The ABBA Top 40: Their Greatest Hits - YouTube The ABBA Top 40: Their Greatest Hits Want to watch this again later? Sign in to add this video to a playlist. Need to report the video? Sign in to report inappropriate content. Rating is available when the video has been rented. This feature is not available right now. Please try again later. Uploaded on May 26, 2010 THE ABBA TOP 40 - Here's how the songs were ranked : This video montage ranks the top 40 singles released by ABBA, one of the world's best-selling bands, between 1972 and 1983. The ranking is not based on personal whim, but on the songs' actual chart positions. The ranking is determined by reverse scoring ABBA's original single releases from the pop and rock charts in 17 countries. (100 points were assigned for a number one chart position, 99 points for number two and so on, with a bonus 20 points awarded for each number one.) The dates attached to each track identify the year the single peaked in most countries, NOT the year it was produced or the album it appeared on.

For example, King Kong Song appeared on the 1974 album "Waterloo", but it charted in Australia and Sweden at the height of the band's popularity, in 1977. Here is a list of the songs together with their point totals. If any of these rankings surprise you, please message me for the complete list of chart positions. 40. I've Been Waiting for You (1975) [52 points] 39. People Need Love (1972) [89] 38. Nina, Pretty Ballerina (1973) [93] 37. Rock Me (1976) [97] 36. King Kong Song (1977) [104] 35. He Is Your Brother (1972) [105] 34. When All Is Said and Done (1982) [111] 33. As Good As New (1979) [120] 32. Hasta Mañana (1974) [184] 31.

Angeleyes (1979) [224] 30. On and On and On (1980) [235] 29. Happy New Year (1980) [377] 28. So Long (1974) [411] 27. Lay All Your Love on Me (1981) [433] 26. Thank You for the Music (1980-Spanish/1983-English) [456] 25. Eagle (1978) [516] 24. Under Attack (1983) [516] 23. Honey, Honey (1974) [682] 22. Head Over Heels (1982) [704] 21. Ring Ring (1973) [805] 20. Voulez-Vous (1979) [811] 19. The Day Before You Came (1982) [927] 18.

Summer Night City (1978) [928] 17. I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do (1975) [1060] 16. Does Your Mother Know (1979) [1109] 15. I Have a Dream (1979) [1142] 14. Mamma Mia (1975) [1154] 13. Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight) (1979) [1155] 12. Money, Money, Money (1976) [1231] 11. S.O.S. (1975) [1267] 10. One of Us (1981) [1275] 9. The Name of the Game (1977) [1345] 8. Super Trouper (1980) [1363] 7.

Take a Chance on Me (1978) [1395] 6. Waterloo (1974) [1422] 5. Knowing Me, Knowing You (1977) [1452] 4. The Winner Takes it All (1980) [1648] 3. Fernando (1976) [1715] 2. Chiquitita (1979) [1765] 1. Dancing Queen (1976) [1814] Note: The clips are excerpted from produced video (ABBA was a pioneer of the music video), live performances, and lip-synched TV appearances: As a result the quality of the video varies. Category ABBA - History History The first four photos and those for the years 1974 - 1979 © by Wolfgang Heilemann and used by his kind permission.

AGNETHA FÄLTSKOG Birthday: April 5th 1950 in Jönköping Agnetha took piano lessons at the age of 6, she had her first public appearances as a singer when she was 13. At 15, she joined the Bernt Enghardt Orchester from Huskvarna and sang to their music in towns near Jönköping. When she was 17, the band sent a demo tape with her song "Jag var så kär" to the famous producer Little Gerhard, but he was only interested in Agnetha as a solo artist. She went to Stockholm and recorded her composition. It entered the hit charts in 1968, causing Agnetha to move to Stockholm, where she was able to visit Calle Flygare's theatre school. After her contract with Bernt Enghardt had expired, she began touring on her own, having lots of hits. Her first LP was released by CUPOL in the same year, the second one in 1969, then she met Björn in summer at a TV show.

In April 1970 Agnetha and Björn became engaged, they married July 7th, 1971 in Verum. Their children Linda (born February 23rd 1973) and Christian (December 4th 1977) are singing with her on two of her later albums. BJÖRN ULVAEUS Birthday: April 25th 1945 in Gothenburg Björn got his first guitar at the age of 12 and joined the Westbay Singers, a band at his school in Västervik. The other members were Tony Roth, Hansi Schwarz and Johan Karlberg, they toured Europe in 1963. In autumn of the same year Stig Anderson and Bengt Bernhag from the new record company Polar Music were looking for a folk band, they got a demo tape of "Ave Maria no morro", proposed the band's new name Hootenanny Singers and produced their first record "Jag väntar vid min mila".

The Hootenanny Singers won a newcomer contest, signed the first record contract at Polar and had lots of hits after finishing school, the greatest being "En sång en gång för längesen". Björn recorded solo singles in 1968 and he is working with Benny since 1969. BENNY ANDERSSON Birthday: December 16th 1946 in Stockholm Just 6 years old, Benny began to play accordion and changed to piano soon. After many gigs in youth clubs he became a member of the band "Elverkets Spelmanslag". He met Christina Grönvall and became engaged. Christina had two children, Peter (born August 20th 1963) and Helene (June 25th 1965), but they separated soon afterwards. Benny joined the Hep Stars in October 1964 to replace the former keyboard player Hans Östlund just before their great success began. The Hep Stars were Svenne Hedlund (vocals), Janne Frisck (guitar), Christer Petterson (drums), Lennart Hegland (bass) and Benny.

They brought rock music similar to the Beatles to Sweden, getting 8 golden records as the most successful band of the sixties in Sweden. A huge tax claim caused the Hep Stars' own company Hep House to go bankrupt, and Benny started to work with Björn at Polar Music. His son Peter Grönvall is also playing keyboard and he founded the bands Sound Of Music, Peter's Pop Squad and One More Time with his wife Nanne. One More Time's greatest hit "Highland" was engineered by Frida's son Hans. They also wrote and produced "Det vackraste", a big hit for Cecilia Vennersten in Sweden. ANNI-FRID LYNGSTAD (FRIDA) Birthday: November 15th 1945 near Narvik (Norway) At the age of 13 Frida began to sing for a swing band lead by Ewald Ek, then she joined Bengt Sandlund's Big Band in Eskilstuna singing jazz. Frida married the band's bass player Ragnar Fredriksson and had two children, Hans (born January 26th 1963) and Lise-Lotte (February 25th 1967).

After starting her own band Anni-Frid Four with Ragnar she had many appearances in Eskilstuna. September 3rd 1967 Frida won the contest "Nya ansikten" (New Faces) singing "En ledig dag", she sang it again on the same evening on TV in the show "Hylands Hörna" and got a contract with EMI. After separating from Ragnar she toured the Swedish folksparks with Lars Berghagen, then two years with Charlie Norman. Frida met Benny for the first time in Malmö 1969, they became engaged, but the wedding had to wait until October 6th 1978, the time when ABBA was most successful. The first recording by Agnetha, Björn, Benny and Frida was "Hej gamle man" from 1970, released on the album "Lycka" and as a single. ABBA'S HISTORY Only the most important events in ABBA's career are listed in this short summary. Detailed information can be found in many books, especially in "ABBA The Complete Recording Sessions" by Carl Magnus Palm and "ABBA The Book" by Jean-Marie Potiez.

