ABBA (Interview with promoter and tour producer Thomas Johansson) (Sub Español)

how it's not sooo glad though because we have everything organized in the beginning and the more we travel in a nice way and we have guys working with us and girl okay please take care of everything that we don't bother them anymore [Music] I'm Thomas your hands and I'm the CEO of EMA tell story in the Nordic gradient or care channel nowadays American owned company I produce the ABBA tours in as much as we put the sound the life to tracking the date could you promote to the shows worldwide for them we did all the live work for them and most of the television work do you remember come on Caroline and when was the first time you worked with other with other was 1974 73 or 74 I was asked by beyond and been lit on on a party to to do their tour and do the bookings and that was must have been either 73 or 74 I can't remember that and then the first actual true with it was that autumn what did you think about them at a time when you said I knew Buuren they're quite well before them because we met investigate when I was my parents at the summer house investor we could be honest more so I met Buuren there when I was about 13 14 15 and he was playing with many singers or just before actually anything is and then I started to work with Agneta 70 71 so then when they got married Bureau and became involved in her career and we had lots of meetings with that so with the couple of tourists with agneta prior to either was it already at the time 73 74 where made that much to do base that's an act yes they were I mean they because all four of them had their own careers and would be quite big stars definitely agneta beyond and Benny they were big stars in their own right prior to ABBA so they paid the dues already then and I think what they wanted to do was to write songs and record songs that was the main objective to do it and that was also very early in the game that is how they wanted to win the world so it was sort of an ask them to bring them on tour or yeah they weren't all that keen to tours they never were keen to to never-never now when they won the Eurovision Song Contest I think that's when it started they realized that they had to go on the road to meet the fans and they always wanted to meet their fans so they were always very concerned about which fans you know ticket prices they were mostly more concerned than any other act ever work with that the ticket prices must be right and everyone can afford to see them and I think that's something that is not known to people that they were very concerned with that why do you think they had that sort of concern because that's the way they are as human beings nothing that's the also truth did each one of them have their own special assignment when it came to organising for example setting up a tool Buhner Beni was of course very very concerned with the sound freedom a that were more concerned with the sort of movement and with the movie the visual part of it I think they didn't want to be away from home more than a maximum of three three and a half weeks so it was never really a even though the tourists were in sections there was always a three and a half week touring period and there was a you know break and then there was another three and a half week - it wasn't like a long tour of a year tell us about the preparation before you took off well once they decided that they wanted to go on the road I put some numbers together for them and the idea was that they were never concerned with the fact that they were to make money as long as they didn't lose money so that was a good project to work with then therefore they were always extremely concerned to have the best of sound equipment they were about and the best of the lighting equipment they were about and then I managed in 77 to put a very good team together where we bought the people who did the lights for stones and queen the people who did the sound for Queen and Elton John's band you know we got the top technicians that top lighting designers of the top sound engineers the top people in that respect to do and I mean most of the crew were English or the band was Swedish of course and the close people to them were Swedish so it was a mixture but trying to put that team together was important it was important for them to know that they had the top people with it's like a Formula One racing driver know had the best guys around it sounds like it quite expensive affair it was an expensive affair but having that you know knowledge that that's what they wanted they didn't try to save on any of the costs it was if this is the price well that's the price for the best sound equipment that was the end of that discussion was there a lot of tension because I mean going to the United States from her first time that was a big tension because obviously means a lot to break in America and they had at the time had I think I'm not sure this but I think we had like 10 top 20 records or something at the time so they were you know they were being named there was a big excitement in America about the band and we did I think 21 dates and all of the button in Amenas Minneapolis sold out which is very good and very rewarding could you tell them on the members themselves that they were nervous about going there oh yeah we've done a lot of television prior to that you know TV specialists with Olivia newton-john a lot of these sort of American Bandstand title shows and we've been there four or five times before doing press promotion television but actually playing live was something different because they were not from that angular live band you know and so we started up in Edmonton rehearse therefore I think we were there for about four or five days and the host the show and once they go into it it was okay once they sort of got the vibe of touring it was fine was it important in a way that could prove that ad that could do it on stage as well not only on there once all the stage I don't think that was important I think we I think the main criteria that that actually made them to