75Tour Mirrored photo on the tour poster 1974/1975 1975a

The folkpark tour 1975

The tour

Summer tour through Swedish folk parks.
Audience: 100,000 altogether, free entrance for children under 7
Rehearsals began on June 1 at the Jarla theatre in Stockholm.
On the way to the first venue in Skellefteå ABBA stayed at Rämshyttan for some days.
Two concerts had to be cancelled and rescheduled because Agnetha was ill.
Swedish TV was proposed to tape the tour for a documentary, but they declined. As stated at the fanclub day in April 2016 Universal Music Sweden have no recordings of this tour in their archives, so we only can hope that there still are some official audio recordings elsewhere.

Set list
Set list
1. Hey, Hey Helen
2. He Is Your Brother
3. Hasta Manana
4. Rock Me
5. SOS (second verse lead vocal by Frida)
6. King Kong Song
7. Gonna Sing You My Lovesong
8. Sitting In The Palmtree
9. Intermezzo No. 1 (Agnetha & Frida changed costumes meanwhile)
10. Rock'n Roll Band (lead vocal by Frida)
11. I've Been Waiting For You
12. Honey, Honey
13. Waterloo
14. Watch Out
15. I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do
16. So Long
17. ? Ring, Ring (Encore?)
Note:
- Set list based on the fan recording of the concert at Eskilstuna. In ABBA The Book Jean-Marie Potiez writes about 18 songs, i.e. two more than the recording suggests. Because the tour poster mentions Ring, Ring it may be assumed that it actually also was part of the usual set list.
- Additional elements of the shows were fireworks and soap bubbles.
Staff
Staff
- ABBA were accompanied by guitarist Lasse Wellander
- support group and live band were The Beatmakers:
- Sound engineers: Michael B. Tretow and Claas af Geijerstam
- The tour was sponsored by the Swedish company Hagström which also provided the sound system. ABBA toured with a total of 21 people and 4 tons of equipment. Trucks apparently were supplied by the Edwin Shirley Trucking company (the company may have rented them through Harborne Rental though).
More information about people on the official site (Story –>The people).
Links & sources
Links
- Expressen (Sweden), February 16, 1975 – ABBA - Värst i gager, about fees and ticket prices for the folkpark tour 1975
- Musikern (Sweden), Oktober 1975 – ad for a tour bus rental company using a picture of ABBA’s 1974/75 tour buses
- Se (Sweden), 1975 – They made half a million in two weeks!, money calculations about the tour
- Das Freizeit-Magazin (Germany), 1978 – On the road, about the tour and the reactions on cancelling the original plans for a folkpark tour
- Demos & Lyrics – site of Caj Högberg, member of The Beatmakers
- Youtube channel Bobby’s Brother – ABBA’s Concert Tours - Part 2: 1974-1975 (A Mini-Documentary)

The Concerts

Click on an entry to open/close a window with details.

June 21 – Skellefteå
Skellefteå, Folkparken

Facts & trivia
- Begin: 20.00
- Audience: 3,500
Review

ABBA in Skellefteå with thunder and broke

With 23 people, 24 giant loudspeakers, 30+ colored spotlights, amplifiers, microphones, cords and instruments in the luggage, Sweden’s most famous song group invaded the people's park in Skellefteå on Midsummer Day.
After seven hours of remodeling, ABBA – Annifrid, Agnetha, Benny and Björn – were able to stand on stage to premiere at their folk park show in 1975.
– How it feels? Well, I enjoy it, says Björn Ulvaeus. After all, it was not that crazy. But light and sound will never be the way in a public park.
Even though the primary was carefully planned, it would not really work for the four popidoles. Much electricity and little touch – it’s a combination that is not always successful.
No other Swedish group invests so hard in light and sound effects. For ABBA’s part, connection diagrams and amperemeter mean as much as notes and notices ...

Thunder and broke

For the technical part of the show to work, seven people have been employed with Claes of Geijerstam in the
lead.
It takes an average of seven hours to rebuild the stage and four hours to take it down again! You have to build a special ramp among the audience. There the technicians work under the show.
While Annifrid, Agnetha, Benny and Björn sing in an hour for “Waterloo”, “Honey, Honey”, “SOS” and the other famous listeners, the audience can experience a great game.
Smoke and thunder, Bengal fires, rockets, saphubbles and a light show jamsides with high-pitched amplifiers – the year something the approximately 3,500 paying young people have hardly experienced in Skellefteå people’s park before!

57,000 kronor!

Although they did not have to make any extras, ABBA seems to be overwhelmingly popular with the younger part of the audience. At least 50 guys and girls with cameras and autograph blocks in their hand rushed to the stage.
ABBA is one of the country's most expensive groups in the public parks. On the midsummer day, the tour could stop SEK 57,000 in the checkout!
ABBA’s earnings were SEK 41,000. In addition, the organizers have to knock out 16,000 kronor to the technicians and musicians.

