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The text below is taken from the Almighty Solar Site, I hope they don't mind
ABBACADABRA - THE WHOLE STORY
Over the last seven years, three albums and fourteen singles, Abbacadabra proved to the world that they too posess a real star quality and an enduring pop
appeal as widespread as the original Swedish superstars. Both vocalists bear a remarkable resemblence to the two Abba ladies - Marie a sexy blonde
and Nina a stunning brunette both with voices reminiscent of Agnetha and
Frida, the fact that Abba's originals have still to this day not benefitted from the dance remix treatment, DJs, Abba enthusiasts and music buffs alike can rejoice in their constant string of dancefloor dynamos that have
made this
group so very successful.
It was back in 1991 that the group released their first single "Knowing Me Knowing You" - which was an immediate DJ favourite. Within a few months the follow up singles
"Lay All Your Love On Me" and
"Dancing Queen" had received so much international acclaim that by the time Abba's own celebratory revival kicked in at the end of '92, Abbacadabra's roots had
been firmly planted. When legendary pop
producer Pete Waterman picked up "Dancing Queen" for release on his own label PWL, it entered the national charts, was ultimately licensed to many compilations and enjoyed
sustained sales in
many countries around Europe.
By the time they had issued their next few singles, "The Winner Takes It All", "The Visitors"/"One Of Us" and
"S.O.S"/"Eagle" they had enough material for an album. That stunning debut, "Abbasalute" was a cleverly compiled 9 track selection of Abba classics which ultimately became one of Almighty's
biggest selling albums. It contained the much loved Abba track "The Day Before You Came" (one of Abba's last releases), which was to have been the last release for the group. The American Almighty supporters (who
have always been so fantastically keen), had other ideas. After an article had run in
US DJ bible 'DMA' claiming that Abbacadabra had 'called it a day' a barrage of faxes, phone calls and a rather weighty
post bag of despairing letters arrived all passionately pleading for an Abbacadabra return!
With this much support so evident Stateside and with the group's back catalogue still going strong, Almighty boss Martyn
Norris put his thinking cap on and decided that if they were going to keep the group alive then they would have to move forwards with a new sound.
It was nearly two years on and it was 1995 - "Voulez Vous" was
the obvious choice to try out this new 'full-on' club sound for the big return. And what a comeback. Catapulting them to the top of DJ charts and playlists all over the world, this more updated club sound then followed
through on the next few
releases "S.O.S", "Fernando"/"Dancing Queen" and 'The Name Of The Game', all of which were hailed by many to be their finest attempts to date. At that time
Almighty had become pioneers of a new club sound - something that was to keep the label ahead of all the other NRG labels. That 'Definitive' tag was their hallmark and the new interpretations of Abba's all-time
classics were instantly well received. No longer was it just a matter of speeding up the tempos, Almighty were creating club anthems!
The album, 'Revival Flight 1' was released in 1996 to great acclaim - 10
classic Abba songs were updated with a disco beat. That perennial Eurovision favourite 'Waterloo' hit the stores in early '97 and in the summer of that year 'Angel Eyes' took the band up a peg or two in the
club chart stakes. In early '98, Abbacadabra released 'Revival Flight 2' - a further collection of Abba classics popped up for the 90s. 'Summer Night City' was pulled from this album - a pumpin' full-on
timeless production that recaptures the real magic
of the Swedish supergroup. 'Voulez Vous' and 'Dancing Queen' were re-issued with additional new mixes - more notably on 'Dancing Queen' where the US
Love To Infinity mixes had been included. It is in the USA in fact that Abbacadabra have really achieved the greatest commercial achievement.
To bring us up-to-date, Abbacadabra's first single of '99 was
'Mamma Mia'. The West End show of the same name opened and became a colossal box office smash and on the back of this, the single sold extremely well. Next up came 'Knowing Me Knowing You' as a CD single plus
the group's new double
album of treasures 'Abbasalute - The Dance Collection', hit the stores in late June. It includes on one CD all of Abbacadabra's club hits remixed and updated for this compilation (with
a few newies thrown in for good measure), plus, a bonus continuous mix CD.
For the end of the year, the decade, the century and indeed the millennium, Abbacadabra release a series of CD singles entitled 'The Dance
Collection' with a new single 'The Winner Takes It All'/'Take A Chance On Me' due for release just before Christmas.
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