Dick Cavett Meets ABBA
Encyclopedia
Dick Cavett meets ABBA was a TV special featuring ABBA
, recorded in 1981, and hosted by American TV talk show host Dick Cavett
. Recorded in Stockholm, Sweden, it was a joint production between Polar Music
(ABBA's record label), Sveriges Television
(SVT) and ZDF
(Second German Television). The program was not part of the Dick Cavett talk show series in the United States, but rather a one-off broadcast filmed and produced by SVT in Sweden.
Originally Dick Clark was supposed to host the program but the parties could not agree on money, so Cavett got the gig. ABBA themselves wanted to have Dick Cavett as a host because Björn said in the Swedish paper: "We thought long and hard and wanted to find someone who could make our 10th anniversary a memorable one. We wanted someone who was fun and the thought came up Dick Cavett. He is is very skilled and humorous. We wanted a mix of singing and interviews." The audience in the studio was mostly English-speaking which was demanded by Cavett.
Rehearsals were on 25–26 April; Dick Cavett's interview with them was on 27 April 1981; and musical performances were recorded on 28–29 April.
During the interview ABBA also performed Don't Fence Me In
. Benny also performed his new song Lottis Schottis, a new instrumental version played on accordion of their unreleased track Hamlet III, but was never included in any broadcast of the show.
There are three versions of the show and none of them included all 9 songs.
There were also two PROMOS shown, When All Is Said And Done
and One Of Us
which included different scenes to the original PROMO.
Björn: "We wanted to do something really special, a TV show with both an interview and a live performance. We've been together for more than ten years and yet a proper interview with all four of us at the same time where people had a chance to get to know us in depth had never been done. A very superficial picture of ABBA is most often spread. Someone suggested Dick Cavett, one of the world's most famous and skilful interviewers. He accepted and came to Sweden one day at the end of April. We didn't talk much beforehand but went almost directly into the studio and recorded the interview. I think we were more nervous than he was, but his composure made us relax and open up. He had a way of tossing out a question and then talking around it . It was more a pleasant conversation than an interview. We never regretted that we chose Dick Cavett."
"What the public sees and hears is just a tiny fraction of all the time and effort we put into it. We rehearse each song endlessly and take the harder parts home for more practice. When we began rehearsing for this show, we had just been in the studio finishing a couple of songs for the new album. Rehearsals were held in the same place we had used on the eve of our 1979 world tour with the same musicians. Suddenly, it felt as if there hadn't been any pause at all, that it was yesterday we last stood together on stage. It felt wonderful.
Frida: Three days later, we moved to the studio, tested the lights and sound and did all the songs over and over again. Naturally you're tired after singing all day and perhaps you've sung the same song twenty times, but we set very high standards for ourselves. There's always something that can be a little better. The results make it worthwhile."
Agnetha: "We worked on it for three days. I think it will be around 55 minutes of old things cut together with new things like a live concert in the studio and the interview - and it will just be about our being together for ten years." (Re: the clothes), "Half of them we bought in Paris. They aren't stage clothes, they are quite casual styles. The leather trousers that I wore were made in Sweden."
This was ABBA's last concert.
^ - First time live
^^ - First TV performance
The following songs and videos from this performance appear on DVD 2 of the ABBA album The Complete Studio Recordings
.:
The following songs appeared on ABBA Live
, the only official live album by the group:
The following songs appeared on the Thank You for the Music
box set:
As a result, "Knowing Me, Knowing You
", "Summer Night City
" and "Thank You For The Music
" remain as the only songs that have never been officially released. The reason for this is that the television channel lost the original footage. However, these three songs are available with an average quality on YouTube
.
ABBA
ABBA was a Swedish pop group formed in Stockholm in 1970 which consisted of Anni-Frid Lyngstad, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson and Agnetha Fältskog...
, recorded in 1981, and hosted by American TV talk show host Dick Cavett
Dick Cavett
Richard Alva "Dick" Cavett is a former American television talk show host known for his conversational style and in-depth discussion of issues...
