Premiere : Dec 5th, 2019
The Folkpark room at Super Troupers The Exhibition
Frida said:"We are delighted to support ABBA: Super Troupers The Exhibition at The O2 following the overwhelming response to our earlier exhibitions in London. From our Eurovision Song Contest win in Brighton in '74 to the present day, the UK has long held a special place in Abba's heart, and we have always strongly felt the love and support of our British fans." (heraldscotland)
Lay All Your Love on the ultimate ABBA experience - the O2's Super Troupers exhibition
Matthew Clemenson
DANCING QUEENS AND SUPER TROUPERS ALIKE CAN, FROM TODAY, TAKE A CHANCE ON AN IMMERSIVE EXHIBITION AT LONDON'S O2 PAYING TRIBUTE TO THE WORLD'S MOST FAMOUS SWEDISH SUPERGROUP.
The Arrival room at the O2. Picture: David Bloom
ABBA: Super Troupers - The Exhibition brings to life the world of chart-topping pop sensations ABBA - Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid "Frida" Lyngstad.
It opens to the public today (Friday, December 6) and runs until August 31 2020.
Last night, a special preview event was held to give journalists an exclusive first look and, seeing as my girlfriend is an absolute ABBA fiend, I could think of no-one better to take a long.
Obviously she loved it. But even I, more of an ABBA absorber than an ABBA absolutist, had a great time.
The Folkpark room at the O2. Picture: David Bloom
With the aid of a touchscreen tablet and your own audio guide, the experience takes you from the very beginning, charting each members birth and rise to prominence in Sweden's 60s music scene before a fateful meeting on the road between Björn and Benny set the four of them on the path to global stardom.
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There are behind the scenes tales from all four members as you make your way from room to room, starting with a look at life in 1970s Britain to set the scene before learning about Swedish folkparks in a faux-wooden glade scented with pine needles.
That might sound a bit out of place, but in fact the folkpark's help explain ABBA's birth from Sweden's folk scene and it's not long before you're learning about the band's early days and the Eurovision triumph that put them firmly on the world stage.
The Super Troupers room at the O2. Picture: David Bloom
I won't go into intricate detail about each of the other rooms participants make their way through, except to say that each of ABBA's eight multi-million selling albums has its own dedicated space - a personal highlight being the neon dancefloor of the Voulez-Vous (Ah Ha) room...
By the time you reach the end of the fully immersive experience and come face to face with a recreation of an ABBA superfan's living room and four incredibly creepy puppets of the foursome, there will only be one thing left to say.
And that, of course, is Thank You For The Music.
ABBA: Super Troupers The Exhibition is at the O2 Arena from Friday December 6 2019 to Monday, August 31 2020.
https://www.ilfordrecorder.co.uk/news/abba-super-troupers-the-exhibtiion-at-the-o2-1-6412751
source. ilfordrecorder.co.uk - . Picture: David Bloom....
ABBA 'Super Troupers' exhibition tells the story through its eight albums.
The resurrection of Abba - from new songs to an arena shrine
THEY are the Swedish band whose superstardom was sealed by a Eurovision Song Contest before going on to have 25 hit song, including nine number ones.
While officially splitting in 1982, a museum in Stockholm, a theatre production, two movies, and the promise of two brand new songs in 2020, Abba are the band whose legacy refuses to die.
While there is excitement over a reunion, the O2 Arena, a 20,000 capacity arena that the band would have easily sold out during their 70s pomp, has become the venue for a 'thank you for the music' exhibition to Abba, including one superfan's shrine to the pop legends.
Just two months ago the arena became the location for Mamma Mia! The Party - a theatrical and dining experience, already a huge hit in Stockholm.
Now running alongside it at the O2 Arena is Abba: Super Troupers The Exhibition an immersive exhibition which aims to bring to life the world of chart-topping quartet of Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid ("Frida") Lyngstad in a visitor experience that charts their music, lyrics, creative process and influence as one of the most iconic pop bands of the modern age.
One of the features is the song that got a lame 'nul points' from the British jury in the Eurovision song contest in 1974.
“If all the judges were men, I’m sure they’d get a lot of votes” – so predicted David Vine, the BBC commentator at the time.
Waterloo would win, become a massive hit, propelled the Swedes to superstardom and a musical journey of eight albums and a legacy that refuses to die.