See our books section. 1964 - FIRST RECORDS Björn joined the Hootenanny Singers. They released one or two LPs every year from 1964 to 1974 singing folk music in Swedish and English. The Hootenanny Singers provided the first hit single for the new record company Polar Music. Benny began to play organ for the Hep Stars. After one year they produced their first LP and climbed to the top of the Swedish charts. The Hep Stars were often called the "Swedish Beatles". Until 1969 a new album was released every year. Benny and Björn met in 1966 for the first time when both bands appeared in Linköping. 1967 - AGNETHA AND FRIDA Agnetha's first single was recorded and became a number one hit at the beginning of the next year. Frida released her first singles under her full name Anni-Frid Lyngstad. 1968 Agnethas first LP was very successful and she began to record singles in German language as well.

1969 - BENNY AND BJÖRN After separating from the Hep Stars, Benny began to write songs together with Björn. Agnetha and Björn met each other this year, just like Frida and Benny! 1970 "Hej gamle man" was the first single featuring all ABBA members. It was credited to "Björn Ulvaeus & Benny Andersson". Agnetha and Frida were singing on their album "Lycka" and the cooperation with sound engineer Michael B. Tretow started. 1971 Frida's first LP and Agnetha's fourth LP were released. They recorded singles like Benny and Björn did. 1972 Björn and Benny wrote two songs for the film "Ture Sventon". Agnetha appeared as Maria Magdalena in the musical "Jesus Christ Superstar". Fridas first recording contract with EMI had expired and she signed to Polar. The single "People Need Love" was now credited to "Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Anni-Frid", featuring many of the studio musicians belonging to the team from now on.

1973 The new song "Ring, Ring" failed to win the Swedish Eurovision Song Contest and public disappointment caused the jury to be replaced by 'ordinary people'. The name ABBA is used from now on. English, Swedish and German versions of the "Ring, Ring" single were made. 1974 - VICTORY ABBA won the Eurovision Song Contest in England with "Waterloo", this was the beginning of the greatest career in Swedish pop music history. The "Waterloo" LP was released in England and America after many TV appearances. 1975 "S.O.S.", "Mamma Mia" and the "ABBA" album continued their success. Agnetha produced her last Swedish solo album "Elva kvinnor i ett hus" for CUPOL and Frida was even more successful with her LP "Ensam". The ABBA fever reached Australia where five ABBA singles were in the Top Ten! 1976 The ABBA version of "Fernando" from Frida's swedish LP sold better than any other ABBA single before. An ABBA TV show in Australia had more viewers than the first landing on the moon!

June 18th they performed "Dancing Queen" on TV, the evening before the royal wedding in Sweden. This single went to number one in America and the "Arrival" album broke all advance order records. 1977 - ON TOUR ABBA's first world tour began in Europe and ended in Australia, being completely sold out. More than three million advance ticket orders were received for the London concert... Lasse Hallström directed the film "ABBA The Movie" during the Australian concerts. The new LP "ABBA The Album", finished at the end of the year, got a platinum award even before its release. 1978 ABBA The Movie was premiered in London on February 16th. Made in wide screen format and four channel audio, it conquered the cinemas and was a little comfort for the fans without concert tickets in 1977. The Movie was number seven on the movies of the year list and was later offered on a video cassette. The new Polar studios in Stockholm, the most advanced at that time, were finished. Many demo versions of new ABBA songs were made in this year and they remained unreleased for a long time.

1979 - TOURING AGAIN ABBA sang "Chiquitita" at the UNICEF concert in New York and a single release followed. The TV show "ABBA in Switzerland", recorded in a tent in Leysin, was shown in many countries. Frida appeared as an actress in the Swedish movie "Gå på vattnet om du kan" (Walk on water if you can). It was directed by Stig Björkman and did not include music by Frida or ABBA. ABBA celebrated Görel Hanser's 30th birthday singing "Sång till Görel", a 12" single with a limited edition of just 50 pieces. ABBA's second world tour began in Canada and America after huge success of the new "Voulez-Vous" album and was continued in Europe two weeks later. Agnetha introduced her new song "I'm Still Alive", which was never released on a record up to now. 1980 In March, ABBA went to Japan to conclude the last year's tour. Agnetha and Frida recorded the LP "Gracias Por La Musica" with spanish versions of ABBA's hits.

"The Winner Takes It All" jumped to number one and the "Super Trouper" album was released. 1981 ABBA, Michael Tretow and Rune Söderqvist had a special present for manager Stig Anderson's 50th birthday: The 12" single "Hovas Vittne". New digital equipment installed at Polar studios was used for the first time for the production of ABBA's new album "The Visitors". Agnetha released a christmas album called "Nu tändas tusen juleljus" with her daughter Linda. 1982 Frida's first English solo album "Something's Going On" was produced by Phil Collins. Two new ABBA songs, "The Day Before You Came" and "Under Attack", were both released as singles and included on the double album "The Singles - The First Ten Years", a compilation of the previous singles. Agnetha sang the duet "Never Again" with Tomas Ledin, who supported ABBA during their last tour. 1983 The first CDs were offered. "The Visitors" became ABBA's first CD, soon followed by the older albums.

Agnetha made her first English solo album "Wrap Your Arms Around Me", a few singles and the film music for a crime comedy, the title track "P & B" plus "It's So Nice To Be Rich", only available in Sweden. Agnetha also appeared in the film "Raskenstam" by Gunnar Hellström. She got excellent reviews, but did no further film projects until now. An ABBA stamp was released in Sweden as part of the series "Musik i Sverige". The ABBACADABRA musical, a fairy tale story with french lyrics to popular ABBA-Hits, premiered in France. Frida sang the part of a princess in a duet with Daniel Balavoine, this single "Belle" to the melody of "Arrival" became "Time" with B.A. Robertson in England. 1984 - CHESS Frida's solo album "Shine" came out. One of the tracks, "Slowly", was written by Benny and Björn. The musical CHESS written by Benny & Björn with lyrics by Tim Rice was finished and released as a double album.

"One Night In Bangkok" by Murray Head and "I Know Him So Well" by Elaine Paige and Barbara Dickson became hits. 1985 Agnetha's second English solo album "Eyes Of A Woman" was released. She wrote the hit "I Won't Let You Go" together with producer Eric Stewart. Karin and Anders Glenmark, known as "Gemini", recorded the self-titled album using many songs written by Björn and Benny, including "Just Like That" which had been recorded by ABBA before. 1986 CHESS was performed in London for the first time with big success and very good reviews. It was played there for four years before going on tour in England. ABBA's last TV appearance was in a show about Stig Anderson's life, they performed his first hit "Tiveds Hambo". Agnetha sang a duet with Ola Håkansson, "The Way You Are" from the film "It's Time For Sweden", made for Sweden's application for the winter olympics. An ABBA live album featuring recordings from the world tours was finally released.

