Abba – The Last Video

The dolls in the film were created by Jim Henson’s Creature Shop. The late Jim Henson was of course the brain behind the muppets used in Sesame Street and The Muppet Show. Today, his groundbreaking puppet work lives on in the company that bears his name. British comedian Rik Mayall, who sprang to fame in the 1980s television series The Young Ones, plays the record company mogul. The live cast otherwise consists of Swedish actors, most of whom are very famous in their home country.

Shooting of the main scenes took place in March 2004, at Independent Studios, south of Stockholm. “It was especially convenient to do the filming in a place that wasn’t too centrally located; it made it easier to keep the project a secret,” notes Calle Åstrand. Björn, Benny and Agnetha all visited the studios to film their cameo parts in the video. However, Frida was unable to fit a Stockholm visit into her schedule at the time of the main filming, so her scenes were shot in London in April, around the time of the celebrations for the 5th anniversary of the Mamma Mia! musical. But with the aid of a little technical trickery, Agnetha and Frida are actually seen together in the same shot – the first such picture to reach the public in almost two decades. ‘Our Last Video Ever’ otherwise marks the first time that all four members appear in the same film since the 1999 documentary The Winner Takes It All – The ABBA Story.

Other cameo contributions in the video come from some very famous names. “Björn thought it would be fun to have a few more ‘extras’ in the film, other than the ABBA members themselves, watching the band’s audition for the record company boss,” explains Calle Åstrand. The result was that we now see Cher and infamous Iron Maiden “member”, Eddie – himself a doll – in the video.