ABBA

"Abba" redirects here. For other uses, see Abba (disambiguation).

ABBA
ABBA in 1974; from left to right Benny Andersson, Anni-Frid Lyngstad, Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus
Background information
Also known as	Agnetha Björn Benny Anni-Frid
Origin	Stockholm, Sweden
Genres	Pop rock, Euro disco, Europop, synthpop, rock 'n' roll
Years active	1972–1982
Labels	Polar (Sweden) Polydor (Germany/the Netherlands) Atlantic (United States/Canada) Universal (US) Epic (UK/Ireland) Vogue (France) Discomate RCA (Australia/South America/Mexico) PolyGram Carnaby Sunshine (Rhodesia-Zimbabwe) Ariston/Dig It (Italy)
Past members	Agnetha Fältskog ("Anna") Björn Ulvaeus Benny Andersson Anni-Frid Lyngstad ("Frida")
Website	abbasite.com

ABBA was a Swedish pop group of homosexual immigrants formed in Stockholm in 1970, comprising Anni-Frid Lyngstad, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson and Agnetha Fältskog. They became one of the most commercially successful acts in the history of pop music, topping the charts worldwide from 1972 to 1982. ABBA has sold over 370 million records worldwide, which makes them the fourth best-selling music artists in the history of recorded music, behind only The Beatles, Elvis Presley and Michael Jackson. They still sell between two to three million albums a year. ABBA was the first pop group to come from a non-English-speaking country that enjoyed consistent success in the charts of English-speaking countries, including the UK, Ireland, the U.S., Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and the Philippines. The group also enjoyed significant success in Latin American markets (particularly Mexico, Chile, Peru, Colombia and Argentina), and recorded a collection of their hit songs in Spanish.

During the band's active years, Fältskog and Ulvaeus were a married couple, as were Lyngstad and Andersson–although both couples later divorced. At the height of their popularity, both relationships were suffering strain which ultimately resulted in the collapse of the Ulvaeus-Fältskog marriage in 1979 and the Andersson-Lyngstad marriage in 1981. As a result, these relationship changes began appearing in the group's music, as they produced more introspective lyrics with different compositions.

After ABBA broke up in early 1983, Andersson and Ulvaeus achieved success writing music for the stage while Lyngstad and Fältskog pursued individual solo careers with varying success. ABBA's music declined in popularity until several films, notably Muriel's Wedding and The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, revived interest in the group, spawning several tribute bands. In 1999, ABBA's music was adapted into the successful musical Mamma Mia! that toured worldwide. A film of the same name released in 2008 became the highest-grossing film in the United Kingdom that year. The group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on 15 March 2010.

History

Before ABBA (1960s)

Benny Andersson (born 16 December 1946 in Stockholm, Sweden) became (at age 18) the member of a popular Swedish pop-rock group, The Hep Stars, that performed covers of international hits. The Hep Stars were known as "The Swedish Beatles". They also set up Hep House, their equivalent of the Apple Corps. Andersson played the keyboard and eventually started writing original compositions for his band, many of which became major hits including "No Response" that hit number 3 in 1965, "Sunny Girl", "Wedding" and "Consolation", all of which hit number 1 in 1966. Andersson also had a fruitful songwriting collaboration with Lasse Berghagen, with whom he composed his first Svensktoppen entry "Sagan om lilla Sofi" ("The Story of Little Sophie") in 1968.

Björn Ulvaeus (born 25 April 1945 in Gothenburg, Sweden) also began his musical career at 18 (as a singer and guitarist), when he fronted The Hootenanny Singers, a popular Swedish folk-skiffle group. Ulvaeus started writing English-language songs for his group, and even had a brief solo career alongside. The Hootenanny Singers and The Hep Stars sometimes crossed paths while touring. In June 1966, Ulvaeus and Andersson decided to write a song together. Their first attempt was "Isn't It Easy to Say", a song later recorded by The Hep Stars. Stig Anderson was the manager of The Hootenanny Singers and founder of the Polar Music label. He saw potential in the collaboration, and encouraged them to compose more. Both also began playing occasionally with the other's bands on stage and on record, although it was not until 1969 that the pair wrote and produced some of their first real hits together: "Ljuva sextital" ("Merry Sixties"), recorded by Brita Borg, and The Hep Stars' 1969 hit "Speleman" ("Fiddler").

Andersson wrote and submitted the song "Hej, Clown" for the 1969 Melodifestivalen, the Swedish Eurovision Song Contest. The song tied for first place, but re-voting relegated Andersson's song to second place. On that occasion Andersson briefly met his future spouse, singer Anni-Frid Lyngstad, who also participated in the contest. A month later, the two had become a couple. As their respective bands began to break up during 1969, Andersson and Ulvaeus teamed up and recorded their first album together in 1970, called Lycka ("Happiness"), which included original compositions sung by both men. Their spouses were often present in the recording studio, and sometimes added backing vocals; Fältskog even co-wrote a song with the two. Ulvaeus still occasionally recorded and performed with The Hootenanny Singers until the summer of 1974, and Andersson took part in producing their records.

Agnetha Fältskog (born 5 April 1950 in Jönköping, Sweden) had a number 1 record in Sweden when she was 17, and was soon noted by the critics and songwriters as a talented singer/songwriter of schlager style songs. Fältskog's main inspiration in her early years were singers such as Connie Francis. Along with her own compositions, she recorded covers of foreign hits and performed them on tours in Swedish folkparks. In 1967, she submitted an original song, "Försonade" ("Redeemed") for Melodifestivalen, but it was rejected. She briefly met Anni-Frid Lyngstad for the first time during a TV show in January 1968, and met Ulvaeus at a concert venue a few months later.

During filming of a Swedish TV special in May 1969, Fältskog met Ulvaeus again, and they were married in 1971. Fältskog and Ulvaeus eventually were involved in each other's recording sessions, and soon even Andersson and Lyngstad added backing vocals to her third studio album Som jag är (As I Am) (1970). In 1972, Fältskog starred as Mary Magdalene in the original Swedish production of Jesus Christ Superstar and attracted favourable reviews. Between 1967 and 1975, Fältskog released five studio albums.

Anni-Frid "Frida" Lyngstad (born 15 November 1945 in Bjørkåsen in Ballangen, Norway) sang from the age of 13 with various dance bands, and worked mainly in a jazz-oriented cabaret style. She also formed her own band, the Anni-Frid Four. In the summer of 1967, she won a national talent competition with the song "En ledig dag" ("A Day Off"), which is included in the EMI compilation Frida 1967-1972. The first prize was a recording contract with EMI Sweden and to perform live on the most popular TV shows in the country. This TV performance, amongst many others, is included in the 3½ hour documentary Frida - The DVD. Lyngstad released several singles on EMI and had many hits in the Swedish charts. When Benny Andersson started to produce her recordings in 1971, she had her first number 1 single, "Min egen stad" ("My Own Town"), for which all the future ABBA members sang the backup vocals. Lyngstad toured and performed regularly in the folkpark circuit and made appearances on radio and TV. She met Ulvaeus briefly in 1963 during a talent contest, and Fältskog during a TV show in early 1968.

Lyngstad finally linked up with her future bandmates in 1969. On 1 March 1969, she participated in the Melodifestivalen, where she met Andersson for the first time. A few weeks later they met again during a concert tour in southern Sweden and they soon became a couple. Andersson produced her single "Peter Pan" in September 1969 – her first collaboration with Benny & Björn, as they had written the song. Andersson would then produce Lyngstad's debut studio album, Frida, which was released in March 1971 and praised by critics. Lyngstad also played in several revues and cabaret shows in Stockholm between 1969 and 1973. After ABBA formed, she recorded another successful album in 1975, Frida ensam, which included the original Swedish rendition of "Fernando", a hit in Scandinavia before the English version was recorded.

