Abba

[Ziggy C]

Abba wasn't promoted in the US as much more than Fernando, Dancing Queen, and a few other disco toilet swirlers. They are in a long line of groups which fared much better in Europe and the UK. The Kinks comes to mind. Poor promotion, coupled with poor business decisions led to their being shoved to the bottom of the pile for much of their career pre-'78. But the genius of Ray Davies shone through regardless. I don't know if a Beatle was present at too many of their sessions. But it's been rumored that a pre-Zep played as a session guitarist on at least one of their earliest hits.

On the subject of bands whose catalog has been distilled to just the disco stuff; Kool And The Gang. Their history goes back to 1964 playing jazz and R&B.
True story, I went to see KATG at a soul revival concert at the LA Sports Arena. They were top of the bill with bands like The Stylistics and Heatwave. Each band was supposed to play perhaps 20-30 minutes....in other words, their hits. Well, KATG came out at the end and proceeded to attempt to play a full set. Special guest Wycleff Jean. They got about 5 songs in when the house lights suddenly came on and the PA cut off. Show over. No warning. Killed the show in the middle of a tune, no less. KATG scrambled and tried to play Celebrate. But it was a no go. No PA. Only the stage amps and drums. It was a sad moment for such a storied band. Sure, they got over it. But from the perspective of someone on the audience, this was a wake-up call. For the labels, promoters, and their scumbag ilk, it's never about the music.

And now back to our program...Oh Joh-ha-hohn...."This is John speaking with his voice..."

[misterclaudel]

Abba wasn't promoted in the US as much more than Fernando, Dancing Queen, and a few other disco toilet swirlers. They are in a long line of groups which fared much better in Europe and the UK. The Kinks comes to mind. Poor promotion, coupled with poor business decisions led to their being shoved to the bottom of the pile for much of their career pre-'78. But the genius of Ray Davies shone through regardless. I don't know if a Beatle was present at too many of their sessions. But it's been rumored that a pre-Zep played as a session guitarist on at least one of their earliest hits.

On the subject of bands whose catalog has been distilled to just the disco stuff; Kool And The Gang. Their history goes back to 1964 playing jazz and R&B.
True story, I went to see KATG at a soul revival concert at the LA Sports Arena. They were top of the bill with bands like The Stylistics and Heatwave. Each band was supposed to play perhaps 20-30 minutes....in other words, their hits. Well, KATG came out at the end and proceeded to attempt to play a full set. Special guest Wycleff Jean. They got about 5 songs in when the house lights suddenly came on and the PA cut off. Show over. No warning. Killed the show in the middle of a tune, no less. KATG scrambled and tried to play Celebrate. But it was a no go. No PA. Only the stage amps and drums. It was a sad moment for such a storied band. Sure, they got over it. But from the perspective of someone on the audience, this was a wake-up call. For the labels, promoters, and their scumbag ilk, it's never about the music.

And now back to our program...Oh Joh-ha-hohn...."This is John speaking with his voice..."

I have to disagree with you....Abba really wasn't disco it Europop...I mean they wrote all their material unlike a lot of so called famous acts or people in the decades following the 70's they were put on pedestals and weren't worthy....I so agree with you about The kinks....they really got the bad end of the stick....very talented man Ray Davies is...Just love all their music. Yes and truth is sadly it's never about the music!!

[AllTogetherNow]

Whatever your thoughts are about ABBA one thing is clear.

NOW we have them on BEATLEGDB


RegardsATN

[ennolenno]

... And the brunnette started to look really OLD.

Yes, but I think it was the beard that made him look old.

[Lord Reith]

... And the brunnette started to look really OLD.

Yes, but I think it was the beard that made him look old.

He he. But what I meant was that the brunnette started to look conspicuously older than the rest of them. But she was still a fabulous singer yes. You can tell that just by the way other artists murder their songs when they try to sing them.

[AllTogetherNow]

... And the brunnette started to look really OLD.

Yes, but I think it was the beard that made him look old.

He he. But what I meant was that the brunnette started to look conspicuously older than the rest of them. But she was still a fabulous singer yes. You can tell that just by the way other artists murder their songs when they try to sing them.

Once again I beg to differ She still IS

[AllTogetherNow]

By the way Abba is a fishery

Abba Seafood AB, formerly Abba AB, with head offices in Gothenburg, Sweden, is a company producing preserved fish products
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abba_Seafood

shopping.jpg (8.96 KiB) Viewed 767 times

The group is ABBA

Now You music connoisseurs know.

Princess Anni-Frid Reuss, Dowager Countess of Plauen, better known by her nickname Frida, is a Norwegian-Swedish singer,.jpg (17.44 KiB) Viewed 758 times

Regards

ATN

[ennolenno]

Sometimes, when we are in the mood and the youngest kid is in bed, my wife and I do a YouTube evening, watching and listening to our beloved music:
The post-Quarrymen Band, Who, Kinks, Small Faces, Yardbirds, Hendrix, Led Zep, Rory Gallagher, Canned Heat, etc. etc. You all know them.
Youtube is a devil...
And every now and then we catch ourselves getting to... ABBA.
And we always come to the conclusion: This is really good music. And we both find that the brunette is a little prettier than the blondie...
Now discussions are open...

[Ziggy C]

...Abba really wasn't disco it Europop...I mean they wrote all their material unlike a lot of so called famous acts or people in the decades following the 70's they were put on pedestals and weren't worthy....

My point is that Abba, while considered of a newer form of pop music outside the US, Europop, if you will, in the US, they were lumped in with disco. There's a false notion that things will only sell if they can be labeled and categorized. This happened to so many bands. It's a shame that in the major markets of the world, even though the number of artists has grown and grown over the years, and the variety of musics has increased, it is the folks making all the money who choose to promote only a small portion of it. Abba has a vast catalog of music and videos. Although they are definitely not my bag, I can certainly respect their output. And I appreciate that it is not disco.

And, BTW, Thanks for all the cool stuff!!

[rtbcIII]

I certainly didn't see their TRON sequel coming...