"Daily Express took the opportunity to tell the world that Abba now had broken the Beatles record in record sales and had topped the charts in no less then 32 countries."
from Abba Gold, translated by Marikk Henriksson



article contributed by guest correspondent, Marikk Henrickson, age 14, Sweden

ABBA

Abba is a Swedish pop group playing between 1972 and 1982. The internationally most famous and successful of all Swedish pop groups. Members: Benny Andersson (f 1946), Agnetha Fältskog (f 1950), Annifrid Lyngstad (f 1945) Björn Ulvaeus (f 1945).

When Abba was formed Benny Andersson already had become famous in Sweden playing in Hep Stars and Björn Ulvaeus playing hotenanny in Hotenanny Singers. Both Annifrid Lyngstad and Agneta Fältskog were wellknown singers.

Already in 1972 the groupmembers started appearing on each other's records but not calling themselves ABBA. In 1974 the group won the Eurovision song contest in Brighton. The song was Waterloo and compared a love story to the famous battle in 1814.

A successful international career with hits like "SOS", "Ring Ring," "Dancing Queen," "The Winner Takes It All" etc. took Abba on tours around the world and even to making a film "ABBA the Movie" in Australia.

Abba's popularity was in December 1977 so great that Daily Express claimed they had now beaten Beatles when it came to selling records and topped the charts in more then 32 countries.

ABBA's material was written by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus, and the special ABBA-sound, that was created through hard  work in the studio (together with the musicteknikern Michael B Tretow), most of all displays the vocal mix between Agneta Fältskog and Annifrid Lyngstad.

It has been said that much of the sound was the result of the work by music technician Michael B Tretow. Behind their voices he layed solid keyboard sounds by Benny Andersson.

The groupmember have all pursued single careers after ABBA with great success, Fältskog with Eyes of a Woman (1985), Lyngstad with Something's Going On (1982), Shine (1984) and the Anders Glenmark-produced album Djupa andetag (1996). Andersson and Ulvaeus written and directed Chess in 1984 (text Tim Rice), which was sat up  in London and New York. In the 90s the two of them had bigger success with the famous Kristina från Duvemåla (1995).

Abba recorded most of their music on Polar records label. Before the Owner Stickan Andersson died he used some of the money to set up a music award, The Polar Music Award.

Sources: FOCUS 98 Norstedts, John Tobler 1993, Abba Gold, Sweden:Affidavit

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