ABBA to sue Danish far-Right party for using ‘Mamma Mia’ as rally song
By ANIFriday, September 24, 2010
LONDON - Swedish pop group ABBA is set to sue the leader of a Danish far-Right party for using their hit song ‘Mamma Mia’ in a rally.
Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus, from the band, decided to take legal action when the youth wing of the anti-immigrant Danish People’s Party changed the words of the song, without permission.
The young Dansk Folkeparti (DF) activists changed the words ‘Mamma Mia’ to Mamma Pia, and sang the new lyrics to the original’s tune during a send off party for their female leader Pia Kj�rsgaard.
The activists sang: “Mamma Pia - you’re on TV, DF - will be promoted. Mamma Pia - you check it out, DF - vision you have handled. All the hard arguments - as a miracle-maker.”
“Firstly, you cannot just rewrite songs as you like and secondly we want them to understand that we have absolutely no interest in supporting their party,” the Telegraph quoted Andersson as saying.
“Abba never allows its music to be used in a political context. This is something that we have pointed out to the Danish People’s Party,” he stated.
The ABBA members had found out about the illicit use of their song when a Left-wing Danish activist wrote to them asking if they were backers of the far-right party.
Andersson, 63, and Ulvaeus, 65, have now instructed their record company Universal to pursue legal action against the Danish People’s Party. (ANI)