. Recorded in Stockholm, Sweden, it was a joint production between Polar Music
Polar Music
Polar Music is a Swedish record company founded in 1963 by Stig Anderson and his friend Bengt Bernhag. The first act that it signed was the Hootenanny Singers featuring Björn Ulvaeus. Polar eventually gained prosperity producing Ulvæus' next group, international superstars ABBA...
(ABBA's record label), Sveriges Television
Sveriges Television
Sveriges Television AB , Sweden's Television, is a national television broadcaster based in Sweden, funded by a compulsory fee to be paid by all television owners...
(SVT) and ZDF
ZDF
Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen , ZDF, is a public-service German television broadcaster based in Mainz . It is run as an independent non-profit institution, which was founded by the German federal states . The ZDF is financed by television licence fees called GEZ and advertising revenues...
(Second German Television). The program was not part of the Dick Cavett talk show series in the United States, but rather a one-off broadcast filmed and produced by SVT in Sweden.
Background
The reason for recording the TV special in Stockholm was the reluctance of the ABBA members to tour. The show was originally supposed to be filmed in Germany, but instead it was the SVT who filmed it.Originally Dick Clark was supposed to host the program but the parties could not agree on money, so Cavett got the gig. ABBA themselves wanted to have Dick Cavett as a host because Björn said in the Swedish paper: "We thought long and hard and wanted to find someone who could make our 10th anniversary a memorable one. We wanted someone who was fun and the thought came up Dick Cavett. He is is very skilled and humorous. We wanted a mix of singing and interviews." The audience in the studio was mostly English-speaking which was demanded by Cavett.
Rehearsals were on 25–26 April; Dick Cavett's interview with them was on 27 April 1981; and musical performances were recorded on 28–29 April.
During the interview ABBA also performed Don't Fence Me In
Don't Fence Me In
Don't Fence Me In is the fifth episode of the fourth series of the British comedy series Dad's Army that was originally transmitted on Friday 23 October 1970.-Synopsis:...
. Benny also performed his new song Lottis Schottis, a new instrumental version played on accordion of their unreleased track Hamlet III, but was never included in any broadcast of the show.
There are three versions of the show and none of them included all 9 songs.
There were also two PROMOS shown, When All Is Said And Done
When All Is Said and Done (song)
"When All Is Said and Done" is the name of a song recorded in 1981 by Swedish pop group ABBA. It is featured on the group's final studio album, The Visitors, and was released as a single in the United States on December 31, 1981 on Atlantic 3889. It debuted on the Billboard pop singles chart on...
and One Of Us
One of Us (ABBA song)
"One of Us" from 1981 was the first single from Swedish pop group ABBA's final studio album The Visitors, their eighth for Polar, and their seventh for Epic and Atlantic...
which included different scenes to the original PROMO.
Björn: "We wanted to do something really special, a TV show with both an interview and a live performance. We've been together for more than ten years and yet a proper interview with all four of us at the same time where people had a chance to get to know us in depth had never been done. A very superficial picture of ABBA is most often spread. Someone suggested Dick Cavett, one of the world's most famous and skilful interviewers. He accepted and came to Sweden one day at the end of April. We didn't talk much beforehand but went almost directly into the studio and recorded the interview. I think we were more nervous than he was, but his composure made us relax and open up. He had a way of tossing out a question and then talking around it . It was more a pleasant conversation than an interview. We never regretted that we chose Dick Cavett."
"What the public sees and hears is just a tiny fraction of all the time and effort we put into it. We rehearse each song endlessly and take the harder parts home for more practice. When we began rehearsing for this show, we had just been in the studio finishing a couple of songs for the new album. Rehearsals were held in the same place we had used on the eve of our 1979 world tour with the same musicians. Suddenly, it felt as if there hadn't been any pause at all, that it was yesterday we last stood together on stage. It felt wonderful.
Frida: Three days later, we moved to the studio, tested the lights and sound and did all the songs over and over again. Naturally you're tired after singing all day and perhaps you've sung the same song twenty times, but we set very high standards for ourselves. There's always something that can be a little better. The results make it worthwhile."
