ABBA Return to UK Singles Chart

People look at the screen, at the ABBA Voyage event at Grona Lund, in Stockholm, Sweden, Thursday, Sept. 2, 2021. (Fredrik Persson/TT News Agency via AP)
People look at the screen, at the ABBA Voyage event at Grona Lund, in Stockholm, Sweden, Thursday, Sept. 2, 2021. (Fredrik Persson/TT News Agency via AP)
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ABBA Return to UK Singles Chart

People look at the screen, at the ABBA Voyage event at Grona Lund, in Stockholm, Sweden, Thursday, Sept. 2, 2021. (Fredrik Persson/TT News Agency via AP)
People look at the screen, at the ABBA Voyage event at Grona Lund, in Stockholm, Sweden, Thursday, Sept. 2, 2021. (Fredrik Persson/TT News Agency via AP)

For the first time in 40 years, ABBA are heading back to Britain's top 10 singles chart after thrilling fans with plans for a new album and virtual concert.

Two singles released by the Swedish group from their upcoming album "Voyage" sit at numbers six and seven, based on preliminary CD and vinyl sales and on streaming data, the Official Charts Company said on Sunday.

"I Still Have Faith In You" ranks higher thanks to more physical sales so far, while "Don't Shut Me Down" is Britain's most downloaded song this week. Both songs have been streamed over 500,000 times.

The full chart comes out next Friday, and the tracks will mark ABBA's first appearance in the UK top 10 for singles since "One Of Us" in December 1981, according to the company.

ABBA have notched up over 400 million album sales over 50 years despite parting ways in 1982 and resolutely resisting all offers to work together again -- until now.

The band announced their comeback on Thursday. The album is due to be released on November 5, and the London gig featuring their digital avatars is expected in May 2022.

ABBA are not the only throwback in this week's UK top 10. Elton John features as a lead artist for the first time in almost 20 years with "Cold Heart (Pnau Remix)", a collaboration with Dua Lipa.



Slovakia Festival Hosting Kanye West Cancelled after 'Heil Hitler' Furore

Kanye West's song 'Heil Hitler' ends with a speech by the Nazi leader. KEVORK DJANSEZIAN / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP
Kanye West's song 'Heil Hitler' ends with a speech by the Nazi leader. KEVORK DJANSEZIAN / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP
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Slovakia Festival Hosting Kanye West Cancelled after 'Heil Hitler' Furore

Kanye West's song 'Heil Hitler' ends with a speech by the Nazi leader. KEVORK DJANSEZIAN / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP
Kanye West's song 'Heil Hitler' ends with a speech by the Nazi leader. KEVORK DJANSEZIAN / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP

The Slovakia festival due to welcome Kanye West next week has called off the event following the uproar over the US rapper's May release of a song glorifying Nazi leader Adolf Hitler.

Before the July 20 gig was cancelled, Bratislava's Rubicon hip hop festival was set to be West's only confirmed live performance in Europe this year.

Though he has won 24 Grammy Awards over the course of his career, the erratic rapper has become notorious in recent years for his increasingly antisemitic and hate-filled rants.

West, who has legally changed his name to the shorthand "Ye", released the song "Heil Hitler" on May 8, the 80th anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II.

In the wake of the announcement of West's appearance at Rubicon, thousands of people signed a petition against the gig.

The rapper -- a vocal supporter of US President Donald Trump -- is "repeatedly and openly adhering to symbols and ideology connected with the darkest period of modern global history", two groups behind the petition said.

In a statement on Instagram late on Wednesday, the festival's organizers said the decision to cancel the event was "due to media pressure and the withdrawal of several artists and partners".

"This was not an easy decision," the organizers said, without drawing a direct line between the rapper's planned appearance and the cancellations.

Contacted on Thursday by AFP, the Rubicon festival did not offer further explanations.

Styling itself as the central European country's premier hip hop hang-out, the Rubicon festival was set to run from July 18 to 20.

US rappers Offset and Sheck Wes were set to share top billing with West.

Australia cancelled West's visa on July 2 over "Heil Hitler", in which West raps about his custody battle with ex-wife Kim Kardashian before the song ends with an extract of a speech by the Nazi dictator.

West's wife, Bianca Censori, is Australian.