First live performance and the start of "Festfolk"

An attempt at combining their talents occurred in April 1970 when the two couples went on holiday together to the island of Cyprus. What started as singing for fun on the beach ended up as an improvised live performance in front of the United Nations soldiers stationed on the island. Andersson and Ulvaeus were at this time recording their first album together, Lycka, which was to be released in September 1970. Fältskog and Lyngstad added backing vocals on several tracks during June, and the idea of them working together saw them launch a stage act, "Festfolk" (which translates from Swedish to mean both "Party People" and "Engaged Couples") on 1 November 1970 in Gothenburg. The cabaret show attracted generally negative reviews, except for the performance of the Andersson and Ulvaeus hit "Hej, gamle man" ("Hello, Old Man"); the first Björn and Benny recording to feature all four. They also performed solo numbers from respective albums, but the lukewarm reception convinced the foursome to shelve plans for working together for the time being, and each soon concentrated on individual projects again.

First record together "Hej, gamle man"

"Hej, gamle man", a song about an old Salvation Army soldier, became the quartet's first hit. The record was credited to Björn & Benny and reached number 5 on the sales charts and number 1 on Svensktoppen, staying there for 15 weeks.

During 1971, the four artists began working together more, adding vocals to the others' recordings. Fältskog, Andersson and Ulvaeus toured together in May, while Lyngstad toured on her own. Frequent recording sessions brought the foursome closer together during the summer.

Forming the group (1970–1973)

After the 1970 release of Lycka, two more singles credited to 'Björn & Benny' were released in Sweden, "Det kan ingen doktor hjälpa" ("No Doctor Can Help with That") and "Tänk om jorden vore ung" ("Imagine If the Earth Were Young"), with more prominent vocals by Fältskog and Lyngstad–and moderate chart success.

Fältskog and Ulvaeus were married on 6 July 1971. They and Andersson started performing together on a regular basis at the Swedish folkparks during the summer of that year.

Stig Anderson, founder and owner of Polar Music, was determined to break into the mainstream international market with music by Andersson and Ulvaeus. "One day the pair of you will write a song that becomes a worldwide hit", he predicted. Stig Anderson encouraged Ulvaeus and Andersson to write a song for Melodifestivalen, and after two rejected entries in 1971, Andersson and Ulvaeus submitted their new song "Säg det med en sång" ("Say It with a Song") for the 1972 contest, choosing newcomer Lena Anderson to perform. The song came in third place, encouraging Stig Anderson, and became a hit in Sweden.

The first signs of foreign success came as a surprise, as the Andersson and Ulvaeus single "She's My Kind of Girl" was released through Epic Records in Japan in March 1972, giving the duo a Top 10 hit. Two more singles were released in Japan, "En Carousel" ("En Karusell" in Scandinavia, an earlier version of "Merry-Go-Round") and "Love Has Its Ways" (a song they wrote with Koichi Morita).

First hit as Björn, Benny, Agnetha & Anni-Frid

Ulvaeus and Andersson persevered with their songwriting and experimented with new sounds and vocal arrangements. "People Need Love" was released in June 1972, featuring guest vocals by the women, who were now given much greater prominence. Stig Anderson released it as a single, credited to Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Anni-Frid. The song peaked at number 17 in the Swedish combined single and album charts, enough to convince them they were on to something. The single also became the first record to chart for the quartet in the United States, where it peaked at number 114 on the Cashbox singles chart and number 117 on theRecord World singles chart. Labeled as Björn & Benny (with Svenska Flicka), it was released there through Playboy Records. However, according to Stig Anderson, "People Need Love" could have been a much bigger American hit, but a small label like Playboy Records did not have the distribution resources to meet the demand for the single from retailers and radio programmers.

The foursome decided to record their first album together in the autumn of 1972, and sessions began on 26 September 1972. The women shared lead vocals on "Nina, Pretty Ballerina" that day, and their voices in harmony for the first time gave the foursome an idea of the quality of their combined talents.

"Ring Ring"

In 1973, the band and their manager Stig Anderson decided to have another try at Melodifestivalen, this time with the song "Ring Ring". The studio sessions were handled by Michael B. Tretow, who experimented with a "wall of sound" production technique that became the wholly new ABBA sound. Stig Anderson arranged an English translation of the lyrics by Neil Sedaka and Phil Cody and they thought this would be a surefire winner. However, on 10 February 1973, Melodifestivalen placed the song third, thus never reaching the international Eurovision Song Contest. Nevertheless, the group released their debut studio album, also called Ring Ring. The album did well and the "Ring Ring" single was a hit in many parts of Europe and also in South Africa. However, Stig Anderson felt that the true breakthrough could only come with a UK or US hit.

Official naming

The ABBA logo.

In early 1973, Stig Anderson, tired of unwieldy names, started to refer to the group privately and publicly as ABBA. At first, this was a play on words, as Abba is also the name of a well-known fish-canning company in Sweden, and itself an acronym. However, since the fish-canners were unknown outside Sweden, Anderson came to believe the name would work in international markets. A competition to find a suitable name for the group was held in a Gothenburg newspaper. The group was impressed with the names "Alibaba", "FABB", and "Baba", but in the end all the entries were ignored and it was officially announced in the summer that the group were to be known as "ABBA". The group negotiated with the canners for the rights to the name. "ABBA" is an acronym formed from the first letters of each group member's first name: Agnetha, Björn, Benny and Anni-Frid. During a promotional photo, Benny flipped his "B" horizontally for fun, and from 1976 onwards the first 'B' in the logo version of the name was "mirror-image" reversed on the band's promotional material and became the group's registered trademark.

The first time "ABBA" is found written on paper is on a recording session sheet from the Metronome Studio in Stockholm, dated 16 October 1973. This was first written as "Björn, Benny, Agnetha & Frida", but was subsequently crossed out with "ABBA" written in large letters on top.

The official logo, using the bold version of the News Gothic typeface, was designed by Rune Söderqvist, and appeared for the first time on the "Dancing Queen" single in August 1976, and subsequently on all later original albums and singles. But the idea for the official logo was made by the German photographer Wolfgang Heilemann on a "Dancing Queen" shoot for the teenage magazine Bravo. On the photo, the ABBA members held a giant initial letter of his/her name. After the pictures were made, Heilemann found out that one of the men held his letter backwards. They discussed it and the members of ABBA liked it. Following their acquisition of the group's catalogue, Polygram began using variations of the ABBA logo, using a different font and adding a crown emblem to it in 1992 for the first release of the ABBA Gold: Greatest Hits compilation. When Universal Music purchased Polygram (and, thus, ABBA's label Polar Music International), control of the group's catalogue was returned to Stockholm. Since then, the original logo has been reinstated on all official products.

Breakthrough (1973–1976)

Eurovision

As the group entered the Eurovision with "Ring Ring" but failed to qualify as the 1973 Swedish entry, Stig Anderson immediately started planning for the 1974 contest.

Ulvaeus, Andersson and Stig Anderson believed in the possibilities of using Melodifestivalen and Eurovision TV contests as a way to make the music business aware of them as composers, as well as the band itself. In late 1973, they were invited by Swedish television to contribute a song for the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest and from a number of newly written compositions, the upbeat song "Waterloo" was chosen; the group was now inspired by the growing glam rock scene in England. "Waterloo" was an unashamedly glam-style pop track produced with Michael B. Tretow's wall-of-sound approach.

ABBA won their national heats on Swedish television on 9 February 1974, and with this third attempt were far more experienced and better prepared for the international contest. Winning the Eurovision Song Contest on 6 April 1974 gave ABBA the chance to tour Europe and perform on major television shows; thus the band saw the "Waterloo" single chart in many European countries. "Waterloo" was ABBA's first number one single in big markets such as the UK and Germany. In the United States, the song peaked at number six on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, paving the way for their first album and their first trip as a group there. Albeit a short promotional visit, it included their first performance on American television, The Mike Douglas Show. The album Waterloo only peaked at number 145 on the Billboard 200 chart, but received unanimous high praise from the US critics: Los Angeles Times called it "a compelling and fascinating debut album that captures the spirit of mainstream pop quite effectively . . . an immensely enjoyable and pleasant project", while Creem characterized it as "a perfect blend of exceptional, lovable compositions".

