In loving memory of Will Hoebee, Benny Neyman and Ron Brandsteder
The Dutch cast of "ABBACaDaBra" including Marga Scheide, José Hoebee, Bonnie St. Claire, Ron Brandsteder and Benny Neyman
Exactly forty years ago, on March 16th, 1985, TROS/Nederland 2 aired "AbbaCaDaBra," a TV musical featuring songs in Dutch by the Swedish pop group ABBA. The story included classic fairy tale characters. Notable performers included two former members of Luv', José (as Snow White) and Marga Scheide (as Carabosse), along with Bonnie St. Claire (as Sleeping Beauty), Ron Brandsteder (as the Werewolf), and Benny Neyman (as the Prince).
This musical was created long before the revival of interest in ABBA's music, which was marked by several significant events: ABBA-esque by Erasure (1992), the ABBA Gold compilation (1992), the Mamma Mia! musical (1999), the Mamma Mia! films (2008 and 2018), Madonna's mega-hit Hung Up (2005), which sampled Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!, Cher's album Dancing Queen (2018), featuring ABBA covers, ABBA's final album Voyage (2021), and the virtual concert residency ABBA Voyage (2022–2026).
This is the story of "AbbaCaDaBra," a fantastic project that initially originated in France.
The original French project (1983/1984)
In 1983, the members of ABBA broke up after dominating the charts for almost ten years. At the time, the media and the public were not ready for nostalgia for the group's music.
Roland Kruger, who published ABBA's songs in Belgium, proposed to two writers—Daniel Boublil, a songwriter who collaborated with the French singer Catherine Lara, and Alain Boublil, the lyricist of the world-famous musical "Les Misérables" based on Victor Hugo’s novel to work on a tribute project for ABBA's tenth anniversary.
Alain and Daniel Boublil, who are not related, conceived a children's musical entitled "AbbaCaDaBra" based on songs from the "Swedish Fab Four".
Alain Boublil had been acquainted with the pop group since his time working at Disques Vogues, a Parisian label that distributed ABBA records in France during the 1970s and early 1980s. Just ten days after ABBA’s victory at the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest, the band recorded a French version of "Waterloo", with lyrics by Boublil. He later served as the artistic coordinator for the French rendition of "The Winner Takes It All", titled "Bravo Tu As Gagné", performed by the legendary chanteuse Mireille Mathieu, with Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus, and Frida Lyngstad providing backing vocals. Mireille's version, released in 1981, reached #7 on the French singles chart, where it stayed for fourteen weeks, and sold 200,000 copies in the land of wine and haute couture.
Back cover of "Bravo tu as gagné" by Mireille Mathieu (Phonogram/Philips, 1981) with Benny, Björn and Frida of ABBA as background singers
The musical was produced for French television and targeted a young public. It was the perfect program for Christmas Holidays. The first episode aired on TF1 on December 21st, 1983.
The story was based on classic fairy tales, including Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, Pinocchio, and Snow White. The original cast featured famous singers in France like Fabienne Thibeault, Daniel Balavoine, and Plastic Bertrand. Moreover, Anni-Frid Lyngstad (Frida of ABBA) was invited to play the part of La Belle au Bois Dormant (Sleeping Beauty) and recorded "Belle" (a cover of ABBA's 1976 instrumental track "Arrival") as a duet with Daniel Balavoine. Fun fact: French feminist politician Clémentine Autain (who was then 10 years old) was part of the cast.
The original cast of AbbaCaDaBra (including Frida, Daniel Balavoine and Plastic Bertrand) at Château d'Ussé, France
Daniel Balavoine as the Prince & Frida as Sleeping Beauty
Plastic Bertrand as Pinocchio
A soundtrack album entitled "AbbaCaDaBra: Conte Musical" was released simultaneously. According to liner notes on the album cover, arrangements and musical direction were provided by Raymond Donnez and production by Alain Boublil with assistance by Donnez, Daniel Boublil and Françoise Pourcel. The album was released by WEA Filipacchi Music in France and WEA Music of Canada in Québec.
