Hear ABBA’s Buoyant New Single ‘Just a Notion’
ABBA have released a new track, “Just a Notion.” The hopeful, upbeat song is the third single off the Swedish pop group’s upcoming album, Voyage.
“Wikipedia says this track was recorded in September 1978, which sounds about right,” band member Björn Ulvaeus said in a statement. “That puts it in between ABBA the Album and Voulez-Vous, and it would have been included in the latter had we not decided against it. Why did we decide against it? In hindsight, I don’t have a clue. It’s a good song with great vocals. I know that we played it to a publisher in France and a couple of other people we trusted and as far as I can remember they liked it very much. So it’s a mystery and will remain a mystery.”
He added, “Now Benny has recorded a new backing track to which we’ve added drums and guitars, but all vocals are from the original 1978 tracks. In a way, it demonstrates what we plan to do with ABBA Voyage in 2022. There, we will have a live band playing, but all vocals will be from the old recordings. ‘Just a Notion’ is a ridiculously happy song and hopefully, it will cheer you up in these dark times!”
Voyage, out November 6th, marks the band’s first time officially reuniting in 40 years. So far the group has shared two songs, the reflective ballad “I Still Have Faith In You” and the disco gem “Don’t Shut Me Down.”
ABBA will also perform a digital concert on May 27th, 2022 — which they first announced in 2016. Made through George Lucas’ Industry Light & Magic, Abba Voyage will take place at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park’s arena in London. General tickets are available on September 7th.
“It’s been a while since we made music together,” the band said in a statement. “Almost 40 years, actually. We took a break in the spring of 1982 and now we’ve decided it’s time to end it. They say it’s foolhardy to wait more than 40 years between albums, so we’ve recorded a follow-up to The Visitors. We simply call it Voyage and we’re truly sailing in uncharted waters.”
