New minifig: Stephen King

Let me introduce you the latest member of my lego band: American horror writer Stephen King! I haven't told it yet, but my new obsession is him and I am really fond of his plots, characters, backgrounds, style, stories, etc... Plus, he is a super writing mentor to me, giving as much technic advices as tips on routine, motivation and mental. Thanks Mr. King!!!

Still preparing his appearance...

Tadaa!!! As you can notice, I made him look like in the 1970s.

 

 

I've also been lucky to get a pic of him in his writing room. You don't know how it is hard to get those kinf of pics... Even human Stephen King is pictured only once while working, you know, on this pic you can see on the On Writing cover. Still, as a lego, you can yet get nice pics of him, such as this one  with the ABBA legos:



 

As you may imagine by seeing this pic, A, B, B & F were cheerful to welcome the writer that inspired the lyrics of The Piper. Let's hope they'll collaborate as legos and go on with getting on well together!

Thank you Becky!!!

I would like to thank very very much my good old BFF Becky, known as ABBAFan456 on blogger, for the great moment we have spent meeting each other! At least it had arrived, two weeks ago! BFF forever!
Also, thank you so so so so so making for making and offering to me these copies of her ABBA dolls! Aside from that, BFF forever, this are we! 

Tadaa!! Cute, huh? OMG, words are not enough how I am pleased and touched by this gift and how much you are good at sewing, Beck!
Here is the proof we met: my copy dolls, her original ones and my legos together! Speaking of legos, our both set of ABBA minifig got to know each othe, too!

And more, I thank her for this:

A pic signed by the three of Benny, Bjorn and Frida (Agnetha does not sign anymore, did you know?) OMG I'll never thank her and Gorel enough for that! Yahoo, counter indicates 2x Benny, 1xBjorn and 1xFrida!

And this:

The story of ABBA for young reader! version 1.0, you may have guessed. Let me say, the drawings are the cutest I have ever seen! Even it can seem a bit "kiddy", (huhu, Beck) you end by thinking it is cute, since it is a FULL BOOK about ABBA SELF-EDITED by TWELVE-year-old girl, even amazing! It is worth to read it, I have to say. 

Thanks sis for all those stuffs!

ABBA reunion - BB50

I thank very much Roxanne Dickson to have uploaded this wonderful vid from Agnetha & Frida's performance at Benny & Bjorn's 50th anniversary of friendship party! However, the one we have to thank the most is Lasse Anrell, from Sweden, who was apparently the only one to get the idea of filming it.

Enjoy!

Happy birthday Agnetha!

Carry on having a nice life with your pets and family!
Happy birthday to you!

ABBA reunion

Yay! After all this time it has finally happened! The 4 ABBA got together yesterday at Mamma Mia! The Party premiere!

I was so excited when I heard it, I even screamed!
Though they didn't sing, but no matter for me!


Thanks thanks thanks ABBA!!!

The heat is on!!!

Trrropical summer,
Balmy days...

Well, this last week it WASN'T a tropical summer nor  balmy days. It was a burning hot summer and terrible sweating melting days. Fortunately it seems to be better today...
The Heat Is On!!! We've all been melting! :P



ABBA Mania concert - March 29th 2015

This is sooo delayed, I know. :P
So, on that evening I was at the ABBA Mania concert in Lyon (France). I think that kind of concert is a really good way to feel ABBA's spirit and happyness three decades after their break-up. Some of you may say: "I prefer the original Agnetha, Frida, Bjorn and Benny!" I feel that, too, but I'm happy with cover groups. It's better to have cover groups like ABBA Mania than ABBA reuniting on stage.
I arrived at 5.40 pm, after a thin rain doors were opened around 6.30 pm and the concert began at 7.30 pm . Such crazy fan I am. :P I was at the best place: just in front of the stage, with nobody in front of me, and in the middle. Actually there was nobody when I arrived. Then the group came on the stage singing Waterloo and the magic started. A two hours show with only ABBA music. :D Great. :D The costumes didn't look exactly like the real one, however they were good. They were, in order of appear, the ESC costumes, the "Chiquitita costumes" and the 1977 tour costumes.
I spent a super great fun moment, I was having the time of [my] life. Thanks ABBA, ABBA mania and all the cover group that make us feel ABBA even now! :D Yeah! We Want ABBA! :D

I'll put some pictures and video later. :P



Happy birthday Agnetha! :D

Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday to yoy Agnetha! :D
Just look at those Angeleyes, these are eyes of a woman! :D ->

The new attraction of ABBA The Museum arrived!

