ABBA, the Swedish pop sensation, made a comeback with their new album “Voyage” on Friday, over 40 years after their breakup, with a digital avatar show scheduled in London.
According to AFP, Agnetha, Bjorn, Benny, and AnniFrid, collectively known as ABBA, have not released new music since their breakup in 1982, a year after their previous album “The Visitors.”
“Voyage” went live at midnight Thursday in various time zones, to the delight of longtime fans worldwide.
“We are just in disbelief…that it’s something that we could experience again in our lifetimes,” longtime ABBA fan Jeffrey de Hart, 62, said at a listening party in Stockholm for the Swedish band’s much-anticipated release.
After years of speculation and various hints, the band officially announced their reunion and new album in September, along with the tracks “I still have trust in you” and “Don’t shut me down.”
The 10-track “Voyage” EP is not the group’s only offering.
They will also reveal digital avatars resembling their 1979 selves at a concert in London in May, nicknamed “ABBAtars.”
The holograms are the result of a years-long initiative designed in collaboration with Star Wars creator George Lucas’ special effects company.
By 2018, ABBA has verified rumors of their return to the studio and the recording of at least two new songs.
However, enormous care was made to keep the music a secret.
“First it was just two songs, and then we said: ‘Well maybe we should do a few others’, what do you say girls and they said ‘Yeah’,” Benny Andersson, 74, explained when the album was announced.
“Then I asked them ‘why don’t we do a full album?’,” he added.
He and Bjorn Ulvaeus, 76, have been pushing the record in recent weeks, but Agnetha Faltskog, 71, and AnniFrid Lyngstad, 75, have opted to avoid active promotional schedules.
This week, all promotion was halted for 24 hours after two individuals died on Tuesday evening at a memorial event north of Stockholm.
