SIRIUS Satellite Radio will launch ABBA Radio, an exclusive channel dedicated to international pop supergroup, ABBA. ABBA Radio will debut on Monday, July 7 at 6 pm ET on SIRIUS channel 3 in celebration of the upcoming release of MAMMA MIA! The Movie.
Meryl Streep leads an all-star cast in the feature-film adaptation of the beloved stage musical seen by more than 30 million people in 160 cities and 8 languages around the world. MAMMA MIA! The Movie opens in theaters in the U.S. on July 18, 2008.
ABBA Radio will broadcast ABBA music 24/7 for two weeks and will feature all the hits originally performed by the group. The channel will also feature tracks from the original cast recording of the hit stage musical phenomenon, MAMMA MIA!. In addition, SIRIUS listeners will hear two-time Academy Award(R)-winning actress
Meryl Streep,
Pierce Brosnan, and
Colin Firth sing ABBA songs on the soundtrack to MAMMA MIA! The Movie, to be released by DECCA on July 8, 2008.
"Thanks to ABBA Radio on SIRIUS, both new and longtime fans have a place to experience the original music of ABBA, together with the new songs produced for the soundtrack to
Mamma Mia! The Movie, in a distinctively innovative way. ABBA Radio allows for our early songs to join the new ones in harmony on SIRIUS' national platform, and engage all generations of listeners," said
Benny Andersson.
"A world wide release of a movie and a soundtrack album is a once in a lifetime event and I'm so proud that ABBA Radio on SIRIUS is following it closely," said
Bjorn Ulvaeus. "ABBA Radio on SIRIUS is unique in that both
Benny Andersson and I have made extensive interviews for the channel and we've done that for no-one else."
"ABBA created one of the most distinctive sounds and styles in music and has found to this day enduring international popularity," said Scott Greenstein, SIRIUS President of Entertainment and Sports. "We are excited to offer ABBA Radio to SIRIUS listeners, which will include interviews with Benny and Bjorn as well as the cast of the MAMMA MIA! movie, and of course unprecedented access to ABBA's music."
The limited engagement channel will also feature stories and insights from ABBA members
Benny Andersson and
Bjorn Ulvaeus about their many pop classics which have influenced recording artists for over three decades. ABBA Radio will also feature celebrity fans sharing their favorite ABBA music and personal stories, including stars from MAMMA MIA! The Movie
Meryl Streep,
Pierce Brosnan,
Christine Baranski,
Amanda Seyfried,
Dominic Cooper,
Catherine Johnson, film director Phyllida Lloyd and producer Gary Goetzman, as well as
Dionne Warwick, Alanis Morissette, songwriter
Desmond Child,
Joan Rivers,
Brooke Shields, Andy Bell from Erasure,
Randy Jones from the Village People, the cast of the Tony Award(R)-winning musical
Spring Awakening, ambassador Ulf Hjertonsson, Per Gessle of Roxette, Nancy Sinatra and
Martha Stewart.
The Swedish pop group ABBA was formed by Agnetha Faltskog,
Benny Andersson,
Bjorn Ulvaeus and Anni-Frid "Frida" Lyngstad in 1973. The quartet quickly earned international popularity and has since become one of the world's best selling groups of all time, selling more than a reported 370 million records worldwide. At the core of the distinctive ABBA sound are the soprano and mezzosoprano voices of Agnetha and Frida and timeless melodies written by Benny and Bjorn. Along with The Beatles, ABBA is one of the world's most successful groups, having topped music charts around the world with hits that include "Waterloo," "Mamma Mia," "Super Trouper," "SOS," "Money, Money, Money" and "Fernando."
The MAMMA MIA! musical is a global phenomenon based on the songs of ABBA - the show is one of the longest running productions in Broadway history with productions currently running around the world in Athens, Barcelona, Berlin, Istanbul, London and Paris. Timeless favorites such as "Dancing Queen," "I Have a Dream," "Voulez-Vous" and "Take a Chance on Me" are ingeniously woven into a tale of love, laughter and friendship.
ABBA Radio continues SIRIUS' tradition of creating exclusive limited run artist-branded channels dedicated to iconic musicians. SIRIUS has previously offered limited run channels such as E Street Radio, Rolling Stones Radio, The Who Channel, Radio R.E.M., Coldplay Nation,
Neil Diamond Radio, Jay-Z Nation, Garth Brooks Radio and Duran Duran's Red Carpet Radio among many others.
For more information please visit
www.sirius.com/AbbaRadio .
Photo James Sims.
