ABBAWORLD, the spectacular, touring interactive exhibition of all things Swedish supergroup, opened in Melbourne’s Federation Square on Saturday 19 June 2010 with a blazing buildup of publicity and anticipation – Melbourne only the second city (after London) in the world to host this unique exhibition.

And, with Benny’s express permission, ABBA: Let The Music Speak is a part of the ABBAWORLD experience! A thoroughly delighted Chris was in Melbourne for the official opening (accompanied by good friend and mentor Judith Durham), and all the events of the preview week, and has been talking himself hoarse doing media interviews around the country, as well as catching up with friends and fellow ‘ABBAficionados’.

PHOTO: Christopher Patrick with Ingmarie Halling,
Curator of the ABBAWORLD Touring Exhibition.

‘‘We have good memories from Australia and Melbourne in particular, where we received an enthusiastic welcome by thousands of fans at the Town Hall,’’ says Agnetha Fältskog. ‘‘ABBAWORLD makes it possible to relive the past in ways we never thought possible and it will be great to see the fans enjoy this unique exhibition,’’ she said, in a statement on the exhibition’s website.

ABBAWORLD will be open in Melbourne, its only Australian visit, beyond its initial slot of mid-August, now said to be through to October 2010. More information about this fabulous multimedia slice of musical history, including ticket bookings, can be found (HERE).

Download Chris’ ABBAWORLD media release PDF (HERE)

ABBAWORLD MEDIA BLITZ
CHRIS-CROSSING THE COUNTRY!
Thursday 17 June saw Chris in Melbourne, talking to Darwin (ABC Local Radio) and ultimately to Sweden, recording an interview with ABBA biographer Carl Magnus Palm for an upcoming project. Previously, Chris conducted an interview with The Sydney Morning Herald which appeared in that paper’s “The Diary” section” that day, which you can read (HERE) by scrolling down to (STAY IN TOUCH ... WITH ABBA’S SECRETS)

Friday 18th you couldn’t wake in Brisbane or Melbourne without hearing Chris giving Spencer Howson a live update on 612 ABC, closely followed by an interested chat with no less than 774’s Red Symons, and you can listen to both on-air segments (HERE).

Over the weekend, local-boy-made-famous Chris received plaudits from the Gold Coast Bulletin, then Monday 21st opened with a revisit with Adelaide’s popular breakfast pair, the Bald Bros, on 891 ABC, and then it was off to ABBAWORLD to film a story for the Channel Seven network’s “Today Tonight” TV program, with more radio the next day (2GB Sydney) and a major promotion on Channel Ten’s morning TV show “The Circle” to follow.

ORDERS
REDUCED POSTAGE/HANDLING COSTS

• New Zealand AU$20.00
• Asia/Pacific AU$25.00
• USA/Canada AU$30.00
• Europe/rest AU$35.00

You don’t have to visit ABBAWORLD in Melbourne to buy a copy signed by Chris, just visit the “BUY THE BOOK NOW” page.

MEDIA
WEEKDAY MORNING ABBA WAKEUPS END WITH A RATINGS BLAST ON
612 ABC BRISBANE RADIO!!!
Over the course of more than 100 weekday mornings in the first half of 2009, listeners of top-rating Spencer Howson’s breakfast radio show have enjoyed a daily journey with he and Chris through the entire ABBA album catalogue – including the B-sides, demos and even the lesser-known Spanish variations!

All good things must, however, come to an end and on Friday 26 June this marvellous series concluded with “Story Of A Heart” – a brand-new song written by Benny and Bjorn in 2009, and their first pop tune in many years – following the broadcast the previous morning of the final ABBA song ever recorded: the atmospheric “The Day Before You Came” live from the Brisbane River on the pre-retirement cruise of the Moreton Bay cruising icon “MV Miramar”.

As Spencer said to Chris very soon afterwards … “In case you haven't heard, 612 Breakfast is #1 again in the latest ratings released today. We were joint #1 at the start of the year … to be #1 CLEAR is something we're mighty proud of and we couldn't have achieved it without your contributions every single day!!”

Thanks to Spencer and the team at ABC Radio Brisbane for taking such an imaginative and innovative approach to this important piece of musical history – it’s been a tremendously entertaining ride, and it seems that Spencer’s listeners were well and truly along for it, given the speed and enthusiasm with which 10 successful callers in the final weeks correctly answered Chris’ set questions to win themselves a signed copy of the book!

Please see the “MEDIA” news section below for a further update on Chris’ demonstrated contributions to 612 ABC’s breakfast success, and click on
MORE REVIEWS to read what one avid listener was moved to fax in to Spencer at the end of the season, and which he read out on-air during the penultimate program!

NATIONAL TV APPEARANCE ON “THE MORNING SHOW”
Australian TV audiences tuned in to a fun segment on Friday 24 April 2009, when Chris was interviewed on Channel 7’s “The Morning Show” by regular host Kylie Higgins and special guest presenter Shane (“Kenny the plumber”) Jacobsen, who had obviously put a lot of rehearsal work into their cute “Mamma Mia”-like introduction.

(f you want to know what we’re talking about, have a look at the clip someone has posted on YouTube HERE!)

BALD BREAKFAST IMPRESSIONS ON 891 ABC ADELAIDE RADIO
In the last week of April 2009, South Australian listeners were treated to five even more lively mornings than usual from presenters Tony and John (aptly-named The Bald Brothers), as they indulged their passion for ABBA’s music with a succession of on-air interviews with Chris.

