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In 1975, one year on from winning the Eurovision Song Contest, ABBA released their much-anticipated, self-titled album ABBA. The Swedish quartet – made up of Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson and Anni-Frid (Frida) Lyngstad – won worldwide fame with their 1974 Eurovision hit Waterloo and this was their first album since their victory.
To celebrate 50 years since its release, the album, which included hits such as Mamma Mia, SOS and I’ve Been Waiting for You, will be rereleased on 13 June with a special anniversary edition – a must-have for any superfan. ABBA went on to release six more albums and, thanks to numerous shows, events, tribute acts and films in their honour, they are still one of the biggest bands in the world.
So, in anticipation of a new(ish) album, here are some fascinating facts you may not know about ABBA.
They first got together in 1969 when Benny and Björn, who had previously collaborated on several pop and folk projects, met Agnetha and Frida and they formed the cabaret act Festfolk.
The name was a play on two words with nearly identical pronunciations in Swedish – festfolk, meaning “party people”, and fästfolk, meaning “engaged couples”.
But it didn’t really catch on and success was limited, so they soon changed their name to ABBA, an acronym of their first names, with the logo having a back-to-front B.
While everyone agreed that ABBA was the name to make them stars, there was a slight problem – the name was already being used by a Swedish canned fish company. Founded in 1838, Abba AB’s best-known products include fish row paste and pickled herring. ABBA’s manager contacted the company to confirm that there wouldn’t be any issue with them using the same name.
Agnetha later said, “[We] had to ask permission, and the factory said, ‘OK, as long as you don't make us feel ashamed for what you’re doing’.”
After deciding to sing Waterloo in English, rather than their native language, to give them more chance of winning and continued success, ABBA were victorious in the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest.
However, they received the dreaded “nul points” from the United Kingdom. Björn has since admitted he thought the UK did this for tactical reasons because it saw ABBA as the biggest threat.
“It certainly could have been,” he said, “because the Brits were the first ones to embrace us after winning, so the jury could have been as cunning as that – [it’s] very likely actually. Because it’s kind of strange they would give us zero points. It sounds like they were trying to do something cunning.”
Their greatest hits compilation was originally released in 1992 and has since sold over 30 million copies – their biggest-ever selling album and one of the best-selling albums of all time.
It was rereleased in 1999 for their 25th anniversary of winning Eurovision, again in 2008 for the film release of Mamma Mia!, once again to mark their 40th Eurovision anniversary and in 2022, 30 years after it originally came out.
In 2021, it was announced that it had spent 1,000 weeks in the top 100 – eight weeks of those at number one – and upon hearing the news, Benny joked, “Not bad for four old turnips.”
Despite singing about Money, Money, Money, the group proved they weren’t all about the cash after turning down a reported $1 billion to tour. The tour would’ve been between 100 and 250 dates, and they weren’t keen to commit as they were getting older and wanted ABBA’s legacy to remain.
Speaking after they met up for their 40th anniversary of Waterloo, Frida said, “We only have one answer and that is no – we’re not going to do it. That’s how we looked at that time, with all the energy, excitement and motivation. It’s not exactly the same nowadays, if you know what I mean.”
Although ABBA refused to tour, in 2019, the group signed a deal for them to become ABBAtars for their digital stage show Voyage. The concert features all four members in their life-like avatar form from their 1970s heyday and opened in May 2022 in a purpose-built arena in east London.
Their digital versions were created with motion capture and performance techniques, but Benny and Björn had to shave their beards off while it was being made because the computers couldn’t capture the bottom half of their faces – Björn hated it.
Based on the songs of ABBA, Mamma Mia! opened in London’s West End in 1999 and, 26 years later, it’s London’s fifth longest-running show and is still selling out. Written by British playwright Catherine Johnson, it’s about a girl who invites her three potential dads to her wedding in Greece.
Benny and Björn were involved in the development of the show from the start, while Frida was involved financially. It also had a 14-year run on Broadway until 2015 and will reopen for a limited six-month run in August.
When the band first started, Agnetha and Björn soon began dating. They were married in 1971 and had two children together. Frida and Benny were also a couple in the early days but didn’t tie the knot until they were at the height of ABBA’s fame in 1978.
However, Agentha and Björn split in 1980, closely followed by Frida and Benny a year later. While there were difficulties, some of the biggest songs were written about the split, including The Winner Takes It All.
Agentha has since said, “Björn wrote it about us after the breakdown of our marriage. The fact he wrote it exactly when we divorced is touching really. I didn’t mind. It was fantastic to do that song because I could put in such feeling. I didn't mind sharing it with the public. It didn't feel wrong.
"There is so much in that song. It was a mixture of what I felt and what Björn felt, but also what Benny and Frida went through.”
Since the group split in 1982, Agnetha and Frida stayed more or less out of the spotlight, but the male members have been very involved in anything ABBA-related. And that was true when filming began for Mamma Mia! in Greece in 2008. They were producers on the movie and Meryl Streep – who played Donna – says they were very hands-on.
“They were there all the time, whenever we were recording,” she said.
“First, we did a pre-record and then we recorded on body mikes while we were shooting. They were very generous in how they let us own the songs and express their songs, as long as we were exact on the words and the timing. I didn’t want to disappoint them, or let them down, and I didn’t want to let down all the Donnas – there’s something like 500 Donnas and we’re in a club now. But there are so many great songs and it was such a joy to sing them. It wasn’t hard work.”
In 2024, Radio 2 asked listeners to crown their favourite ABBA song and Dancing Queen came out on top, beating The Winner Takes It All. Thank You for the Music was number three while Slipping Through My Fingers and The Day Before You Came made up the rest of the top five. It was hosted by Gary Davies, who wasn’t surprised by the number-one track.
“Dancing Queen is one of those songs that just makes you happy every time you hear it and still gets any dance floor full to this day – a guaranteed singalong!”
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