ABBA blog

"Hey, what’s it good for anyway?" That's what "all of those fellers at the local newsstand" asked in ABBA's Waterloo album track What About Livingstone, as they pondered the wisdom of exploring the moon and, indeed, planet Earth. Among the amazing enthusiasm and incredible support for the new edition of ABBA – The Complete Recording Sessions 1972–1982, I see similar questions being asked about this book project (crowdfunding is ongoing and will end on 31 August). So I thought I'd try to explain what this new edition is "good for".

WHY I WANT TO DO IT IN THE FIRST PLACE
Ever since the book sold out in 2020, there have been demands for a reprint from people who missed out on the 2017 edition. Naturally, I wanted to explore the possibility of providing those prospective readers with a copy of the book. I knew it wasn't going to be easy, but I wanted to try.

WHY THERE WILL BE AN UPDATED EDITION
If I'm going to print the book again, it makes sense to incorporate all the new information I have access to, so that the book is the best version it can possibly be. Whether it's the many, many facts gleaned from the Michael B. Tretow Tapes – which changed the story of the creation of several ABBA songs – or the many stories, details, recording dates etc. found in other sources, it all adds up to a significant enhancement of the book's accuracy and value as a documentation of how ABBA's music was made.

WHO THIS NEW EDITION IS FOR
It's for those who missed out on the first edition – that's the original incentive for trying to get this book off the ground – but it's also very much for those who may have one or both of the previous editions. If you care about ABBA as a music-making act, you will want the best possible version of this book.

Imagine that you want to look something up about songs like Waterloo; What About Livingstone; Rock Me; That's Me; When I Kissed The Teacher; Tiger; Thank You For The Music; One Man, One Woman; Move On; Take A Chance On Me; I'm A Marionette; I Wonder (Departure); Lovelight; Just A Notion; Angeleyes; Chiquitita; Does Your Mother Know; As Good As New; On And On And On; Andante, Andante; The Winner Takes It All; Lay All Your Love On Me; Put On Your White Sombrero; Slipping Through My Fingers; When All Is Said And Done; Two For The Price Of One; Like An Angel Passing Through My Room; Head Over Heels and I Let The Music Speak. Then you will want this new edition, for there will be information about those songs in this book that wasn't in the previous editions: sometimes just an interesting detail or two, sometimes quite a lot of fascinating information. In other words: the relevant stories and details collected in one volume.

The same goes for recordings that haven't been released in complete form: Terra del Fuego; I Want You; Monsieur, Monsieur; Dr. Claus von Hamlet; Crying Over You; In The Arms Of Rosalita; Nämdöfjärden; I Am That Woman; Givin' A Little Bit More; Sinking Deeper and Just Like That.

The above are just examples of the updates: there are many other aspects of ABBA's recording sessions that will be revised and updated. The book will be significantly improved, otherwise I wouldn't bother with the updates.

The point is: This will be the most accurate and detailed edition of ABBA – The Complete Recording Sessions. It's the one you will want on your bookshelf henceforth.

WHY THE BOOK IS CROWDFUNDED
Forget for a minute that I'm the author of the book. The most recent edition of the book became a reality thanks to the crowdfunding efforts of many, many fans who wanted it to become a reality, which in turn gave me a platform to go ahead with the project – for the benefit of every ABBA fan. It was a collective effort, and one of the most beautiful things I have experienced. The appeal of a book like this will be limited, there's no way around it, which means that it has to be crowdfunded: I simply don't have the funds to make it happen otherwise.

WHAT YOU'RE RISKING BY SUPPORTING THE CROWDFUNDING CAMPAIGN
You're risking nothing at all during the campaign: you make your pledge for one of the Reward levels (this is the same things as a pre-order for a signed copy of the book, to be sent to one of three regions: Sweden; Europe; or Rest Of World), but no money will be taken from your credit card unless the project is successfully funded. As soon as the project is a go, I will get to work implementing all the updates throughout the book. The research is already completed, so it's just a matter of putting it all together, which I will do in collaboration with my designer, Maria Nicholas. I expect to deliver the finished book circa March 2026. There won't be years of delays.

WHY THE BOOK HAS TO BE RELATIVELY EXPENSIVE
The short and brutal answer is that there are relatively few people out there who are interested in a detailed book about ABBA's music. This means that the price per copy becomes rather high, since the initial costs for printing, licensing photos etc. are high. No one is getting rich off this: I just want this project to become a reality for the benefit of ABBA fans out there.

WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP
Please spread the word about the crowdfunding campaign for ABBA – The Complete Recording Sessions 1972–1982 to anyone and everyone you think might be interested. Every little pledge to the campaign will help!

Make your pledge of support to the campaign (i.e. pre-order the book!) on Kickstarter. Thanks so much for your support.