CBS released the compilation album "Sjung Denna Sång" with early single hits by Agnetha. 1987 Agnetha produced her new album "Kom Följ Med I Vår Karusell" singing children's songs with her son Christian. Her album "I Stand Alone" was produced by Peter Cetera in the same year. Frida recorded the single "Så länge vi har varann" with the group Ratata, there is an English version named "As Long As I Have You". Benny and Björn composed the title song for the fantasy film "Mio my Mio" based on a book by Astrid Lindgren and sung by Gemini. The film was a Swedish-Norwegian-Sovjet co-production directed by Vladimir Grammatikov. More Songs by Benny and Björn were included on Gemini's second album "Geminism". Benny produced his first solo album "Klinga Mina Klockor". Frida was part of the background choir. 1988 CHESS was performed on Broadway in New York, but without big success.

Benny played the accordion on a record with the folk music band Orsa Spelmän (Mono MMCD 002). 1989 Benny's second solo album "November 1989" was finished. The track "Stockholm By Night" is from the film "Den hemliga vännen" (The secret friend). "Målarskolan" is music from a TV series. He received a Grammy award in Sweden for this record. 1990 Stig Anderson sold his record company Polar Music and the rights to ABBA's music to Polygram. Benny produced the CDs "Fiolen Min" with Swedish folk music (again with Orsa Spelmän) and "Fågelsång i Sverige" (Bird songs in Sweden, Mono MMCD 006). This CD included bird songs recorded by Lars Svensson, the drawings in the booklet were done by Dan Zetterström. Benny and Björn started to work on an new musical based on the "Utvandrarna" books (The Emigrants) by Vilhelm Moberg.

Benny wrote the theme music for the world equestrian championships called "Upp till kamp", sung by Tommy Körberg. 1991 The Ainbusk Singers recorded "Älska Mej", written by Benny. Björn and Benny wrote "Beatrice" for Kalle Moraeus, a member of Orsa Spelmän. Early songs by Frida were re-released on the CD "På egen hand". 1992 - THE BIG COMEBACK After successful re-release of "Dancing Queen" as a CD single, Polygram released the CD "ABBA GOLD", a compilation album with hits digitally remastered by Michael Tretow. This CD was listed on many hit charts in Europe for more than one year! More ABBA CD singles followed. Frida sang "Money, Money, Money" at a Roxette concert in Zürich and, later that year at the Stockholm Water Festival, "Änglamark" and "Saltwater". Björn and Benny came on stage to perform "Dancing Queen" together with U2 in Stockholm.

1993 "Tre kvart från nu" was the title of a second CD with early solos by Frida. Björn and Benny produced the album "Shapes" by Josefin Nilsson, one of the Ainbusk Singers, featuring new songs written by Björn & Benny. Frida, Benny and Björn were rewarded with five platinum CDs for the success of ABBA GOLD (5 million copies sold) by Polygram in Stockholm. The follow-up "More ABBA GOLD" was the first record with a previously unreleased ABBA song: "I Am The City"! Three tracks by the Ainbusk Singers were released on CD single by Mono Music. Frida sang an a-cappella version of "Dancing Queen" together with "The Real Group" on Swedish TV at Queen Silvias 50th birthday before christmas. 1994 Agnetha's christmas album was re-released as part of the CD "Julens Musik" together with other christmas songs, including two by Frida and by the Hootenanny Singers. "The Voice of ABBA" was the first CD release for three single B-side tracks by Agnetha and Frida.

In autumn, the 4 CD box set "Thank You For The Music" was released. A big sensation were previously unreleased ABBA songs: "Put On Your White Sombrero", "Dream World" and the studio medley "ABBA Undeleted" with 15 demo recordings, including a part from "Just Like That"! 1995 - KRISTINA Many Swedish songs never released on CD before were included on "ABBA På Svenska". Benny & Björn's new musical had its premiere on October 7th in Malmö. It is called "Kristina från Duvemåla" and it is about Swedish emigrants coming to America. The leading characters are played by Helen Sjöholm, Anders Ekborg, Peter Jöback, Åsa Bergh and Marianne Mörck. Agnetha's daughter Linda has a small part as well and ABBA fans from all over the world went to the premiere to see Agnetha, Benny and Björn. Praised by the public and critics, the musical was immediately sold out to the end of its run.

1996 On February 9th the new permanent exhibition was opened at the Music Museum in Stockholm. "Kristina från Duvemåla" moved to Göteborg on April 13th. The Swedish song for the Eurovision Song Contest in Oslo was "Den vilda" by One More Time, it made the third place. Frida's new Swedish solo album was released in September. "Djupa andetag" became the Swedish chart's number one at once. Agnetha's double album "My Love, My Life" with many old songs never published on CD before came out together with her book "Som jag är". "Kristina från Duvemåla" was performed in Minneapolis, USA on the 12th of October in Swedish. A triple CD is now available from Mono Music and the musical returned to Malmö. 1997 Benny became "Composer of the year" at the Swedish Grammy Award gala in february, the "Kristina från Duvemåla" triple CD became "Album of the year". All the ABBA CDs were digitally remastered and released in March.

After the last performance of the musical in Malmö, the rebuilding of the Cirkus theatre on the Djurgården island began in summer for the Stockholm premiere in February 1998. More than 100 000 tickets were sold out on the first day they were offered. The translation of the musical began and the English language premiere will probably be in the United States. ABBA's ex-manager Stig Anderson died of a heart attack on September 12th. EMI released the double CD "Frida 1967-1972" including her former EMI single tracks plus five bonus tracks from radio and TV appearances. All of her Swedish solo singles are now available on CD. Just before christmas Björn announced that an ABBA musical (working title Mamma Mia) featuring ABBA's greatest hits is planned to premiere in London in 1999! 1998 "Kristina från Duvemåla" premiered in the Cirkus Theatre in Stockholm on February 14th with great success.

Agnetha's new CD "That's Me - The Greatest Hits" included "The Queen Of Hearts", a previously unreleased English version of "När du tar mig i din famn". After huge demand from ABBA fans via the Internet this song was even released as a CD single in some countries! The "B & B" concerts in Gothenburg and Stockholm were a huge success. About 60 000 people have seen the tribute to Benny and Björn's music featuring Helen Sjöholm, Karin and Anders Glenmark, Tommy Körberg, Orsa Spelmän and the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra and choir. A live CD "Från Waterloo till Duvemåla" recorded in Gothenburg was ready for the performances at the Stockholm Globen where the audience cheered as Benny came on stage to play accordion and piano during the final concert. 1999 - 25 YEARS - MAMMA MIA This year is ABBA's 25th anniversary marked by many special releases. A remastered ABBA GOLD with autographs printed on the cover came out in March.

