ABBA’s record label, Universal Music, said in a statement that the band members ask that US Republican presidential candidate no longer use their music at his campaign events, and take down recent online videos of events where he had done so.
“Together with the members of , we have discovered that videos have been released where ABBA’s music has been used at Trump events, and we have therefore requested that such use be immediately removed and taken down,” Universal Music said in a statement.
It said no permission or license for the songs’ usage had been granted.
Swedish newspaper Svenska Dagbladet had filed a correspondent’s report from a July 27 event in Minnesota, where ABBA hits including “The Winner Takes It All,” “Money, Money, Money” and “Dancing Queen” were played, accompanied by videos.
Minnesota is well known for its large community with Swedish roots, who make up an estimated 7% of the swing state’s population, the highest total and the highest proportion in any US state.
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ABBA, a label rooted in the four band members’ first names — Agnetha, Bjorn, Benni and Anni-Frid — is surely ‘s best known modern cultural export and was among the leading lights of the disco and pop scene until the band broke up in 1982.
Reuters news agency reported that the band members declined to comment further, but that their spokesman said they fully supported their record label’s statement.
A series of musicians have taken similar steps, asking the Trump campaign not to use their music, .
These include, but are by no means limited to, ABBA, Beyonce, Bruce Springsteen, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Earth, Wind and Fire, the Foo Fighters, Guns’N’Roses, , Ozzy Osbourne, R.E.M., Sinead O’Connor, Rihanna, the Rolling Stones, Tom Petty (or rather his surviving relatives), the Village People and The White Stripes.
msh/nm (AFP, Reuters)
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