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Watch Online / Thank You for the Music - 40 Jahre ABBA (2012)
Desc: Thank You for the Music - 40 Jahre ABBA: With Stig Anderson, Benny Andersson, Ulf Andersson, Cindy Berger. The four-hour documentary shows what lies behind the four letters ABBA: their hits, concerts, sold-out tours, the million-dollar salaries, life as a world star as well as the end of the band in 1982. However, the life of the band members after ABBA is also a topic. Former make-up artist Ingmarie Halling, "ABBA" costume designer Owe Sandström, "DISCO" presenter Ilja Richter and musician Peter Maffay talk about their personal impressions. "How are they going to sell records with that name?" wondered "DISCO" presenter Ilja Richter after the band's first appearance on the most successful music show of the 1970s. Former ABBA guitarist Mats Ronnander was also critical of the band at first: "I hated their music. It was rubbish. Even after the band won the "Grand Prix Eurovision de la Chanson" in 1974 with the song "Waterloo", their critics did not fall silent. A movement against the band even forms in Sweden. Musician Peter Maffay also says: "ABBA was a concept. The composition, the realization, the look, the marketing. ABBA was very, very commercial." He is not alone in this opinion. The band showed business sense: to save taxes, ABBA - driven by their manager Stig Andersson - invested millions in galleries and recording studios, in sporting goods manufacturers and real estate companies - they even planned to go public. The docu-event shows interviews from the time when ABBA faced accusations of being too greedy. But the four band members also worked hard for their great success and had to make some sacrifices: Anni-Frid, for example, left her first husband and her two children to celebrate international success with ABBA. Agnetha also got into a conflict of conscience because of her children, which ultimately led to the end of the band. "She didn't want to go on tour anymore, didn't want to travel. I told her we would regret it for the rest of our lives. But women tick differently," recalls band member Björn Ulveaus, who has two children with Agnetha and had been married to her since 1971. Their different views led to the couple's separation in 1978, followed by divorce two years later. The love between Benny and Anni-Frid also broke up. The two married in 1978 and divorced again in 1981. The end of the two love affairs also marked the end of the band's history: Björn, Benny, Agnetha and Anni-Frid performed together for the last time on 11 December 1982. However, ABBA celebrated their greatest success after their break-up: In 1992 - ten years after the break-up - their album "ABBA Gold - Greatest Hits" was released, which sold more than 28 million copies worldwide and is still the best-selling ABBA album of all time. Rumours about a comeback of the band have not died down to this day.