power of her voice. You feel she was probably rebelling as a young woman in her early twenties, and then probably when she was Donna Sheridan’s mum; hanging out at Studio 54 too much. And now we see her come back in her full glory as Ruby Sheridan – or as Cher, in fact.
It was said that the last film invigorated people, and I think it probably did. We ran all summer, the summer of the financial crash, and it brought people of every age to the cinema. As a show we opened at the most tragic of all times in New York, the time of 9/11. You’ve got this massive show and one of the worst tragedies that you can imagine. How do you deal with that? With everyone involved, and the city in complete crisis, while people have to keep going and earn a living? It was a difficult time but then-Mayor Giuliani was incredibly galvanising to the Broadway community. People asked us: “Are you still going to open?” and the answer had to be yes. Everyone thought about it a lot and I know Phyllida sat and talked to the cast when we were rehearsing and it was almost like a therapy for them. But of course in a way it was the best thing for everyone to make the show happen.
I don’t think there will be a “Mamma Mia 3!”. It’s great that people are thinking that way; I think people feel very safe with Mamma Mia! and this new movie has a lot more emotional heft, and it really makes you laugh and cry: it’s a kind of shared experience. And those songs, of course. They said, back when the show opened: “Oh people don’t always know those Abba songs.” But now “When I Kissed the Teacher” – the opening song on the movie – that’s been trending on Spotify.
Mamma Mia! was way before social media in the case of the stage show, and the last movie was before social media, so it’s a massive tool now for marketing and communication and appealing to a younger audience. So it’s fascinating that I see on social media that there’s a younger audience going: “Please do ‘Mamma Mia 3’!” That’s the natural thing for them. One comment was “Why can’t it become the new Fast and Furious?” which made me laugh a lot.
‘Mamma Mia’ maestro Judy Craymer hopes lightning strikes twice Craymer senses that the times are right for another dose of joyful escapism.
BY EMILY ZEMLERLOS ANGELES TIMES
LONDON — Judy Craymer still remembers the first time she heard ABBA.
Although she professes to have been more of a fan of David Bowie and heavy rock as a teenager, the Swedish pop group’s melodies stuck with Craymer, and she sensed a visual connection in the music. “I always loved their videos – because they were the first to do those videos – and I always saw a sense of fun comedy and self-deprecation,” the producer says, sitting in her office in London’s ritzy St. James district.
Today, Craymer has made a name for herself as the creator and producer of “Mamma Mia!,” a jukebox musical that sprang from many of ABBA’s most beloved songs. As a producer, she’s also the creative force behind the 2008 film adaptation, which grossed just under $610 million worldwide (on an reported budget of $52 million). A sequel, “Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again,” featuring a fresh time-jumping storyline and deeper cuts from the group’s catalog, opened July 20.
If the timing for a kind-hearted and uplifting entertainment feels right, Craymer says the musical has always been a reminder of why we need joyful escapism.
“I think ‘Mamma Mia’ has always been a great antidote to battered lives, in a sense,” Craymer says. “The show opened on Broadway just after 9/11. The last film opened just before a recession in 2008. It is something that connects people, besides the fact that you do feel that you’re on the perfect vacation. There’s nothing political. There’s just something empowering in it.”
The conception of the “Mamma Mia” phenomenon dates back several decades to when Craymer initially met ABBA songwriters Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus while working as a production assistant for Tim Rice during the 1984 London production of “Chess.” Seeing the massive attention that the musicians garnered only bolstered Craymer’s ongoing interest in the band.
Advertisement
“I would go home and listen on a cassette player to ABBA records,” she says. “Bjorn really seemed to understand what a woman would be going through in a break-up. I think if I hadn’t known them, I wouldn’t have been able to make the approach. I said to them then, in the ’80s, ‘I’d love to do something with your songs, a stage musical.’ And they said ‘Never gonna happen.’ ” She laughs. “But they gave some encouragement. They said ‘If one day you can find the right story.’ It was a matter of finding it, a bit like the challenge of (a second) film. They were always encouraging and now we’ve had a business together for over 20 years.”
Amanda Seyfried, left, and Meryl Streep in a scene from “Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again.” Photo courtesy Jonathan Prime/Universal Pictures via AP
Craymer eventually found the right narrative, a lively tale of a single mother whose daughter invites her three possible dads to her wedding in Greece. To date, the stage version of “Mamma Mia” has been produced 50 times worldwide in 16 different languages, including Chinese and Finnish. Since opening in London in 1999, the play, named best musical at the Tony Awards in 2002, has spread to 440 cities and grossed over $2 billion at the box office. The film version is the highest grossing live-action musical worldwide.
A sequel was inevitable for Universal Pictures, although Craymer – as well as Andersson and Ulvaeus – wasn’t always convinced.
“What it was going to be has always been the difficulty,” Craymer says. “People asked, ‘Well, why not three years after the first one?’ That was never on the menu because bringing the band together wasn’t right at that time. I think it was serendipitous in a sense because now, 10 years on, feels right. I think there would have been more cynicism a few years ago after the first one.”
When Phyllida Lloyd, who directed the stage musical as well as the 2008 film, and screenwriter Catherine Johnson bowed out of participating in the sequel, it was up to Craymer to find the best filmmaker to take the helm. Her first call was to Richard Curtis, whom she had originally approached to write the musical back in 1997. “He’s always been a writer I admired. He really knows how to handle that romantic comedy but also delving into marriage and real lives and loss,” she notes. “‘Love Actually’ had all the ingredients I felt were needed if we were going to do another ‘Mamma Mia.’ ”
Curtis wasn’t available to direct or fully pen the screenplay, but he was interested in participating in its conception. He suggested Ol Parker (“The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel”) to write the screenplay and the pair collaborated to create a story that flashes between the present and the past.
Judy Craymer Photo courtesy of IMDB
“I got an email from Richard that just said ‘Random question: Do you like ABBA?’ ” Parker says. “I wrote back going ‘Massively, yes.’ I thought he might be asking me to DJ a party or something. And then he told me about ‘Mamma Mia.’ I went to meet Judy, and I just loved her as all do. We got on great from the beginning.”
Parker was commissioned to write the script in the fall of 2016 and Universal green-lit the film in January 2017 for production that summer. Parker was brought on as the director and the selection of the new cast members took place as soon as the legacy cast – including Amanda Seyfried, Pierce Brosnan, Dominic Cooper, Colin Firth, Christine Baranski, Julie Walters and Stellan Skarsgård – signed up. The key element was Meryl Streep, who played leading lady Donna Sheridan in the original film and returns in the sequel in a limited capacity.
“She was always part of the conversation,” Craymer says. “She was never, ‘Oh yes, I’m really, really keen to do a sequel.’ We’d always stayed in touch about it, but it was a matter of whether there was the right script and what the concept of it was. And what songs she would sing was very important. She was never going to just sign up for singing and dancing nine songs as she had in the original.”
Lily James was cast as the younger version of Donna, whose journey to the fictional Greek island of Kalokairi as she meets three very different suitors is interspersed with present day, where her daughter, Sophie, (Seyfried) discovers she’s now pregnant on the same island. And while Streep doesn’t anchor “Here We Go Again” as she did the original, the filmmakers found additional star power by securing the participation of another Oscar-winning icon – Cher – for the small but pivotal role of Donna’s jet-set mother. (Parker notes the legendary performer signed on in part because she’d get the chance to sing one of her favorite songs, “Fernando.”)
Like in the last film, the story leaps between ABBA tunes, using tracks such as “Waterloo” and “When I Kissed the Teacher” to move the narrative along. Some of the same songs are used in different ways, such as “Super Trouper,” which appears as the end credits number instead of as part of the story.
For Craymer, the sequel takes on more emotional gravity than its predecessor – dealing with weighty issues such as death, legacies and the passage of time – which is often on display in the musical numbers.
Advertisement
“I’m very pleased that it has a weight to it that I think will surprise people,” she says. “ABBA songs – they’re great pop songs and a gift in themselves, but it’s fun to have explored them even more and brought to a heft to the lives of those people on-screen.”
“I tried to give it an emotional underpinning that wasn’t in the first one quite as much,” Parker adds. “I remember Meryl saying when the first one came out, ‘In these times people need joy and happiness, and this is an important film right now.’ And that’s only become tragically more true in these desperate days. We were all aware that we were trying to do something that will put joy out there. That’s got to be real – you can’t fake it – and part of that comes from the music and part of that comes from the vibe on set. It’s very hard when you’re listening to ‘Dancing Queen’ 20 times in a row not to have the best day of your working life.”
The connection between fans has only grown since the musical first debuted in London in 1999. Craymer sees the story as the “The Sound of Music” for the new generation, a collection of songs that kids grow up listening to as their formative theater experience. The secondary rights are currently going out across the U.S. and the play will relaunch in China this fall.