Yay! You may know that, these are life-size silicone statues. :D
When I've seen them first I was like "Oh my gosh Oh my gosh oh my gosh I absolutely love them!!! :D :D :D :D I'm looking forward to see them if I go to ABBA The Museum again!
Oh My Gosh they are so awesome!
I who was  complaining these las weeks to have never seen ABBA in the 70s either on stage, I see their life-sized copies in front of my screen! OK, these are only copies, but they look like ABBA! :D :D

Awesome, aren't they? :D :D They are just so identical! I love the way they've came out!

 

Bjorn has even made a selfie with his young silicone copy. So cute! :D :D :D I love you ABBA! :D :D

 

Speaking of ABBA The Museum, I made a video about my trip to Stockholm in May 2014 after going there. ;) It's already on Youtube.

 

 

 

You Owe Me One demo

I've more time now. :D I'm currently making  You Owe Me One. Here is a demo of it. Please remember I made it because it's for my channel and in an artistic way (I just love this song), not to create a rumor about ABBA. And I'm not having fun of what arrived in 1982, it was a such dark year for A, B, B & F. :(

Enjoy the vid! :)



My my, at Waterloo Napoleon did surrender... (drawing)

I began it today and it looks good now. :) I feel I'm ameliorating my drawing technics. :)
I'm trying to do this ESC pic:

 

I like the way it came out for the moment. :) I'll finish it later. :P 

How have I been able to forget that?!?

Yesterday was Peter Ulvaeus's birthday and I forgot it! (Actually I didn't know it was his birthday :P)
So happy (late) birthday to you, Peter! :D

New vid: "ABBA - Chiquitita (help to UNICEF)"

A few days ago, ABBA The Museum and UNICEF made a project to help young girls wordwide. A, B, B & F gave the royalties of Chiquitita, certainly because in 1979 they already gave a part of them. So, each time the song is downloaded or played on Internet, UNICEF Sweden (I'm not Swedish, but anyway it's UNICEF) earns money. A cool way to help people in need. :)
So here's what I can do as Youtuber. :)
Good listening! :)



My text about Jean-Marie Potiez and his book "ABBA Les coulisses du succès"

 

With ABBA Les coulisses du succès, published in March 2014 at the Renaissance du livre editions, Jean-Marie Potiez enlarges once again his book list about the mythical Swedish group whose story has been told many times by lots of writers or fans, for example Carl-Magnus Palm, Frédéric Courcier, Mikory Anderson (fan), Becky Laine (fan) and others or the ABBA members themselves. "Encore un livre sur ABBA!" (A book about ABBA, again!) has said André Torrent (RTL animator) in the preface he wrote for Jean-Marie. Yes, that's true, once again a book about the four Swedes, but written by THE specialist Jean-Marie Potiez, adds the animator.

As usual, the writer tells us what he knows while making a kind of "update" of his old incomplete works (see ABBA The Book, ABBA La légende, ABBA The Scrapbook and ABBA Une Légende nordique) but adds his personal opinions, his experiences with the group and the story of his books, too. In the opposite of ABBA Une Légende nordique (his previous book about ABBA), there are less illustrations, even if there is a pictures corner (including rare or ordinary ones). ABBA Les coulisses de succès is about the swedish group up and down, from Benny's, Bjorn's, Agnetha's and Frida's births to their lives nowadays, without giving too much informations about their "too" private life.

This book is very well written, full of details (I'd never have imagined some of them!) and anecdotes about the group and Jean-Marie Potiez himself who talks about him as a big fan, and that's why he is one of my favorite writers (Yes, I'm a fan of a fan of a music group whose I'm myself fan!) even if I don't share all the time his opinion about some songs or the four Swedes' other "products" (videoclips, etc) or their reunion. Really, you should read this book which was written by one of the people who know the most things about ABBA, in equality with Carl-Magnus Palm, and that nodoby overtook, except Agnetha, Bjorn, Benny and Frida themselves (and maybe their families, friends and colleagues). Rune Soderqvist, ABBA's art director and creator of their official logo,  even said once Jean-Marie knows more about him [Rune] than himself! Thanks Jean-Marie Potiez and thanks ABBA! If you're an ABBA fan, you'll certainly like or even love it!

Written by ABBAfan Seventies.
Translated from French by ABBAfan Seventies.




Lovers live a little longer... (drawing)

Hi ABBA fans! That's so great, at last I've the time to blog! :D
I just made an Agnetha and Bjorn drawing the day before yesterday and yesterday. :) It was rather hard, but I finally managed in.



