BBC Radio 2 and BBC Sounds to celebrate ABBA’s 50th Anniversary

ABBA can be celebrated on BBC Radio 2 and BBC Sounds to mark the fiftieth anniversary of Agnetha Fältskog, Anni-Frid Lyngstad, Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson’s Eurovision win in Brighton in April 1974.

• From right now, the general public can vote for his or her favorite ever ABBA music for a particular present, Your Final ABBA Tune, which can characteristic the High 30 countdown of their hottest tracks, as voted for by Radio 2 listeners.
• Following earlier Eras sequence’ on Kylie and The Beatles, Eras: ABBA tells the definitive story of the group in 4, era-defining chapters
• In Sophie Ellis-Bextor: ABBA, My Supergroup, Sophie tells of her love of the band, ABBA on the BBC options the group in archive BBC Radio interviews spanning many a long time.

Your Final Abba Tune

Listeners can now vote right here for as much as 5 of their favorite songs from an inventory of 45 titles comprising all ABBA’s UK High 40 hits, plus a number of different classics as chosen by Radio 2’s panel of ABBA superfans, together with presenters Sophie Ellis-Bextor and Sara Cox. Voting is now open and closes at 12pm on Thursday 18 April 2024. Gary Davies will host the High 30 countdown present, Your Final ABBA Tune, which can embody his recollections of the group together with materials from the BBC’s in depth archive (1-3pm, Saturday 11 Could on Radio 2). Produced by BBC Audio.

Gary Davies, presenter of Your Final ABBA Tune, says: “Ever since I noticed them carry out Waterloo on Eurovision I used to be hooked. ABBA has been the musical backdrop to my life. I noticed them reside in Manchester in 1977 and it was among the best concert events ever. I’ve bought too many favourites to select only one, so I can’t wait to search out out what the British public vote as their final ABBA music.”

Jeff Smith, Head of Music for Radio 2 and 6 Music, says: “Radio 2’s listeners have enormous love for ABBA on account of their timeless melodic music so, alongside the improbable new Eras: ABBA sequence and Sophie Ellis-Bextor sharing her adoration of the group, we’re inviting them to rejoice the Swedish foursome by voting for his or her favorite tracks to mark this momentous anniversary.” 

Eras: ABBA

On Radio 2 – and accessible now on BBC Sounds – is Eras: ABBA (following earlier sequence’ on Kylie and The Beatles) which tells the definitive story of ABBA in 4 era-defining chapters. They’re recognized for his or her impossibly good pop songs, international stardom and a stratospheric revival, however how a lot do you actually find out about Sweden’s largest musical export? With presenter Sara Cox as our information and advised within the group’s personal phrases by way of uncommon BBC archive and new interviews with consultants, insiders and well-known followers, that is the story of how Agnetha, Frida, Björn and Benny went from Eurovision hopefuls to era-defining pop icons. Eras: ABBA is a window into the musical genius and sheer perseverance that introduced ABBA to their rightful place on the prime. Set in opposition to their timeless again catalogue, listeners will get to know ABBA like by no means earlier than.

Contributors embody Kylie, Rylan, Dermot O’Leary, Elaine Paige, Paul Gambaccini, Olly Alexander, Mark Gatiss, ABBA historian Carl Magnus Palm, session musician Janne Schaffer, Rod Stephen – creator of Björn Once more, ABBA Voyage producers, Ludvig Andersson and Svana Gisla, and its director Ballie Walsh, plus curator Ingmarie Halling, journalist Leif Schulman, costume designer Owe Sandström, Mamma Mia! author and producer Catherine Johnson and author Ian Hallard. Episodes one and two can be broadcast on BBC Radio 2 on Sunday seventh April (12-1am), with episodes three and 4 broadcast on the station on Sunday 14th April (12-1am). A Cup and Nuzzle manufacturing.

Episode one, Eras: ABBA – The Street to Waterloo, explores how ABBA’s lives modified endlessly once they received the 1974 Eurovision Tune Contest, however that the win didn’t come simple. The street to Waterloo was an extended one, taking years of laborious work and the mixture of 4 world-class skills – every of them already profitable in their very own proper – to tug it off. Sara tells how Björn, Benny, Agnetha and Frida got here collectively to turn into ABBA and follows their journey to finally successful Eurovision, following various failed makes an attempt.

Episode two, Eras: ABBA – The Arrival, follows the band as they discover their ft after Eurovision, once they have been nearly written off as one-hit wonders. Sara takes a have a look at how the group pulled themselves again from the brink of obscurity and went on to turn into international megastars, releasing an ever-growing catalogue of hits and discovering legions of recent followers a really good distance from Sweden.

Episode three, Eras: ABBA – Mentioned and Accomplished, opens in 1979 and, while ABBA are one of many world’s most well-known bands, beneath the floor issues are altering. Sara follows the band’s story to the height of their profession and divulges how, as they launched a few of their most iconic and complex music, their private relationships come beneath unbelievable pressure. The band performs on, however how lengthy can they final? This episode chronicles the start of the tip for the supergroup.