Agnetha: "We worked on it for three days. I think it will be around 55 minutes of old things cut together with new things like a live concert in the studio and the interview - and it will just be about our being together for ten years." (Re: the clothes), "Half of them we bought in Paris. They aren't stage clothes, they are quite casual styles. The leather trousers that I wore were made in Sweden."
ABBA Mini-Concert
The show featured a mini-concert, in which ABBA performed 9 songs, 5 of which were sung live for the only time. The songs were recorded on 24 track tape and Michael B Tretow reduced them down to one mono track for television.This was ABBA's last concert.
- "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)"Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! ", originally titled "Been and Gone and Done It", is one of Swedish pop group ABBA's biggest disco hits. It was recorded and released in 1979 with "The King Has Lost His Crown" as the B-side. It appears on ABBA's Greatest Hits Vol...
" - "Super TrouperSuper Trouper (song)-A-Teens version:"Super Trouper" was A-Teens' second single from their 1st album The ABBA Generation, a cover of ABBA's song. When the single came out in the fall of 1999, it became a hit around the globe, just as its predecessor "Mamma Mia", also an ABBA cover...
" ^ - "Two for the Price of OneThe Visitors (ABBA album)The Visitors is the eighth and final studio album by Swedish pop group ABBA, released on November 30, 1981.With The Visitors, ABBA took several steps away from the "lighter" pop music they had recorded previously and the album is often regarded as a more complex and mature effort...
" ^^ - "Slipping Through My FingersSlipping Through My Fingers"Slipping Through My Fingers" is a song written by Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson and recorded by Swedish pop group ABBA from their 1981 album, The Visitors, with lead vocals by Agnetha Fältskog...
" ^^ - "Me and I" ^^
- "On and On and OnOn and On and On"On and On and On" is a pop song recorded by Swedish pop group ABBA in 1980 for their Super Trouper album.The track, which had working titles "Esses vad det svänger när man spelar jazz" and "'Til the Night is Gone", was released as a single in a few countries, namely the United States, Japan,...
" ^ - "Knowing Me, Knowing YouKnowing Me, Knowing You"Knowing Me, Knowing You" is a hit single recorded by Swedish pop group ABBA. The song was written by Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus and Stig Anderson, with the lead vocal sung by Anni-Frid Lyngstad. During recording sessions, it had the working titles of "Ring It In" and "Number 1, Number 1"...
" - "Summer Night CitySummer Night City"Summer Night City", written by Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson, is ABBA's 2nd non-album single, released on September 6, 1978. It was originally intended as the lead single from the group's upcoming Voulez-Vous album, but was eventually not included...
" - "Thank You For The MusicThank You for the Music"Thank You for the Music" is a song by the Swedish pop group ABBA. It was originally featured on the group's fifth studio album ABBA: The Album and was released as a single on November 6, 1983, to promote the Epic Records compilation album Thank You for the Music: A Collection of Love Songs...
"
^ - First time live
^^ - First TV performance
Official release of the songs
Six songs out of nine have been officially released, but never together:The following songs and videos from this performance appear on DVD 2 of the ABBA album The Complete Studio Recordings
The Complete Studio Recordings (ABBA album)
The Complete Studio Recordings is a box set of all of the studio material released by the Swedish pop group ABBA. It was released on 7 November 2005 and consists of 9 CDs and 2 DVDs, plus a full colour booklet with timeline and photos. Another booklet containing the complete lyrics was also...
.:
- "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)"Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! ", originally titled "Been and Gone and Done It", is one of Swedish pop group ABBA's biggest disco hits. It was recorded and released in 1979 with "The King Has Lost His Crown" as the B-side. It appears on ABBA's Greatest Hits Vol...
" - "Super TrouperSuper Trouper (song)-A-Teens version:"Super Trouper" was A-Teens' second single from their 1st album The ABBA Generation, a cover of ABBA's song. When the single came out in the fall of 1999, it became a hit around the globe, just as its predecessor "Mamma Mia", also an ABBA cover...