there was they wanted to meet the fans I think that was the bottom line if you if you ask them I think that's the bottom line who was in charge of the setlist I think they did it together I mean Benny wrote the setlist the setlist I've got left at home it's better written but I think Benny and I think they will did but then he wrote them down and they talked a lot about it of course so they rehearsed and they changed around and but I think the for them plus cause have you aged under sound minions which guy also had a lot to do with it yet his ideas the lighting designer Jamie Barnett had his ideas Patrick would look later on had his ideas but band had their ideas I think it was a mixture but I mean the the backstopped I think with the Burin Bela here that's Murphy did it changed a lot during the tour wasn't they changed not a lot but it changed change from night to night actually they never did the same setlist every night one song came in one came out one popped around they moved yes how about a moment like on that American two one 99 well I remember one situation when we played Las Vegas lad in the showroom which was really it you know it wasn't like playing Las Vegas in have been in the boardroom it was playing the only at that time genuine theater which I believe was a five thousand so you could see at room and they didn't really want to go there but the offer was so good we've made the financials of the American to look glass - you know supposedly did for that reason and we flew in we were based in Los Angeles we flew in for that show and during sound check there was capital rose put in in front of enormous E and venison to move who this is for well you know therefore the guys you know don't even ask don't even go there just forget it they'd see stable therefore VI pieces no these are the people bought the tickets for the first rows would be in the first round when our contract stated very clearly that so I went to the promoter said he would had removed these things and no I said you could remove diseases now and so we remove the seed only to learn during the show that our agent in America came to me and said I think you should leave Las Vegas I said what do you mean well the C to remove belong to the people you don't remove C's from so I left during the show and haven't been back since he was obviously the mobs see let were removed when his can well you know if a guy tells you to leave because it's not a good it's not healthy if we were to stay then you're scared yeah yeah and how about a balance and they didn't know about it but they know now yeah they know now I told him much later it was a big turn I mean generally what I remember we had a round plane which is very they always had their own plane on tour from 77 and onwards which you know which is very convenient and very good for the for them me the tour managers Tegan jor-el and you know it was like a thank you it's like a ten second plane was it complicated because I left I didn't like flying at that time she wasn't that scared about flying I think what both cetera flying was they had a terrible experience flying up to Boston from New York and I wasn't on the plane at that time because I had business in New York side took a shed you'll airline up and I could never land in Boston that's one of the few shows on list women but they had a terrible flight up there and the plane had a land some obscure Airport and they made the show but I think that is the thing that I heard oft was from both from from the forum that that was the most scary flight they've ever had with Sandra and storm and the rain and plane was you know moving around in the air and I think that was one of the reasons like NAT I scared to fly compared to other artists at the time was the amber to a big one or a media one's huge the aperture could compare with Queen storms you know they were up in that Lee we had in America I think we had five trucks I mean - as always even today comparison how many trucks you have on the road so I'm saying they said that but people give a general idea we had four five six trucks traveling in Europe as well which were that was - what you had you know today of course it was a big tour in daughter because we played indoors generally speaking big in daughter today have 1518 trucks I don't know why but that's how it is Australia of course where we played outdoors we had I think up to 30 trucks at a time travel so though it was absolutely after there was no other tourists that were bigger at the time service towns we're sort of like they were the same level yeah yeah yeah how did you saw I mean the sound which were very important from beyond and been ample they spent a lot of time with it and the Bureau embarrassed but a lot of time with me Kelby a three up dog and with the claws of a stamp and with English guy Keith Bradley who's looking off Elton John will do all of Elton John's to it today so they spent a lot of time working out the sound to have it correct to have it sounding as much as they could like on record and of course these days there weren't any tapes it possible for real which is interesting today you can have fantastic sound but a lot of the stuff is on tape the critical reception of ABBA nine shows was many times Mick how do you think it affect him he depended on I mean if they knew they had done a good show when the critics were bad I think that that took you know them then they felt it was unjustified otherwise most of the time as far as I remember critics abroad were fantastic I mean most of the newspapers I remember were good good critics good reviews but they were don't forget that at the time in the late 70s when they performed they were so much ahead of the time we're trying to put other things into the show than bands at the time did normal Bans and jeans long hair played loud and didn't care too much about the actual presentation the only bands who did it at the time were the stones have a queen you know who rock bands what's that some sort of a like feeling from from Alan and Sanford we can show you we can maybe some on stage do you think I was - it