ABBA - Benny, Anni-Frid, Agnetha and Björn
The ABBA Story by Carl Magnus Palm. Date: April 2008. For Polar Music International/Universal Music Group.
The ABBA story began in June 1966 when Björn Ulvaeus (born 1945) met Benny
Andersson (born 1946) for the first time. Björn was a member of the Hootenanny
Singers, a very popular folk music group, while Benny played keyboards in
Sweden’s biggest pop group of the 1960s, The Hep Stars.
The pair wrote their first song together later that year, and by the end of the
decade they had established a regular partnership as composers. By that time,
Benny had left The Hep Stars, while the Hootenanny Singers only existed in the
recording studio. The Hootenanny Singers released their records on the Polar
Music record label, owned by Stig Anderson (1931–1997), who was to become ABBA’s
manager. Stig also contributed lyrics to many ABBA hits during the first years
of the group’s career.
In the spring of 1969, Björn and Benny met the two women who were to become not
only their fiancées but also the other half of ABBA. Agnetha Fältskog (born
1950) had been a successful solo singer since releasing her first single in
1967. She and Björn were married in July 1971. Anni-Frid Lyngstad (born 1945),
also known as Frida, started her recording career shortly before Agnetha. Frida
was of Norwegian origin, but had moved to Sweden at a very early age. Benny and
Frida didn’t get married until October 1978.
At first, the four members collaborated musically mainly by contributing songs,
instrumental backing, production work or backing vocals to the recordings they
each made as solo or duo acts. In 1970, the attractive sound of their four
voices combined gave them the idea to put together the cabaret act Festfolk
(which had the double meaning "engaged couples" and "party people"). This first
attempt failed, but in the spring of 1972 they recorded a song called ‘People
Need Love’, garnering a medium-sized hit in Sweden. At this time they called
themselves Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Anni-Frid.
Encouraged by this success, they entered the 1973 Swedish selections for the
Eurovision Song Contest with the song ‘Ring Ring’. They finished third, but the
single and the album of the same name competed for the top positions on the
Swedish chart. ‘Ring Ring’ also became a hit in several other European
countries.
The group entered the selections again in 1974, this time with ‘ Waterloo’,
which took them all the way to the finals in Brighton, England. By this time
they had changed their name to ABBA, an acronym of their first names. ABBA was
also the name of a Swedish canned fish company, which luckily agreed to lending
their name to a pop group. The Eurovision Song Contest on April 6, 1974 turned
out to be the most famous moment in ABBA history, when the group won the
international juries over with ‘ Waterloo’.
Soon after this triumph, ‘ Waterloo’ was Number One on the charts all over
Europe, and even reached the US Top Ten. The album of the same name was also a
huge hit in Sweden. However, the "stigma" of being winners of the Eurovision
Song Contest made it difficult for ABBA to be taken seriously when they tried to
follow this first success. It was not until some 18 months later that they got a
major worldwide hit again with ‘SOS’, taken off their third album, simply titled
ABBA.
‘Mamma Mia’, also taken from ABBA, returned the group to the UK Number One spot,
which they occupied a total of nine times between 1974 and 1980. ‘Mamma Mia’ was
also a Number One hit in Australia, which was the first territory to release it
as a single in August 1975. Over the next few years, Australia would be caught
up in a virtual ABBA fever, giving the group a total of six Number One hits.
1976 was the year when ABBA finally and firmly established themselves as one of
the most popular groups in the world. The different greatest hits compilations
released in the UK and Australia this year (Greatest Hits and The Best Of ABBA
respectively) are still among the best-selling albums of all time in those
territories. Classic single releases such as ‘Fernando’ and ‘Dancing Queen’
topped the charts all over the world. In April 1977, ‘Dancing Queen’ became
ABBA’s only US Number One.
In late 1976 ABBA’s fourth album, Arrival, was released. The album stormed up
the charts and spawned hits such as ‘Money, Money, Money’ and ‘Knowing Me,
Knowing You’. This was followed by a concert tour of Europe and Australia
between January and March 1977. The tour was a complete success with capacity
houses everywhere. When the tour reached Australia, work was also begun on the
feature film ABBA – The Movie. The première of the film in December 1977
coincided with the release of ABBA – The Album. Hits from the album included
‘The Name Of The Game’ and ‘Take A Chance On Me’.
The spring of 1978 saw the group embarking on a major promotional campaign in
the USA, leading to a Top Three single with ‘Take A Chance On Me’ and a Top
Twenty entry for ABBA – The Album. The hit singles ‘ Summer Night City’ and ‘Chiquitita’
were followed by ABBA’s sixth album, Voulez-Vous, released in April 1979.
Earlier that year, Björn and Agnetha announced their divorce. This did not mean
the end of ABBA, but it did overthrow their image of two happy, music-making
couples.
ABBA’s single ‘Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)’ was released in the
autumn of 1979, coinciding with a major tour of Canada, the United States and
Europe. Around the same time a second compilation album, Greatest Hits Vol.2,
became an international success.
In March 1980, ABBA took their tour to Japan for what turned out to be their
very last live concerts. The rest of the year was devoted to the recording of
ABBA’s next album, Super Trouper, containing classic hits like ‘The Winner Takes
It All’ and the title track.
In February 1981 the final blow was dealt to ABBA’s happy-couples image of the
1970s, when Benny and Frida announced their divorce. This event still didn’t
stop the foursome from working together. At the end of the year, ABBA’s eighth
album, The Visitors, was released. ‘One Of Us’ was the biggest hit off the
album.
