ABBA’s NBC/BBC TV special gets name, December screening date

The ambitious two hour ABBA special put together by America’s NBC and the UK’s BBC now has a name and a release date.

ABBA: Thank You for the Music, An All-Star Tribute will be aired in Australia in December, as part of a global screening.

International distribution is through BBC Worldwide.

The worldwide telecast will be executive produced by Simon Fuller and produced/directed by Johan Renck.

NBC Entertainment announced as set designer Es Devlin OBE who has made stage sculptures for U2, Beyoncé, Kanye West, The Weeknd and Adele and designed Adele’s 2015 Live in New York City special on NBC.

NBC’s president of the alternative and reality group, Paul Telegdy, said,  “This network is also thrilled to be the home of brand new ABBA music for the first time in decades. It’s a gift.”

Simon Fuller related: “It has been such a pleasure to work with ABBA.

“To see their unique talent, passion and attention to every detail has been enlightening and a true honour.

“In this global TV event we will be able to celebrate the music of ABBA and see other incredible artists perform their wonderful songs.

“I still can’t believe we will also be showcasing a new song, the first in over 35 years, which is set to ignite a whole new timeless journey in their incredible career.”

The reunited four members – Agnetha Faltskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Anderson and Anni-Frid Lyngstad – will be joined by a number of still unidentified big names performing the classics including ‘Dancing Queen’, ‘Mamma Mia’ ‘The Winner Takes It All’ and ‘Take a Chance on Me.’

Unveiled will be the new song “I Still Have Faith In You’ sung by the virtual ABBA digital representation of the band circa 1979 and dubbed “ABBAtars”.

When first announcing the reunion weeks back, 72-year-old  Ulvaeus described the ABBAtar effect as “simply mind-boggling.”

“You’ll hear the voices of ABBA coming out of the mouths of the ABBAtars,’ he said.

“You won’t be able to see that they’re not human beings. It’ll be spooky, I assure you, but great fun and no one has done it before.”

Ulvaeus said US ‘techno artists’ scanned the band last year.

“They photographed us from all possible angles, they made us grimace in front of cameras, they painted dots on our faces, they measured our heads.

“Apparently, a cranium doesn’t change with age the way the rest of your body falls apart!”

The special will set the scene for the ABBAtar world tour to start in 2019.

Meantime in July 2018 comes the cinema release in Australia of Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again through Village Roadshow.

It’s the sequel to Mamma Mia! The Movie, which ten years ago tallied up a global gross of $600 million.

It’s a return to the Greek island of Kalokairi, still based on ABBA songs, the same producers (Judy Craymer and Gary Goetzman) and with the original cast with new additions including Lily James (Cinderella, Baby Driver).

At latest count, ABBA sold 380 million records worldwide.