" - "Two for the Price of OneThe Visitors (ABBA album)The Visitors is the eighth and final studio album by Swedish pop group ABBA, released on November 30, 1981.With The Visitors, ABBA took several steps away from the "lighter" pop music they had recorded previously and the album is often regarded as a more complex and mature effort...
" - "Slipping Through My FingersSlipping Through My Fingers"Slipping Through My Fingers" is a song written by Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson and recorded by Swedish pop group ABBA from their 1981 album, The Visitors, with lead vocals by Agnetha Fältskog...
" - "On and On and OnOn and On and On"On and On and On" is a pop song recorded by Swedish pop group ABBA in 1980 for their Super Trouper album.The track, which had working titles "Esses vad det svänger när man spelar jazz" and "'Til the Night is Gone", was released as a single in a few countries, namely the United States, Japan,...
"
The following songs appeared on ABBA Live
ABBA Live
ABBA Live is an album of live recordings by Swedish pop group ABBA, released by Polar Music in 1986 .A live album was something that many ABBA fans had demanded for several years. ABBA themselves had toyed with the idea on a couple of occasions, but always decided against it...
, the only official live album by the group:
- "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)"Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! ", originally titled "Been and Gone and Done It", is one of Swedish pop group ABBA's biggest disco hits. It was recorded and released in 1979 with "The King Has Lost His Crown" as the B-side. It appears on ABBA's Greatest Hits Vol...
" - "Super TrouperSuper Trouper (song)-A-Teens version:"Super Trouper" was A-Teens' second single from their 1st album The ABBA Generation, a cover of ABBA's song. When the single came out in the fall of 1999, it became a hit around the globe, just as its predecessor "Mamma Mia", also an ABBA cover...
" - "Two for the Price of OneThe Visitors (ABBA album)The Visitors is the eighth and final studio album by Swedish pop group ABBA, released on November 30, 1981.With The Visitors, ABBA took several steps away from the "lighter" pop music they had recorded previously and the album is often regarded as a more complex and mature effort...
" - "On and On and OnOn and On and On"On and On and On" is a pop song recorded by Swedish pop group ABBA in 1980 for their Super Trouper album.The track, which had working titles "Esses vad det svänger när man spelar jazz" and "'Til the Night is Gone", was released as a single in a few countries, namely the United States, Japan,...
"
The following songs appeared on the Thank You for the Music
Thank You for the Music (album)
-Disc 2:-Disc 3:-Disc 4:-Personnel:ABBA*Benny Andersson - synthesizer, keyboards, vocals*Agnetha Fältskog - vocals*Anni-Frid Lyngstad - vocals*Björn Ulvaeus - acoustic guitar, guitar, vocalsAdditional personnel*Ulf Andersson - saxophone...
box set:
- "Slipping Through My FingersSlipping Through My Fingers"Slipping Through My Fingers" is a song written by Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson and recorded by Swedish pop group ABBA from their 1981 album, The Visitors, with lead vocals by Agnetha Fältskog...
" - "Me and I"
As a result, "Knowing Me, Knowing You
Knowing Me, Knowing You
"Knowing Me, Knowing You" is a hit single recorded by Swedish pop group ABBA. The song was written by Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus and Stig Anderson, with the lead vocal sung by Anni-Frid Lyngstad. During recording sessions, it had the working titles of "Ring It In" and "Number 1, Number 1"...
", "Summer Night City
Summer Night City
"Summer Night City", written by Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson, is ABBA's 2nd non-album single, released on September 6, 1978. It was originally intended as the lead single from the group's upcoming Voulez-Vous album, but was eventually not included...
" and "Thank You For The Music
Thank You for the Music
"Thank You for the Music" is a song by the Swedish pop group ABBA. It was originally featured on the group's fifth studio album ABBA: The Album and was released as a single on November 6, 1983, to promote the Epic Records compilation album Thank You for the Music: A Collection of Love Songs...
" remain as the only songs that have never been officially released. The reason for this is that the television channel lost the original footage. However, these three songs are available with an average quality on YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
.
External links
- http://photos-e.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sf2p/v192/48/79/33195165640/n33195165640_2613004_9458.jpg