"ABBA The Collection" is a box with 3 CDs/MCs, a booklet and a video cassette, "ABBA Singles Collection" is a tin box with remastered CD issues of 29 ABBA singles in a 20 000 piece limited edition. ABBA returned to the top of the hit charts in many countries. The ABBA musical "Mamma Mia!" premiered in London's Prince Edward Theatre on April 6th, the day when ABBA won the Eurovision Song Contest 25 years ago. The story written by Catherine Johnson is about the relationship between a mother and her daughter trying to find out who her father is. 22 ABBA hits fit perfectly into a funny story featuring Siobhan McCarthy, Lisa Stokke, Louise Plowright, Jenny Galloway, Hilton McRae, Paul Clarkson, Nicolas Colicos and Andrew Langtree as the main characters. After getting excellent reviews, "Mamma Mia!" is breaking all records, the audience keeps singing along and tickets are very hard to get now. "Kristina från Duvemåla" came to an end in June. More than one million have seen this musical up to now.

Further "B & B" concerts are held in European cities, one even in Shanghai. Michael B. Tretow's funny album "Let's Boogie" with the ABBA members as studio musicians is finally available on CD. All four ABBA members were singing birthday greetings at Görel Hanser's 50th in June. The Nordic Museum in Stockholm opened a larger, temporary ABBA exhibition in November, with instruments, costumes, golden records and collector's items. A slide show with lots of photos by Anders Hanser from the new book "Från ABBA till Mamma Mia!" is also there. A*Teens, a teenage group from Sweden, released an album with ABBA covers. The "Mamma Mia!" original cast recording came out and topped the musical charts in the UK and USA. "I Have A Dream" sung by the Irish boy group Westlife was number one of the UK hit charts at christmas! 2000 The A*Teens are a big success and lots of other bands copy ABBA all over Europe. A new ABBA stamp was released in Sweden in March. It shows a picture from the Eurovision Song Contest.

The musical CHESS went on tour in Germany, Austria and Switzerland for the first time. It is a Polish-German-Austrian co-production with songs in English and the dialogue in German. "Mamma Mia!" premiered in Toronto, Canada on May 23rd. Frida, Benny and Björn attended the show. In November the musical began to tour the USA. ABBA were offered one billion US$ for a reunion, the highest offer an artist ever got in history. ABBA said no. Benny wrote the soundtrack for Roy Andersson's film "Sånger från andra våningen". 2001 Björn announced that "Mamma Mia!" might come to Sweden in 2002. The musical starts to play in Australia. A concert version of "Kristina från Duvemåla" toured Sweden in summer. Benny's third album "Benny Anderssons Orkester" came out in June. All eight ABBA albums were digitally remastered and re-released in August, including some bonus tracks.

About 200 objects from Frida's private property were auctioned on September 29th, including furniture, clothing (even from the ABBA times), paintings, jewellery and household items. The proceeds were given to a Swiss home for handicapped persons. "Mamma Mia!" premiered on New York Broadway on October 18th. 2002 The Swedish staging of "Chess" premieres at the Cirkus in Stockholm on February 23rd and Mono Music releases the double album in the end of October (Chess på Svenska, MMCD 019). "Mamma Mia!" has its German premiere at the Operettenhaus in Hamburg on November 3. The musical comes to Tokyo as well. Agnetha is preparing to record a new album. Frida recorded the duet "La Barcarolle" together with the opera singer Filippa Giordano. It was released in Japan only on Filippa's double CD "Il rosso amore deluxe" (WEA WPCS-11411). Carl Magnus Palm's ABBA biography was translated into German, called "Licht und Schatten".

The first ABBA DVD "The Definitive Collection" featuring all video clips plus a photo gallery was released. 2003 "Mamma Mia!" premiered in Las Vegas. Frida and Benny were there. The musical came to Holland as well. Benny and Björn won the 2003 National Broadway Theater Award for best score. Chess in Stockholm came to an end, but a DVD was released in November. Frida recorded "Lieber Gott" and "I Have A Dream" together with the Swiss artist Dan Daniell. Both songs were published on CD single and later on his album "Liebe ist..." (BM363-03-022). Benny played a new song during the summer tour with his orchestra and began working on a new album. "ABBA Gold" was released on DVD. 2004 Many ABBA re-releases accompanied the 30th anniversary of the Eurovision victory, with bonus tracks or included DVDs. "Live in Concert" was released as DVD "ABBA in Concert" and a funny video with ABBA dolls was made for the Eurovision Song Contest, with short appearances by the real members.

Agnetha released her new solo album "My Colouring Book" in April! She sings pop songs from the 60's in English and was interviewed for a TV programme. Sony released the box "De första åren - Agnetha Fältskog 1967-1979" with all solo recordings in Swedish on 6 CDs. "Mamma Mia!" premiered in South Korea in January. The hit musical celebrated its 5th birthday on April 6 in London. Frida, Benny and Björn came on stage after the performance! Mamma Mia! had its second German premiere in Stuttgart, Frida and Björn attended. A German cast CD was recorded by the Hamburg cast. The musical is played in Madrid from November on. Benny released the album "BAO!" with his orchestra and Helen Sj�holm. New books were presented, a very large one by photographer Wolfgang Heilemann and two by Carl Magnus Palm. 2005 All four ABBA members came to the Swedish Mamma Mia! premiere at the Stockholm Cirkus on February 12! The ensemble recorded a CD at Mono Music as well. The musical is also staged in Belgium.

Agnetha's "My Colouring Book" got a platinum award in Sweden. A restored version of "ABBA The Movie" is released on DVD with surround sound and bonus disc in September. Björn, Hansi Schwarz and Tony Roth of the Hootenanny Singers surprised the audience with the song "Marianne" at the Visfestival in Västervik. The Gemini album with old songs written by Benny & Björn is finally released, with a previously unpublished song. ABBA won the Eurovision Song Contest's 50th anniversary TV show in Copenhagen. "Waterloo" is now the most popular winning song ever! A box set including "Frida Ensam", her three solo CDs after ABBA plus one DVD (also sold separately in Sweden) is released. Universal Music announced a box set "ABBA: The Complete Studio Recordings" with 9 CDs (all studio recordings), 2 DVDs (all music video clips, a documentary and a TV concert) plus two books with all lyrics and many photos. The box is released at Christmas in limited edition. 2006 ABBA The Movie won the Swedish Grammy Award for the best DVD.

"ABBA Greatest Hits" and Benny & Björn's "Lycka" are re-released as CDs. A 30th anniversary Deluxe Edition of "Arrival" including a DVD and "ABBA Number Ones" (CD or DVD) follow. Benny Anderssons Orkester released the live album "BAO på turné". Mamma Mia! won 5 "Gold Mask" awards in Sweden and came to Moscow in October. A large book "Mamma Mia! How can I resist you?" by Benny, Björn and producer Judy Craymer is published and the hit musical will become a movie in the end of 2007. A huge ABBA Museum is announced, planned to open in Stockholm in June 2009. 2007 Mamma Mia! is played in Gothenburg by the Stockholm cast. The filming for the Mamma Mia! movie began in London and Greece. In Germany the musical is simultaneously staged in three cities for the first time, in Hamburg, Stuttgart and Essen. Universal released a double CD with old hits in May, featuring lyrics written by Stig Anderson.