Aren't they cuuuuuute? :)



What are they saying/thinking?

Inspirated by a chat from the ABBA4ever forum.

 

Benny: " What is it written, Frida? I can't speak French!"

Frida: Let me see that..."

Agnetha: "Oh Bjorn, it's the 10th postcard you plan to buy!"

Bjorn: "I really love Paris, you know!"



 

Frida:"You can't imagine how it was funny!"

Benny:"Really? Tell me that."

Agnetha's thinks:" What are they saying?"

 

 

 

Benny:" It's an hold-up!"

Bjorn's thinks:"What is he doing with this toy? And why did Frida change her haircut again?"

Agnetha:"Bjorn, stop crushing my foot! It really hurts!"

 

 

Frida:"At last the travel is finished and we'll be able to perform!"

Benny:"Switzerland seems nice"

Agnetha:" Benny, please move faster. I absolutely want to leave this plane"

Benny:"Hey, I just look at the landscape!"

Bjorn's thinks:"My bag is OK, I have forgotten nothing"

 

 

 



New drawing: french 1980 single (The Winner Takes It All/Elaine)

I just finished it one or two hours ago. The shirts details were so hard to draw, but I finally manage in. :)

And now the real single:

ABBA? (part 2)

Now here's the folow of the story of ABBA. ;)

In 1974, except the ESC, ABBA made the album Waterloo. This album contains the only one song in which Benny has the lead vocal, Suzy-Hang-Around.

With 1975 arrive the famous cat costumes and hits like Mamma Mia, So Long or SOS from the album ABBA. The group also made their first videoclips , filmed by Lasse Hallström, that year for some songs (Please, don't speak in the comments about Agnetha's YOU-KNOW-WHAT in the Mamma Mia clip, it really gets on my nerves >_<)

1976 is the most successful year for our four favorite Swedes because of their album Arrival which contains Knowing Me Knowing You, Money Money Money and of course Dancing Queen. ABBA sang this song at the Swedish King's wedding, on the June 18th, so it fastly became a hit. Also, this song had been in the top of charts in a lot of country, in which Germany, the United Kingdom, Australia, Belgium, Japan, Mexico, Norway, Sweden, the Netherland and.... the USA! :D ABBA received all the Golden disks or other awards/prices in early 1977.

1977 is above all known for the australian tour and the ABBA mania that you can see in ABBA The Movie. This movie is a Lasse Hallstrom's one. Excetpt the many ABBA's live performances, it's the story of Ashley Wallace (played by Robert Hughes), a radio animator who has to interview ABBA during their tour.  But he doesn't really manage in and the bodyguards always prevent him to approach the four super Swedes.

To be continued...

ABBA?

This blog is about ABBA, so if you don't know who's ABBA, it's a bit annoying. :P





So, ABBA is a swedish pop group of the 70s and the early 80s (1970-1982). The members of this group are Agnetha Faltskog, Anni-Frid "Frida" Lyngstad, Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus.




Before ABBA, Bjorn was member of the Hootenanny Singers, a swedish folk group. In 1966, he met Benny  who was member of the Hep Stars, an other swedish group. The two guys discovered that they were the same kind of people, so they became BFF and decided to compose music together.

Agnetha and Frida sang in solo carriers (I think Frida made Jazz and Agnetha variety, but I'm not sure). In 1969, Agnetha met Bjorn and Frida met Benny.

In 1970, the two couples went in vacation in Cyprus. That's there they got the idea to form a group. Agnetha and Bjorn got married in 1971. ABBA first did the Festfolket in 1970 or 1971 and then made their first songs (in Swedish) as a real group. But the song you can really consider as the first real ABBA's song is People Need Love (1972) because the two girls sing and the guys play,like in almost all the ABBA's songs. 

Then in 1973, they made their first album, Ring Ring, and suscribed to the Melodifestivalen which is the swedish contest to represent Sweden at the ESC (Eurovision Song Contest). Unfortunately, ABBA didn't manage in win with the song Ring Ring. The same year, Agnetha and Bjorn's daughter, Linda, was born.

Our four favorites Swedes finally became famous in 1974 with winning the ESC with Waterloo.

To be continued in an other post... ;)

drawings

Maybe I didn't tell it to you, I draw sometimes, as well as I can. I'm not a "Professional", but sometimes the results are good. I've put some of my best in my video "My ABBA and related to ABBA collection" that you can see on Youtube and now I'm going to show you other ones: