Here they go again: ABBA announce new music, and a series of concerts
ABBA are back and have released new music for 2021. Picture: ABBA
After a week of speculation and excitement, the news was announced via a livestream on YouTube from Sweden and London on Thursday evening.
Abba members Bjorn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson went online to reveal details of the reunion and new album, along with a concert in London featuring hologram versions of the four members.
All four members - Anni-Frid Lyngstad, Agnetha Faltskog, Bjorn Ulvaeus, and Benny Andersson – are in their mid-70s now, and obviously didn't fancy the rigours of touring.
Instead, they are making the most of cutting-edge technology to create virtual versions of themselves - so-called 'Abbators' on stage.
Those Abbators will be accompanied by a live 10-piece band for an unspecified number of concerts in a purpose-built arena in London from May 27, 2022. The 3,000 capacity arena is located at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in London.
Pre-registration for tickets is available already, with sales opening on Tuesday, September 7. Prices for the shows have not yet been announced. The Voyage, the band's first studio album in 40 years, will be released on November 5.
Early in the livestream, more than 230,000 people had already tuned in to hear the announcement, and even without the presence of the fab four on stage, the concerts are sure to attract a huge audience.
The group - who played just one Irish concert, at the RDS in 1979 - had disbanded in 1982, vowing never to play together again, but left an incredible legacy of classic pop hits that began in 1974 with Eurovision winner, Waterloo.
Tribute acts have proliferated since, and stage shows and related films have been hugely popular, but this latest project is probably as close as fans will ever get to seeing the real thing again.