Instead of going on a summer tour, Benny Anderssons Orkester give big concerts at the Stockholm Globe and the Gothenburg Scandinavium in autumn. Their third studio album "BAO 3" with Helen and Tommy is released. 2008 Benny Anderssons Orkester wins a Swedish Grammy Award for "BAO 3". Their hit "Du är min man", sung by Helen Sjöholm, breaks a record with 4 years on the Svensktoppen charts! Mamma Mia! The Movie premieres in London on June 30 with huge success. All four ABBA members appear together in public at the movie's Stockholm premiere at the Hotel Rival on Mariatorget! A digital version of ABBA The Movie returns to the cinemas across Europe. "ABBA Gold" and the Mamma Mia! Soundtrack reach the top of the charts, Mamma Mia! The Movie is released on DVD. The karaoke video game "Singstar ABBA" is available for the Playstation. 2009 The opening of the Stockholm ABBA Museum is postponed due to problems with the renovation of the building. The new company Touring Exhibitions will go on a world tour with the ABBAWORLD travelling exhibition instead.

Agnetha and Frida accept the newspaper Aftonbladet's lifetime achievement award "Rockbjörnen" for ABBA in January. Benny Anderssons Orkester go on a summer tour with Helen and Tommy and release the English language album "Story Of A Heart". Helen Sjöholm, Russell Watson, Louise Pitre and Kevin Odekirk perform at a Kristina concert event at the Carnegie Hall in New York on September 23 / 24. 2010 Frida and Björn attend the opening of the ABBAWORLD travelling exhibition in London on January 26. ABBA are finally inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in a ceremony in New York. Frida and Benny thank the audience and the fans and Benny plays the piano. Benny is asked to write a song for the wedding of Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden to Daniel Westling. "Vilar glad. I din famn" with lyrics by Kristina Lugn is performed by Orsa Spelmän, the Swedish Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and two choirs in the church just after the wedding ceremony. ABBAWORLD comes to Australia in June.

Agnetha and Benny send a video message for the opening. The exhibition moves on to Hungary in December. Frida records "Morning Has Broken" for the album "Reconnection" by Swedish artist Georg Wadenius. Agnetha and Björn attend the Danish premiere of Mamma Mia! 2011 Benny opens his new recording studio RMV (Riksmixningsverket) next to Mono Music on the other side of the tennis court and records the new BAO album "O klang och jubeltid" there. It receives a gold award and Swedish TV shows concert footage from the summer tour at Christmas. The travelling exhibition ABBAWORLD comes to Prague in May. ABBA City Walks take place in Stockholm from this year on, an ABBA City Map showing 20 places included in the tour is released as well. Benny and Björn prepare a Finnish production of Kristina från Duvemåla to be staged in Helsinki in 2012. 2012 Agnetha receives the ELLE Fashion Legend Award in January. Kristina från Duvemåla premieres in Helsinki in February.

Benny und Björn begin to write songs for the new musical "Hjälp sökes" to be staged in Stockholm in 2013. Agnetha begins to work on a new album. May 7, 2013 is announced as the opening date for ABBA The Museum. It is built on Djurgården next to the Gröna Lund amusement park. The first exhibition items are shown at Stockholm's airport Arlanda. Benny Anderssons Orkester release the new Christmas CD "Tomten har åkt hem" and the box set "BAO in Box" with 6 CDs and 2 DVDs, including all of their music recorded so far. 2013 The new Swedish musical "Hjälp sökes" with music by Benny and Björn and animals on stage premieres at the Stockholm Orion Theatre in February. A CD is published in September. After many TV interviews, Agnetha's new single "The One Who Loves You Now" is released on March 11, her album "A" on May 10. In November Agnetha performs a duet with Gary Barlow for "Children in Need" in London.

On May 6/7 ABBA The Museum opens in Stockholm! Frida, Benny, Björn and many celebrities attend the gala. Agnetha is in London to promote her new album "A". Benny and his son Ludvig start the company RMV Film to produce a fantasy movie, they will take care of the music as well. BBC - Radio 2 - Sold On Song - TOP 100 - Dancing Queen 'Dancing Queen' Abba A number one smash all over the world, and ABBA's only number one in the USA. On 18th June 1976 the song was premiered at a televised gala tribute to Sweden' future Queen Sliva who was to marry King Carl XVI Gustaf the following day. George McCrae's hit 'Rock You Baby' from 1974 was the inspiration for the Song facts UK Chart Position 1 rhythm of Dancing Queen. It has been said that a piece of this song could be heard before the actual backing track started, just for the musicians to maintain the right feel.

ABBA never meant to steal from this song.With ABBA's somewhat conventional European background, they often found it difficult to apply the right kind of dance rhythm to their music. The ABBA writers view it as their most perfect pop song ever. Björn: "The day that Benny and I finished mixing the instrumental track of Dancing Queen, I was so excited, I just could not rest. Agnetha was asleep and I just had to share it with someone, so I drove all over Stockholm looking for someone to play it to. Finally I ended up at my sister's house. I played it over and over again to her. We couldn't believe how good it sounded." Benny and Bjorn talk about songwritng Abba's songwriters Benny and Bjorn talk about their song writing techniques - "we start playing and fiddling around with chords and tempos, and sometimes something comes up". Audio help Other versions Teen idols S Club 7 leant their vocal chords to an Abba tribute album, Abbamania that was released in 1999. No matter how many times you hear it it still gives you the same uplifting and happy feeling that only this song can!

Wayne ABBA | New Music And Songs | ABBA About ABBA The most commercially successful pop group of the 1970s, the origins of the Swedish superstars ABBA dated back to 1966, when keyboardist and vocalist Benny Andersson, a onetime member of the popular beat outfit the Hep Stars, first teamed with guitarist and vocalist Bjorn Ulvaeus, the leader of the folk-rock unit the Hootenanny Singers. The two performers began composing songs together and handling session and production work for Polar Music/Union Songs, a publishing company owned by Stig Anderson, himself a prolific songwriter throughout the 1950s and 1960s. At the same time, both Andersson and Ulvaeus worked on projects with their respective girlfriends: Ulvaeus had become involved with vocalist Agnetha Faltskog, a performer with a recent number one Swedish hit, "I Was So in Love," under her belt, while Andersson began seeing Anni-Frid Lyngstad, a one-time jazz singer who rose to fame by winning a national talent contest.

In 1971, Faltskog ventured into theatrical work, accepting the role of Mary Magdalene in a Swedish production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Jesus Christ Superstar; her cover of the musical's "Don't Know How to Love Him" became a significant hit. The following year, the duo of Andersson and Ulvaeus scored a massive international hit with "People Need Love," which featured Faltskog and Lyngstad on backing vocals. The record's success earned them an invitation to enter the Swedish leg of the 1973 Eurovision song contest, where, under the unwieldy name of Bjorn, Benny, Agnetha & Frida, they submitted "Ring Ring," which proved extremely popular with audiences but placed only third in the judges' ballots. The next year, rechristened ABBA (a suggestion from Stig Anderson and an acronym of the members' first names), the quartet submitted the single "Waterloo," and became the first Swedish act to win the Eurovision competition. The record proved to be the first of many international hits, although the group hit a slump after their initial success as subsequent singles failed to chart.