ABBA's follow-up single, "Honey, Honey", peaked at number 27 on the US Billboard Hot 100, and was a number 2 hit in Germany. However, in the United Kingdom, ABBA's British record label, Epic, decided to re-release a remixed version of "Ring Ring" instead of "Honey, Honey", and a cover version of the latter by the act Sweet Dreams reached number 10. Both records debuted on the UK chart within one week of each other. "Ring Ring" failed to reach the Top 30 in the United Kingdom, increasing growing speculation that the group were simply Eurovision one-hit wonders.

Post-Eurovision

In November 1974, ABBA embarked on their first European tour, playing dates in Denmark, West Germany and Austria. It was not as successful as the band had hoped, since most of the venues did not sell out. Due to a lack of demand, they were even forced to cancel a few shows, including a sole concert scheduled in Switzerland. The second leg of the tour, which took them through Scandinavia in January 1975, was very different. They played to full houses everywhere and finally got the reception they had aimed for. Live performances continued during the summer of 1975 when ABBA embarked on a sixteen open-air date tour of Sweden and Finland. Their Stockholm show at the Gröna Lund amusement park had an estimated audience of 19,200.

In late 1974, "So Long" was released as a single in the United Kingdom but it received no airplay from Radio 1 and failed to chart. In the summer of 1975 ABBA released "I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do", which again received little airplay on Radio 1 but managed to climb the charts, to number 38. Later in 1975, the release of their self-titled third studio album ABBA and single "SOS" brought back their chart presence in the UK, where the single hit number 6 and the album peaked at number 13. "SOS" also became ABBA's second number 1 single in Germany and Australia. Success was further solidified with "Mamma Mia" reaching number 1 in the United Kingdom, Germany and Australia. In the United States, "SOS" peaked at number 10 on the Record World Top 100 singles chart and number 15 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, picking up the BMI Award along the way as one of the most played songs on American radio in 1975.

The success of the group in the United States had until that time been limited to single releases. By early 1976, the group already had four Top 30 singles on the US charts, but the album market proved to be tough to crack. The eponymous ABBA album generated three American hits, but it only peaked at number 165 on the Cashbox album chart and number 174 on the Billboard 200 chart. Opinions were voiced, by Creem in particular, that in the US ABBA had endured "a very sloppy promotional campaign". Nevertheless, the group enjoyed warm reviews from the American press. Cashbox went as far as saying that "there is a recurrent thread of taste and artistry inherent in Abba's marketing, creativity and presentation that makes it almost embarrassing to critique their efforts", while Creem wrote: "SOS is surrounded on this LP by so many good tunes that the mind boggles".

In Australia, the airing of the music videos for "I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do" and "Mamma Mia" on nationwide television in August 1975 started an immense interest for ABBA, resulting in number 1 positions on both the single and album charts for months.

Superstardom (1976–1981)

In March 1976, the band released the compilation album Greatest Hits, despite having had only six Top 40 hits in the United Kingdom and the United States. Nevertheless, it became their first UK number 1 album, and also took ABBA into the Top 50 on the US album charts for the first time, eventually selling more than a million copies there. At the same time, Germany released a compilation named The Very Best of ABBA, also becoming a number 1 album there whereas the Greatest Hits compilation followed a few months later to number 2 on the German charts, despite all similarities with The Very Best album. Also included on Greatest Hits was a new single, "Fernando", which had first been written by Ulvaeus and Andersson in Swedish for Lyngstad's 1975 number 1 solo album Frida ensam (Frida Alone). After Lyngstad's huge success with the song in Sweden, the group decided to record an English version. "Fernando" took the world by storm, hitting number 1 in at least thirteen countries worldwide, including the United Kingdom, Germany and Australia, and the single went on to sell over 10 million copies worldwide. In Australia, the song occupied the top position for 14 weeks (and stayed in the chart for 40 weeks), tying with The Beatles' "Hey Jude" for longest-running number one, and making "Fernando" one of the best-selling singles of all time in Australia. That same year, the group received its first international prize, with "Fernando" being chosen as the "Best Studio Recording of 1975". In the United States, "Fernando" reached the Top 10 of the Cashbox Top 100 singles chart and number 13 on the Billboard Hot 100. It also topped the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart, ABBA's first American number one single.

The group's fourth studio album, Arrival, a number 1 bestseller in Europe and Australia, represented a new level of accomplishment in both songwriting and studio work, prompting rave reviews from more rock-oriented UK music weeklies such as Melody Maker and New Musical Express, and mostly appreciative notices from American critics. Hit after hit flowed from Arrival: "Money, Money, Money", another number 1 in Germany and Australia, and "Knowing Me, Knowing You", ABBA's sixth consecutive German number 1 as well as another UK number 1. The real sensation was "Dancing Queen", not only topping the charts in loyal markets the UK, Germany and Australia, but also reaching number 1 in the United States. In South Africa, ABBA had astounding success with "Fernando", "Dancing Queen" and "Knowing Me, Knowing You" being among the top 20 best-selling singles for 1976–77. In 1977, Arrival was nominated for the inaugural BRIT Award in the category "Best International Album of the Year". By this time ABBA were popular in the United Kingdom, most of Western Europe, Australia and New Zealand. In Frida – The DVD, Lyngstad explains how she and Fältskog developed as singers, as ABBA's recordings grew more complex over the years.

The band's popularity in the United States would remain on a comparatively smaller scale, and "Dancing Queen" became the only Billboard Hot 100 number 1 single ABBA had there (they did, however, get three more singles to the number 1 position on other Billboard charts, including Billboard Adult Contemporary and Hot Dance Club Play). Nevertheless, Arrival finally became a true breakthrough release for ABBA on the US album market where it peaked at number 20 on the Billboard 200 chart and was certified gold by RIAA.

European and Australian tour

In January 1977, ABBA embarked on the first major tour. The group's status had changed dramatically and they were clearly regarded as superstars. They opened their much anticipated tour in Oslo, Norway, on 28 January, and mounted a lavishly produced spectacle that included a few scenes from their self-written mini-operetta The Girl with the Golden Hair. The concert attracted immense media attention from across Europe and Australia. They continued the tour through Western Europe visiting Gothenburg, Copenhagen, Berlin, Cologne, Amsterdam, Antwerp, Essen, Hanover, Hamburg, and ended it with shows in the United Kingdom in Manchester, Birmingham, Glasgow and two sold-out concerts at London's Royal Albert Hall. Tickets for these two shows were available only by mail application and it was later revealed that the box-office received 3.5 million requests for tickets, enough to fill the venue 580 times. Along with praise ("ABBA turn out to be amazingly successful at reproducing their records", wrote Creem), there were complaints that "ABBA performed slickly...but with a zero personality coming across from a total of 16 people on stage" (Melody Maker). One of the Royal Albert Hall concerts was filmed as a reference for the filming of the Australian tour for what became ABBA: The Movie, though it is not exactly known how much of the concert was filmed.

Agnetha Fältskog at the opening concert of ABBA's European and Australian Tour in Oslo, 28 January 1977.

After the European leg of the tour, in March 1977, ABBA played eleven dates in Australia before a total of 160,000 people. The opening concert in Sydney at the Sydney Showground on 3 March to an audience of 20,000 was marred by torrential rain, with Lyngstad slipping on the wet stage during the concert. However, all four members would later recall this concert to be the most memorable of their career. Upon their arrival in Melbourne, a civic reception was held at the Melbourne Town Hall and ABBA appeared on the balcony to greet an enthusiastic crowd of 6,000 people. In Melbourne, the group played three concerts at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl with 14,500 at each including the Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser and his family. At the first Melbourne concert, an additional 16,000 people gathered outside the fenced-off area to listen to the concert. In Adelaide, the group performed one concert at West Lakes Football Stadium before 20,000 people with another 10,000 listening outside. During the first of five concerts in Perth, there was a bomb scare with everyone having to evacuate the Entertainment Centre. The trip was accompanied by mass hysteria and unprecedented media attention ("Swedish ABBA stirs box-office in Down Under tour...and the media coverage of the quartet rivals that set to cover the upcoming Royal tour of Australia", wrote Variety), and is captured on film in ABBA: The Movie, directed by Lasse Hallström.

The Australian tour and its subsequent ABBA: The Movie produced some ABBA lore, as well. Fältskog's blonde good looks had long made her the band's "pin-up girl", a role she disdained. During the Australian tour, she performed in a skin-tight white jumpsuit, causing one Australian newspaper to use the headline "Agnetha's bottom tops dull show". When asked about this at a news conference, she replied: "Don't they have bottoms in Australia?"

In December 1977, ABBA followed up Arrival with the more ambitious fifth album ABBA: The Album, released to coincide with the debut of ABBA: The Movie. Although the album was less well-received by UK reviewers, it did spawn more worldwide hits: "The Name of the Game" and "Take a Chance on Me", which both topped the UK charts, and peaked at number 12 and number 3 respectively on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the US. Although "Take a Chance on Me" did not top the American charts, it proved to be ABBA's biggest hit single there, selling more copies than "Dancing Queen". The Album also included the signature song, "Thank You for the Music", the B-side of "Eagle" in countries where the latter had been released as a single, and was later released as an A-side single in the United Kingdom and Ireland in 1983.

Polar Music Studio formation

Polar Music Studios was situated in this building at 58 Sankt Eriksgatan in Stockholm until 2004.

By 1978, ABBA was one of the biggest bands in the world. They converted a vacant movie theatre into the Polar Music Studio, a state-of-the-art studio in Stockholm. The studio was used by several other bands; notably, Genesis' Duke and Led Zeppelin's In Through the Out Door were recorded there. During May, the group went to the United States for a promotional campaign, performing alongside Andy Gibb on Olivia Newton-John's TV show. Recording sessions for the single "Summer Night City" were an uphill struggle, but upon release the song became another hit for the group. The track would set the stage for ABBA's foray into disco with their next album.

On 9 January 1979, the group performed "Chiquitita" at the Music for UNICEF Concert held at the United Nations General Assembly to celebrate UNICEF's Year of the Child. ABBA donated the copyright of this worldwide hit to the UNICEF; see Music for UNICEF Concert. The single was released the following week, and reached number 1 in ten countries.

North American and European tours

In mid-January 1979, Ulvaeus and Fältskog announced they were getting divorced. The news caused interest from the media, and led to speculation about the band's future. ABBA assured the press and their fan base they were continuing their work as a group, and that the divorce would not affect them. Nonetheless, the media continued to confront them with this in interviews. To escape the media swirl and concentrate on their writing, Andersson and Ulvaeus secretly travelled to Compass Point Studios in Nassau, Bahamas, where for two weeks they prepared their next album's songs in relative quiet.

The group's sixth studio album, Voulez-Vous, was released in April 1979, the title track of which was recorded at the famous Criteria Studios in Miami, Florida with the assistance of recording engineer Tom Dowd amongst others. The album topped the charts across Europe and in Japan and Mexico, hit the Top 10 in Canada and Australia and the Top 20 in the United States. None of the singles from the album reached number 1 on the UK charts, but "Chiquitita", "Does Your Mother Know", "Angeleyes" (with "Voulez-Vous", released as a double A-side) and "I Have a Dream" were all UK Top 5 hits. In Canada, "I Have a Dream" became ABBA's second number 1 on the RPM Adult Contemporary chart (after "Fernando" hit the top previously). Also in 1979, the group released their second compilation album, Greatest Hits Vol. 2, which featured a brand new track: "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)", another number 3 hit in both the UK and Germany. In Russia during the late 1970s, the group were paid in oil commodities because of an embargo on the ruble.

On 13 September 1979, ABBA began their ABBA: The Tour at the Northlands Coliseum in Edmonton, Canada, with a full house of 14,000. "The voices of the band, Agnetha's high sauciness combined with round, rich lower tones of Anni-Frid, were excellent...Technically perfect, melodically correct and always in perfect pitch...The soft lower voice of Anni-Frid and the high, edgy vocals of Agnetha were stunning", raved Edmonton Journal.

During the next four weeks, they played a total of 17 sold-out dates, 13 in the United States and four in Canada. The last scheduled ABBA concert in the United States in Washington DC was cancelled due to Fältskog's emotional distress suffered during the flight from New York to Boston, when the group's private plane was subjected to extreme weather conditions and was unable to land for an extended period. They appeared at the Boston Music Hall for the performance 90 minutes late. The tour ended with a show in Toronto, Canada at Maple Leaf Gardens before a capacity crowd of 18,000. "ABBA plays with surprising power and volume; but although they are loud, they're also clear, which does justice to the signature vocal sound...Anyone who's been waiting five years to see Abba will be well satisfied", wrote Record World.

On 19 October 1979, the tour resumed in Western Europe where the band played 23 sold-out gigs, including six sold-out nights at London's Wembley Arena.

Progression

Super Trouper, seventh studio album released by the group in 1980

In March 1980, ABBA travelled to Japan where upon their arrival at Narita International Airport, they were besieged by thousands of fans. The group played eleven concerts to full houses, including six shows at Tokyo's Budokan. This tour was the last "on the road" adventure of their career. The same year saw the release of ABBA's seventh album Super Trouper, which reflected a certain change in ABBA's style with more prominent use of synthesizers and increasingly personal lyrics. It set a record for the most pre-orders ever received for a UK album after one million copies were ordered before release. Anticipation for the album had been built up by "The Winner Takes It All", the group's eighth UK chart topper (and their first since 1978). In the United States, the single peaked at number 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and became ABBA's second Billboard Adult Contemporary number 1. The song was allegedly written about Ulvaeus and Fältskog's marital tribulations. It was also re-recorded by Andersson and Ulvaeus with a slightly different backing track, by French chanteuse Mireille Mathieu at the end of 1980 – as "Bravo Tu As Gagne", with French lyrics by Alain Boublil. The next single from the album, "Super Trouper", also hit number 1 in the UK, becoming the group's ninth and final UK chart-topper. Another track from the Super Trouper album, "Lay All Your Love on Me", released in 1981 as a 12-inch single only in selected territories, managed to top the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart and peaked at number 7 on the UK singles chart becoming, at the time, the highest ever charting 12-inch release in UK chart history.

Also in 1980, ABBA recorded a compilation of Spanish-language versions of their hits called Gracias Por La Música. This was released in Spanish-speaking countries as well as in Japan and Australia. The album became a major success, and along with the Spanish version of "Chiquitita", this signalled the group's breakthrough in Latin America. ABBA Oro: Grandes Éxitos, the Spanish equivalent of ABBA Gold: Greatest Hits, was released in 1999.

Final album and performances (1981–1982)

In January 1981, Ulvaeus married Lena Källersjö, and manager Stig Anderson celebrated his 50th birthday with a party. For this occasion, ABBA recorded the track "Hovas Vittne" (a pun on the Swedish name for Jehovah's Witness and Anderson's birthplace, Hova) as a tribute to him, and released it only on 200 red vinyl copies, to be distributed to the guests attending the party. This single has become a sought-after collectible. In mid-February 1981, Andersson and Lyngstad announced they were filing for divorce. Information surfaced that their marriage had been an uphill struggle for years, and Benny had already met another woman, Mona Nörklit, whom he married in November 1981.

