ABBA, the 1970s Swedish supergroup, have reformed, and are to go back on the road again with a brand new world tour accompanied by former James Bond star Pierce Brosnan.
The Swedes last sang together in 1982, and underwent a traumatic slide from grace after two of the band, Bjorn Ulvaeus and Agnetha Faltskog, divorced that year. Although they still sold many records, nobody dressed-up like them anymore.
Recently, the musical Mamma Mia! was followed by a film of the same name, charting the band's phenomenal rise to fame and subsequent success. The soundtrack to the film, starring Brosnan, was produced by Benny Andersson.
Brosnan has always been a fan of ABBA, and spoke to the members of the band individually about getting back together. They decided they would "do it for 007", and immediately set about writing some hit songs and planned a world tour.
A problem arose, however, when it came to adapting the group's name. The band members, Benny, Bjorn, Agnetha, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad (Frida) chose the acronym ABBA, formed using the initials from their first names. Now that Commander Bond is "on board" though, they have chosen to use the 'B' from Brosnan, and Bond, for their new name, which will be BABBA.
One Swedish ex-fan who woke up and smelt the coffee is Stigess Sondersheim, 64, who said:
"In truth, they always were a bit crap."