In 1975, however, ABBA issued "S.O.S.," a smash not only in America and Britain but also in non-English speaking countries such as Spain, Germany and the Benelux nations, where the group's success was fairly unprecedented. A string of hits followed, including "Mamma Mia," "Fernando," and "Dancing Queen" (ABBA's sole U.S. chart-topper), further honing their lush, buoyant sound; by the spring of 1976, they were already in position to issue their first Greatest Hits collection. ABBA's popularity continued in 1977, when both "Knowing Me, Knowing You" and "The Name of the Game" dominated airwaves. The group also starred in the feature film ABBA -- The Movie, which was released in 1978. That year Andersson and Lyngstad married, as had Ulvaeus and Faltskog in 1971, although the latter couple separated a few months later; in fact, romantic suffering was the subject of many songs on the quartet's next LP, 1979's Voulez-Vous.

Shortly after the release of 1980s Super Trouper, Andersson and Lyngstad divorced as well, further straining the group dynamic; The Visitors, issued the following year, was the final LP of new ABBA material, and the foursome officially disbanded after the December 1982 release of their single "Under Attack." Although all of the group's members soon embarked on new projects -- both Lyngstad and Faltskog issued solo LPs, while Andersson and Ulvaeus collaborated with Tim Rice on the musical Chess -- none proved as successful as the group's earlier work, largely because throughout much of the world, especially Europe and Australia, the ABBA phenomenon never went away. Repackaged hits compilations and live collections continued hitting the charts long after the group's demise, and new artists regularly pointed to the quartet's inspiration: while the British dance duo Erasure released a covers collection, ABBA-esque, an Australian group called Bjorn Again found success as ABBA impersonators.

In 1993, "Dancing Queen" became a staple of U2's "Zoo TV" tour -- Andersson and Ulvaeus even joined the Irish superstars on-stage in Stockholm -- while the 1995 feature Muriel's Wedding, which won acclaim for its depiction of a lonely Australian girl who seeks refuge in ABBA's music, helped bring the group's work to the attention of a new generation of moviegoers and music fans. ~ Jason Ankeny, Rovi Abba | Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Sign up for E-news ABBA rose out of Sweden in the Seventies to become one of the most successful and beloved pop groups in music history. Their success gave a more international ﬂavor to popular music, broadening it beyond the English-speaking countries of origin. ABBA truly was an international phenomenon, topping charts and breaking records in England, France, Italy, Germany, Holland and Scandinavia. For a few years, ABBA ranked second only to automaker Volvo as Sweden’s biggest money-making export. According to the RIAA, ABBA has sold more than 10 million records in the U.S.

Estimates of worldwide sales range as high as 350 million. In the U.K. alone, these Swedish superstars charted 19 Top 10 singles (including nine that went to Number One) from 1974 to 1982. America proved somewhat more impervious to ABBA mania, as the group cracked the U.S. Top 10 only four times and hit Number One exactly once (with "Dancing Queen," in 1977). However, America got belatedly on board when the "jukebox musical" Mamma Mia!, based on the songs of ABBA, became a Broadway sensation. In December 2009, it became the 12th-longest-running Broadway show in history as it closed in on its 3,400th performance. Mamma Mia!, which premiered in London in 1999, has played around the world to an estimated 40 million people. A ﬁlm version and accompanying soundtrack were released in 2008. All of this further fueled ABBA mania, which remains in high throttle three decades after the group’s breakup in 1982.

The seeds for ABBA’s decade of infectious, effervescent pop were sewn in 1966, when Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus met. The two were already rock stars in Sweden, where Björn played guitar with the Hootenanny Singers and Benny was keyboardist with the Hep Stars (referred to in their homeland as "the Swedish Beatles"), They made some records as a duo, using the name Björn and Benny. In 1972, they recorded one of their songs using Björn’s wife, Agnetha Fältskog, and Benny’s wife-to-be, Anni-Frid Lyngstad ("Frida," for short), as backing vocalists. Cut in a studio in Stockholm in March 1972, "People Need Love" was credited to "Björn and Benny, Agnetha and Anni-Frid," as the ABBA acronym had not yet been devised.

(Technically, the ﬁrst "B" in ABBA is backward, according to the band’s copyrighted logo.) "People Need Love" became a Swedish hit and was issued in America on Playboy Records (an offshoot of the magazine), which peculiarly amended the credit to "Björn and Benny (with Svenska Flicka)" – meaning "Swedish girl." ABBA’s breakthrough came in 1974, when their song "Waterloo" won the Eurovision Song Contest. It topped the charts in many countries, including Britain, and even hit Number Six in the U.S. With its ringing harmonies and surging melody, "Waterloo" recalled the tuneful, high-energy songs of the girl-group era and the British Invasion at a time when infectious pop songcraft was in short supply. There was much more to come from ABBA in this vein. A year after the success of "Waterloo," they scored again with "SOS," reaching Number Six in the U.K. and Number 15 in the U.S. ABBA became a ﬁxture on the world charts. Their mounting success resulted in sustained chart feats of Beatles-like proportions.

Over a six-year period, from late 1975 through early 1982, ABBA released 15 consecutive singles that placed in the U.K. Top Five. Eight of those were Number One hits: "Mamma Mia," "Fernando," "Dancing Queen," "Knowing Me Knowing You," "The Name of the Game," "Take a Chance on Me," "The Winner Takes It All" and "Super Trouper." The singles "Does Your Mother Know" and "I Have a Dream" just fell short, reaching Number Two. Four others stopped at Number Three: "Money, Money, Money," "Angeleyes/ Voulez-Vous," "Gimme Gimme Gimme (A Man after Midnight)" and "One of Us." All are driven by the soaring, harmonized lead vocals of Agnetha and Anna-Frid and the songwriting and production of Björn and Benny. From 1975 to 1980, ABBA spent 43 weeks atop Britain’s album charts – a feat equaled by no one.

By contrast, the group only topped the American album and singles charts once: in April 1977, when "Dancing Queen" hit Number One for a week. For this reason, as Billboard wrote, "the members of ABBA consider America to be their only failure." Even so, they placed 20 songs in the Hot 100 and have seen eight of their albums certiﬁed gold or platinum by the RIAA. In fact, much of ABBA’s American success came belatedly, after their 1982 breakup. Internal tensions stemming from the divorces of the two couples recalled similar turbulence within Fleetwood Mac during the making of that band’s Rumours. Agnetha and Björn separated in late 1978, and Benny and Anni-Frid split up in early 1981. They recorded their ﬁnal album, The Visitors, before disbanding in 1982. Benny and Björn thereupon set about working on the musical Chess with Tim Rice, while Agnetha and Anni-Frid embarked on solo careers. ABBA has never regrouped.

An ABBA revival in the Nineties was sparked by the incredible success of Gold – Greatest Hits, which has sold 26 million copies worldwide, including six million in America. The comprehensive box set, Thank You for the Music, was released in 1994. The musical Mamma Mia! came at the end of the decade and carried the ABBA revival into the new millennium. In 2002, Universal Music remastered and reissued ABBA’s eight studio albums in expanded versions. An even more exhaustive box set, The Complete Studio Recordings, appeared in 2005. With ABBA’s 2010 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, ABBA mania will continue for years to come.