A replica of the stage used on that Eurovision evening at the Brighton Dome is just one of the features of the exhibition that includes artefacts, photos, videos, interviews, costumes and private letters, many of them going on display for the first time.
Personal items such as member Bjorn Ulvaeus' school report as well as pictures, gold discs and clothing are on display'
Fifty-six-year-old fan Andrew Boardman's shrine consists off hundreds of items of memorabilia he collected for more than 40 years, including cushions, scarves, badges and even Christmas decorations, are also included.
"I have a vague memory of them winning the Eurovision Song Contest but in '75 when 'I do, I do. I do' came out, there's something unique about the saxophone intro that caught my ear and it wasn't too long until I related the two together," said Mr Boardman, whose 2,500 pieces of memorabilia also includes singles, albums, cassettes, videos, DVDs, posters, magazines, colouring books, games and dolls.
He soon got morning and evening paper rounds for money to spend on anything Abba-related he could get his hands on. And he has never stopped.
When video recorders came in, his mum would shout “they’re on”, and he would run down to tape any Abba TV appearance.
"Just every bit of pocket money (went towards buying Abba memorabilia). Everything has gone on and on. As I started to work, it has got bigger and bigger.
“It has been my life’s passion, you could pick any item and I could tell you where I got it, when I got it.”
A look at the lives of the band, pre-Abba, includes displaying personal items from each musician's youth including Björn's school report, his military book and photographs from his time in service, and pictures of a 13-year-old Frida in a jazz band as a beatnik teenager.
Abba's Frida Lyngstad said:"We are delighted to support ABBA: Super Troupers The Exhibition at The O2 following the overwhelming response to our earlier exhibitions in London.
"From our Eurovision Song Contest win in Brighton in '74 to the present day, the UK has long held a special place in Abba's heart, and we have always strongly felt the love and support of our British fans."
Curator Jude Kelly said: “I‘m looking at the progress of a band that worked together from 74 to 84 and produced a body of music that has endured across the world.
“What is it when artists get together and something very special happens? The circumstances of the time, the place and the people. The context of culture has always fascinated me.
"What’s so extraordinary about Abba is that they are inter-generational.
“This is an exhibition of a scale that you rarely see of everything that Abba have ever done. So if you’re at all interested in popular culture, or you love Abba a lot, it’s worth the journey.”
Björn Ulvaeus has previously told about the "fantastic" global reaction to the promise of two brand new songs. And he has said they have been been recorded for release next year.
The band were approached by Simon Fuller, the man behind Spice Girls about creating computer generated copies of Abba or Abbatars for a video instead of the band themselves.
The band then thought they should have something new to sing as well and got into the studio for the first time in almost 36 years.
"Oh yes, it just took virtually seconds. We were standing in front of one of those sound desks in the control room, the four of us, and we were just kind of looking at each other," said Mr Ulvaeus in September.
"It's definitely ABBA sound. That hadn't gone. The minute the two ladies started singing together in the studio, ah, there it was! The same sound," he told Smooth Radio.
"It's slightly lower now because everyone [has dropped] in range. But the sound is the same and yeah, it's going to sound like Abba definitely.
"One of the songs is more timeless, not of a certain style. The other one is perhaps a little nod to the 70s, but with modern sounding instruments. It will be released together with a video of the Abbatars. It's completely new."
https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/18083450.resurrection-abba---new-songs-arena-shrine/
Report From independent.co.uk about Abba: Super Troupers The Exhibition
The Exhibition’ runs daily (except Christmas Day and New Year’s Day) from 6 December 2019 to 31 August 2020 at the O2, London
ABBA: SUPER TROUPERS THE EXHIBITION OPENS AT LONDON’S O2
Exclusive: ‘Thank goodness we’ve got art, thank goodness we’ve got music, thank goodness we’ve got things that carry us through with energy and optimism,’ says Jude Kelly, curator
“If all the judges were men, I’m sure they’d get a lot of votes” – so predicted David Vine, the BBC commentator at the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest in Brighton, ahead of Abba’s winning performance of Waterloo.
The film (which is cut short, because the BBC’s tape ran out) is one of the key exhibits at Abba: Super Troupers The Exhibition, the latest addition to the tourist industry surrounding Sweden’s biggest contribution to popular culture.
