I went to a Boney M. tribute concert recently, and FABBA (Australian ABBA tribute band) were the opening act. During their set, Not Agnetha and Not Frida told a story in-character about how “they” went to Australia in 1976 and walked out of their plane in front of a crowd of screaming fans. After that, they went on TV and performed ‘Fernando’ live on A Current Affair. Quite predictably, ‘Fernando’ was the next song on FABBA’s setlist that night. I have a feeling that the above story isn’t 100% true, so could you correct it for me?
I’m also wondering if Bjorn Again (Australian lineup)’s official Facebook has been posting AI slop, cause a recent post claimed that “ABBA performed ‘Dancing Queen’ and ‘Happy New Year’ during their final TV special in 1982”. Every hardcore ABBA fan (including you) knows that this statement is obviously false, for many reasons.

Love,
Aaron, Australia

It’s true that ABBA were interviewed for A Current Affair the same day as the press conference held at the Sydney Hilton Hotel on Friday 5 March 1976, which was broadcast that night. But they didn’t perform ‘Fernando’ live on the programme, the promotional clip was shown. Which was, incidentally, the song’s premiere screening in Australia. Unfortunately, video of this interview has never surfaced. Read more about it at ABBA On TV.
I don’t know where Bjorn Again would have got that information. Neither of those songs was performed on ABBA’s last TV special, Dick Cavett Meets ABBA in 1981, nor on their last ever TV appearance as a group in December 1982, when they performed ‘I Have A Dream’ and ‘Under Attack’. ABBA last performed ‘Dancing Queen’ at their final concert in Tokyo, Japan on 27 March 1980, and ‘Happy New Year’ (playback, not live) on 27 November 1980 for broadcast on New Year’s Eve that year in Sweden and France.

The Japanese CD version of The Singles – The First Fifty Years came with lots of extras – stickers, a poster and CD holder in a deluxe sleeve. Why wasn’t this version available everywhere?

Jane, UK

For decades it’s been common for Japanese record companies to upgrade the packaging of record releases for the Japanese market, adding inserts with Japanese text, lyric translations, and sometimes other extras, or even modifying sleeves. For instance, Greatest Hits Vol. 2 in 1979 had a collage of photos on the inside of the gatefold sleeve, along with an additional insert with lyrics in English and Japanese. Universal Japan created the deluxe version of The Singles – The First Fifty Years specifically for the Japanese market, which of course appealed to fans all over the world.

Are there any songs (single or album track) that had the lead vocal by a particular member that could have sounded interesting sung by another, in your view? For example:  ‘Me & I’ by Agnetha or ‘Kisses Of Fire’ by Frida. Could make for an unusual concept for a new album of new vocals, no?

Simon, UK

In interviews Frida has said that sometimes she “envied” the choice of songs Agnetha got to sing, while Agnetha has said that she would have liked to sing ‘Our Last Summer’. I know many fans have expressed that it would be interesting to hear a particular song sung by the other. Personally, it’s something I’ve not really thought about, though I can see the appeal of the concept.

I’ve read rumours of a deluxe version of Voyage with bonus tracks. Is this true and if so when is it coming out?

John, New Zealand

That rumour has been going around for a couple of years. However, in the December 2024 issue of the Official International ABBA Fan Club Magazine, Dutch fan Ed reports that on a visit to Stockholm in the autumn he had met with Benny, asked him about this, and Benny confirmed that there were no plans for a deluxe version of Voyage, and that any unfinished songs will not be released.