Agnetha Fältskog (vocals; born April 5, 1950); Benny Andersson (keyboards; born December 16, 1946); Björn Ulvaeus (guitar; born April 25, 1945); Anni-Frid Lyngstad (vocals; born November 15, 1945 BIOGRAPHY: Abba Lifetime Born: 16 12 1946 Birth place: Stockholm, Sweden Both Benny Andersson's father and grandfather were musicians and he was introduced to the accordion at a very young age. Benny had no patience for regular music lessons, preferring to pick up the instrument and play it. With obvious musical talent, he was able to easily do this with almost any instrument. By the age of 18, Benny’s favourite was the piano. He was with girlfriend Christina Gronvall at this time. She had fallen pregnant with the first of their two children when Benny was only 15-years-old. After graduating from high school, Benny was invited to join The Hep Stars, a popular Swedish beat group with a huge teenage girl fanbase.

It was during this time that he met fellow young songwriter Bjorn Ulvaeus. Benny remained with The Hep Stars for a number of successful years, until they disbanded in the late 1960s. He then joined forces with Bjorn and they released an LP together. Shortly after that, Bjorn and Benny’s girlfriends, Agnetha Faltskog and Anni-Frid Lyngstad, joined the duo. They formed the touring folk act Festfolket, which was not much of a success. The foursome then transformed into the legendary ABBA, finding international stardom and remarkable success. Bjorn Ulvaeus Born: 25 04 1945 Birth place: Gothenburg, Sweden Bjorn's first foray into music was with the folk music act The Hootenanny Singers, who had strong jazz and blues influences. They made their television debut in a Swedish talent contest in 1963. Bjorn joined up with Benny Andersson to write songs. One of these, 'Isn’t it Easy to Say', was a hit for The Hep Stars, and Bjorn sometimes guested with the band when they were on tour.

At one point, it was suggested that The Hep Stars and The Hootenanny Singers merge to form one band, although this never happened. Stig Anderson, manager of The Hootenay Singers and founder of Polar Music, saw Benny and Bjorn’s collective potential and encouraged them to write more songs in order to release an album. They followed his advice and Polar Music released their album 'Lycka' ('Happiness') in 1970. Benny and Bjorn went on to release a further six singles. They also wrote a significant amount of music for the Polar label before joining with their girlfriends, Anni-Frid and Agnetha, to form ABBA, under the management of Stig Anderson. Anni-Frid Lyngstad Born: 15 11 1945 Birth place: Narvik, Norway Anni-Frid’s mother, young Norwegian Synni Lyngstad, had an affair with German officer, Alfred Haase, during World War II. It was at the end of the war, when he returned to his country, that Synni discovered she was pregnant with his child.

She gave birth to Anni-Frid (Frida, as she was later known) in the small Norwegian town of Narvik. To avoid being punished as a collaborator, Synni took her baby daughter to Torshalla, Sweden. When Frida was only two-years-old, her mother died and her grandmother, who always encouraged her to sing, raised her. In 1957, at age 13, Frida made her stage debut at a Red Cross charity event. She met her boyfriend, Ragnar Fredriksson, when she was 15 and they had a son, Hans, when Frida was only 17. Shortly after Hans’s birth, Frida and Ragnar married and they had their second child, Lise-Lotte, a few years later. Frida, a part-time cabaret singer, was fully committed to her burgeoning music career and was not prepared to give it up to be a full-time mother. This caused tensions in the marriage and eventually they divorced. Frida left her children in the care of their father, Ragnar, and her grandmother (“Mamma”), and went to live in Stockholm.

It was here that Frida met Benny Andersson, at the folkpark tour, and they were soon a couple. Benny invited her to sing backing vocals with Agnetha Faltskog, Bjorn’s girlfriend, on the 'Lycka' album. Both women were uncredited for this work. Soon after this, the foursome became ABBA. Benny produced Frida’s only solo LP during the ABBA years, 'Frida Ensam' (1975), which included an earlier, Swedish hit single version of 'Fernando'. Agnetha Faltskog Born: 05 04 1950 Birth place: Jonkoping, Sweden Agnetha, the youngest member of the group, was a pop-phenomenon in her own right. She wrote and performed Swedish hits during her teens and played the role of Mary Magdalene in the Swedish production of 'Jesus Christ Superstar'. She was noted as an accomplished composer, although she saw it as a lot of hard work. Agnetha recorded covers of hit songs and toured the Swedish ‘folkparks’ live circuit.

It was during one of The Hootenay Singers performances at a folkpark event, that Agnetha met Bjorn Ulvaeus. They soon fell in love and were married in 1971. It was the Swedish celebrity wedding of the year and was surrounded by much publicity. In the early 1970s, Bjorn and Agnetha, although married, continued to pursue their separate musical careers. The foursome was gaining stronger bonds and was about to explode onto the international pop circuit as supergroup ABBA. ABBA 1972–1983 The Swedish pop music group formed in Stockholm in 1972. The band name was comprised of the first letters of the member’s names: Agnetha, Bjorn, Benny and Anni-Frid (better known as Frida). Stig Anderson, manager of The Hootenay Singers and founder of Polar Music, had encouraged Bjorn and Benny to write a song for the 1972 Eurovision Song Contest. Their contribution was 'Say It with a Song', which was performed by Lena Anderson. It won third prize in the selection rounds and was a hit in several countries.

Stig was onto something here. A single they wrote, called 'People Need Love', featured backing vocals by Agnetha and Frida and brought them some success in Japan. Stig released it as single 'Bjorn & Benny, Agnetha & Anni-Frid'. It reached number 17 in the Swedish charts. The seeds of ABBA had been sown. A year later, the group entered the 1973 Eurovision Song Contest with the song 'Ring Ring', once again coming third. In the studio, producer Michael B Tretow had been experimenting with a new production technique, called ‘wall of sound’, which was to become the whole new ABBA sound. The proto-group, still clumsily called 'Bjorn & Benny, Agnetha & Anni-Frid', released the album 'Ring Ring' in 1973. The album did well and the title single was a hit in many parts of Europe. Stig was hungry to break into the UK and US markets. He was becoming tired of the lengthy band name, so - using an acronym of the first letters of their names - started referring to the band as ABBA.

It was actually a bit of a joke as, at the time, there was a fish-canning company in Sweden with the same name. Although Stig decided that, as the fish-canners were unknown outside of Sweden, they would keep the short and far catchier name of ABBA. The band had to later negotiate with the fish-canners for the right to use the name. On 6 April 1974, the group finally won the Eurovision Song Contest in Brighton with 'Waterloo'. The glam-rock inspired song, once again produced by Michael B Tretow, put them firmly on the musical map. Britain was now fully aware of the distinctive ABBA group and 'Waterloo' became ABBA’s first UK number one. It reached number six in the US. It was with the release of their second album 'ABBA' (1975) and single 'SOS', a top ten hit, that they had truly made their presence felt in the UK. They were no longer considered ‘one-hit wonders’.

