How ILM created ABBAtars

I rarely write about pop music acts, but when ABBA and Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) join forces for the beloved bands' virtual tour, Voyage, I'm going to take notice!

ILM's visual effects wizards are synonymous with Star Wars (George Lucas founded the company to work on the original movie).

Now ILM's de-ageing Benny, Björn, Agnetha and Anni-Frid as ABBAtars for a concert tour beginning in spring 2022. There's a TRON: Legacy/Daft Punk vibe and a friend suggested they could transform into Star Wars' Stormtroopers during Super Trouper!



“They got on a stage in front of 160 cameras and almost as many genius [digital] artists, and performed every song in this show to perfection, capturing every mannerism, every emotion, the soul of their beings — so that becomes the great magic of this endeavour. It is not four people pretending to be ABBA: It is actually them,” explained producer Ludvig Andersson.

Four of ILM’s five global studios are working on the project, revealed Ben Morris, ILM’s creative director. “The team size is certainly somewhere between 500 and a thousand artists working on the project around the world,” he added.

I'll always associate ABBA with Christmas 1979 when my parents bought a new Panasonic record player with a built-in Dolby "B" tape recorder and a vinyl box set of their hit singles, which we still own in mum's memory.

Are you booking tickets for ABBA Voyage? Let me know in the comments below.