Popular Swedish group ABBA plans to release five new songs next year. This was announced by Jeff Lloyd, one of the hosts of the Reasons To Be Cheerful podcast, who previously contacted the band member Bjorn Ulvaeus via Zoom.

“They recorded five new songs that were supposed to be released at the end of last year ... Due to technical difficulties and the pandemic, things have been delayed. But he promised me that the new songs of ABBA will be released in 2021, ”said the presenter.

The new songs of the legendary four became known in the spring of 2018. Then the musicians said that they had already recorded two tracks - I Still Have Faith In You and Don't Shut Me Down.

According to Bjorn Ulveus, one of them sounds in the style of pop music of the 1970s, and the other is "timeless".

The musicians were inspired to create new songs by working on a virtual tour with their holographic counterparts created using 3D projection.

“All four of us thought it would be fun to get back together and go to the recording studio in about 35 years. And so we did. And there was a feeling that time had stopped and we were absent only for a short break, ”the group's Instagram page says.

The event was planned for 2019, but so far it has not passed.

The premiere of new songs was also expected earlier - by Christmas 2018, but was postponed several times due to technical difficulties associated with organizing the tour, and due to the coronavirus pandemic.

  • Gettyimages.ru
  • © Michael Ochs Archives

The history of the Swedish quartet ABBA began in 1966 when musicians Bjorn Ulveus and Benny Andersson met. They wrote the song and later began to collaborate on a regular basis. In the late 1960s, they were joined by Agneta Feltskog and Annie-Fried Lingstad. A few years later, the artists released their first hits - People Need Love and Ring Ring.

The group's real breakthrough took place in 1974, when the musicians won the Eurovision Song Contest with the song Waterloo. Then the name appeared - ABBA. Shortly after this triumph, the song reached number one on the charts across Europe, and also entered the top ten in the United States, where Eurovision usually goes unnoticed.

In the years that followed, ABBA released many new hits: SOS, Honey, Honey, Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight), Mamma Mia, Take a Chance on Me, Money, Money, Money, Dancing Queen, Does Your Mother Know, Chiquitita, Thank You for the Music. Throughout its existence, ABBA have recorded eight studio albums, each of which went platinum in the UK and other countries.

In 1982, the members of the group were engaged in other projects and paid little attention to joint creativity. ABBA's only release this year was a double compilation entitled The Singles: The First Ten Years, featuring two new songs. At the end of the year, ABBA announced a decision to take a break, which dragged on for several decades.

In an interview, Bjorn Ulveus repeatedly stressed that there would be no more joint performances by ABBA. According to him, the musicians have no motivation for this. In addition, they would like the audience to remember them as young and energetic.

However, in the 2010s, rumors of a possible reunion of the group began to surface more and more. In 2016, at the 50th anniversary of the collaboration between Bjorn Ulveus and Benny Andersson, Agneta Feltskog and Anni-Fried Lingstad took the stage to perform the hit You and I. At the end of the performance, Ulveus and Andersson joined them. It was the first time in nearly 35 years that the legendary four came together.

In the same year, music producer Simon Fuller revealed that the group would team up to work on a virtual tour.

Based on the hits of ABBA, the musical Mamma Mia! Was created, which premiered in 1999. The show made a splash and instantly won the love of the audience. Later, the musical was adapted for a number of countries and was shown in more than 440 cities.

In 2008, the film adaptation of Mamma Mia was released! with Meryl Streep, Amanda Seyfried, Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth, Stellan Skarsgard and other actors.

Ten years later, in 2018, a sequel appeared - Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again. According to producer Judy Kramer, the third part may be filmed in the future.