If the success of “Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again” is on par with the first film, Craymer is interested in bringing the musical back to Broadway or the possibility of launching a new musical based on the second film. For Craymer, who makes her decisions on instinct, “Mamma Mia” has grown from a pipe dream into a continually evolving and growing universe that is still filled with possibilities.
“It’s been my own mini Disney,” she says. “That’s how it really has been in my life. I never take it for granted, really. A lot was at stake to do another film. It’s a much-loved brand and much-loved show and much-loved last film. There were a lot of people like ‘Well, don’t (screw) up.’ No pressure.”
El rubio eterno: sigue el brillo "glam" sueco
MÚSICA
CARLOS FRESNEDA Londres
Compartir en Facebook
Compartir en Twitter
Enviar por email
16 JUL. 2018 18:53
Entrevista con los 'chicos' de ABBA. "Pensamos que caeríamos pronto en el olvido", dicen Benny y Björn. Pues se equivocaron. Y mucho. El inminente estreno este viernes de la segunda entrega de 'Mamma mia!' deja claro que nos acordamos de cada estribillo.
Juntos forman las consonantes míticas de ABBA. Son Björn y Benny, sin Agnetha y Anni-Frid, que se quedaron en Estocolmo. Han venido hasta Londres en calidad de inspiradores, compositores y productores de Mamma mia! Una y otra vez, secuela y precuela al mismo tiempo del eterno revival. Uno tiene 73 años y el otro 72, pero nadie lo diría. Se ve que allá en Suecia beben del elixir de la vida. Con sus ex esposas rejuvenecidas han grabado además dos canciones nuevas con las que esperan poner fin de una vez a la carrera de ABBA. Lo mismo dijeron hace 36 años."Yo pensé que la música de ABBA caería pronto en el olvido", confiesa de entrada Björn Ulvaeus. "Nos separamos en 1982, de modo que calculé que en 1984 ya no se acordarían de nosotros. Lo último que podía imaginar es que al cabo de tanto tiempo seguiríamos en candelero. Tengo que pellizcarme todas la mañanas cuando me miro al espejo".Miramos ahora a Benny Andersson, y le pedimos que ahonde en las razones por las que la música de ABBA sigue sonando como si nada: "Las emociones, las melodías, las voces, la producción... Es un poco por todos esos factores combinados, más la sinceridad de nuestro trabajo. Creo que dimos lo mejor de nosotros en cada momento"."Eso también lo hicieron otros grupos", apunta Björn. "Pero pocos trabajaron con esa intensidad. Durante una década tuvimos dos o tres canciones que pegaron todos los años. Cuando afrontábamos un tema lo hacíamos con la idea de que fuera un éxito potencial, no como una cara B. Eso subía mucho el listón. No les dimos tregua a la gente: nos escuchaban y nos veían en todas las partes".
LAS DOS «SEÑORAS»"Ah, las voces de esas dos señoras...". Björn menciona a Frida (Anni-Frid) y a su ex esposa Agnetha en un tono reverencial y nostálgico. No las recuerda como las dos chicas, sino como las dos ladies majestuosas que ahora rondan la setentena pero que no han perdido su frescura: "En cuanto las dos cantan a dúo, con esa habilidad pasmosa para arroparse la una a la otra, todo el mundo sabe que está sonando ABBA".Esa sensación, reconoce, la han tenido en el momento de reunirse en el estudio para grabar las dos nuevas canciones, I still have faith on you y Dont shut me down, que verán la luz los próximos meses... "Fue como si el tiempo no hubiera pasado: 35 años saltaron por la ventana en cinco minutos. La misma vibración, la misma satisfacción compartida por todos. No hubo que forzar"."La primera es una balada poderosa, pensada para los tiempos que corren", anticipa Benny. "El otro tema está concebido como uno de los clásicos hits de los años 70. Eso sí, éste será nuestro último legado como ABBA. No va a haber nuevo álbum".
NO 'REGRETS'
La doble pareja musical sobrevivió en su día al doble divorcio. ¿No piensan a veces en qué hubiera pasado con una ruptura prematura? ¿Y si hubieran seguido cantando durante años? "No solemos mirar hacia atrás, ni nos arrepentimos de las decisiones que tomamos", precisa Benny. "Seguir cantando juntos, pese a la ruptura sentimental, fue una gran idea. Nos sirvió como terapia y acabó fraguando en algunas de nuestras mejores canciones, como The winner takes it all. La euforia de nuestros éxitos fue dejando paso a una melancolía nórdica que le vino muy bien a nuestra música".
"Y cuando rompimos el grupo, todos lo teníamos muy claro", matiza Björn. "Había que pasar de hoja. Benny y yo queríamos hacer un musical con Tim Rice (Chess). Frida cantó con Phil Collins, Agentha exploró su camino en solitario. A ninguno nos queda la espina clavada de lo que podíamos haber seguido haciendo juntos".
MANO A MANO
Lo cierto es que Benny y Björk nunca rompieron. Siguieron componiendo juntos, en musicales o para la Benny Anderssons Orkester, que canta en sueco y "por pura diversión". "Nuestra manera de componer sigue la misma que en los tiempos de ABBA: yo acabo la melodía al piano, y es entonces cuando Björn empieza a trabajar en la letra, y sobre la marcha vienen los arreglos", recuerda Benny.
HACERSE LOS SUECOS
El hecho de ser suecos, y no americanos o británicos, fue "una ayuda o un hándicap", según se mire... "Suecia fue siempre la lejanía, nuestro espacio de libertad, donde podíamos refugiarnos y salir a hacer la compra con toda naturalidad, ajenos al tumulto. En Suecia pudimos encontrar también nuestra disciplina, seguir practicando y componiendo. Si hubiéramos vivido en Londres o Nueva York, las distracciones habrían sido constantes, y también las tentaciones"."Pero el hecho de ser suecos, y no anglosajones, nos cerró durante mucho tiempo las puertas de América", corrige Benny. "Nuestra música funcionaba muy bien en Europa, porque en el fondo era muy europea, y tenía influencias del folk sueco, de las baladas francesas e italianas, de la música en español, como en Chiquitita o Fernando. Era ante todo una música con vocación internacional, pero en Estados Unidos nos pusieron el estigma de Europop, lo que demostraba su falta de comprensión hacia la cultura europea. Hasta Dancing Queen no logramos el número uno en USA".
LA DÉCADA PRODIGIOSA
Las décadas se van haciendo «prodigiosas» con el paso del tiempo. "Nosotros crecimos en los 60, escuchando a los Beatles y a los Beach Boys, y al llegar a los 70 se produjo la gran explosión", recuerdan casi al unísono. "Por un lado tenías el rock progresivo, el funk que venía de América, la música disco, y el glam rock... Había muchísimo donde elegir, una variedad que nunca hemos vuelto a tener".El punk le puso la puntilla a la década. "Todos tenemos nuestros momentos de ira, pero nunca entendí muy bien el punk, casi entiendo mejor el rap", reconoce Björn.
"He de admitir que la música de ahora no me llega", admite Benny. "Me puede gustar alguna canción de Lady Gaga o de Katy Perry, pero ahí me quedo. Creo que hay en general una falta de autenticidad. Por cierto, todo son chicas... menos Ed Sheeran".
FERNANDO
Fernando, reconocen, es tal vez una de la composiciones más auténticas de la banda. La historia del tema es muy larga, y arranca con la versión en sueco que cantaba Frida y que no tenía nada que ver con la adaptación en inglés que concibió Björn... "En sueco era básicamente una canción de amor, para intentar consolar a Fernando tras su irreparable pérdida. En inglés era la historia de dos revolucionarios de las guerra entre Texas y México que recordaban sus viejas batallas, de ahí los tambores, los fusiles y la travesía del Río Grande".En Mamma mia! Una y otra vez, Fernando es el Señor Cienfuegos (Andy García), el viejo amor con el que se reencuentra la glamurosa abuela Ruby (Cher) bajo una noche estrellada y en una isla que parece griega, pero que está realmente de Croacia. "Ha tenido que pasar todo este tiempo para ponerle un rostro a nuestro viejo héroe", reconoce a estas alturas Björn. "Fernando ha sido siempre Andy García".
On July 17, 2018, Björn presents a preview of Mamma Mia! Here we go again in his childhood city Västervik. source: Vastervik.com
July 18 is the premiere in Sweden of the musical film "Mamma Mia! HereWe Go Again". But already on July 17, the film will be seen at Slottsholmen in Västervik.
"It feels great to be able to get to this preview in Västervik. There is so much positive energy and feel-good in the new film and having the so-called official opening of the new Slottsholmen in connection with it is perfect, says Björn Ulvaeus in a press release. source: svt.se
"Tisdagen den 17 juli 2018 presenterar Björn Ulvaeus en förhandsvisning av Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again i sin barndomsstad Västervik.