Filling a substantial arc of the Dome, the new visitor attraction tells the story of the group from their chance beginnings on the Swedish “folk park” circuit to the slow-motion disintegration of the dreams and relationships of Agnetha, Björn, Benny and Anni-Frid in the early 1980s.
Much of the memorabilia, such as the BBC’s Eurovision commentary, is absurdly dated. Yet it is rooted firmly in a British context, and in particular the year 1974 – when, amid the turmoil of the miners’ strike, the Three-Day Week, squabbles over Europe and two general elections, Abba popped up to win Eurovision (despite the British jury notoriously awarding them nul points).
Visitors may wish to wear shades, given the amount of glitter and sparkle that abounds: costumes, gold discs and the “star guitar” from the Eurovision performance.
Against a backdrop of vivid reminders of a nation riven by division, the curator Jude Kelly told The Independent why she was attracted to the project: “I‘m looking at the progress of a band that worked together from 74 to 84 and produced a body of music that has endured across the world.
“What is it when artists get together and something very special happens? The circumstances of the time, the place and the people. The context of culture has always fascinated me.”
It has also fascinated Andrew Boardman, a superfan whose Manchester “Abba room” of memorabilia began 40 years ago when, aged 16, he saw Abba. His Scandi-crush has been transplanted intact to London’s Docklands.
The raw numbers of the music business are on show, too: for the 1980 tour of Japan, the four flew first class for over $5,000 each, while “nine musicians, four Swedish crew, five British crew” were evidently down the back at a quarter of the fare.
The exhibition, like Abba themselves, has very high production standards and comes at a premium price: £27 for an experience that will typically last 90 minutes. It is directly opposite another existing branch of the Abba franchise – Mamma Mia The Party – in which part of the Dome has been impressively converted to the biggest Greek taverna you ever did see, complete with singing waiters.
When I went along (at a premium cost of £150, including an excellent meal), I shared a table with a couple who were not even born when Abba folded.
“What’s so extraordinary about Abba is that they are inter-generational,” says Jude Kelly.
“This is an exhibition of a scale that you rarely see of everything that Abba have ever done. So if you’re at all interested in popular culture, or you love Abba a lot, it’s worth the journey.”
(Also worth the journey, at least if you find yourself in Stockholm, is Abba The Museum.)
The final room of the London extravaganza show is an invitation to strut your stuff, with a long loop of Abba favourites on screen and speakers.
‘Abba: Super Troupers The Exhibition’ runs daily (except Christmas Day and New Year’s Day) from 6 December 2019 to 31 August 2020 at the O2, London
The final room of the London extravaganza show is an invitation to strut your stuff, with a long loop of Abba favourites on screen and speakers.
Timeless, says Jude Kelly. “The 70s were an amazing era. We’re living in another amazing era.”
“Thank goodness we’ve got art, thank goodness we’ve got music, thank goodness we’ve got things that carry us through with energy and optimism.”
The history book on the shelf is always repeating itself.
‘Abba: Super Troupers The Exhibition’ runs daily (except Christmas Day and New Year’s Day) from 6 December 2019 to 31 August 2020 at the O2, London
ABBA: Super Troupers The Exhibition To Open At The O2 This December
by BWW News Desk Sep. 10, 2019
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Entertainment Exhibitions International (UK) Ltd (EEI), in association with ABBA The Museum in Stockholm, have announced ABBA: Super Troupers The Exhibition in a 14,000 square foot space within London's home of music, The O2. Running from 6th December 2019 to 31st August 2020, the immersive exhibition brings to life the world of chart-topping Swedish pop sensation ABBA (Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid ("Frida") Lyngstad) in a visitor experience that charts their music, lyrics, creative process and influence as one of the most iconic pop bands of the modern age.
The exhibition has been conceptualised and curated by Jude Kelly CBE, former artistic director at The Southbank Centre, and approved by ABBA.
ABBA burst onto the UK music scene with a dazzling win on 6th April 1974 at the Eurovision Song Contest at the Brighton Dome, introducing the irresistible song that would become their first UK chart-topper, "Waterloo". ABBA: Super Troupers The Exhibition examines ABBA's rise to global superstardom through a series of atmospheric rooms, exploring each of ABBA's 8 multi-million selling albums, alongside the band's personal and public journey.
Throughout, a specially created audio guide (included in the price of admission) will give context to the developments of the decade, highlighting the global news events and musical soundtrack that defined the era. The experience will contain objects from ABBA The Museum and other archives, some of which have not previously been on display in the UK.