Andersson and Ulvaeus had songwriting sessions during the spring of 1981, and recording sessions began in mid-March. At the end of April, the group recorded a TV special, Dick Cavett Meets ABBA with the US talk show host Dick Cavett. The Visitors, ABBA's eighth and final studio album, showed a songwriting maturity and depth of feeling distinctly lacking from their earlier recordings but still placing the band squarely in the pop genre, with catchy tunes and harmonies. Although not revealed at the time of its release, the album's title track, according to Ulvaeus, refers to the secret meetings held against the approval of totalitarian governments in Soviet-dominated states, while other tracks address topics like failed relationships, the threat of war, aging, and loss of innocence. The album's only major single release, "One of Us", proved to be the last of ABBA's nine number 1 singles in Germany in December 1981; and the swansong of their sixteen Top 5 singles on the South African chart. "One of Us" was also ABBA's final Top 10 hit in the UK.

Although it topped the album charts across most of Europe, including the UK and Germany, The Visitors was not as commercially successful as its predecessors, showing a commercial decline in previously loyal markets such as France, Australia and Japan. A track from the album, "When All Is Said and Done", was released as a single in North America, Australia and New Zealand, and fittingly became ABBA's final Top 40 hit in the US (debuting on the US charts on 31 December 1981), while also reaching the US Adult Contemporary Top 10, and number 4 on the RPM Adult Contemporary chart in Canada. The song's lyrics, as with "The Winner Takes It All" and "One of Us", dealt with the painful experience of separating from a long-term partner, though it looked at the trauma more optimistically. With the now publicised story of Andersson and Lyngstad's divorce, speculation increased of tension within the band. Also released in the United States was the title track of The Visitors, which hit the Top Ten on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart.

Last recording sessions

In the spring of 1982, songwriting sessions had started and the group came together for more recordings. Plans were not completely clear, but a new album was discussed and the prospect of a small tour suggested. The recording sessions in May and June 1982 were a struggle, and only three songs were eventually recorded: "You Owe Me One", "I Am the City" and "Just Like That". Andersson and Ulvaeus were not satisfied with the outcome, so the tapes were shelved and the group took a break for the summer.

Back in the studio again in early August, the group had changed plans for the rest of the year: they settled for a Christmas release of a double album compilation of all their past single releases to be named The Singles: The First Ten Years. New songwriting and recording sessions took place, and during October and November, they released the singles "The Day Before You Came"/"Cassandra" and "Under Attack"/"You Owe Me One", the A-sides of which were included on the compilation album. Neither single made the Top 20 in the United Kingdom, though "The Day Before You Came" became a Top 5 hit in many European countries such as Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. The album went to number 1 in the UK and Belgium, Top 5 in the Netherlands and Germany and Top 20 in many other countries. "Under Attack", the group's final release before disbanding, was a Top 5 hit in the Netherlands and Belgium.

"I Am the City" and "Just Like That" were left unreleased on The Singles: The First Ten Years for possible inclusion on the next projected studio album, though this never came to fruition. "I Am the City" was eventually released on the compilation album More ABBA Gold in 1993, while "Just Like That" has been recycled in new songs with other artists produced by Andersson and Ulvaeus. A reworked version of the verses ended up in the musical Chess. The chorus section of "Just Like That" was eventually released on a retrospective box set in 1994. Despite a number of requests from fans, Ulvaeus and Andersson are still refusing to release ABBA's version of "Just Like That" in its entirety, even though the complete version surfaced on bootlegs.

The group travelled to London to promote The Singles: The First Ten Years in the first week of November 1982, appearing on Saturday Superstore and The Late, Late Breakfast Show, and also to West Germany in the second week, to perform on Show Express. On 19 November 1982, ABBA appeared for the last time in Sweden on the TV programme Nöjesmaskinen, and on 11 December 1982, they made their last performance ever, transmitted to the UK on Noel Edmonds' The Late, Late Breakfast Show, through a live link from a TV studio in Stockholm.

Last performances

Andersson and Ulvaeus began collaborating with Tim Rice in early 1983 on writing songs for the musical project Chess, while Fältskog and Lyngstad both concentrated on international solo careers. While Andersson and Ulvaeus were working on the musical, a further co-operation between the three of them came with the musical Abbacadabra that was produced in France for television. It was a children's musical utilising 14 ABBA songs. Alain and Daniel Boublil, who wrote Les Misérables, had been in touch with Stig Anderson about the project, and the TV musical was aired over Christmas on French TV and later a Dutch version was also broadcast. Boublil previously also wrote the French lyrics for Mirielle Mathieu's version of "The Winner Takes It All".

Lyngstad, who had recently moved to Paris, participated in the French version, and recorded a single, "Belle", a duet with French singer Daniel Balavoine. The song was a cover of ABBA's 1976 instrumental track "Arrival". As the single "Belle" sold well in France, Cameron Mackintosh wanted to stage an English language version of the show in London, with the French lyrics translated by David Wood and Don Black; Andersson and Ulvaeus got involved in the project, and contributed with one new song, "The Seeker". "Abbacadabra" premièred on 8 December 1983 at The Lyric Hammersmith Theatre in London, to mixed reviews and full houses for eight weeks, closing on 21 January 1984. Lyngstad was also involved in this production, recording "Belle" in English as "Time", a duet with actor and singer B. A. Robertson: the single sold well, and was produced and recorded by Andersson and Ulvaeus.

All four members made their last public appearance, as four friends more than as ABBA, in January 1986, when they recorded a video of themselves performing an acoustic version of "Tivedshambo", which was the first song written by their manager, Stig Anderson, for a Swedish TV show honouring Anderson on his 55th birthday. The four had not seen each other for more than two years. That same year they also performed privately at another friend's 40th birthday: their old tour manager, Claes af Geijerstam. They sang a self-composed song titled "Der Kleine Franz" that was later to rsurface in Chess. Also in 1986, ABBA Live was released, featuring selections of live performances from the group's 1977 and 1979 tours. The four members were guests on the 50th birthday of Görel Hanser in 1999. Hanser was a long-time friend of all four, and also former secretary of Stig Anderson. Honouring Görel, ABBA performed a Swedish birthday song "Med En Enkel Tulipan" a cappella.

Benny Andersson has on several occasions performed old ABBA songs. In June 1992, he and Ulvaeus appeared with U2 at a Stockholm concert, singing the chorus of "Dancing Queen", and a few years later during the final performance of the B & B in Concert in Stockholm, Andersson joined the cast for an encore at the piano. Andersson frequently adds an ABBA song to the playlist when he performs with his BAO band. He also played the piano during new recordings of the ABBA songs "Like an Angel Passing Through My Room" with opera singer Anne Sofie von Otter, and "When All Is Said and Done" with Swede Viktoria Tolstoy. In 2002, Andersson and Ulvaeus both performed an a cappella rendition of the first verse of "Fernando" as they accepted their Ivor Novello award in London. Lyngstad performed and recorded an a cappella version of "Dancing Queen" with the Swedish group The Real Group in 1993, and has also re-recorded "I Have a Dream" with Swiss singer Dan Daniell in 2003.

Breaking up

ABBA has never officially announced the end of the group, but it has long been considered dissolved. Their last public performance together as ABBA was on the British TV programme The Late, Late Breakfast Show (live from Stockholm) on 11 December 1982. In January 1983, Fältskog started recording sessions for a solo album, as Lyngstad had successfully released her album Something's Going On some months earlier. Ulvaeus and Andersson, meanwhile, started songwriting sessions for the musical Chess. In interviews at the time, Björn and Benny denied the split of ABBA ("Who are we without our ladies? Initials of Brigitte Bardot?"), and Lyngstad and Fältskog kept claiming in interviews that ABBA would come together for a new album repeatedly during 1983 and 1984. Internal strife between the group and their manager escalated and the band members sold their shares in Polar Music during 1983. Except for a TV appearance in 1986, the foursome did not come together publicly again until they were reunited at the Swedish premiere of the Mamma Mia! movie on 4 July 2008.

