See that girl, watch that scene, digging the Dancing Queen...
ABBA were one of the foremost pop supergroups of the 1970s and 1980s. Active between 1972 and 1982, and coming from
Sweden, the group's name is an
acronym of the initial letters of the band members: Agnetha Faltskog, Benny Andersson, Bjorn Ulvaeus, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad (also known as Frida). The first 'B' in the name ABBA is reversed in the band's official
logo. Their sound owes much to the vocal talents of the two girls, and has been described as a
wall of sound. Much of the poignancy of ABBA's lyrics is attributed to the relationships and marriages of Benny with Anni-Frid, and Bjorn with Agnetha, the latter of whom announced their divorce in 1979. The group's first hits under the name
Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Anni-Frid were
People Need Love and
Nina, Pretty Ballerina in 1972, followed by
Ring Ring in 1973. In early 1973, the band began going under the name ABBA, largely through the ideas of their manager, Stig Anderson.
Eurovision and Waterloo
ABBA became Sweden's entry for the
Eurovision Song Contest, a popular contest televised across
Europe, in 1974, and victory for their song
Waterloo led to chart success in
Britain and across Europe.
Waterloo hit the
UK number 1 spot, and reached reached number 6 on the
Billboard Hot 100 chart in the
United States of America. Their 1974 European tour was followed by a rapturous welcome in Australia in 1976. By this time, Abba were beginning to write and perform some of their best known songs, such as
Mama Mia, and tunes like
Fernando,
Money, Money, Money,
Knowing Me, Knowing You, and one of their most enduring hits,
Dancing Queen, soon followed. The band also produced the mini-operetta
The Girl With Golden Hair, and the film
ABBA: The Movie, about their 1977 Australian tour. A stream of hits and successful albums followed (see below), but on December 11, 1982, they made their last performance ever, on UK television.
Post-ABBA careers
Benny and Bjorg collaborated with
Tim Rice to produce the hit musical
Chess, released as an album in 1984, and as a musical in 1986. The musical
Mamma Mia! using ABBA songs premiered in 1999, and the film version was released in 2008. Several greatest hits compilations have been released, including
ABBA Live! and
ABBA Gold. Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus continue to write together, while Agnetha Faltskog has become quite reclusive, but both women have performed and produced works since the group split. While the four have appeared at events such as the launch of
Mamma Mia! together, they have declared their intention never to reunite as a group.
Albums
Ring Ring, 1973
Waterloo, 1974
ABBA, 1975
Arrival, 1976
The Album, 1977
Voulez-Vous, 1979
Super Trouper, 1980
The Visitors, 1981
ABBA Live, 1986
Compilations
Greatest Hits, 1975
Greatest Hits Vol. 2, 1979
Gracias Por La Música, 1980
The Singles: The First Ten Years, 1982
ABBA Gold: Greatest Hits, 1992
ABBA Oro: Grandes Exitos, 1993
More ABBA Gold: More ABBA Hits, 1993
The Definitive Collection, 2001
Number Ones, 2006
Thank You For The Music, 1994
The Complete Studio Recordings, 2005
Source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abba