Are Björn and Benny aware of how the unreleased recordings that have surfaced on bootlegs were sneaked out of Polar, and who was responsible for circulating them?
I actually think that none of the tapes were ever “sneaked” out of Polar. I believe the main sources have been radio broadcasts (Dream World, the full length version of Summer Night City, Wembley live tracks, etc.), television broadcasts (Does Your Mother Know, Hovas vittne, Dick Cavett live tracks, etc.), film (live tracks from ABBA The Movie), and audience recordings (I Am An A, I’m Still Alive, etc.). The only other major sources were the tapes that started circulating among collectors when Björn’s car was stolen (1981/82 outtakes) – this story has sometimes been presented as a “rumour”, but Björn confirmed to me that it did indeed happen. I also understand that one or two tracks may have been given in good faith to friends by people within the ABBA camp, or to people at the many record companies that released their music around the world. Inadvertently or not, these tapes have since ended up on bootlegs.