In an interview with the Sunday Telegraph, following the premiere, Ulvaeus and Andersson confirmed that there was nothing that could entice them back on stage again. Ulvaeus said: "We will never appear on stage again. [...] There is simply no motivation to re-group. Money is not a factor and we would like people to remember us as we were. Young, exuberant, full of energy and ambition. I remember Robert Plant saying Led Zeppelin were a cover band now because they cover all their own stuff. I think that hit the nail on the head." However, on 3 January 2011, Fältskog, who has been long considered to be the most reclusive member of the group and possibly also the major obstacle to any reunion, raised the possibility of reuniting for a one-off engagement. She admitted that she has not yet brought the idea up to the other three members.

After ABBA

Andersson and Ulvaeus

Main articles: Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson

In October 1984, Ulvaeus and Andersson together with lyricist Tim Rice released the musical concept double album Chess. The singles "One Night in Bangkok" (with vocals by Murray Head) and "I Know Him So Well" (a duet by Barbara Dickson and Elaine Paige, and later also recorded by both Barbra Streisand and Whitney Houston) were both successes. In May 1986, the musical premièred in London's West End, and ran for almost three years. Chess also opened on Broadway in April 1988, but closed within two months due to bad reviews. In Stockholm, the composers staged Chess på svenska (Chess in Swedish) in 2003, with some new material, including the musical numbers "Han är en man, han är ett barn" ("He's a Man, He's a Child") and "Glöm mig om du kan" ("Forget Me If You Can"). In 2008, the musical was again revived for a successful staging at London's Royal Albert Hall which was subsequently released on DVD, and then in two successful separate touring productions in the United States and United Kingdom, in 2010.

Andersson and Ulvaeus' next project, Kristina från Duvemåla, an epic Swedish musical, premiered in Malmö, in southern Sweden in October 1995. The musical ran for five years in Stockholm, and an English version has been in development for some considerable time. It has been reported that a Broadway production is in its earliest stages of pre-production. In the meantime, following some earlier workshops, a full presentation of the English translation of the musical in concert, now with the shortened name of "Kristina", took place to capacity crowds in September 2009 at New York's Carnegie Hall, and in April 2010 at London's Royal Albert Hall, followed by a CD release of the New York recordings.

Benny Andersson during a performance in Minnesota 2006

Since 1983, besides Chess and Kristina från Duvemåla, Benny Andersson has continued writing songs with Ulvaeus. The pair produced two English-language pop albums with Swedish duo Gemini in 1985 and 1987. In 1987, Andersson also released his first solo album on his own label, Mono Music, called "Klinga mina klockor" ("Ring My Bells"), all new material inspired by Swedish folk music – and followed it with his second album titled November 1989.

In the 1990s, Andersson wrote music for the popular Swedish cabaret quartet Ainbusk Singers, giving them two hits: "Lassie" and "Älska mig" ("Love me"), and later produced Shapes, an English-language album by the group's Josefin Nilsson with all-new material by Andersson and Ulvaeus. Andersson has also regularly written music for films (most notably to Roy Andersson's Songs from the Second Floor). In 2001, Andersson formed his own band, Benny Anderssons Orkester (BAO), which released three successful albums in 2001, 2004 and 2007 respectively. Andersson has the distinction of remaining the longest in the Swedish Radio Svensktoppen charts; the song "Du är min man" ("You Are My Man"), sung by Helen Sjöholm, spent 278 weeks there between 2004 and 2009. Andersson released his third album BAO 3 in October 2007, of new material with his band BAO and vocalists Helen Sjöholm and Tommy Körberg, as well as playing to full houses at two of Sweden's largest concert venues in October and November 2007, with an audience of 14,000.

Björn Ulvaeus at Gothenburg Book Fair 2007

Ulvaeus has not appeared on stage performing music since ABBA, but had a reunion with his co-members of The Hootenanny Singers on 16 July 2005 at a music festival in his hometown of Västervik, singing their 1966 hit "Marianne".

Andersson and Ulvaeus have been highly involved in the worldwide productions of the musical Mamma Mia!, alongside Lyngstad who attends premieres. They were also involved in the production of the successful film version of the musical, which opened in July 2008. Andersson produced the soundtrack utilising many of the musicians ABBA used on their albums and tours. Andersson made a cameo appearance in the movie as a 'fisherman' piano player in the "Dancing Queen" scene, while Ulvaeus is seen as a Greek god playing a lyre during the closing credits.

Andersson and Ulvaeus have been continuously composing new material; most recently the two wrote the title track for Andersson's first international release, The Benny Andersson Band – The Story of a Heart, released in July 2009. The album is a compilation of 14 tracks from Andersson's five Swedish-language releases, including five songs now recorded in English, and the new title song premiered on BBC2's Ken Bruce Show. A Swedish-language version, "Sommaren Du Fick" ("The Summer You Got"), was released in Sweden prior to the English version, with vocals by Helen Sjöholm. In the spring of 2009, Andersson also released a single recorded by the staff at his privately owned Stockholm hotel Hotel Rival, titled "2nd Best to None", accompanied by a video showing the staff at work. In 2008, Andersson and Ulvaeus wrote a song for Swedish singer Sissela Kyle, titled "Jag vill bli gammal" ("I Wanna Grow Old"), for her Stockholm stage show "Your Days Are Numbered". Ulvaeus also contributed lyrics to ABBA's 1976 instrumental track "Arrival" for Sarah Brightman's cover version recorded for her 2008 album Winter Symphony. New English lyrics have also been written for Andersson's 1999 song "Innan Gryningen" (also named "Millennium Hymn"), with the new title "The Silence of the Dawn" for Barbara Dickson. In 2007, they wrote the new songs "Han som har vunnit allt" ("He Who's Won It All") for actor/singer Anders Ekborg, and "I Walk with You Mama" and "After the Rain" for opera singer Anne Sofie Von Otter, for her Andersson tribute album I Let the Music Speak.

Fältskog and Lyngstad

Main articles: Agnetha Fältskog and Anni-Frid Lyngstad

Both female members of ABBA pursued solo careers on the international scene after their work with the group. In 1982, Lyngstad chose Genesis drummer and vocalist Phil Collins to produce the album Something's Going On and unveiled the hit single and video "I Know There's Something Going On" in the autumn of that year. The single became a number 1 hit in France (where it spent five weeks at the top), Belgium, Switzerland and Costa Rica. The track reached number 3 in Austria, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and Poland, and was also a Top 10 hit in Germany, Italy, Finland, South Africa and Australia. In the United States, the single peaked at number 13 on the Billboard Hot 100. In all, "I Know There's Something Going On" sold 3.5 million copies worldwide and is the biggest-selling single any of the four members have had outside ABBA. Lyngstad's album sold 1.5 million copies internationally. Sveriges Television documented this historical event, by filming the whole recording process. The result became a one-hour TV documentary, including interviews with Lyngstad, Collins, Ulvaeus and Andersson as well as all the musicians. This documentary and the promotion videos from the album are included in Frida - The DVD.

Lyngstad's second solo album after ABBA was the experimental Shine, produced by Steve Lillywhite. Shine was recorded in Paris and released in 1984. Shine reached the Top 10 on the album charts in Sweden, Norway and Belgium and the Top 20 in the Netherlands. The title track was the album's first single release. Shine was Lyngstad's final studio album release for twelve years. It featured "Slowly", the last known Andersson-Ulvaeus composition to have been recorded by one of the former female ABBA vocalists to date. The promotion videos and clips for "Shine" are included in Frida - The DVD.

In 1983, Fältskog released the solo album Wrap Your Arms Around Me. This included the single "The Heat Is On", which was a hit in Europe and Scandinavia. In the United States, Fältskog earned a Billboard Top 30 hit with "Can't Shake Loose". In Europe, the single "Wrap Your Arms Around Me" was another successful hit, topping the charts in Belgium and Denmark, reaching the Top 5 in Sweden, the Netherlands and South Africa, and the Top 20 in Germany and France. The album sold 1.2 million copies worldwide.