Transforming the traditional exhibition experience, this deeply unique take on the ABBA story takes visitors to the heart of the journey of each band member. Incorporating lyrics, costumes, instruments, experiential backdrops of the key events and locations that defined and shaped the band, album artwork, photography, film and more, ABBA: Super Troupers The Exhibition examines the band's universal popularity. From their multi-layered sound to their iconic look, the exhibition goes behind-the-scenes to examine the heavy-weight influence of one of the most enduring acts of all time.
ABBA: Super Troupers The Exhibition is set to put objects on display that include:
A look at the lives of the band, pre-ABBA, displaying personal items from each musician's youth including Björn's school report, his military book and photographs from his time in service, and pictures of a 13-year-old Frida in a jazz band as a beatnik teenager.
Key items from the height of the band's heyday, reflecting on both the personal - such as a collection of behind the scenes photos taken of the band on their '77 Australian "Arrival" tour - and the professional, with iconic items from the height of their success, including:
A limited-edition replica of the 'Star Guitar' played at Eurovision '74, signed by all four members.
Over 40 Gold Discs from ABBA's personal archive including "Dancing Queen", their biggest selling single, worldwide.
A collection of exquisitely designed, image-defining costumes and personal clothing.
A recreation of super fan, Andrew Boardman's Manchester living room. A shrine to ABBA memorabilia, Andrew began collecting 40 years ago having fallen under the band's spell at the first concert of theirs he attended, aged 16. This room explores the notion that ABBA may have the most ardent and committed fans of any contemporary band.
Visitors will be fully immersed in the ABBA story, where highlights of the exhibition's theatrical staging include:
Taking a stroll through a Swedish folk park as the band's pre-ABBA successes and folk roots are explored.
A recreation of the Eurovision Song Contest stage at the Brighton Dome, where, from lush deep theatre seats, fans will watch the performance before experiencing the excitement of the vote reveal.
Multiple photo-opportunities, where attendees can capture themselves beside:
A full-sized replica of the helicopter that graced the cover of "Arrival'"
Replicas of the iconic "Super Trouper" album cover costumes.
A life-size replica of the scoreboard that saw ABBA secure Eurovision Song Contest victory.
A glimpse inside the band's POLAR Studios, where the hard-working pop perfectionists refined their defining harmonised sound, with interactive elements that include a voice recording booth and mixing desk.
Ending the experience on a hedonistic high, guests are invited to sing, dance, add to fan mail, explore memorabilia and indeed say "Thank You For The Music" in The Legacy finale, as a specular audio-visual backdrop documents the very best of the band's monumental success.
ABBA's Frida Lyngstad says,
"We are delighted to support ABBA: Super Troupers The Exhibition at The O2 following the overwhelming response to our earlier exhibitions in London. From our Eurovision Song Contest win in Brighton in '74 to the present day, the UK has long held a special place in ABBA's heart, and we have always strongly felt the love and support of our British fans. It's with celebration that we work with Jude Kelly CBE towards this major exhibition and can't wait for fans to discover a host of surprises in December!"
Jude Kelly CBE, Curator, adds:
"ABBA's music, image and personal stories not only gripped a generation, but have the transcendental ability to continue to engage millions of fans of all ages across the globe today. It was a great pleasure to see the extraordinary response and enduring respect of fans from all around the world during previous ABBA exhibitions in London. I am delighted to work with EEI and ABBA The Museum to present ABBA: Super Troupers The Exhibition at The O2 and to be able to take visitors deeper into the incredible legacy that is the ABBA story."
Ingrid Sutej of Entertainment Exhibitions International (UK) Ltd (EEI) continues:
"EEI is delighted to be working alongside ABBA and Jude Kelly to realise Jude's vision of one of the most incredible cultural stories of our time. This all-new creative concept takes a different approach to telling the ABBA story through an immersive experience that will show the band and their remarkable legacy to fans in a new light."
ABBA: Super Troupers The Exhibition will be exhibited at The O2, the home of the world's most successful arena and within an entertainment precinct that includes the new ABBA-inspired immersive theatrical and dining experience, Mamma Mia! The Party.
https://www.broadwayworld.com/uk-regional/article/ABBA-Super-Troupers-The-Exhibition-To-Open-At-The-02-This-December-20190910