22 DE MAYO DE 2018
Filmen visas i Stegeholms Slottsruin och västervikarna ges därmed möjlighet att se filmen innan den officiella Sverigepremiären den 18 juli. Den 17 juli äger också invigningen av Björn Ulvaeus nybyggda restaurang, bar och hotellanläggning Slottsholmen rum. Slottsholmen ligger alldeles intill Stegeholms Slottsruin.
Musikalfilmen Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again regisseras av Ol Parker och utspelar sig åter igen på den grekiska pärlan Kalokairi. I rollerna ser vi bland andra Meryl Streep, Julie Walters, Christine, Baranski, Amanda Seyfried, Dominic Cooper, Pierce Brosnan, Stellan Skarsgård, Colin Firth och Cher. Det nya stjärnskottet Lily James axlar huvudrollen som unga Donna.
– Det känns jättebra att kunna få till den här förhandsvisningen i Västervik. Det finns så mycket positiv energi och feel-good i den nya filmen och att ha den så kallade officiella öppningen av det nya Slottsholmen i samband med den är perfekt, säger Björn Ulvaeus.
Biljetterna till förhandsvisningen släpps den 6 juni 2018, klockan 14.00 på Slottsholmen. Begränsat antal platser. Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again distribueras av Universal Pictures genom United International Pictures AB".
https://www.vastervik.com/2018/05/22/forhandsvisning-av-mamma-mia-here-we-go-again/
--------------------------
Nya Abba-filmen visas först på Slottsholmen
”Mamma Mia! HereWe Go Again” har Sverigepremiär den 18 juni, men dagen innan visas den först på Slottsholmen i Västervik.
Musikalfilmen är en uppföljning till succéfilmen Mamma Mia som hade premiär 2008 och som bygger på klassiska ABBA-låtar.
– Det känns jättebra att kunna få till den här förhandsvisningen i Västervik. Det finns så mycket positiv energi och feel-good i den nya filmen och att ha den så kallade officiella öppningen av det nya Slottsholmen i samband med den är perfekt, säger Björn Ulvaeus i ett pressmeddelande.
Björn Ulvaeus
Filmen utspelar sig åter igen på en grekisk ö och är regisserad av Ol Parker. I rollerna finns åter bland annat Meryl Streep, Julie Walters, Pierce Brosnan, Stellan Skarsgård, Colin Firth och Cher. Lily James axlar huvudrollen som unga Donna.
Filmen kommer att visas i Stegeholms Slottsruin den 17 juni.
https://www.svt.se/nyheter/lokalt/smaland/nya-abba-filmen-visas-forst-pa-slottholmen
Nya Abba-filmen visas i Västervik först
VÄSTERVIK Den 18 juli är det Sverigepremiär för musikalfilmen "Mamma Mia! HereWe Go Again". Men redan den 17 juli förhandsvisas filmen på Slottsholmen i Västervik.
Eva Jensen08:00 | 2018-05-22
Vi har tidigare skrivit om att det är aktuellt med filmvisning i ruinen i samband med Visfestivalen. Men nu står det klart att det blir en exklusiv förhandsvisning tisdagen den 17 juli på Slottsholmen.
Och det blir inte vilken film som helst – det är musikalfilmen "Mamma Mia! HereWe Go Again" som dyker upp på bioduken. Den efterlängtade uppföljaren till 2008 års succéfilm ”Mamma Mia”, bygger även den här gången på Björn Ulvaeus och Benny Anderssons klassiska ABBA-låtar.
- Det känns jättebra att kunna få till den här förhandsvisningen i Västervik. Det finns så mycket positiv energi och feel-good i den nya filmen och att ha den så kallade officiella öppningen av det nya Slottsholmen i samband med den är perfekt, säger Björn Ulvaeus i ett pressmeddelande.
Artikelbild
BILD: Arkivbild | Björn Ulvaeus slår två flugor i en smäll med Slottsholmen och nya ABBA-filmen.
I likhet med den första Mamma Mia-filmen är det gott om stjärnor som vill sjunga ABBA-låtar. Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth och Stellan Skarsgård återvänder allihop. Dessutom dyker Cher upp i en roll.
Enligt trailern så utspelar sig handlingen även denna gång i Grekland. Filmen regisseras av Ol Parker, som ligger bakom "Hotell Marigold" (2011).
#FlashbackFriday Cher-ing a glass of champagne on Cher’s last day of filming 😉 with choreographer Anthony Van Laast and some of the crew 🎬🐣💃🏼 #mammamia2 #herewegoagain #behindthescenes
Star Magazine señala... según trascendidos... Björn interpretará en Mamma Mia 2 a un maestro de escuela en la canción de apertura de la película, When I Kissed The Teacher...
Y, ahora, levante la mano.... quién quiere besar al maestro??? 😍 😘😘
Además detalla que la actriz Lily sufrió un accidente doméstico... por lo que el rodaje se retrasará...
Lily James' broken toe delays Mamma Mia! 2 filming - report
Lily James' broken toe has reportedly halted filming on Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again.
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2017
Celebrity News
EUROPEAN PREMIERE OF 'BABY DRIVER' AT CINEWORLD LEICESTER SQUARE - ARRIVALS [WENN.COM]
The actress has been cast in the second instalment of the ABBA music-filled franchise, playing a young version of Meryl Streep's character Donna in the sequel to the 2008 original.
Lily revealed she'd broken her toe in an Instagram post on Thursday (23Nov17), sharing a snap of her foot encased in a large boot while she celebrated Thanksgiving.
Now, movie insiders allege the 28-year-old's injury has delayed shooting on the new flick.
"Poor Lily tripped really badly and stubbed her toe, breaking her foot in the process," a source told Mail Online. "They were due to shoot most of the dancing scenes this week, so Lily's have all been delayed."
Although a body double can be used for some scenes, producers will have to wait for Lily's foot to heal before they shoot the bulk of scenes with her in.
Jeremy Irvine, Cher, and Andy Garcia have also joined the cast of the sequel, while Meryl, Amanda Seyfried, Colin Firth and Pierce Brosnan are among the returning actors.
And ABBA star Bjorn Ulvaeus has landed another Mamma Mia! cameo after portraying a Greek god in the original movie. This time around he'll reportedly play a schoolteacher in the movie's opening song, When I Kissed The Teacher, though fans will have to be on high alert to spot his appearance.
"He doesn't want anything to overshadow the main stars or detract from the storyline but for a personal thrill, he loves the idea of being briefly on screen again," an insider recently divulged to The Sun.
"Fans will have to be very eagle-eyed to spot him."
"I always thought for many, many years that music should be a comfort to people. Whatever it is, it should always give comfort and maybe this does,"
Mamma Mia prequel filming, thanks to ABBA
ANIELLE MCGRANEAustralian Associated Press5:55PM October 11, 2017
ABBA's Benny Andersson says the band's extensive back catalogue of songs is what convinced Mamma Mia creator Catherine Johnson to write another film.
With filming underway on the Mamma Mia prequel, the founding member of the Swedish supergroup has been sifting through ABBA's music to find the movie's all-important soundtrack.
"That (ABBA's back catalogue) is what triggered Catherine Johnson who wrote the first script, she found that she could use the lyrics to transport the story forward to use it as a part of the narrative, which is probably why it works so well," Andersson told AAP.
The original 1999 stage musical, which was then adapted into the 2008 hit movie, featured most of the band's biggest hits including Super Trouper, Dancing Queen, The Winner Takes It All and, of course, Mamma Mia.
But there are plenty more songs to choose from for another movie, according to Andersson.
"Obviously some songs were left, maybe not the singles but there's some good stuff in there," he said.
"If you're not a hardcore ABBA fan, there will be new music for a lot of people too. Songs like Angel Eyes, When I Kissed the Teacher or I Wonder, songs that have never been singles but are still very uplifting I think."
Andersson has been recording ABBA tracks for the movie over the last few months with the movie's actors including returning star Amanda Seyfried and Lily James who plays the young version of Meryl Streep's character, Donna.
The Swedish composer is also working on several other projects. After 50 years creating music, he says he still tries to write new compositions in his studio in Stockholm.
Recently, he felt bored trying to come up with new music and started playing some of his old hits on the piano. The result was unexpectedly good, so he decided to record them for a new album: Benny Andersson: Piano.
"It's very contemplative I think. I didn't realise it while I was doing it, really," he said.
The album, features some ABBA hits including Thank You For The Music and Happy New Year alongside songs from the musical Chess, which Andersson wrote alongside his ABBA collaborator Bjorn Ulvaeus and several of his songs that are rarely heard outside of Scandinavia.
The resulting record has been well received around the world, providing some peace and stillness at a time when perhaps it's needed most.
"I always thought for many, many years that music should be a comfort to people. Whatever it is, it should always give comfort and maybe this does," he said.
