All four original members of Abba are to reunite for a new digital entertainment project.
The Swedish group have not formally performed together since they split more than 30 years ago although they appeared at a 50th anniversary party in June.
The project, which will involve virtual reality and artificial intelligence, has been described as a “new entertainment experience,” developed in collaboration with pop music guru Simon Fuller.
Full details will be announced next year.
Agnetha Faltskog, Bjorn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson and Anni-Frid Lyngstad parted ways in 1982 after more than 10 years together. Their relationship has been frosty throughout the years.
Lyngstad said fans around the world always ask about a reunion: “I hope this new Abba creation will excite them as much as it excites me.”
Andersson said: “We’re inspired by the limitless possibilities of what the future holds and are loving being a part of creating something new and dramatic here. A time machine that captures the essence of who we were and are.”
The full details of the new project have not been announced but a press release says the foursome will be involved in the creative process with a view to “maintaining the authenticity and integrity of the band’s original vision.”
The project will aim to take the Abba experience to a new generation of fans and will enable them to see, hear and feel the band “in a way previously unimagined.”
Fuller, the promoter of Pop Idol and American Idol, the Spice Girls, Annie Lennox and Amy Winehouse, said: “The creativity and ideas flowing from the members of Abba over the past few months have filled me with great excitement.
“We are exploring a new technological world, with virtual reality and artificial intelligence at the forefront, that will allow us to create new forms of entertainment and content we couldn’t have previously imagined.”
The June reunion celebrated the 50-year partnership between songwriters Ulvaeus and Andersson, which produced Abba’s biggest hits such as Waterloo, Dancing Queen, Mamma Mia, The Winner Takes It All and Super Trouper.
They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2010, but did not perform to mark the occasion.
Their music was adapted into the successful theatre show Mamma Mia! which was also turned into a 2008 film featuring Meryl Streep, Julie Walters and Pierce Brosnan.