The LP led to several single releases in France, including "Belle" by Daniel Balavoine and Frida, "L'Enfant Do" by Stéphane et les Enfants d'Asnières, and "Mon Nez, Mon Nez" by Plastic Bertrand.
Serving as a preview of the musical, Belle peaked at #28 on the French charts, remaining for 11 weeks during the summer and autumn of 1983 and selling nearly 100,000 copies. L'Enfant Do achieved greater success, reaching #13, staying on the charts for 18 weeks in early 1984, and selling 300,000 copies, earning gold certification.
Click here to see all the AbbaCaDaBra records released in France, the UK, the Netherlands and Portugal.
Belle by Frida and Daniel Balavoine
L'Enfant Do by Stéphane et les enfants d'Asnières
Press clippings in the French press (click on the images to enlarge them):
Article published in Podium magazine in 1983
Article in Platine magazine in 1994
Excerpt from the book entitled "ABBA, la légende" by Jean-Marie Potiez
A follow-up LP entitled "La fusée de Noé" came out in 1984. It featured the legendary singer Henri Salvador, the humorist Michel Leeb and the French TV personality Stéphane Collaro.
On April 7th, 1984, ABBA’s Frida, Björn, and Benny appeared on the French TV show Champs-Élysées, hosted by Michel Drucker on Antenne 2. During the broadcast, they presented a gold record for L'Enfant Do to the children of the French cast of ABBACaDaBra.
Benny, Björn and Frida interviewed by Michel Drucker on Champs Elysées
The English stage version (1983/1984)
Cameron Mackintosh, known for his work on the West End and Broadway musical Cats, decided to produce an English stage adaptation of AbbaCaDaBra: Conte musical, with lyrics by David Wood, Mike Batt, and Don Black. Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus, the songwriters behind ABBA, contributed a new track, "(I Am) The Seeker".
The musical premiered on December 8th, 1983, at the Lyric Hammersmith Theatre in London. While reviews were mixed, it played to full houses for eight weeks before closing on January 21st, 1984. The cast included Elaine Paige, Michael Praed, Nigel Harman, Finola Hughes, BA Robertson, and Jenna Russell.
Several singles from the show were released across Europe, produced and arranged by Mike Batt. One featured Elaine Paige’s rendition of "Like an Image Passing By", a cover of ABBA’s "My Love, My Life", with Finola Hughes performing "When Dreamers Close Their Eyes" on the B-side. Another, also released in Australia, paired Frida and BA Robertson on "Time", an English version of "Belle"/"Arrival", with Robertson singing "I Am The Seeker" as the B-side.
Frida & B.A Robertson performing "Time" (Arrival)
Elaine Paige in ABBACADABRA at the Lyric Hammersmith Theatre in December 1983
Elaine Page in AbbaCaDaBra (Swedish magazine Okej, 1983)
De Telegraaf -September 28th, 1983: the launch of the AbbaCaDaBra musical
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De Telegraaf - December 10th, 1983: excerpt mentioning Frida's involvement in the AbbaCaDaBra musical
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Muziek Expres, 1983: Frida at the premiere of AbbaCaDaBra in London
The Dutch version (1984/1985)
In 1984, José's husband, Will Hoebee, along with Joost Timp, adapted "AbbaCaDaBra" into Dutch. The cast featured José as Snow White, Marga Scheide as Carabosse, Bonnie St. Claire as Sleeping Beauty, Ron Brandsteder as the Werewolf, and Benny Neyman as the Prince.
The recording sessions for the Dutch version took place at Wisseloord Studios in Hilversum, Netherlands, during July and August of 1984. On October 25th, 1984, a contract was signed at the Indisc Nederland record label office to confirm the adaptation. The agreement involved Dennis Kloeth from Indisc Nederland and Gerda Felleman from Kluger Holland Music Publishing.
The Dutch "AbbaCaDaBra" LP was released in the third week of November 1984, with Indisc distributing the album in both the Netherlands and Belgium. The lead single from the album was "Wij Zijn Vrij," the Dutch cover of "The Visitors."