POPMUSIK
Abba-Komponist Benny Andersson: "Ich bin sehr dankbar"
Benny Andersson hat ein Solo-Album mit Abba-Klassikern aufgenommen. Ein Gespräch über sein Leben als Pop-Großvater und seine Träume.
03.10.2017, 18:38 Uhr
Marcel Anders
Benny Andersson (Abba) spielt seit Jahrzehnten Klavier – doch im Notenlesen ist er nicht der Beste.
Beste.Foto: imago stock / imago/Future Image
1
Berlin. Als Komponist von Welthits wie "Waterloo", "Fernando" oder "Dancing Queen" hat Benny Andersson 500 Millionen Alben verkauft. Jetzt meldet sich der Schwede mit seinem ersten Soloalbum seit 1989 zurück: Auf "Piano" interpretiert er Abba-Klassiker und persönliche Lieblinge als Instrumentals am Klavier. Ein Spaßprojekt, so der 70-Jährige, das er für seine Enkel aufgenommen habe.
Beim Treffen in einem Berliner Hotel zeigt er sich als zufriedener älterer Herr mit Vollbart, Brille und elegantem Anzug, der das ungebrochene Medieninteresse an seiner Person sichtlich genießt. Marcel Anders sprach mit ihm über sein Leben als Pop-Pensionär, akademische Titel, alkoholfreies Bier und Pianistenträume.
Wie denn, Sie trinken wieder Bier?
Benny Andersson: Keine Sorge, es ist alkoholfrei. Schließlich trinke ich schon ewig keinen Alkohol mehr, also bestimmt seit 15 Jahren. Nur: Es ist auf die Dauer extrem langweilig, immer nur Wasser oder Cola zu sich zu nehmen. Zumal es heutzutage richtig gute alkoholfreie Biere gibt. Da hat sich über die Jahre ja einiges getan.
Was ist das für ein Gefühl, dass Abba auch 35 Jahre nach ihrer Trennung noch so populär sind?
Andersson: Es ist der Wahnsinn! Ich bin sehr dankbar, was das betrifft – und sehr stolz. Auch wenn ich nicht wirklich nachvollziehen kann, was die Leute in uns sehen. Ich bin einfach froh, dass das der Fall ist.
Sie spielen seit Jahrzehnten Klavier und sind ein Fan der klassischen Musik. Trotzdem können Sie angeblich keine Noten lesen.
Andersson: Wenn Sie mir "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" ("Funkel, funkel kleiner Stern") vorlegen, würde ich das vielleicht noch hinkriegen. Aber mehr nicht. Ich könnte nie für ein Orchester schreiben.
Ist dieses Album so etwas wie Ihre formelle Bewerbung als Barpianist? So, wie Sie ihn im Musical-Film "Mamma Mia" gegeben haben?
Andersson: Absolut! Das wäre mein Traum – mit einem kleinen Schiff, einem kleinen Klavier und einem Hut auf dem Kopf.
Dann könnten Sie auch in altmodischen Grand Hotels wie diesem aufspielen.
Andersson: Ja, wie der Typ, der draußen in der Lobby spielt.
Hand aufs Herz: Werden sich Abba je zu einem Comeback durchringen? Agnetha betont in jedem Interview, sie wäre bereit – wenn Björn und Sie mitziehen würden.
Andersson: Schön, dass sie bereit dazu wäre (kichert). Aber Björn und ich sind es nicht. Deswegen wird das auch nicht passieren.
Woran arbeiten Sie denn momentan?
Andersson: An "Mamma Mia 2", der Fortsetzung des Musical-Films. Die Dreharbeiten sind in vollem Gange, und ich habe die letzten paar Monate damit verbracht, die Musik zu schreiben. Also für die Band, den Chor, die Backgroundsänger und die ganzen Künstler, die daran beteiligt sind. Das ist noch längst nicht fertig, auch wenn der Film ansonsten schon weit gediehen ist. Ende des Jahres müssen wir noch die Orchester-Passagen hinzufügen, und Anfang Mai 2018 soll alles fertig sein.
Werden Sie darin wieder einen Gastauftritt haben?
Andersson: Ich hoffe doch! Aber diesmal will ich Akkordeon spielen.
LA MÚSICA POP
Abba compositor Benny Andersson: "Estoy muy agradecido"
Benny Andersson ha grabado un álbum en solitario con clásicos de Abba. Una conversación sobre su vida como un abuelo pop y sus sueños.
03.10.2017, 18:38 h
Marcel Anders
Benny Andersson (Abba) ha estado tocando el piano por décadas - pero en la partitura no es el mejor.De archivo: imagostock / imago / imagen futura
Berlín. Como compositor de Welthits como "Waterloo", "Fernando" o "Dancing Queen", Benny Andersson ha vendido 500 millones de álbumes. Ahora el sueco regresa con su primer álbum en solitario desde 1989: En "Piano" interpreta clásicos de Abba y favoritos personales como instrumentales en el piano. Un proyecto divertido, según el niño de 70 años, que tomó por sus nietos.
En una reunión en un hotel de Berlín, se muestra como un anciano satisfecho con una barba, anteojos y un traje elegante, que goza visiblemente del interés ininterrumpido de los medios en su persona. Marcel Anders le habló de su vida como pensionista pop, títulos académicos, cerveza sin alcohol y salas de piano.
¿Cómo se toma cerveza de nuevo?
Benny Andersson :No te preocupes, es libre de alcohol. Después de todo, he bebido alcohol desde hace años, así que he estado planeando por 15 años. Sólo: Es extremadamente aburrido en el largo plazo, sólo para tomar agua o Cola a sí mismo. Sobre todo porque ahora hay buenas cervezas sin alcohol. Muchas cosas han sucedido a lo largo de los años.
¿Cuál es la sensación de que Abba sigue siendo tan popular 35 años después de su separación?
Andersson : ¡Es la locura! Estoy muy agradecido por eso - y muy orgulloso. Incluso si no puedo realmente entender lo que la gente en nosotros ve. Me alegro de que este es el caso.
Han tocado el piano durante décadas y son fanáticos de la música clásica. Sin embargo, no puedes leer notas.
Andersson :Si me dieran "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star", podría ser capaz de hacerlo. Pero nada más. Nunca podría escribir para una orquesta.
¿Es este álbum algo así como su aplicación formal como barpianista? Tal como lo has dado en la película musical "Mamma Mia"?
Andersson :¡Absolutamente! Ese sería mi sueño - con una pequeña nave, un pequeño piano y un sombrero en la cabeza.
Entonces usted también podría jugar en los viejos hoteles anticuados como éste.
Andersson :Sí, como el tipo que juega fuera en el vestíbulo.
Mano en el corazón: ¿Abba llegará alguna vez a una reaparición? Agnetha enfatiza en cada entrevista que ella estaría lista - si Björn y tú irían con ellos.
Andersson :Bien, estaría lista (risitas). Pero Bjorn y yo no. Por eso no sucederá.
¿En qué estás trabajando actualmente?
Andersson :A "Mamma Mia 2", la continuación de la película musical. El tiroteo está en pleno apogeo, y he pasado los últimos meses escribiendo la música. Así que para la banda, el coro, los artistas y todos los artistas involucrados. Esto está lejos de terminar, incluso si la película ya está muy avanzada. Al final del año, tenemos que añadir los pasajes orquestales y todo estará listo a principios de mayo de 2018.
"I spent all summer recording the music," he added. "I didn't intend to but I just couldn't keep my hands away from it. If I didn't do it, I knew the music wouldn't be the way I wanted it to be. "Lily James sang really well – good singers make the job easier. Pierce Brosnan is good too. Everyone jokes that he's not very good but I think that's just because nobody wants to see James Bond in romantic scenes like that." Although Benny will not be lending his vocals to the movie, he confirmed he will be making a cameo.
Benny Andersson admits the truth behind ABBA's split ahead of upcoming reunion tour And teases some great singing in Mamma Mia! 2 from Pierce Brosnan...
BY NICOLA AGIUS
2 OCTOBER 2017
88
Benny Andersson has opened up about why ABBA split.
During an interview on ITV's Lorraine today (October 2), the star explained there were several factors that contributed to the band's break-up in 1982.
He said: "Things were happening in real life too, not just in [our] working life. [Anni-Frid Lyngstad and I] got divorced, [Björn Ulvaeus and Agnetha Fältskog] got divorced. At first we still worked together though because we knew what we had."
When ABBA originally called it a day, the break was only ever supposed to be temporary.
However, when Benny and Björn were approached by West End icon Tim Rice in the early '80s to start writing music for theatre productions, the reunion was delayed
Lorraine on ITV ✔ @ITVLorraine
Benny explained: "We were on a break when Tim came along. He gave us these opportunities and afterwards, we were like what's the point in going back [to performing] because we like theatre so much?"
