UPDATED March 2024
Welcome to the new home of The ABBA Phenomenon in Australia.
Tickets are now on sale for ABBA Day Down Under 2024, an exciting all-day fan event to be held in Melbourne on 23 June 2024. The event includes a screening of ABBA – The Movie, guest speakers, a performance for THE CHOIR by ABBA The Museum, ending with the opportunity to dance the night away to ABBA classics. Early bird discount tickets are available until 31 March. See the event website for details and tickets.
THE CHOIR by ABBA The Museum is returning to Australia in June for a series of concerts in Melbourne plus the appearance at ABBA Day Down Under. Details of the choir’s shows are here.
With the 50th anniversary of ABBA’s Eurovision Song Contest win in April, there has been a lot of ABBA on TV and radio, including exclusive interviews, historical footage, and new specials. The classic 1976 special ABBA-dabba-doo!! is streaming on SBS on Demand in its original unedited state for the first time in Australia – in 1976 it was edited and retitled ABBA From The Beginning.
Major changes have been made to the Australian singles discography. It now includes images of all known label and sleeve variants, release information, plus chart details between 1973 and 2021. Similar changes have been applied to some albums in the Albums Discography, including the primary releases between 1973-1982.
2024 marks the 50th anniversary of ABBA’s Eurovision Song Contest win with ‘Waterloo’. A double half-speed mastered Waterloo album, a box set of singles, and picture disc singles will be released in Europe on 5 April, but there is no indication whether these will get local release, so we will probably have to order them from overseas. Check the ABBA Omnibus Waterloo 50th anniversary page for all the details.
If you have any comments, please contact me at abbaomnibus@gmail.com.
Ian Cole | Sydney Australia | April 2024
This month in history
| April |
|---|
| 1974 | Waterloo/Watch Out single released |
| 1975 | I’ve Been Waiting For You single enters chart |
| 1975 | I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do/Rock Me single released |
| 1976 | Fernando single reaches number one, stays there for the next 14 weeks |
| 1976 | Five ABBA singles and four ABBA albums in the top 40 for three weeks |
| 1977 | The Best Of ABBA LP leaves top 40 albums after one and a half years |
| 1977 | Keep Australia Beautiful campaign launched |
| 1979 | Chiquitita single peaks at number 4 |
| 1981 | Words & Music television special screens |
| 1982 | Gracias Por La Musica LP released |
| 1988 | Agnetha’s LP I Stand Alone and single The Last Time released |
| 1993 | Frida’s CDs Something’s Going On and Shine, and Agnetha’s CDs Wrap Your Arms Around Me and Eyes Of A Woman re-released |
| 1994 | ABBA fan celebration in Melbourne commemorating 20 years since ABBA’s Eurovision win |
| 2005 | ABBA – The Ultimate Collection 4 CD set released by Reader’s Digest |
| 2009 | ABBA – The Movie Blu-ray Disc released |
| 2014 | ABBA – The Official Photo Book published |
| 2014 | ABBA Gold – Greatest Hits 40th Anniversary Edition 3 CD set released |
| 2014 | Waterloo Deluxe Edition CD/DVD released |
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