has to be otherwise you won't go up on stage they they had I don't think they wanted to prove something I think that they wanted to again I'm back to that I think they rather wanted to give the fans a good show I think that was the always was the the main agenda for 1979 in US and Europe what fun what was going around obviously that was the right in the middle of the punk area but ABBA had a lot of fans in the punk bands and I mean growing from the Sex Pistols The Clash to Ian Dury and the Blockheads they were being fans of and I remember one we played Wembley and we had behind you know lot of musicians came down to see the shows and I mean that particular night you had Joe Strummer Justin Hayward from the Moody Blues interest travel from The Clash you had guys from knee injuries band the Blockheads it was rather mix about the people there and and but I think it had to do with the fact that musicians and songwriters and especially songwriters realized how extremely advanced and how extremely good these songs were I mean they were other words second to none to the you know to the beat the sword or the Beach Boys war it was really as pop songs and I won't have ever eaten better pop songs and I think that these people if you like that I think many many people would be surprised he meant actually just drama was backstage at know what I mean know you know that no it was a big fan big big fan and I'm sure that you see later on you - how big fans they were when what we did you - in Stockholm they perform that the at the I stadium and what a globe I can't remember want I think it was a gang member on Kenya and and bono asked me you know couldn't be an American down and couldn't they me it looks like corpulent themselves you know the band wanna see such okay so after a while they came down and then he said we're going to do dancing queen and you'll come up and play with us in there are no waves so then I left them in the room and that of course they played dancing queen with u2 on stage which is quite a that was quite a magical moment I think for all artists concern for the audience for the owner and Danny and for you too the concepts are Wembley six nights in a row did preparing it in a special way for the Wembley concept no hair can be everyone not really we stayed in a hotel in in London and most of the families were over it was you know it in November and God and think so was no special preparation for that but I mean this shows where at least some of them about to be filmed but I think that they had a unique way of pushing that on the side you know they that should not bother them even if they did they never showed it bother them that being freedom doors televise you know what that going on at the same time how do you think they managed tactic because I mean like having a from huge finger quite simply using more than what they focused on what they would have to do they focused on the on the audience give you what is a good show was it business official at Wembley or did something special happen now report on that from that we had a lot of visitors a lot of you know musicians and songwriters down it was pretty much business as usual and again that was you know towards the end of that tour so it was definitely business as usual we'd had down the whole of America and so you know it was pretty but I mean Thomas Jonathan six sold-out shows at Wembley that wasn't I guess business as usual in the world we could have sold out another twenty I guess so from that point of view I was very upset that that that they didn't want to stay longer because I have to Wembley I think we played in clue it up to the Midlands and player to show in Manchester Birmingham and then we went across and finished the tour off which then became always good lost European to data every we played in Dublin Ireland if you compare the two over 1979 you know once you have produced for them earlier what was different the difference were that we were all they were and everyone working with them were much more knowledgeable over how to deal with this and how what we expected and how you know so via that one thing was the big difference did you ever fear my fame were about being like tired of all these traveling and eventually also then the concept in the end I think I don't think they were actually tired of the concepts themselves but I think like for any performer the actual performance is fantastic but the travel all the hassle around and at the time they were I don't think that I ever experienced any artist to be bigger than Abba in the sense of the push from the media and you know to push when we were at hotels the thousands of fans outside we always had to have police escorts we always had to take them through cellars garages in and out of the hotel and I think all of that combined made them not wanna go of the road again for in Japan we had to book the hotel two floors closed the elevators of close all the stairs off that have security Siletz no one else otherwise you know people would have been all over the place that's not fun do you understand them you're a promoter and they have refused all the huge offers and not building a comeback shower I understand them from from from an artistic point of view I understand them from a personal point of view and I hailed them for that I think it's fantastic that they don't do that I said that's a friend but as a promoter I think it's terrible of course but on a personal level I understand Ania you think maybe when you go on being the band who never came back absolutely I think if they would have gone we had a huge offer a couple of years ago and that would have been labor also right for other reasons in their careers you know that was just been Mamma Mia started and I thought what if there ever was a moment that would have been the time but of course I'm being a total optimist I'm sure that one day they will do something I keep telling them all the time so maybe

Channel: Adrián León

Views: 59,701

Rating: 4.9014778 out of 5

Keywords: ABBA

Id: hInOHhozY2A

Length: 21min 13sec (1273 seconds)

Published: Wed Apr 12 2017