Now though, 35 years after the band parted ways, ABBA are getting back together and planning a huge virtual reunion tour.
"If everything goes to plan, we will be back in digital form at the beginning of 2019," he said. "It is going to be a virtual tour but everything will be live.
"It will be as though we are out on the road because the whole set-up is live. It will just be us four singers that are in digital form."
Ahead of the tour, Benny will be working on blockbuster sequel Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again!, starring Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan, Lily James and Dominic Cooper.
The star has produced the music for the soundtrack but will not be singing in any of the songs.
"I spent all summer recording the music," he added. "I didn't intend to but I just couldn't keep my hands away from it. If I didn't do it, I knew the music wouldn't be the way I wanted it to be.
"Lily James sang really well – good singers make the job easier. Pierce Brosnan is good too. Everyone jokes that he's not very good but I think that's just because nobody wants to see James Bond in romantic scenes like that."
Although Benny will not be lending his vocals to the movie, he confirmed he will be making a cameo.
Mamma Mia! 2 will hit cinemas in summer 2018. Lorraine is on ITV, weekdays at 8.30am.
Home>Music>Music News>Benny Andersson discusses reasons for ABBA's split & their 'virtual reunion' planned for 2019 Benny Andersson discusses reasons for ABBA's split & their 'virtual reunion' planned for 2019 ABBA Reunion
03102017
They're one of the best and most iconic pop bands of all time, but ABBA have never reformed since splitting in 1982.
In a way, you have to admire their integrity for doing so - but a 'virtual reality' reunion and tour that was touted earlier this year is coming to fruition and should be on the road by 2019, according to Benny Andersson.
Andersson appeared on ITV's Lorraine yesterday to discuss both the tour and Mamma Mia 2 - and he also spoke about the reasons behind the band's split and why they never got back together.
"Things were happening in real life too, not just in [our] working life," he said. "[Anni-Frid Lyngstad and I] got divorced, [Björn Ulvaeus and Agnetha Fältskog] got divorced. At first we still worked together though because we knew what we had."
He added that the break was supposed to be temporary until he and Bjorn Ulvaeus were approached by Tim Rice to write musicals - including 'Chess'. "We were on a break when Tim came along," he said. "He gave us these opportunities and afterwards, we were like what's the point in going back, because we like theatre so much?"
Of the 'virtual reunion', he said: "If everything goes to plan, we will be back in digital form at the beginning of 2019. Ot is going to be a virtual tour but everything will be live.
"It will be as though we are out on the road because the whole set-up is live. It will just be us four singers that are in digital form."
A good or terrible idea? We'll have to wait and see...
--------------------------------- In a chat with the ITV show he also stuck up for former Bond hunk Pierce Brosnan, who has been slated for his singing in the first Hollywood blockbuster. Benny, 70, said: "I spent summer recording the music for that. I didn't intend to, but I couldn't keep my hands away from it. "It's been fun. Lily James sings really well. "And Amanda, She did in the previous film too - they are good singers, it makes it easier." Entertainment reporter Ross King then quipped: "Pierce Brosnan, not so much so?" Yet Benny insisted: "He's a good singer.
----------------------------------------- VOCAL QUEENSAbba star Benny Andersson praises Lily James and Amanda Seyfried as ‘great singers’ while he talks Mamma Mia 2
The singer, 70, has recorded new material for the Hollywood flick's follow-up. He also confirmed he has a cameo role in the film
By Beth Allcock, Showbiz Reporter
2nd October 2017, 10:01 amUpdated: 2nd October 2017, 12:30 pm
ABBA legend Benny Andersson has praised the vocal talents of Lily James and Amanda Seyfried as he revealed he has been recording the soundtrack for Mamma Mia 2: Here We Go Again.
The Swedish singer told today's Lorraine show he was left very impressed by the two female leads and especially Downton Abbey star Lily, who plays a young Meryl Streep in Mamma Mia 2: Here We Go Again!
ABBA legend Benny Andersson revealed he has been recording new music for Mamma Mia 2
6
ABBA legend Benny Andersson revealed he has been recording new music for Mamma Mia 2
He said new arrival Lily James and Amanda Seyfried were 'great' singers, as was Bond star Pierce Brosnan
6
He said new arrival Lily James and Amanda Seyfried were 'great' singers, as was Bond star Pierce Brosnan
Benny said working with talented singers like Amanda Seyfried helped the artistic processGETTY IMAGES - GETTY
6
Benny said working with talented singers like Amanda Seyfried helped the artistic process
In a chat with the ITV show he also stuck up for former Bond hunk Pierce Brosnan, who has been slated for his singing in the first Hollywood blockbuster.
Benny, 70, said: "I spent summer recording the music for that. I didn't intend to, but I couldn't keep my hands away from it.
"It's been fun. Lily James sings really well.
"And Amanda, She did in the previous film too - they are good singers, it makes it easier."
Entertainment reporter Ross King then quipped: "Pierce Brosnan, not so much so?"
Yet Benny insisted: "He's a good singer.
Benny, 70, insisted Pierce Brosnan too was a good singer - but people didn't want to see the Bond hunk in a romantic role
6
Benny, 70, insisted Pierce Brosnan too was a good singer - but people didn't want to see the Bond hunk in a romantic role
"Everyone's joking about that, but he's a good singer.
"I just think it's a matter of you just don't want to see James Bond in a romantic situation like that."
MOST READ IN TV & SHOWBIZ
'SO TASTELESS' GMB fans slam show over Mariah Carey's 'bizarre' chat on Las Vegas shooting
LAY OFF DAVOOD! Strictly chiefs accused of trying to wreck star's marriage to boost ratings
VACANT & DEC I’m A Celebrity bosses delay filming as Ant McPartlin rests in LA after rehab
'PURE ARROGANCE' X Factor viewers delighted as 'bully' Jodie Woolcott is booted off show
DUNCE ROUTINE Piers Morgan blasts Charlotte Hawkins' Strictly nightmare and 'drunk' dancing
COBBLES DEATH Corrie will have shock death tonight, but will it be Bethany or Mel who dies?
Benny - one-quarter of the ABBA line-up - then confirmed he would have a cameo in the upcoming flick.
Meanwhile, little is known so far about the Mamma Mia 2 cast - except that the film will be subtitled Here We Go Again.
Benny was chatting to Lorraine's entertainment reporter Ross King
6
Benny was chatting to Lorraine's entertainment reporter Ross King
As the original film is back on the songs of ABBA, the second film will also be a musical.
When the film is released, it will mark the 10-year anniversary of the original film's release.
So far, picture house Universal has promised that some of the songs featured will be new songs not in the first flick, but "some old classics" will also make an appearance.
Little is known about the plotline for Mamma Mia 2GETTY - CONTRIBUTOR
6
Little is known about the plotline for Mamma Mia 2
Ol Parker, the man behind the Best Exotic Marigold Hotel films, will be writing and directing the new instalment.
The film has been given a preliminary release date of July 20, 2018.
However, bosses have yet to announce the film going into pre-production and as a result, the team have yet to shoot any new material.
Mis à jour à 12h12, publié le 01/10/2017 à 12H02
Benny Andersson, le co-fondateur d'ABBA, voyage en solo depuis la dissolution du groupe mythique. 34 ans après, il a choisi de dépouiller ses tubes légendaires et d'autres moins connus de toute orchestration pour les réunir dans un album intitulé "Piano" . Un opus enregistré sous le prestigieux label Deutsche Grammophon qui rappelle quel compositeur inspiré est Benny Andersson.
Sur la pochette en noir et blanc les cheveux ont blanchi mais le visage de Benny Andersson n'a pas tant changé que cela. Et sur ce visage encore un peu rond flotte un léger sourire du genre : "Vous voyez, je suis toujours là et je vais peut-être bien vous surprendre."
On savait depuis longtemps que pour composer des titres comme "Waterloo", "The Winner Takes It All", Mamma Mia", "Money, Money, Money" ou "Dancing Queen" (entre autres) qui ont agité la planète entière pendant le règne d'ABBA il fallait avoir un sens aigu de la mélodie. "Piano", enregistré chez Deutsche Grammophon, le confirme sans l'ombre d'un doute.
Les Mémoires d'Andersson
40 ans après, Benny Andersson a choisi "d'atteindre un certain noyau central commun à tous ces titres". Il s'est alors rendu compte que plus il les "déshabillait", plus il ressentait la musique, que ce soit une musique créée l'an dernier ou il y a 40 ans. "D'une certaine manière un peu étrange, confie-t-il, j'ai l'impression de jouer mes mémoires".
Comme un clin d'oeil à l'histoire c'est "I Let The Music Speak" qui ouvre l'album. Un titre prémonitoire "Je laisse parler la musique" qui figurait sur le dernier opus d'ABBA "The Visitors".
