{"id":8862,"date":"2018-04-11T19:30:37","date_gmt":"2018-04-12T00:30:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/legendsrevealed.com\/entertainment\/?p=8862"},"modified":"2018-04-11T20:53:31","modified_gmt":"2018-04-12T01:53:31","slug":"abba-billion-dollar-concert-offer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/legendsrevealed.com\/entertainment\/2018\/04\/11\/abba-billion-dollar-concert-offer\/","title":{"rendered":"Did ABBA Really Turn Down a Billion Dollar Concert Offer?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Here is the latest in a series of examinations into urban legends about music and whether they are true or false. Click <a href=\"http:\/\/legendsrevealed.com\/entertainment\/category\/music-legends-revealed\/\">here<\/a> to view an archive of the movie urban legends featured so far.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><span style=\"font-weight: bold\">MUSIC URBAN LEGEND<\/span><\/span>: ABBA turned down a billion dollar concert tour. <\/p>\n<p>Longtime reader Jumborg Ace wrote in to ask, &#8220;Is it true that a few (maybe a lot of) years ago that ABBA was offered 1 BILLION<br \/>\ndollars to do 1 concert AND they turned it down? I though I heard that but maybe it was just a radio joke.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Well, the answer to your very specific question is no. They were never offered that much money for one single show.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/legendsrevealed.com\/entertainment\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/abba-band-375x188.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"375\" height=\"188\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-8865\" srcset=\"https:\/\/legendsrevealed.com\/entertainment\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/abba-band-375x188.jpg 375w, https:\/\/legendsrevealed.com\/entertainment\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/abba-band-768x384.jpg 768w, https:\/\/legendsrevealed.com\/entertainment\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/abba-band-515x258.jpg 515w, https:\/\/legendsrevealed.com\/entertainment\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/abba-band.jpg 980w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 375px) 100vw, 375px\" \/><iframe style=\"width:120px;height:240px;\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" src=\"\/\/ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com\/widgets\/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&#038;OneJS=1&#038;Operation=GetAdHtml&#038;MarketPlace=US&#038;source=ac&#038;ref=qf_sp_asin_til&#038;ad_type=product_link&#038;tracking_id=legenrevea-20&#038;marketplace=amazon&#038;region=US&#038;placement=B004DBAUBQ&#038;asins=B004DBAUBQ&#038;linkId=d28957749cfe40f0bbb9ceb9f59e530b&#038;show_border=true&#038;link_opens_in_new_window=true&#038;price_color=333333&#038;title_color=0066c0&#038;bg_color=ffffff\">    <\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>However, the full answer is closer to true than you would expect!<br \/>\n<!--more--><\/p>\n<p>ABBA was a band that was made up of two married couples, Benny Andersson and Anni-Frid Lyngstad and Bj\u00f6rn Ulvaeus and Agnetha F\u00e4ltskog. Their first initials in their first names led to ABBA. They last toured in 1982. The couples both divorced, but it seems that it was more that Andersson and Ulvaeus just got caught up in writing musicals, like Chess and Mamma Mia.<\/p>\n<p>Mamma Mia has made over $2 billion as a musical and was also a blockbuster movie, with a soundtrack by ABBA&#8230;<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/legendsrevealed.com\/entertainment\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/mamma-mia-movie-375x535.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"375\" height=\"535\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-8866\" srcset=\"https:\/\/legendsrevealed.com\/entertainment\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/mamma-mia-movie-375x535.jpg 375w, https:\/\/legendsrevealed.com\/entertainment\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/mamma-mia-movie-768x1095.jpg 768w, https:\/\/legendsrevealed.com\/entertainment\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/mamma-mia-movie-515x734.jpg 515w, https:\/\/legendsrevealed.com\/entertainment\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/mamma-mia-movie.jpg 1000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 375px) 100vw, 375px\" \/><iframe style=\"width:120px;height:240px;\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" src=\"\/\/ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com\/widgets\/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&#038;OneJS=1&#038;Operation=GetAdHtml&#038;MarketPlace=US&#038;source=ac&#038;ref=qf_sp_asin_til&#038;ad_type=product_link&#038;tracking_id=legenrevea-20&#038;marketplace=amazon&#038;region=US&#038;placement=B001BWDG0W&#038;asins=B001BWDG0W&#038;linkId=39babab3e5db868d89d18754ab14e533&#038;show_border=true&#038;link_opens_in_new_window=true&#038;price_color=333333&#038;title_color=0066c0&#038;bg_color=ffffff\">    <\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>So they never got back together.<\/p>\n<p>However, they had some crazy offers over the years. In 2000, they were offered $1 billion in U.S. dollars from a British-American consortium to do an extensive tour, 250 dates in 100 cities, but the group turned it down. That was never an official offer, just what their agent told them, but it doesn&#8217;t sound that outrageous to see them be offered $4 million per concert. They would easily sell out 50,000 seat arenas. You charge $200 per ticket and that&#8217;s $10 million per show. <\/p>\n<p>U2 has the highest-grossing tour of all-time, their 2009-11 tour of 110 shows. They took in $736,421,584 at the time. So imagine doubling that total, which you figure they would easily do (first ABBA tour in thirty years?!) and they could easily take in $1.5 billion, netting the consortium a good-sized profit. <\/p>\n<p>Anyhow, the tour seemed too grueling, so they said no. <\/p>\n<p>In 2016, they did a quick mini-concert to celebrate their 50th anniversary as a group. <\/p>\n<p>They&#8217;re currently planning some sort of odd hologram\/virtual live tour where they won&#8217;t have to actually tour. <\/p>\n<p>The legend is&#8230;<\/p>\n<p><u><span style=\"font-weight: bold\">STATUS<\/span><\/u>: False as to the specific question, but mostly True. <\/p>\n<p>Thanks to Jumborg Ace for the suggestion!<\/p>\n<p>Feel free (heck, I implore you!) to write in with your suggestions for future urban legends columns! My e-mail address is &#x62;&#x63;&#x72;&#x6f;&#x6e;&#x69;&#x6e;&#x40;&#x6c;&#x65;&#x67;&#x65;&#x6e;&#x64;&#x73;&#x72;&#x65;&#x76;&#x65;&#x61;&#x6c;&#x65;&#x64;&#x2e;&#x63;&#x6f;&#x6d;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Did ABBA really turn $1 billion to do a reunion tour?