Okay, we already have our reservations about watching a ghostly holographic recreation of a band or artist who have passed away, but there’s something even more ridiculously cynical about a hologram tour of a band who still actually exist on this planet.
That’s exactly what the iconic ABBA are about to do, however, with News Corp reporting that the Swedish pop four-piece are headed to Australia in virtual form soon, allowing them to soak up some sweet touring income without leaving the house.
The tour is set to hit Australia in the dystopian future of 2019, plucking the vocals from live recordings and layering them over a real live band, with the ABBA members projected out the front.
While it sounds like some kind of April Fool’s joke or satirical headline, it’s actually happening, and Benny Andersson seems happy about the result. He also thinks they might be ahead of the curve here, potentially kicking off a whole new stream of touring revenue for artists who are too old, busy or lazy to make it all the way to remote destinations like Australia.
“It’s perfect. We can be on stage while I’m home walking the dogs,” he tells News Corp. “I don’t have to leave my house.
“If this really works there’ll be a lot of artists wanting to do the same thing, even artists who are still young and still touring. It’s a very interesting project.”
Hey, at this point people in Perth who are sick of missing out on international headline tours are probably thinking “better than nothing”, but it would be a serious worry if this took off to the point that artists started sending their virtual clones over to keep us happy rather than making the trip for themselves.
Late Black Sabbath/Heaven and Hell frontman Ronnie James Dio – or rather, his widow – is currently planning a hologram tour of the world, and Prince’s family have also said that The Purple One might be brought back in virtual form if the technology was convincing enough.
As for ABBA, though? They haven’t toured for decades, but we still reckon that if they want to earn a few extra touring dollars they sh0uld pile onto a private jet and do it in person.
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