Et Benny Andersson laisse parler la musique des 21 titres qu'il a retenus de la plus belle des façons.
Il a pioché bien entendu dans le registre d'ABBA avec 6 titres dont "Thank You For The Music".
Pour Benny comme pour nous c'est l'occasion d'un grand retour en arrière. L'occasion de se remémorer le titre original et de comparer.
Pour Benny Andersson, il y a eu une vie après ABBA. Une vie ponctuée d'albums solo et de comédies musicales à succès. Avant "Mamma Mia", cela a commencé avec "Chess" le musical co-écrit avec son compère d'ABBA Bjorn Ulvaeus : l'histoire d'un triangle amoureux lors d'un championnat du monde d'échecs. C'était deux ans après la fin d'ABBA. Josh Groban en a été un des interprètes.
C'était quelque chose de nouveau pour Benny, une façon de ne pas rester sur la même voie, fût-elle couronnée de succès, toute sa vie. Une nouvelle écriture qui imposait l'ajustement de plusieurs paramètres : musique, chansons et mise en scène.
Benny Andersson a retenu 5 titres de "Chess"...mais pas le méga tube "One Night In Bangkok" dont on se demande ce qu'il pourrait donner en version piano. Mais le compositeur a peut-être bien en tête de réaliser une version "Piano" de son musical.
Que ce soit "You and I", "Embassy Lament" ou "Anthem" de "Chess" ou "Aldrig" extrait du musical " Kristina fran Duvemala", les titres dépouillés de l'orchestration originale révèlent une partition plus riche que celles des tubes d'ABBA dont l'efficacité reposait sur quelques notes bien assemblées.
Avec "November 1989" Benny Andersson s'était fait plaisir cette année-là dans un album très inspiré de musiques traditionnelles suédoises. Il avait connu un grand succès dans toute la Scandinavie. "Stockholm By Night", le joyeux "Malarskolan" et "Trostevisa", les trois titres qu'il a choisi de revisiter au piano deviennent plus universels, plus accessibles aux non scandinaves.
Au final "Piano" apparaît comme l'album de la sérénité. La sérénité d'un compositeur qui, ayant emprunté la voie du disco et de la pop jalonnée de disques d'or, de paillettes, a eu envie de se poser pour rappeler qu'avant de prendre des couleurs les mélodies s'écrivent simplement sur des touches en noir et blanc.
"Piano" de Benny Andersson
La track list
1. I Let The Music Speak
2. You And I
3. Aldrig
4. Thank You For The Music
5. Stockholm By Night
6. Chess
7. The Day Before You Came
8. Someone Else's Story
9. Midnattsdans
10. Målarskolan
11. I Wonder (Departure)
12. Embassy Lament
13. Anthem
14. My Love, My Life
15. Mountain Duet
16. Flickornas Rum
17. Efter Regnet
18. Tröstevisa
19. En Skrift I Snöen
20. Happy New Year
21. I Gott Bevar
Par Jean-Michel Ogier @Culturebox
Rédacteur en chef adjoint de Culturebox
Musique
musicABBA’s Benny on going solo, the Mamma Mia sequel and tour plans
He wrote the songs, now ABBA’s Benny Andersson is playing them on piano and getting them ready for Mamma Mia 2 and a hologram world tour
Cameron Adams
Herald SunSEPTEMBER 28, 201712:00AM
Matt Gilbertson chats to Bjorn Ulvaeus from ABBA
Ads by Kiosked
Benny Andersson’s first solo album is a genuine solo album.
It’s just him, behind the instrument we first saw him seated at wearing a green satin jacket, puffy shirt and platform heels on ABBA’s Waterloo in 1974, playing songs he’s written stretching back 40 years.
No vocals, no other musicians, no distractions.
“It’s just me playing some old songs on the piano,” Andersson says bluntly of Piano. “I didn’t think anyone would be interested in it. I thought maybe we’d just release a CD here in Sweden for the hardcore fans.”
But prestigious classical label Deutsche Grammophon heard about the record and wanted to release it as a worldwide priority.
Benny Andersson has finally released a real solo album called Piano. Supplied by Universal
Benny Andersson has finally released a real solo album called Piano. Supplied by UniversalSource:Supplied
“All of a sudden it became a much bigger project than I anticipated. I originally did it for myself to see if there’s substance in these songs once they’re stripped of everything — lyrics, voices, backing vocals, the band, everything. And for my grandkids, so when I’m not around anymore they can hear their grandpa play the piano. I think it sounds all right. It works. Otherwise you wouldn’t be hearing it because I wouldn’t be releasing it.”
Andersson, 70, cherrypicked songs from his entire career as a composer, including the musicals Chess and Kristina, as well as a handful of ABBA songs.
“It was very peaceful making this album,” he says. “It was just me and my sound engineer. There were no complications of trying to get 16 guys together on the same spot on the same day. I’ve got an office on an island in the middle of Stockholm, the studio is 100 metres away from it, so I’d walk over, do two or three songs, then come back and do the same thing the next week. It was really a joyful experience.”
While ABBA hits Thank You For the Music, Happy New Year and The Day Before You Came appear, Piano also features lesser known tunes from the group — I Let the Music Speak from The Visitors, You and I from Super Trouper, I Wonder (Departure) from ABBA the Album and My Love, My Life from Arrival.
UniversalSource:Supplied
“I felt from the beginning I couldn’t play songs on the piano that really need a band, really need the drums and bass and groove like Waterloo or Dancing Queen or Take a Chance on Me or Gimme Gimme Gimme (A Man After Midnight),” Andersson says.
“That wouldn’t have done the songs justice. That’s how I made the list — I had maybe 40 songs that would be all right to play on the piano. I should think a lot of this music would be new to people outside of Scandinavia.”
The Day Before You Came is one of Andersson’s personal ABBA favourites.
“I really like that song. It becomes extremely sad when you hear it like this. The recording is sad too, but the lyric itself is not sad, which is the genius of Bjorn (Ulvaeus). To me, when you read that lyric and take the music away it’s just someone saying what they did that day — ‘I read a book’, ‘I watched TV’, ‘I took the tube’, whatever; it doesn’t say what it really is.
“But when you put that lyric onto that music you realise something not good has happened. It’s a very intelligent lyric.”
When Andersson started making Piano a year ago, he says he “had nothing in the pipeline”.
Then came another high-profile project — Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again — the sequel to the 2008 movie which made close to a billion dollars.
The movie will be released next July, a decade on from the original, with Meryl Streep, Colin Firth, Pierce Brosnan, Amanda Seyfried, Dominic Cooper and Christine Baranski reprising their roles.
“I’ve been recording the backing tracks with the band in my studio, then going over to London to record all the vocals by all the principle actors. Which has been a joy. Lily James, who is the young Donna, she’s a really good singer. That helps. She has a lot to do. Amanda Seyfried also sings well, so it’s been a real pleasure.”
Andersson is injecting a batch of different ABBA songs into Here We Go Again, with “one song plus two half-songs” returning from the first film.
“Dancing Queen is still in there,” he confirms. “The ‘new’ songs will work in the same way as the musical and the first film. They’re helping the narrative, they’re moving the story forward with the lyrics.”
As one of the most successful songwriting teams of all time, Andersson admits he and Bjorn Ulvaeus guard their legacy zealously.
“We say no to almost everything. There’s a constant stream of people asking, ‘Can we use your music for this or that?’, ‘Can we do a remix?’ We always say no. Unless it’s a good film and if they pay us fairly, (then) they can synchronise the songs.
“I like the way they used Waterloo in (Matt Damon film) The Martian, that’s lots of fun, I liked that. We don’t say no to absolutely everything, but we are protective.”
The pair had to be convinced to let their songs be used in Australian film Muriel’s Wedding in 1994, which led to a huge spike in ABBA back catalogue sales.
“I love Muriel’s Wedding and I know it’s now a musical too,” Andersson says.
Though it “doesn’t feel like 40 years” to Andersson, 2017 marks the 40th anniversary of the band’s one and only Australian tour. He last saw ABBA the Movie — filmed Down Under on that tour — when the Swedish Film Institute restored it back in 2003.
“It looks neat. They broadcast it occasionally here on Swedish telly,” he says.
“It’s good we made that movie, maybe not for the narrative but for the pictures from the concerts. We really enjoyed those shows and Lasse Hallstrom did a great job with the live footage.
“I don’t know if Australians know how grateful we are about the support you gave us in the beginning. Because after Waterloo, it wasn’t really flying here in Europe, at least not in England. Then all of a sudden in Australia we sent down the videos and they were shown on Countdown. I Do I Do I Do, Mamma Mia and SOS became huge hits and the rest of the world woke up.
“We were on all different record companies around the world at that time so they didn’t really communicate that well. Since then it’s been rolling along. Well, until we quit.”