REMINISCING WITH PETER DICK ON BRISBANE’s RADIO 4BC
On Monday 20 April, Chris joined veteran announcer Peter Dick on air for a morning chat about the book and some lively recollections of ABBA’s phenomenal tour of Australia in March 1977 … including the unfortunately vain but nonetheless passionate attempts to have the group include Brisbane in their itinerary.

OTHER PRINT MEDIA
Since the initial reviews and reports in Brisbane press, a wide range of print media has picked up on the book, either with further reviews or interviews with Chris, including mastheads as diverse as Sydney’s “Sun-Herald” weekly mainstream newspaper and Melbourne’s “Southern Star” and Sydney’s “Star Observer” gay newspapers.

If you’ve been wanting a copy of this world’s-first look at the music of ABBA, now there’s even more reason to visit the “BUY THE BOOK NOW” page!

PROMOTION
LITERARY LUNCHEONS WITH THE AUTHOR
Following the official launch of ABBA: Let The Music Speak on Benny’s birthday, 16 December 2008, in Brisbane, the very lovely Janene and Mary of Marks & Gardner’s “Gallery and Secret Garden” on Mount Tamborine in the beautiful “green behind the gold” hinterland of the Gold Coast, south of Brisbane, hosted not one but two pleasantly successful ‘meet the author’ events at their picturesque venue.

The first ‘soiree’ was held five days after the official launch in Brisbane, on 21 December 2008, with a follow-up event on Sunday 15 February 2009 to cater for interested attendees who were already on their Christmas holidays at the time of the launch. The latter event featured a bonus attendance by guest compere and renowned entertainer Simon Gallaher, who hosted Chris through a highly informative Q&A session with the audience on, no less, than the morning after the closing of the hugely-successful 16-week run of the ABBA MANIA production at Conrad Jupiter’s Casino on the Gold Coast (in which Chris played cello as part of the backing orchestra).

Chris and his team would like to thank Janene and Mary ~ and Simon ~ for their enthusiastic support of his publishing efforts, and let visitors to this site know that, if you are ever in Southeast Queensland, you should make the effort to spend a day visiting the “magic mountain” (Tamborine) and call in to the Secret Garden on Main Western Road … if you can’t be tempted by the art, food, views or ambience, then at least you can pick up a copy of ABBA: Let The Music Speak!

Visit: www.marksandgardner.com for more details. Below, Mary and Janene, along with Chris (centre) and Simon (right) are seen at the second mountain literary event at Secret Garden Gallery.

NEW YEAR'S START
QUEENSLAND POPS ORCHESTRA’S NEW YEAR’S EVE SPECTACULAR
In an annual tradition now rivalling the best of British and Viennese New Year’s Pops concerts, the QPO turned on another pair of stellar performances on 31 December 2008 at Brisbane’s QPAC at South Bank on the river, under the tutelage of the the esteemed Barrie Gott.

As well as wowing the capacity crowds during the afternoon and evening sell-out sessions, Barrie and his QPO compatriots managed to give Chris’ book a resounding “plug” during each peformance, and the event’s souvenir program contains a lasting testimony to long-standing member Chris’ surprising talents with both bow and keyboard.

(For more information about the QPO and their forthcoming program during 2009, please visit www.popsorchestra.com.au

ABBA MANIA SEASON ENDS ON THE GOLD COAST
SPECTACULAR AUSTRALIAN SEASON ECLIPSED ONLY BY LONDON WEST END RUN!
18 weeks in London – or 16 weeks on Queensland’s beautiful Gold Coast – who would “call” those odds …? Certainly not the promoters and cast (least of all Chris and his fellow musos and performers) who enjoyed a near-sellout season of ABBA MANIA at Conrad Jupiter’s Casino at Broadbeach.

From the opening hoots and cheers on 28 October 2008 to the last-night, foot-stamping, audience-screaming crowd on Valentine’s Day 14 February 2009, this was a performance season unlikely to be truly replicated by anything short of a live reunion performance by the original ABBA members … and there, throughout it all was Chris in the orchestral backup and – on many times more than one occasion! – his production editor and many, many enthusiastic ABBA fans and Let The Music Speak readers!

Despite their length of time spent on tour away from home, it was clear that many of the show’s cast were facing the end of their time “Down Under” with increasing sadness at the prospect of their imminent departure, and Chris and the team can only echo the sentiments of the thousands of rapt fans who fell under the spell of the stage show during its four-month run, and look forward to the day of the return season.

LAUNCH A STUNNING SUCCESS!
On the remarkable coincidence of Benny’s 62nd birthday ~ 16 December ~ around 150 invited guests and their families packed into The Queensland Orchestra’s West End studios in Brisbane to celebrate the launch of ABBA : LET THE MUSIC SPEAK on a balmy, storm-free, summer’s evening overlooking the Brisbane River.

Bubbles and nibbles flowed and mingled as easily as did our VIP guests ~ our very gracious compere, 4MBS Classic FM’s Howard Ainsworth, and our VIP guest speaker, Judith Durham from Australia’s own music phenomenon The Seekers, were a smash hit with the crowd.

But no-one and nothing could overshadow the enormous pleasure and sense of achievement of author Chris Patrick and his landmark literary debut, a moment shared by proud parents Robin and Nick Patrick and sister Fiona, accompanied by best wishes from brother Cam in the USA who couldn’t be with us.

Judith Durham’s biographer, Graham Simpson, provided some wonderful background on their connections with Chris, and on the origins of the book. Former high school mate and designer/production editor Matt Tesch painted some verbal pictures of the ‘birth’ and ‘delivery’ process. And Judith herself spoke delightfully of her musical time with The Seekers, their parallels with and influences to/from ABBA, and obviously derived immense pleasure in officially launching ABBA : LET THE MUSIC SPEAK to the acclaim of everyone present.

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