So pleased were they with their success, that ABBA released a 'Greatest Hits' (1975) album, even although they had only had five Top 40 hits in the UK and US by that time. In January 1976, 'Mamma Mia' made number one in the UK. From 1976 onwards, the first ‘B’ in their logo version of the band name was reversed on all their promotional material. The 1976 album 'Arrival' not only showed a new height of achievement in terms of song writing and studio work, but produced three huge hits, 'Money, Money, Money', 'Knowing Me, Knowing You', and 'Dancing Queen' (the latter arguably being their most enduring song). Other European pop groups, keen to share in the limelight, quickly copied ABBA’s sound, as well as their two-boy/two-girl format. These groups included Brotherhood of Man and Bucks Fizz who both won the Eurovision Song Contest, in 1976 and 1981 respectively, perhaps validating this formula.

'The Album' (1977) was released to coincide with 'ABBA: The Movie' (1977), a feature film made of their Australian tour. Hits from this album were 'Take a Chance on Me', 'The Name of the Game', and 'Thank You for the Music'. By 1978, ABBA could only be referred to as a megagroup. Their trendy label, Polar Music Studio, converted an old cinema in Stockholm into their new state-of-the-art premises. Other well-known bands, such as Led Zeppelin, for their recording of 'In Through the Out Door', used the studio. ABBA was moving into the arena of disco, which had exploded in 1977 with the Bee Gees 'Saturday Night Fever'. ABBA released the single 'Summer Night City' (1978) and, after that, the album 'Voulez-Vous' (1979), both with a distinctly disco sound. The reaction to this album from the UK and Europe was not as strongly favourable as that of the US.

However, singles from the album, 'Does Your Mother Know', 'Chiquitita', 'Voulez-Vous' and 'I Have a Dream', all found their way onto the charts. In January 1979, the group performed 'Chiquita' at the Music for UNICEF Concert, donating all royalties for the song to the children’s charity, in perpetuity. Their best-known disco hit 'Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)' was featured as a brand new track on the 'Greatest Hits Vol. 2' (1979) album. Also that year, ABBA toured the US and Canada, playing to massive audiences. Moving into the 1980s, ABBA’s style shifted to more personal lyrics and more pronounced synthesisers. Releasing the single 'The Winner Takes it All' in January 1980 sufficiently piqued public interest in the upcoming album for 'Super Trouper' (1980) to set the record for the most pre-orders ever received for a UK album. The single was allegedly about Agnetha and Bjorn’s marriage, which was going through a rough patch at that time.

Another hit single from this album was 'Lay Your Love on Me'. ABBA released their final studio album 'The Visitors' (1981). Whilst this album showed a newfound depth and maturity, it was the start of their commercial decline. The group’s last hit single 'One of Us' was a global hit in December 1981. The group was starting to show signs of personal distress with both marriages having ended in divorce. They came together in the summer of 1982 to record a new album, but settled instead for a double compilation album of past hits, with two new songs thrown in. 'The Singles: The First Ten Years' (1982) contained the new tracks 'Under Attack' and 'The Day Before You Came', which was the last song ABBA ever recorded together. They had recorded two other songs earlier in 1982, 'I Am the City' and 'Just Like That'. Of the two, only the former was ever released, on the compilation album 'More ABBA Gold: More ABBA Hits' (1993). Benny and Bjorn still refuse to release the latter single, much to the frustration of fans.

ABBA disbanded at the end of 1983, collectively deciding to take a break and pursue their individual projects. Post ABBA Years Agnetha and Frida Agnetha and Frida both went on to work on solo albums. Frida released 'Something’s Going On' (1982), produced by Phil Collins, with hit single 'I Know There’s Something Going On'. Agnetha followed with her album 'Wrap Your Arms Around Me' (1983), which included hit single 'The Heat is On', and sold 1.2 million copies worldwide. Frida’s second solo album 'Shine' (1984), produced by Steve Lillywhite, received a lacklustre reception and she decided to retire. In contrast, Agnetha’s second post-ABBA solo album 'Eyes of a Woman' (1985) did rather well in Europe and reached number two in the Swedish charts. She released 'I Stand Alone' (1987) and then withdrew from public life, refusing to give any more interviews.

Almost a decade later, Agnetha released her autobiography 'As I Am', as well as a compilation of her solo hits. 'My Colouring Book' (2004) was an album of cover songs, going triple-platinum in Sweden, gold in Finland and silver in Great Britain. Frida came out of her twelve-year retirement to release her last album to date, the Swedish 'Djupa Andetag' (1996), which reached number one in Sweden but was unknown elsewhere. She recorded the song 'The Sun Will Shine Again' (2004) with Jon Lord, former Deep Purple band member, for his latest album, and made some rare television appearances in Germany. Bjorn and Benny Bjorn and Benny wrote the music for West End show 'Chess' (1984), in collaboration with lyricist Tim Rice. The show ran successfully in London for three years but closed after only three weeks on Broadway. This was due to the fact that the storyline, the lyrics and the song order had all been changed for the US show.

To follow, Bjorn and Benny wrote 'Kristina fran Duvemala' (1995), directed for stage by Lars Rudolfsson and based on a Swedish novel by Vilhelm Moberg. 'Mamma Mia!', the musical concentrated around ABBA’s songs, which Benny and Bjorn co-wrote and co-produced, premiered in London’s West End in 1999 and is still running. The production has spread to many other countries and enjoyed more than 1,500 performances on Broadway. Bjorn and Benny received recognition for their song writing in the form of an Ivor Novello Award in 2001. 2003 saw the release of a Swedish-language version of their first musical 'Chess Pa Svenska'. All Together The group’s popularity didn’t seem to wane after they broke up. ABBA continued to release compilation albums of their greatest hits, from 'Thank You For The Music' (1983) to their most recent, 'The Complete Studio Recordings' (2005).

On 6 April 2004, Bjorn, Benny and Frida travelled to London for the 30th Anniversary of their Eurovision Song Contest win in 1974. They appeared on stage after the 5th anniversary performance of 'Mamma Mia!'. In February 2005, for the first time since their disbandment in 1983, all four former ABBA members appeared in public together, at the gala of 'Mamma Mia!' in Stockholm. In October 2005, during the 50th anniversary of the Eurovision Song Contest held in Copenhagen, 'Waterloo' was voted best Eurovision song in the history of the contest. ABBA’s use of videos to accompany their bigger hits, with bright costumes and early video image effects, is often viewed as being some of the first examples of the genre. Promotional videos were still not an industry standard in the early to mid-1970s, despite the fact that The Beatles and the Rolling Stones had shot occasional video clips prior to that.

Directing ABBA’s videos was the talented Lasse Hallstrom, who went on to direct films including 'My Life as a Dog', 'The Cider House Rules', and 'Chocolat'. The videos were a clever marketing tool, enabling quick and wide exposure of upcoming music releases or tour details, without the need for constant personal appearances. Some of these early ABBA music videos have come to be viewed as classics.

Question: What was Abba's only Number One single in the USA?
Answer: Dancing Queen