ABBA were together from 1972 and 1982. Their refusal to ever tour again has led to the band green-lighting a hologram/avatar tour due to take place in 2019.
Bjorn Again have been performing for twice as long as ABBA have. Picture: Eugene Hyland
Bjorn Again have been performing for twice as long as ABBA have. Picture: Eugene HylandSource:News Corp Australia
“It’s perfect. We can be on stage while I’m home walking the dogs,” Andersson says. “If this really works there’ll be a lot of artists wanting to do the same thing, even artists who are still young and still touring. It’s a very interesting project.”
Australia’s Bjorn Again have become the world’s most successful tribute act. They formed in Melbourne in 1988 and now have several versions of the band touring the world simultaneously.
“They’ve been around twice as long as we ever were!” Andersson jokes. “That’s quite a feat.”
Andersson avoids pop now, preferring classical music, but every once in a while a song will cross his radar.
“You can’t avoid some things, like Adele or Lady Gaga. I still get inspired by hearing a good pop song. I think Max Martin has done a lot of good stuff.”
While a real-life ABBA tour is never going to happen, would Andersson play small shows with just his piano to support his new album?
“If I was a skilled pianist and could do a performance in front of an audience without playing any wrong notes, yes. But that’s not the case. I think I’ll stay home.”
Piano (Universal) is out tomorrow
http://www.news.com.au/entertainment/music/abbas-benny-on-going-solo-the-mamma-mia-sequel-and-tour-plans/news-story/3a8197521ff86ac7b871c95bdbe84a0c
Rekommendera287TweetaDelaMejla
På fredag kommer Abba-legendaren ut med en soloplatta där han spelar sina låtar på piano.
Gunilla Brodrej möter Benny Andersson i ett samtal om nervositet, melankoli och att bara hålla på.
Annons:
MUSIK | INTERVJU. "Fråga inte om Abba ska återförenas", instruerar jag den unga reportern som står vid min sida och är nervös inför sitt första möte med Benny Andersson. "Du behöver inte vara nervös, han är mycket vänlig, liksom anspråkslös, oroa dig inte."
Vi är i Benny Anderssons studio Rixmixningsverket där den nya soloskivan ”Piano” ska presenteras. Den kommer ut på det klassiska prestigebolaget Deutsche grammophone. Där ges det sällan ut soloplattor med musiker som inte kan noter. Men nu så. Andersson spelar smakprov för ett andäktigt internationellt medieuppbåd. Efteråt bjuds det på den godaste fingermat jag nånsin ätit.
En vecka senare kommer jag tillbaka till Skeppsholmen för en enskild intervju.
Det här är höstens höjdpunkt, det finns faktiskt ingen annan musiker eller kompositör i Sverige som jag tycker så genuint mycket som Andersson. På ett personligt och musikaliskt plan. Det hänger ihop med askmolnet över Europa 2010, men vi kommer till det.
– Har du aldrig varit här, utbrister Andersson förvånat. Vad konstigt!
Det kan vara något av det finaste någon har sagt till mig.
LÄS MER - Gunilla Brodrej ser tårögd Björn & Bennys musikal på Royal Albert Hall
Marie-Louise Ekman tipsade
Kontoret där vi sitter ligger i en av två låga stenhuslängor på Skeppsholmen i Stockholm. Det var Marie-Louise Ekman, då chef för Kungliga Konsthögskolan i kvarteret, som tipsade Benny Andersson om att Fastighetsverket hade två gamla magasinslängor som stod nergångna och oanvända.
De byggnadsminnesmärkta kåkarna rustades upp rejält och numera ligger Benny Anderssons musikstudio, RMV, i den ena och hans eget kontor i den andra, granne med de övriga beståndsdelarna i det lilla kulturimperiet, förlag, artistmanagment, skivbolag, och annat som är nödvändigt. Allt styrt av Linn, Görel och Carina, ett mindre matriarkat. Och så Ludvig Andersson, Bennys son.
Kontoret är ett gemytligt rum med högt i tak, synliga bjälklager, konst på väggarna, en flygel och en synclavier där det mesta komponerandet sker.
– Du kan fråga om vad som helst. Förut ville jag inte bli den där Abba-gubben, men efter "Mamma Mia" går det ju inte längre. Det finns ju faktiskt anledning att vara tacksam, säger han.
Benny Andersson och Gunilla Brodrej.Foto: FOTOGRAF ELLINOR COLLIN
Ny "Mamma Mia"-film
Nej, det är ingen större poäng att den ena handen håller emot vad den andra matar fram. Nu närmast en ny "Mamma Mia"-film. Men Andersson får ändå en alldeles särskild lyster i blicken när han pratar om musikalerna, Orsa spelmän, filmmusiken och sitt band (BAO), eller är det bara jag som projicerar? Abba var ju liksom mina barnvisor. Musiken som kom sedan betydde mer för mitt vuxna jag.
– Så fort man kommer utanför Sverige är det Abba som gäller. Och som sista fråga kommer alltid: "jag vet att jag inte ska ställa den här frågan men: Ska ni spela ihop igen?" Då hinner jag ju säga nej innan frågan kommer.
Fanns det med i bakhuvudet när du gjorde den här skivan, att du ville nå ut med det andra materialet utanför Sverige?
– Inte alls! Jag gjorde den för att jag har tänkt det i många år. Plötsligt fanns det inget i pipelinen och då passade jag på. Men så fort jag började spela in den så kom det här med den nya "Mamma Mia"-filmen upp (”Mamma Mia – here we go again”) så då har jag ägnat stora delar av sommaren till att spela in musiken till filmen, även med sångarna förstås. Det vill säga det gamla gänget med Pierce Brosnan, Meryl Streep, Colin Firth, Amanda Seyfried och sist men inte minst Lily James som spelar Donna som ung. Och sedan är det projektet när vi [Abba] ska uppträda med våra digitala jag.
Vad är det då man kommer att få se?
– Oss.
Jamen hurdå? Vilken version av er?
– Ja, vilken vill du ha? 1979, det blir väl lagom, när vi var som mest i gång? Tanken är att när du sitter på 18:e bänk så ska du märka att det är vi som är där, inte bara några som låtsas.
Så man ska få en tredimensionell upplevelse av att det är ni på scenen?
– Ja, det hoppas jag. Vi får se, det är lite osäkert, det är så mycket som händer nu inom det här med augmented reality.
Så det är inte så att publiken ska ha speciella glasögon på sig?
– Det är möjligt, vi vet inte. Eller om det finns i form av hologram eller screener, det som tar tid är att faktiskt datorisera oss, varje por, varje gläns i iris, varje hårstrå.
Hade det inte varit enklare om ni bara hade gått upp på scenen?
– Ja visst vore det, säger Benny med ett snett leende, men det hade inte varit lika intressant att se fyra 70-åringar försöka sjunga låtar från 1970-talet.
Meryl Streep i "Mamma Mia".
Se på Rolling Stones!
– Jamen de slutade ju aldrig.
The Police då?
– Ja, Sting har ju inte slutat.
Men du har ju inte heller slutat.
– Nä, jag är up and running. Men jag tror inte att det är mig de vill se. Det är Frida och Agnetha de är intresserade av.
Pressen på dem är större.
– Ja, de gjorde alltid det värsta jobbet, säger Benny.
Benny Anderssons soloskiva
Så Benny Andersson har alltså spelat in en soloskiva vid flygeln med låtar från sin 50-åriga karriär. Och skickat in tre låtar till Deutsche Grammophon som nappade utan att de först visste vems musik det var eller vem som spelade.
Vad tänkte du själv när du lyssnade på resultatet?
– Det blev mycket mer melankoliskt än vanligt. Jag är egentligen inte melankolisk själv, jag tycker om tillvaron.
Men melankolin tilltalar tydligen dig. Den får resonans i dig.
– Det är många som frågar om jag kan komma och prata om hur det är att skriva musik och hur jag gör, men det kan jag inte, för jag vet inte hur det går till. Eller varför jag väljer det jag väljer, varför det blir “bra” för andra och inte bara för mig. Det är en väldigt mystisk sak.
Som att fråga en författare – hur gör du när du skriver dina böcker?
– De flesta säger att de går upp på morgonen och sätter sig och skriver sex timmar. Det handlar mycket mer om det än om talang. Att helt enkelt ta tiden man behöver.
Du har sagt nånstans att det handlar om tur.
– Ja, det är nån sorts tur. Man får vänta ut det. Man kan inte vara ute och gå med hunden, det går inte.
Du tänker genom fingrarna?
– Ja. Om jag inte sitter här så blir det ingenting. Jag vill höra mig själv spela nåt som jag aldrig har hört förut. Jag tror i och för sig att allt som kommer ut ur mig är ett mischmasch av vad andra har gjort.
Ja, men det kommer ju ändå alltid ut nånting som är så omisskännligt Andersson.