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8864,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_options":[]},"categories":[9],"tags":[2330,2331],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/legendsrevealed.com\/entertainment\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/abba-2016.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7MjBq-2iW","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":4822,"url":"https:\/\/legendsrevealed.com\/entertainment\/2013\/06\/14\/did-salman-rushdie-secretly-live-in-bonos-guest-house-in-ireland-for-four-years\/","url_meta":{"origin":8862,"position":0},"title":"Did Salman Rushdie Secretly Live in Bono&#8217;s Guest House in Ireland for Four Years?","date":"June 14, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Here is the latest in a series of examinations into urban legends about music and whether they are true or false. Click here to view an archive of the music urban legends featured so far. MUSIC URBAN LEGEND: Salman Rushdie secretly lived in Bono's guest house in Ireland for four\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Music Legends Revealed&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":4329,"url":"https:\/\/legendsrevealed.com\/entertainment\/2013\/01\/24\/did-carly-simon-auction-off-the-identity-of-who-youre-so-vain-was-about-for-50000\/","url_meta":{"origin":8862,"position":1},"title":"Did Carly Simon Auction Off the Identity of Who &#8220;You&#8217;re So Vain&#8221; Was About for $50,000?","date":"January 24, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Here is the latest in a series of examinations into urban legends about music and whether they are true or false. Click here to view an archive of the music urban legends featured so far. MUSIC URBAN LEGEND: Carly Simon auctioned off the identity of who \"You're So Vain\" was\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Music Legends Revealed&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":6121,"url":"https:\/\/legendsrevealed.com\/entertainment\/2015\/08\/10\/did-chuck-norris-turn-down-the-karate-kid-because-it-dishonored-karate\/","url_meta":{"origin":8862,"position":2},"title":"Did Chuck Norris Turn Down the Karate Kid Because it Dishonored Karate?","date":"August 10, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Here is the latest in a series of examinations into urban legends about movies and whether they are true or false. Click here to view an archive of the Movie urban legends featured so far. MOVIE URBAN LEGEND: Chuck Norris turned down The Karate Kid. When it comes to legends,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Movie Legends Revealed&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"kreesejohnny","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/legendsrevealed.com\/entertainment\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/kreesejohnny.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":7794,"url":"https:\/\/legendsrevealed.com\/entertainment\/2016\/04\/15\/did-ascap-threaten-to-sue-the-girl-scouts-over-campfire-songs\/","url_meta":{"origin":8862,"position":3},"title":"Did ASCAP Threaten to Sue the Girl Scouts Over Campfire Songs?","date":"April 15, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Here is the latest in a series of examinations into urban legends about music and whether they are true or false. Click here to view an archive of the movie urban legends featured so far. MUSIC URBAN LEGEND: ASCAP tried to have the Girl Scouts pay for copyrighted songs performed\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Music Legends Revealed&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"obamagirlscouts","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/legendsrevealed.com\/entertainment\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/obamagirlscouts-515x343.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":7062,"url":"https:\/\/legendsrevealed.com\/entertainment\/2015\/08\/12\/did-dexys-midnight-runners-hire-their-violinist-after-seeing-her-at-a-bus-stop\/","url_meta":{"origin":8862,"position":4},"title":"Did Dexy&#8217;s Midnight Runners Hire Their Violinist After Seeing Her at a Bus Stop?","date":"August 12, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Here is the latest in a series of examinations into urban legends about music and whether they are true or false. Click here to view an archive of the movie urban legends featured so far. MUSIC URBAN LEGEND:Helen O'Hara was hired by Dexy's Midnight Runners after the lead singer of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Music Legends Revealed&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":5862,"url":"https:\/\/legendsrevealed.com\/entertainment\/2014\/02\/13\/was-monopoly-once-ruled-a-generic-term-and-thus-not-protected-by-trademark\/","url_meta":{"origin":8862,"position":5},"title":"Was Monopoly Once Ruled a Generic Term and Thus Not Protected by Trademark?","date":"February 13, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Here is the latest in a series of examinations into urban legends related to board games and whether they are true or false. Click here for an archive of all board game urban legends so far. BOARD GAME URBAN LEGEND: Monopoly was once ruled a generic term and un-trademarkable. As\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Board Game Legends Revealed&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/legendsrevealed.com\/entertainment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8862"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/legendsrevealed.com\/entertainment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/legendsrevealed.com\/entertainment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/legendsrevealed.com\/entertainment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/legendsrevealed.com\/entertainment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8862"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/legendsrevealed.com\/entertainment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8862\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8870,"href":"https:\/\/legendsrevealed.com\/entertainment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8862\/revisions\/8870"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/legendsrevealed.com\/entertainment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8864"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/legendsrevealed.com\/entertainment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8862"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/legendsrevealed.com\/entertainment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8862"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/legendsrevealed.com\/entertainment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8862"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}