Tommy Schönstedt, Roger C. Åström (foto) [Google translation]

Links
- Norran (Sweden), September 21, 2015 – ABBA-annons får Skellefteborna att bli nostalgiska
- Norran (Sweden), November 27, 2016 – 10 världsartister som har spelat i Skellefteå (scan of concert review)
June 22 – Sunderbyn
Sunderbyn, Sunderby Loge

Facts & trivia
- Begin: 19.30
- Audience: 4,000 (audience record back then), twice as much as hoped for
Links
- NSD (Sweden), May 01, 2016 – Abbas segertåg stannade - i Sunderbyn, article with a nice short slideshow
- Norrbottens Kuriren (Sweden), May 01, 2016 – Abbas segertåg stannade - i Sunderbyn, alternate link
June 25 – Hudiksvall
Hudiksvall, Köpmanberget

Facts & trivia
- Begin: 21.00
- Audience: 2,723
June 26 – Björneborg
Björneborg, Folkets park

Facts & trivia
- Begin: 22.00
- Audience: 2,600 (new audience record)
June 27 – Borlänge
Borlänge, Säterdalens Folkets Park

Facts & trivia
- Begin: 21.00
June 28 – Eskilstuna
Eskilstuna, Folkets Park

Facts & trivia
- Begin: 22.00
Recordings

Considering that this concert was taped almost 40 years ago, the quality is pretty good. This fan recording is the only opportunity to hear some unique live versions of early ABBA songs.
- Hey, Hey Helen
- He Is Your Brother
- Hasta Manana
- Rock Me
- SOS (second verse lead vocal by Frida)
- King Kong Song
- Gonna Sing You My Lovesong
- Sitting In The Palmtree
- Intermezzo No. 1 (Agnetha & Frida changed costumes meanwhile)
- Rock'n Roll Band (lead vocal by Frida)
- I've Been Waiting For You
- Honey, Honey
- Waterloo
- Watch Out
- I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do
- So Long
This is the only recording known from the tours in 1974 and 1975. Sometimes you can come across files labeled as ‘Copenhagen’, ’Gothenburg’ or ’Stockholm’, but these turn out to be the same recording, only of worse quality.
June 30 – Stockholm
Stockholm, Gröna Lund

Facts & trivia
- Begin: 20.00
- Audience: 19,200 (sold out, audience record)
- ABBA received SEK 110,000
- Agnetha was ill the day before, but performed, however the scheduled concerts for the following days were cancelled and shifted to the end of the tour
Recordings

Not available. The only known fan recording of these years is from Eskilstuna. Sometimes you can come across files labeled as ‘Copenhagen’, ’Gothenburg’ or ’Stockholm’, but these turn out to be the same recording, only of worse quality and/or with a different order of tracks.
July 3 – Malmö
picture does not show the ABBA concert

Malmö, Folkets Park

Facts & trivia
- Begin: 21.00
- Audience: 12,000 (sold out)
- Fees: 54,000 kronor
- Agnetha still suffered from being ill the days before:
The evening in Malmö was a nightmare. My legs were shaking and 10 minutes before going on stage I broke down in tears in the dressing room. Luckily, I managed to keep going until the end of the show. Our doctor, Ake Olsson, was waiting backstage in case something happened to me.

Agnetha in ABBA The Book, p. 109
July 4 – Storebro
Storebro, Storebroparken

Facts & trivia
- Begin: 22.00
July 5 – Kristianopel
Kristianopel, Masten

Facts & trivia
- Begin: 22.00
- Audience: 6,000 (presumedly sold-out)
Links
- Kristianopels GoIF presenterar Mastens Festplats – memorabilia of the concerts at Masten, has a few pictures of ads and the audience at ABBA’s concert
- Masten i bilder – pictures of the meanwhile closed park today
- Masten Kristianopel – some information about Masten and ABBA
July 6 – Gothenburg
picture for illustration only, it doesn't show an ABBA concert

Gothenburg, Liseberg

Facts & trivia
- Begin: 20.00
- Audience: 6,800 (sold out)
- entrance fee was 20 Swedish crones
Recordings

Not available. The only known fan recording of these years is Eskilstuna. Sometimes you can come across files labeled as ’Copenhagen’, ’Gothenburg’ or ’Stockholm’, but these turn out to be the same recording, only of worse quality and/or with a different order of tracks.

Links
- Liseberg Backstage – Abba gör ingen besviken (Abba don't disappoint), scan of a Swedish review of the concert
- Lisepedia – some notes and a couple of pictures about ABBA's visits to Liseberg
- Kamerareportage bildarkiv – lots of unpublished pictures of ABBA's visits to Gothenburg in this database
July 7 – Borgholm
Borgholm, Slottsruinen

Facts & trivia
- Begin: 20.00
- Audience: 4,500 (sold-out)
Links
- Doggod – ABBA i Borgholms slottsruin, a few fan pictures and memories
July 8 – Linköping
Linköping, Folkets Park

Facts & trivia
- originally scheduled for July 1
- Begin: 21.00
- Audience: 4,500 (sold-out)
Links
- Corren (Sweden), August 15, 2013 – Ett sånt ståhej det blev när Abba kom
July 9 – Gamleby
Gamleby, Folkparken

Facts & trivia
- originally scheduled for July 2, cancelled due to Agnetha having a throat infection
- Begin: 21.30
- Audience: 3,542
Links
- Sveriges Radio (Sweden), May 6, 2013) – Gamleby var viktigt för ABBA