75TourMirrored photo on the tour poster 1974/19751975a

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:
    • Boris Lindqvist (vocals, guitar, piano, percussion)
      Caj Högberg (bass), Peter Kott (trumpet),
      Torsten Dannenberg (saxophone, fluit, accordion)
      Wojciech Ernest (piano, keyboards)
      Zbigniew Ryta (drums)

    • 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

 

The Concerts

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

  • June 21 – Skellefteå

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    Skellefteå, Folkparken

    Facts & trivia

    • Begin: 20.00
    • Audience: 3,500

    Review

    pressABBA 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

      quoteSEK 16,000 was calculated from the tour company costing.
      “Certainly, we cost money, but we want to offer the audience a good sound,” said Björn Ulvaeus.

      Magnus Tosser, NSD, 2016

    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

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    Hudiksvall, Köpmanberget

    Facts & trivia

    • Begin: 21.00
    • Audience: 2,723

      2,723 people came – a really not so strange audience figure – and paid 54,460 SEK. Abba received 60 percent, 32,667 kronor, but was responsible for the cost of 1,076 kronor for the hired grand piano that Benny Andersson played.

      Sundsvalls Tidning (Sweden), October 7, 2008 – Hudiksvall för inte så länge sedan

  • June 26 – Björneborg

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    Björneborg, Folkets park

    Facts & trivia

    • Begin: 22.00
    • Audience: 2,600 (new audience record)
  • June 27 – Borlänge

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    Borlänge, Säterdalens Folkets Park

    Facts & trivia

    • Begin: 21.00
  • June 28 – Eskilstuna

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    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

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    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

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    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:

    quoteThe 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

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    Storebro, Storebroparken

    Facts & trivia

    • Begin: 22.00
  • July 5 – Kristianopel

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    Kristianopel, Masten

    Facts & trivia

    • Begin: 22.00
    • Audience: 6,000 (presumedly sold-out)

    Links

  • July 6 – Gothenburg

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    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 BackstageAbba 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

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    Borgholm, Slottsruinen

    Facts & trivia

    • Begin: 20.00
    • Audience: 4,500 (sold-out)

    Links

    • DoggodABBA i Borgholms slottsruin, a few fan pictures and memories
  • July 8 – Linköping

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    Linköping, Folkets Park

    Facts & trivia

    • originally scheduled for July 1
    • Begin: 21.00
    • Audience: 4,500 (sold-out)

    Links

  • July 9 – Gamleby

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    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

 

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