Trine Jepsen, who represented Denmark at the 1999 Eurovision Song Contest, will play a part in a row of theatre concerts serving as a tribute to the 30 year anniversary for ABBA’s last album, The Visitors. There will be no actual story aside from that singers as well as audience will go on a flight trip to ABBAland.
On the 30th of November it is preciesly 30 years ago ABBA‘s last studio album The Visitors was released. The album went number one in Belgium, The Netherlands, Norway, Switzerland, United Kingdom, West Germany, Zimbabwe and home country Sweden, but the singles scored less high placements. First single titled One Of Us achieved #2 in Sweden, #3 in the UK, #4 in Australia and #6 in Norway as the only top ten chart positions for any of the four singles from this album.
The popular Swedish quartet that won the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest with Waterloo consisted of 2 couples; Agnetha Fältskog married to Björn Ulvæus and Anni-Frid Lyngstad (Frida) married to Benny Andersson. The first couple split up in 1979 and in 1981, just one month before the recording of The Visitors the latter also got divorced.
Despite many attempts no one has managed to bring ABBA together for one more recording, but several tributes have been performed all around the world – most notable in form of the very successful musical and film Mamma Mia, which was based on ABBA’s music and even had additional music made by Benny Andersson.
The Visitors will be a theatre concert without an actual story to tell. It will see its premiere in Musikhuset Aarhus on the 14th of October and be performed in various cities around Denmark in October and November. At each place the reception will be turned into a departure hall with check-in desks, transitbar, stewardesses, pilots and of course security control. All set up so that singers and audience will get a safe trip to – and back from – what they call ABBAland.
One of the passengers, meaning one of the singers, is Trine Jepsen, who represented Denmark at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1999 where she sang This Time I Mean It together with Michael Teschl. With 71 points they finished 8th at the contest held in Jerusalem, Israel.