– Jag blir glad när du säger det, för det är ju en önskan om kommunikation att skriva musik, och då vill man ju att du ska känna att den har ett värde. Den måste man vara 100 procent ärlig. En hederlig avsändare.
Det där gäller ju ungefär allting. Ingen blir berörd om man fejkar.
– Det funkar inte att gissa, säger Andersson.
De bästa Abba-låtarna
Det är nåt med det självklart melodiskt sångbara i hans musik. En sorts vänligt vemod. Att man liksom är oförberedd när melodin dyker upp som en korp på berget, tittar på en med intensiva ögon. Folktonen som genomsyrar allt från de bästa Abba-låtarna och musikalerna till filmmusiken och spelmansmusiken. Solo på plattan, utan hela produktionen står låtarna nakna bredvid varandra, och då ser man att de är släkt.
När min väninnas pappa dog var vi i en kyrka i Söderköping, jag satte på din sorgmarsch på Spotify och så satt vi där i kyrkbänken och grät över våra avlidna fäder. Vi fick kontakt med våra känslor. Din musik funkar. Har du nåt som funkar för dig?
– Det finns hur mycket som helst, framför allt hos Bach. Eller Maria Callas. Att höra henne sjunga. Det är nåt med rösten, som är helt eget. Jussi Björling hade också lite av det. Det är samma som jag söker i urvalet jag gör. Det krävs ett element av vad det nu är för att det ska ta skruv.
Det krävs att det nästan känns lite genant?
– Det finns ju i popmusik också.
Det behöver förstås inte vara klassiskt för att man ska känna nåt. Det är snobbigt att tänka så. Men grejen med den här skivan är ju melodierna, din musik är ju nästan alltid melodiös. Du kan inte ta Lady Gagas repertoar och göra en sån här soloplatta på det.
– Ibland lyssnar jag på den nya musiken för att kolla vad som görs. Det är som en stor ångvält kommer körande. Jag kan höra att det är välgjort, det kan svänga och sångarna kan vara bra, men det fastnar inte i mig.
Göran Arnberg transkriberat
Benny Andersson kan alltså inte läsa noter, och han har sammanlagt tagit tre pianolektioner i sitt liv, men det har ju gått bra ändå och Göran Arnberg har transkriberat låtarna från plattan till noter som går att köpa.
– Det fina med att ha lärt sig spela med hjälp av öronen är att övar man tillräckligt mycket finns det inte bara i huvudet utan också i händerna.
Har det nån gång känts som ett handikapp att du inte kan noter?
– När jag står mitt i en orkester och Anders Eljas dirigerar och jag hör att det är nåt som är fel, då vore det trevligt att kunna säga att det ska vara ett ciss och inte ett c i den takten. Och det hade varit underbart att kunna spela ”Clair de lune” [Debussy] från noterna.
– Jag kom ihåg att [musikern] Sven-Olof Waldoff sa att man inte kan ha dubbla terser, det blir platt. Såna små saker får man lära sig av folk som kan. Och Eljas säger åt mig att jag inte kan skriva så där för valthorn för ett valthorn kan inte spela så högt. Men jag kan det, på min maskin.
På den lilla spelningen för pressen förra veckan pratade du om nervositet.
– Jag är inte nervös när jag är ute med mitt band, då hörs det knappt om jag lyfter händerna och slutar spela, men nu hörs allt, jag skulle inte sätta mig på Konserthuset ensam och ta betalt av folk.
Jag är ingen drillad pianist
Du tar din nervositet på stort allvar.
– Jag kan spela för dig nu, men i ett sammanhang där det finns förväntningar – då vill man ju försöka vara ordentlig. Jag är ingen drillad pianist, men det kanske inte spelar nån roll. Det kanske inte publiken bryr sig om?
Jag tror inte det. Vad är det för intressant med att lyssna på det som är perfekt?
– Det ligger det ju nånting i. Men man vill inte utsätta sig själv för obehag.
Det kanske inte behöver vara Konserthusets stora sal och Deutsche grammophons logga över hela väggen?
– Det är anspråksfullt! Men jag tycker att det är roligt med deras gula label på framsidan.
Är det fråga om revansch?
– Nej, inte alls! Jag har inga bekräftelsebehov. Det går bra ändå. Fast jag har i och för sig varit känd från när jag var 19. Vad jag än har sysslat med genom åren har det tagit skruv hos andra. Folk kommer fram till mig på gatan och säger att de är glada. Det skadar ju inte precis självkänslan.
Du kanske blev bekräftad redan hemifrån?
– Ja, det blev jag, av mamma.
Pappa då?
– Jag vet inte. Pappor på 50-talet, de var nog likadana allihop.
– Jag spelar i alla fall bättre nu än vad jag gjorde med Hep Stars 1970. Jag hittar bättre nu. Jag har övat mer.
Du kan ju till och med kontrapunkt. Du har det i dig.
– Jag vet vad det är.
Har du aldrig drabbats av skrivkramp?
– Hep Stars var bara kul. Och Abba – det enda vi behövde göra vara att vara så bra som möjligt. Och sedan var det bara att fortsätta att välja saker man inte gjort. Skriva för teater, film, spelmännen. Lite kör. Jag tror att man håller sig i gång genom att göra saker som man inte vet vad det ska bli.
Försätta sig i osäkra situationer?
– Ja, Abba-avatarerna är också oprövad mark.
Det är roligare att hålla på än inte hålla på.
– Jag är ändå bara 70 år nu. Ska jag göra ingenting?
Jag är äldst på min redaktion nuförtiden och häromdagen kom en kollega fram till mig och frågade om jag var rädd för att bli gammal.
– Är du det?
Nej, men jag är rädd för att dö.
– Är du? Men det gör ju att tillvaron nu blir så mycket rikare.
Men det är ju hemskt. Aldrig mer! Känner du aldrig så?
– Nej, men jag grubblar inte så mycket på det. För man har ju ingen chans att parera. Har man tur får man vara frisk så länge som möjligt. Rörlig och alert.
Björn och Bennys musikal
När den isländska vulkanen Eyafjallajökull fick ett utbrott 2010 spelades musikalen ”Kristina från Duvemåla” konsertant på engelska i Royal Albert Hall i London. Björn och Benny var där med teamet, familj och vänner och jag var där för att bevaka konserten. Morgonen efter skulle alla åka hem. Helen Sjöholm startade tidigt och var därmed en av de sista som kom med ett flyg innan luftrummet över Europa stängdes.
Jag satt och skrev på recensionen i ett av hotellets allmänna utrymmen när Andersson stack in huvudet och undrade hur jag skulle ta mig hem.
"Jag tar väl nåt tåg så småningom" sa jag.
"Det gör du nog inte", sa Benny som kollat upp saker och ting lite mer noggrant. "Vi håller på att försöka ordna fram en buss till Sverige. Om du vill kan du få åka med oss."
– När jag ser tillbaka så var det en av de bästa resorna jag nånsin har varit med om. Det som var tråkigt var att konserten var som bortblåst. Allt handlade om att försöka få tag på en buss. Och så kom det en, en jävla skitbuss. Ingen värme och två killar som aldrig hade kört i Europa. Vi fick tejpa igen kalldraget med wellpapp. Det var svinkallt. 200 meter från färjeläget skar bussen ihop, säger Benny.
Du är alltid så vänlig, Men jag kom ihåg att du blev lite sträng där nån gång under resan. Nåt som jag formulerade på Twitter landade fel. Du ville inte att det skulle framstå som att vi hade det kämpigt, eller hur det nu var. Då fick jag kontakt med en annan sida av din personlighet.
– Det är som hela resonemanget om man ska ta emot flyktingar. Det var många i Tyskland som ställde frågor på flyktingtemat när vi var där och presenterade skivan nyss. Jag gillar att de frågar om det. För det är inte här som krisen är. Den är i Somalia, Syrien och Afghanistan. Jag tror att både Tyskland och Sverige at the end of the day kommer att vara glada att vi tog emot så många.
Benny får bråttom
Vi går ut för fotografering. Benny börjar få bråttom nu, men kliver ändå upp på en stol med en hammare för att få upp en altandörr där fotografen har upptäckt en bra plats på en trappa. När vi går tillbaka poängterar jag att jag verkligen tycker om skivan. Kanske med lite för stor emfas.
– Jag tycker att det är roligt om du tycker om den, säger Andersson.
Genom pianoskivan har jag upptäckt att det finns en fras i ”Min lust till dig” i ”Kristina från Duvemåla” som också finns i ”Stockholm by night”.
Benny är först skeptisk, men prövar på pianot.
– Det har du rätt i, det har jag inte tänkt på, säger han.
Vi gläds tillsammans, som över ett kantarellställe.
Gunilla Brodrej är kritiker och redaktör på Expressens kultursida.