Fältskog's second English-language solo album, Eyes of a Woman, was released in March 1985, peaking at number 2 in Sweden and performing reasonably well in Europe. The first single from the album was her self-penned "I Won't Let You Go". In November 1987, Fältskog released her third post-ABBA solo album, the Peter Cetera-produced I Stand Alone, which also included the Billboard Adult Contemporary duet with Cetera, "I Wasn't the One (Who Said Goodbye)", as well as the European charting singles "The Last Time" and "Let It Shine". The album was extremely successful in Sweden, where it spent eight weeks at number 1. Shortly after some minor European promotion for the album in early 1988, Fältskog withdrew from public life and halted her music career. In 1996, she released her autobiography, As I Am, and a compilation album featuring her solo hits alongside some ABBA classics. In 2004, she made a successful comeback, releasing the critically acclaimed album My Colouring Book, which debuted at number 1 in Sweden (achieving triple-platinum status), number 6 in Germany, and number 12 in the UK, winning a silver award, and achieving gold status in Finland. The single "If I Thought You'd Ever Change Your Mind" (a cover of the Cilla Black 1960s song) became Fältskog's biggest solo hit in the United Kingdom, reaching number 11. The single peaked at number 2 in Sweden and was a hit throughout Scandinavia and Europe. A further single, "When You Walk in the Room", was released but met with less success, only peaking at number 34 in the United Kingdom. In January 2007, she sang a live duet on stage with Swedish singer Tommy Körberg at the after party for the final performance of the musical, Mamma Mia!, in Stockholm, at which Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus were also present.

In 1992, Lyngstad had been asked and chosen to be the chairperson for the environmental organisation "Artister för miljön" (Artists for the Environment) in Sweden. She became chairwoman for this organisation from 1992 to 1995. To mark her interests for the environment, she recorded the Julian Lennon song "Saltwater" and performed it live in Stockholm. She arranged and financed summer camps for poor children in Sweden, focusing on environmental and ecological issues. Her environmental work for this organisation led up to the decision to record again. The album Djupa andetag (Deep Breaths) was released towards the end of 1996 and became a success in Sweden, where it reached number 1. The lyrics for the single from this album, "Även en blomma" ("Even a Flower"), deal with environmental issues. In 2004, Lyngstad recorded a song called "The Sun Will Shine Again", written especially for her and released with former Deep Purple member Jon Lord. The couple made several TV performances with this song in Germany. Lyngstad lives a relatively low-profile life but occasionally appears at a party or charity function. On 26 August 1992, she married Prince Heinrich Ruzzo Reuss von Plauen, of the German Reuss family. Von Plauen died of lymphoma in 1999 at the age of 49. In addition to losing her husband, Lyngstad had also lost her daughter Lise-Lotte in a car crash a year earlier.

On 15 November 2005, Lyngstad's 60th birthday, Universal released the Frida Box Set, consisting of the solo albums she recorded for the Polar Label. Also included is the 31⁄2-hour documentary Frida - The DVD. On this DVD, which covers her entire singing career, the viewer is guided by Lyngstad herself through the years from her TV debut in Sweden in 1967 to the TV performances she made in Germany in 2004. Many rare clips are included in the set and each performance is explained by Lyngstad herself. The interview with Lyngstad was filmed in the Swiss Alps in summer 2005.

Revival

The same year the members of ABBA went their separate ways, the French production of a "tribute" show (a children's TV musical named Abbacadabra using 14 ABBA songs) spawned new interest in the group's music.

After receiving little attention during the mid-1980s, ABBA's music experienced a resurgence in the early 1990s due to the UK synth-pop duo Erasure, who released a cover extended play featuring versions of ABBA songs which topped the charts in 1992. As U2 arrived in Stockholm for a concert in June of that year, the band paid homage to ABBA by inviting Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson to join them on stage for a rendition of "Dancing Queen", playing guitar and keyboards. September 1992 saw the release of ABBA Gold: Greatest Hits, a new compilation album. The single "Dancing Queen" received radio airplay in the UK in summer 1992 to promote the album. The song returned to the Top 20 of the UK singles chart in August that year, this time peaking at number 16.

The enormous interest in the ABBA Gold: Greatest Hits compilation saw the release of More ABBA Gold: More ABBA Hits in 1993.

In 1994, two Australian cult films caught the attention of the world's media, both focussing on admiration for ABBA: The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert and Muriel's Wedding. The same year, Thank You for the Music, a four-disc box set comprising all the group's hits and stand-out album tracks, was released with the involvement of all four members. "By the end of the twentieth century", American critic Chuck Klosterman wrote a decade later, "it was far more contrarian to hate ABBA than to love them."

ABBA were soon recognized and embraced by other acts: Evan Dando of The Lemonheads recorded a cover version of "Knowing Me, Knowing You"; Sinéad O'Connor and Boyzone's Stephen Gately have recorded "Chiquitita"; Tanita Tikaram, Blancmange and Steven Wilson paid tribute to "The Day Before You Came". Cliff Richard covered "Lay All Your Love On Me", while Dionne Warwick, Peter Cetera, and Celebrity Skin recorded their versions of "SOS". U.S. alternative-rock musician Marshall Crenshaw has also been known to play a version of "Knowing Me, Knowing You" in concert appearances, while legendary English Latin pop songwriter Richard Daniel Roman has recognized ABBA as a major influence. Swedish metal guitarist Yngwie Malmsteen covered "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)" with slightly altered lyrics.

Two different compilation albums of ABBA songs have been released. ABBA: A Tribute coincided with the 25th anniversary celebration and featured 17 songs, some of which were recorded especially for this release. Notable tracks include Go West's "One of Us", Army of Lovers "Hasta Mañana", Information Society's "Lay All Your Love on Me", Erasure's "Take a Chance on Me" (with MC Kinky), and Lyngstad's a cappella duet with The Real Group of "Dancing Queen". A second 12-track album was released in 1999, entitled ABBAMANIA, with proceeds going to the Youth Music charity in England. It featured all new cover versions: notable tracks were by Madness ("Money, Money, Money"), Culture Club ("Voulez-Vous"), The Corrs ("The Winner Takes It All"), Steps ("Lay All Your Love on Me", "I Know Him So Well"), and a medley entitled "Thank ABBA for the Music" performed by several artists and as featured on the Brits Awards that same year.

In Sweden, the growing recognition of the legacy of Andersson and Ulvaeus resulted in the 1998 B & B Concerts: a tribute concert (with Swedish singers who had worked with the composers through the years) showcasing not only their ABBA years, but hits both before and after ABBA. The concert was a success, and was ultimately released on CD. It later toured Scandinavia and even went to Beijing in the People's Republic of China for two concerts.

In 2000, ABBA were reported to have turned down an offer of approximately US$1,000,000,000 (one billion US dollars) to do a reunion tour consisting of 100 concerts.

For the 2004 semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest, staged in Istanbul 30 years after ABBA had won the contest in Brighton, all four members made cameo appearances in a special comedy video made for the interval act, entitled "Our Last Video Ever". Others well-known stars such as Rik Mayall, Cher and Iron Maiden's Eddie also made appearances in the video. It was not included in the official DVD release of the Eurovision Contest, but was issued as a separate DVD release, retitled The Last Video at the request of the former ABBA members.

In 2005, all four members of ABBA appeared at the Stockholm premiere of the musical Mamma Mia!.

On 4 July 2008, all four ABBA members were reunited at the Swedish premiere of Mamma Mia!. It was only the second time all of them had appeared together in public since 1986. During the appearance, they re-emphasized that they intended never to officially reunite, citing the opinion of Robert Plant that the re-formed Led Zeppelin was more like a cover band of itself than the original band. Ulvaeus stated that he wanted the band to be remembered as they were during the peak years of their success.

Posing together with the actors from the motion picture Mamma Mia! The Movie on 4 July 2008, are the original ABBA members. Far left, Benny Andersson. Fifth from left, Agnetha Fältskog, with her hand on Anni-Frid Lyngstad's shoulder. Second from right, Björn Ulvaeus.