Filming for the TV special concluded on December 19th, 1984, with some scenes shot at Muiden Castle.
7" single "Wij Zijn Vrij" (from the "ABBAcadabra" album)
Album credits :
LP released by Indisc in November 1984.
Tracklisting:
A side:
1 Als Ik Later Groot Ben (When I Kissed The Teacher) 1:59
2 Wij Zijn Vrij (The Visitors) 4:07
3 ABBAcadabra (Take A Chance On Me) 3:54
4 Me Neus, Me Neus (Money, Money, Money) 3:51
5 Het Liedje Van Alladin (Super Trouper) 4:07
6 Spiegel (I Wonder) 3:56
B side:
1 De Kokende Spoken Show (Dancing Queen) 4:04
2 Toen Ik Een Wolfje Was (I Let The Music Speak) 5:08
3 Naar Huis Toe (Fernando) 3:17
4 Geef Die Banden Terug (I'm A Marionette) 3:53
5 Bij Mij (Arrival) 4:00
6 Laat Het Feest Beginnen (Thank You For The Music) 3:57
Co-producer – Gerda Felleman
Composed By – Alain Boublil, Daniel Boublil
Lyrics By – Joost Timp, Will Hoebee
Music By – ABBA, Bjorn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, Stig Anderson
Producers – Joost Timp, Will Hoebee
Vocals – Benny Neyman (tracks: B4 to B6), Bianca Folkers (tracks: A2, A3, B6), Bonnie St. Claire (tracks: B5, B6), Joost Timp (tracks: A3, A4, B2), José Hoebee (tracks: A2, A6, B6), Marga Scheide (tracks: A1, B1, B4, B6), Nancy Dubbeldam (tracks: A2, A3, B6), Nico Haak (tracks: A2, B6), Peter Koelewijn (tracks: B1), Ron Brandsteder (tracks: A1, A4, B2, B3, B6), Werner Duijn (tracks: B2, B5, B6), Willem Duijn (tracks: A2, A5, B6)
Recorded at Wisseloord Studios, Hilversum, the Netherlands.
Poster promoting the Dutch AbbaCaDaBra album
Articles published in late 1984 and early 1985 announcing the Dutch version of AbbaCaDaBra:
Click on the images to enlarge them:
Dutch ABBA Fan Club Magazine (1985)
Story - 1984
Algemeen Dagblad - December 7th, 1984
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Het Vrije Volk - December 7th, 1984
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Het Parool - December 13th, 1984
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Algemeen Dagblad - December 20th, 1984
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Ad for TROS Kompas in De Telegraaf - March 13th, 1985
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Trouw - March 15th, 1985
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Het Vrije Volk - March 15th, 1985
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Leeuwarder Courant - March 15th, 1985
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Algemeen Dagblad - March 16th, 1985
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Limburgsch dagblad- March 16th, 1985
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De Telegraaf - March 16th, 1985
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TROS/Nederland 2 broadcast the musical on March 16th, 1985. Rien van Wijk directed it and Jef Nassenstein produced it for John de Mol Productions. Willem Duijn (who took part in the recording of the album and played the role of Alladin) did not appear on TV and was replaced by Joost Timp.
TROS/Nederland 1 reran AbbaCaDaBra on April 3rd, 1985 as part of the program Tijd Voor Marijke.
José as Snow White
Marga as Carabosse
AbbaCaDaBra on TROS (1985)
The Portuguese version (1984)
The musical was also adapted in Portuguese.
AbbaCaDaBra on Portuguese TV
In late 2023, Bobby’s Brother's YouTube channel explored ABBAcadabra's history, mentioning all the versions of the musical.
ABBA's Forgotten Musical – "ABBAcadabra" (1983) | History
Source: Marco Rens, Discogs.com, Wikipedia, Beeld en Geluid, YouTube, KinderTV.net, Delpher.nl, De Krant van Toen, Philippe Benabes, Raffem.com, YouTube
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