ABBA - Benny, Anni-Frid, Agnetha and Björn
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 more
than 25 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. Mamma Mia! has
been seen by more than 20 million people.
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 she leads a fairly
low-key life, devoting herself to environmental issues and charity work.
Recently, however, she has guested on records by other artists. In 2002 Frida
duetted with Filippa Giordano on La Barcarolle, a recording only released in
Japan. The following year she appeared on a CD single released by singer Dan
Daniell for charity purposes. Frida’s most recent recording was her lead vocal
performance of the song ‘The Sun Will Shine Again’, included on former Deep
Purple keyboard player Jon Lord’s album Beyond The Notes (released in 2004).
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. 2004 saw the
release of Agnetha's first album in 17 years, and her most successful ever,
entitled My Colouring Book.
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.
Benny released his first solo album in 12 years in 2001, Benny Anderssons
Orkester ("The Benny Andersson Orchestra").
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. In a ceremony in London, England in May 2002
Björn and Benny received the Special international award at the prestigious Ivor
Novello Awards.
In July 2002, Benny Andersson was awarded the title of Professor
by the Swedish government.
Source: Official ABBA biography, written by ABBA
historian
Carl Magnus Palm.