1982 saw the energy gradually running out of the group, as Björn and Benny set
their sights on writing the musical Chess and Agnetha and Frida were reviving
their solo careers. The only ABBA LP release this year was a compilation double
album of their hit singles, entitled The Singles – The First Ten Years,
including two new songs. Although the single ‘The Day Before You Came’ was one
of the group’s most accomplished recordings it failed to become a worldwide hit
on the scale that they had been used to. At the end of 1982, ABBA decided to
take a break. If they wanted to they could always get back together after a few
years, they reasoned.
The ABBA Revival
More than two decades after ABBA’s “temporary break”, there still has been no
ABBA reunion. But the group’s music lives on: the 1990s saw the beginning of a
major revival, with successful cover versions and high-profile movies using ABBA
songs on their soundtracks attracting a great deal of attention. The compilation
CD ABBA Gold, released in 1992, has sold 26 million copies to date.
The 1993 companion album, More ABBA Gold, went on to sell 2.5 million copies.
The box set Thank You For The Music followed in 1994, containing all the hits,
selected album tracks, plus rare and previously unreleased recordings.
1999 saw the London première of the hugely successful musical Mamma Mia!, based
on the songs of ABBA. The musical opened on Broadway two years later, and today
it is the world’s most popular show, having been seen by more than 30 million
people. The fifth anniversary of the musical in London in 2004 was attended by
Björn, Benny and Frida of ABBA, while the Swedish première in ABBA’s home
country of Sweden in February 2005 was attended by all four members of the
group. Mamma Mia! shows no signs of slowing down: a movie version, starring
Meryl Streep and Pierce Brosnan, opens in July 2008.
Since the start of the 21st Century, Universal Music has continually upgraded
the ABBA catalogue. So far, ABBA’s eight original studio albums have been
reissued with additional bonus tracks, revised artwork and expanded booklets
(Waterloo, Arrival and ABBA – The Album have since been released as expanded
Deluxe Editions, featuring DVDs containing previously unissued television
performances and other rarities). The compilation albums ABBA Gold and ABBA Oro
have been reissued with revised booklets and updated liner notes, and a
double-CD compiling all ABBA singles, The Definitive Collection, has sold more
than 1 million copies. A comprehensive box set, The Complete Studio Recordings,
was released in 2005, receiving spectacular press reviews.
ABBA’s videos have been collected on two different DVD releases: The Definitive
Collection and ABBA Gold, featuring the cleaned-up and remastered original film
clips. The two live concert films ABBA – The Movie and ABBA In Concert have been
restored and re-released on DVD, with bonus material. Other DVD releases include
the official documentary Super Troupers and the short film The Last Video, which
featured cameo appearances from the ABBA members. The official website, ABBA –
The Site, is an acclaimed resource for authoritative information about the
group. June 2009 sees the opening of ABBA the Museum in Stockholm. The permanent
museum is endorsed by the former members of the band, who are also contributing
items to the exhibition.
The ABBA members today:
Frida:
Frida recorded her first English-language solo album in 1982, ABBA’s final year
together. The album was called Something’s Going On, and was produced by Phil
Collins. In 1984, she released the album Shine, produced by Steve Lillywhite,
before abandoning her music career and devoting herself to family life and
environmental work. She made a comeback in 1996 with the Swedish-language album
Djupa andetag (“Deep Breaths”), which remains her last album to date. Today,
Frida is mainly devoted to charity work, but occasionally appears as guest
vocalist on other artists’ records, the most high-profile of which was 2004’s
collaboration with former Deep Purple member Jon Lord on ‘The Sun Will Shine
Again’. In 2005 her albums for Polar Music (Frida ensam, Something’s Going On
and Shine) were re-released with bonus tracks. Along with an expanded edition of
Djupa andetag, the albums were also included in the box set Frida 4xCD 1xDVD,
which featured a DVD of promo clips, television appearances and a brand new
interview with Frida.
Agnetha:
Agnetha’s first English-language solo album, Wrap Your Arms Around Me, was
produced by Mike Chapman in 1983. Two years later she released Eyes Of A Woman,
produced by Eric Stewart. Her last album for many years, I Stand Alone, was
produced by Peter Cetera in 1987. An authorized book on Agnetha’s life, As I Am,
was published in 1996, but otherwise she remained withdrawn from public life. In
2004 Agnetha released her first album in 17 years, entitled My Colouring Book.
The following year her three albums released on Polar Music (the Christmas album
Nu tändas tusen juleljus – recorded with her daughter Linda – Wrap Your Arms
Around Me and Eyes Of A Woman) were re-released with bonus tracks.
Björn and Benny:
After ABBA’s final recordings, Björn and Benny collaborated with Tim Rice on the
musical Chess. A concept album was released in 1984, followed by the London
première of the musical in May 1986. Benny released two mainly instrumental solo
albums in 1987 and 1989. In 1990, Björn and Benny started work on a new musical.
The Swedish-language Kristina från Duvemåla ("Kristina From Duvemåla") was
premièred in 1995 and became a major success. The musical has been translated
into English and may be staged in the United States at some point.
Benny released his first “solo” album in 12 years in 2001, Benny Anderssons Orkester ("The Benny Andersson Orchestra"); a further three albums with the
orchestra have followed since then, along with brief but successful tours. The
first few years of the new millennium saw Björn and Benny devote themselves to a
revival of their Chess musical. A Swedish production – the first in their home
country – opened in Stockholm in 2002. The pair is also engaged in the various
international stagings of the Mamma Mia! musical.
Source: Official ABBA biography, written by ABBA historian Carl Magnus Palm.
