ABBA's bond is closer than ever before

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ABBA are closer than ever before since coming together to record their new songs.

The 'Dancing Queen' hitmakers surprised fans last April, when they announced they had been in the studio for the first time since in 37 years and were set to release new tracks 'I Still Have Faith In You' and 'Don't Shut Me Down' - their first new music since 1982.

Band member Bjorn Ulvaeus says seeing his bandmates - Agnetha Faltskog, Benny Andersson and Frida Lyngstad - at work again, only "strengthens and solidifies" their "bond".

In an interview with The Sun newspaper, he said: "Coming together like that, for me at least, strengthens and solidifies and confirms our bond.

"And especially when the ladies went into the studio and stood by their mics and started singing, then, oh, it's that sound -- the ­quality of the two ladies when they sing."

The 'Waterloo' group went their separate ways in 1982 at the height of their career, and during their final years Bjorn, 74, divorced bandmate Agnetha, 69, whilst Benny, 72, and Frida, 73, split up, too.

Bjorn admitted that their reunion is proof of "two former married couples getting along very well".

However, he insisted that he still believes they would have disbanded whether they were still in couples or not.

He said: "We could never have just gone on with ABBA having one hit every five years or so. No! It was never in the cards."

The Swedish superstars - who shot to fame after winning 'The Eurovision Song Contest' in 1974 - will be giving fans the chance to see their biggest hits and new songs performed on their digital tour by computer-generated 'Abbatars', but Bjorn has said

the much-delayed new music won't be released until 2020 now, due to the complex technical nature of the show they are creating.

Speaking about Agnetha and Frida's involvement, he said: "They are very much involved and they think this is great. They love it. Technically it is very advanced and complicated."

ABBA were one of the most commercially successful acts in pop music, topping the charts worldwide, but Bjorn previously admitted "you never know" when you are onto a hit.

He said: "The thing is you never know. I mean in our heyday we kind of knew the next single would be played and so forth, but we never knew if it was going to reach number one, if people would like it. It's easy to forget that there is a before, and in the 'before' you don't know. You take a risk and that's what I still do."

ABBA's music went on to feature in two blockbuster musical movies, 2008's 'Mamma! Mia' and last year's ' Mamma! Mia: Here We Go Again'.