Episode 4, Eras: ABBA – Thank You For The Music, tells how – after a wildly profitable however gruelling decade – ABBA have been no extra. Their ‘indefinite hiatus’ allowed every member of the group to observe their very own path. Nothing lasts endlessly although, not even endings, as Sara tells the story of a comeback like no different. From pop historical past’s biggest Biggest Hits, to theatrical smashes, Hollywood acclaim and futuristic leisure experiences, ABBA are reborn to realize a really timeless legacy.

Sophie Ellis-Bextor: ABBA, My Supergroup

Sophie Ellis-Bextor counts herself as one in every of ABBA’s largest followers and within the hour-long particular, Sophie Ellis-Bextor: ABBA, My Supergroup, she reveals how their iconic tunes discovered their approach into her life. By the point Sophie was of an age to really recognize music, ABBA had already damaged up a number of years earlier, however their absence solely made her coronary heart develop fonder of their music. She tells how she turned conversant in their songs by way of 90s movies equivalent to Muriel’s Marriage ceremony and The Adventures of Priscilla – Queen of the Desert, and TV exhibits like Figuring out Me Figuring out You, in addition to her lifelong love of Eurovision.

The 1992 hits compilation, ABBA Gold, opened up their again catalogue of hits to a teenage Sophie and from there on she was a fully-fledged fan, having fun with the ABBA journey by way of Mamma Mia! the stage musical, the flicks which adopted and their eventual unbelievable avatar reunion. The programme is full of Sophie’s enthralling and pleasant private tales and offers a captivating perception into how ABBA’s affect formed the aspirations and sound of one of many UK’s most profitable feminine artists of contemporary occasions, Sophie herself. The programme is soundtracked by over 20 of the group’s largest hits, in addition to archive audio from interviews, movie trailers and reside performances. It’s accessible now on BBC Sounds and can be broadcast on Radio 2 on Saturday 13 April (1-2am). A Mostest manufacturing.

Sophie says: “I’ve spent hundreds of hours singing and dancing to ABBA’s songs all through my life since I first fell in love with them. That is my dream present, to share their music and the enjoyment they convey to me and so many hundreds of thousands of others!”

ABBA on the BBC

ABBA on the BBC options all of the members of the group in interviews – spanning many a long time on BBC Radio – with contributors together with Zoe Ball, Richard Skinner, Laurie Mayer, Tom Browne, producer Paul Williams, plus the late Ray Moore and Steve Wright. The group speak about their lives right here within the UK and in Sweden and their prolonged, enormous success throughout the globe – from their worldwide debut within the 70s, by way of to their latest shock reunion album and revolutionary, hello tech, avatar-based present in London. It’s accessible now on BBC Sounds and can be broadcast on Radio 2 on Saturday 6 April (1-2am). A BBC Audio manufacturing.

Eras: ABBA, Sophie Ellis-Bextor: ABBA, My Supergroup, ABBA on the BBC and ABBA and Past: The Story of Eurovision 74 with Scott Mills can be found now on BBC Sounds.

Kylie, alongside different stars, carried out within the presence of Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus with the BBC Live performance Orchestra at Radio 2’s Thank You For The Music – A Celebration of the Music of ABBA in Hyde Park in 2009, and Benny Andersson carried out for Radio 2’s Piano Room in 2017.

BBC TV

As beforehand introduced, BBC TV can also be celebrating ABBA’s outstanding anniversary with BBC Two broadcasting an evening of ABBA specials on Saturday 6 April, together with When Abba Got here to Britain and Extra ABBA on the BBC – which includes a efficiency of So Lengthy on High of the Pops that hasn’t been broadcast since 1974. On Sunday 7 April, BBC 4 broadcasts the Eurovision 1974 Grand Remaining, with a newly-recorded introduction from Hannah Waddingham. All of the programmes can be accessible on BBC iPlayer after broadcast.

BBC Radio 2 is the UK’s most listened to radio station, with a weekly viewers of 13.3 million (RAJAR This fall, 2023).The Zoe Ball Breakfast Present is most listened to Breakfast present within the UK with an viewers of 6.6 million (RAJAR This fall, 2023).The community’s presenters embody Michael Ball, Zoe Ball, Rob Beckett, Tony Blackburn, OJ Borg, Rev. Kate Bottley, Rylan, Fearne Cotton, Sara Cox, Jamie Cullum, Gary Davies, Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Paul Gambaccini, Angela Griffin, Bob Harris, Vernon Kay, Cerys Matthews, Scott Mills, Jason Mohammad, Trevor Nelson, Dermot O’Leary, Elaine Paige, Mark Radcliffe, Romesh Ranganathan, DJ Spoony, Liza Tarbuck, Jeremy Vine, Michelle Visage, Johnnie Walker, Jo Whiley, Phil Williams and Owain Wyn Evans.

KA