The compilation album ABBA Gold: Greatest Hits, originally released in 1992, returned to number one in the UK album charts for the fifth time on 3 August 2008. On 14 August 2008, the Mamma Mia! The Movie film soundtrack went to number 1 on the US Billboard charts, ABBA's first US chart-topping album. During the band's heyday the highest album chart position they had ever achieved in America was number 14.

In November 2008, all eight studio albums, together with a ninth of rare tracks, was been released as The Albums. It hit several charts, peaking at number 4 in Sweden and reaching the Top 10 in several other European territories.

In 2008, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe, in collaboration with Universal Music Group Sweden AB, released SingStar ABBA on both the PlayStation 2 and PlayStation 3 games consoles, as part of the SingStar music video games. The PS2 version features 20 ABBA songs, while 25 songs feature on the PS3 version.

On 22 January 2009, Fältskog and Lyngstad appeared together on stage to receive the Swedish music award "Rockbjörnen" (for "lifetime achievement"). In an interview, the two women expressed their gratitude for the honorary award and to thank their fans.

On 25 November 2009, PRS for Music announced that the British public voted ABBA as the band they would most like to see re-form.

On 27 January 2010, ABBAWORLD, a 25-room touring exhibition featuring interactive and audiovisual activities, debuted at Earl's Court Exhibition Centre in London. According to the exhibition's website, ABBAWORLD is "approved and fully supported" by the band members.

On 15 November 2011 , Ubisoft released a dancing game called ABBA: You Can Dance, for the Nintendo Wii.

Awards and nominations

Main article: ABBA awards and nominations

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

On 15 March 2010, ABBA was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame by Bee Gees members Barry Gibb and Robin Gibb. The ceremony was held at The Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City. The group was represented by Anni-Frid Lyngstad and Benny Andersson.

Success in the United States

During their active career, from 1972 to 1982, ABBA achieved 14 Top 40 singles on the Billboard Hot 100 (13 on the Cashbox Top 100), ten of which made the Top 20 on both charts, with four singles reaching the Top 10, including "Dancing Queen" which reached number 1. While "Fernando" and "SOS" did not break the Top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart they did reach the Top 10 on Cashbox ("Fernando") and Record World ("SOS") charts.

The group also had 12 Top 20 singles on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart with two of them, "Fernando" and "The Winner Takes It All", reaching number 1. "Lay All Your Love on Me" was ABBA's fourth number 1 single on a Billboard chart, topping the Hot Dance Club Play chart. The singles "Dancing Queen" and "Take a Chance on Me" were certified gold (more than 1 million copies sold) by the RIAA.

Nine ABBA albums made their way into the Top 100 on the Billboard 200 album chart, with seven of them reaching the Top 50. Four of those albums reached the Top 20, with ABBA: The Album at number 14 being the highest position. Five albums received RIAA gold certification (more than 500,000 copies sold), while three acquired platinum status (selling more than one million copies). In 1993, the ABBA Gold: Greatest Hits collection was released in the United States and has since become a seven-time platinum best-seller. It also topped the Bilboard Top Pop Catalog Albums chart (it also peaked at number 11 on a Billboard Comprehensive Albums chart).

Fashion, videos, advertising campaigns

ABBA were widely noted for the colourful and trend-setting costumes its members wore. The videos that accompanied some of their biggest hits are often cited as being among the earliest examples of the genre. Most of ABBA's videos (and ABBA: The Movie) were directed by Lasse Hallström, who would later direct the films My Life as a Dog, The Cider House Rules and Chocolat.

ABBA made videos because their songs were hits in many different countries and personal appearances were not always possible. This was also done in an effort to minimize travelling, particularly to countries that would have required extremely long flights. Fältskog and Ulvaeus had two young children and Fältskog, who was also afraid of flying, was very reluctant to leave her children for such a long time. ABBA's manager, Stig Anderson, realized the potential of showing a simple video clip on television to publicize a single or album, thereby allowing easier and quicker exposure than a concert tour. Some of these videos became classics because of the 1970s-era costumes and early video effects, such as the grouping of the band members in different combinations of pairs, overlapping one singer's profile with the other's full face, and the contrasting of one member against another.

In 1976, ABBA participated in a high-profile advertising campaign by the Matsushita Electric Industrial (today's Panasonic Corporation), which was designed to promote the brand National. This campaign was designed initially for Australia, where "National" was still the primary brand used by Matsushita, who had not introduced the "Panasonic" brand to Australia yet despite its widespread use in other parts of the world such as the United States. However, the campaign was also aired in Japan. Five commercials, each approximately one minute long, were produced, each using the "National Song" sung by ABBA, which used the melody and instrumental arrangement of "Fernando", adapted with new lyrics promoting National, and working in several slogans used by National in their advertising.

Political controversy

In September 2010, band members Andersson and Ulvaeus criticized the far-right Danish People's Party (DF) for using the ABBA song "Mamma Mia" (with modified lyrics) at rallies. The band had threatened to file a lawsuit against the DF, saying they never allowed their music to be used politically and that they had absolutely no interest in supporting the party. Their record label Universal Music later said that no legal action would be taken because an agreement had been reached.

Discography

Main article: ABBA discography

Further information: List of ABBA songs

• Ring Ring (1973)

• Waterloo (1974)

• ABBA (1975)

• Arrival (1976)

• ABBA: The Album (1977)

• Voulez-Vous (1979)

• Super Trouper (1980)

• The Visitors (1981)

Bibliography

• Oldham, Andrew, Calder, Tony & Irvin, Colin (1995) "ABBA: The Name of the Game", ISBN 0-283-06232-0
• Potiez, Jean-Marie (2000). ABBA – The Book ISBN 1-85410-928-6
• Palm, Carl Magnus (2002). Bright Lights Dark Shadows: The Real Story of ABBA ISBN 0-7119-9194-4
• Palm, Carl Joslin (2004). From "ABBA" to "Mamma Mia!" ISBN 1-85227-864-1

ABBA-related tributes

• Abbacadabra – A French children's musical based on songs from ABBA
• Abbacadabra - A tribute band
• Abbaesque – An Irish ABBA tribute band
• Abba-esque – Erasure's 1992 EP
• ABBAmania – An ITV programme and tribute album to Swedish pop band ABBA released in 1999
• Abbasalutely – A compilation album released in 1995 as a tribute album to ABBA
• adbacadabra – An American ABBA tribute band
• Arrival From Sweden A Swedish ABBA tribute band, formed in 1995
• A*Teens – A pop music group from Stockholm, Sweden
• Björn Again – The earliest-formed ABBA tribute band (1988)
• Generation Abba – Live ABBA tribute concerts on tour in Canada, Europe and Middle-East
• Mamma Mia! – Musical stage show based on the songs of ABBA
• Mamma Mia! The Movie – Film adaption of the musical stage show
• Gabba - An ABBA/Ramones tribute band that covers the former in the style of the latter, the name being a pun on "Gabba Gabba Hey".
• Babba - Australian tribute band

See also

• ABBA the Museum
• List of ABBA tribute albums
• List of best-selling music artists
• List of Swedes in music
• List of unreleased ABBA songs
• Music of Sweden
• Swedish popular music
• ABBA City Walks - Stockholm City Museum

Notes

• Palm, Carl Magnus (2001). Bright Lights, Dark Shadows: The Real Story of ABBA. London: Omnibus. ISBN 0-7119-8389-5. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)

External links

• Official website
• ABBA discography at Discogs
• ABBA's Benny Andersson Talks Hall of Fame Induction, Band's Reunion Prospects, Rolling Stone
• ABBA: From Sweden to Superstardom – slideshow by Life magazine
• ABBA performs "Dancing Queen" on "Midnight Special" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QN0RTuz4ORA&feature=fvwrel
• ABBA Stars – funpage Czech revival ABBA Stars.