| For other uses, see Abba (disambiguation).ABBA with actor Robert Hughes in ABBA: The Movie.The name "ABBA" is an acronym formed from the first letters of each group member's given name.United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand), and its enormous popularity subsequently opened the doors for other Continental European acts.Frid" to "ABBA"
2."People Need Love": the first 'real' ABBA song
2.Frid and Agnetha's first take at ABBA harmonies
2."Waterloo" and Eurovision victory
3.ABBA Gold'(1992) and 'Mamma Mia!Stig Anderson, manager of the Hep Stars and founder of the Polar Music label, saw much potential in the collaboration, and encouraged them to compose more.Both also began occasionally playing with the other's band on stage and on record, although it wasn't until 1969 that the pair wrote and produced some of their first real hits together: "Ljuva Sextiotal" ('Merry Sixties'), recorded by Brita Borg and The Hep Stars' 1969 hit "Speleman".Ulvaeus still occasionally recorded and performed with the Hootenanny Singers until the summer of 1974, alongside ABBA.Sweden when she was only 17 and was soon noted by the critics and songwriters as a talented composer, most of her songs being in the schlager style.Along with her own compositions, she also recorded covers of foreign hits and performed them on tours in Swedish folkparks.Ulvaeus at a concert venue a few months later.During filming of a Swedish TV special in March 1969, she met Ulvaeus again, and they eventually became a couple and married in 1971.In the summer of 1967, she won a national talent competition with the song "En Ledig Dag".Included in the prize was a recording contract with EMI.Lyngstad released several singles on EMI and had many hits in the Swedish charts.On that single, "Min Egen Stad" (My Own Town), all 4 ABBA members are singing the backup vocals.Frida toured and performed regularly in the folkpark circuit and made appearances on radio and TV.She finally linked up with her future colleagues in 1969.On May 1, 1969, she participated in the Melodifestivalen, where she met Andersson for the first time.Lyngstad also played in several revues and cabaret shows in Stockholm between 1969 and 1973.After ABBA formed, she recorded another successful album in 1975, Frida Ensam, which included the original Swedish rendition of "Fernando", which became a huge hit in Scandinavia before the English version was recorded."Festfolk"
An attempt at combining their talents started in April 1970 when the two couples went on holiday together to the island of Cyprus.ABBA stars' first ever performance.Their girlfriends added backing vocals on several tracks, and the idea of them all working together saw them launch their own stage act, Festfolk (meaning in Swedish both 'Party People' and 'Engaged Couples') on November 1, 1970 in Gothenburg."Hej, Gamle Man" and solo numbers from respective albums, but the foursome didn't feel like working together, and soon concentrated on individual projects again.Frid and Agnetha, and moderate chart success.Agnetha started performing together on a regular basis this summer."Say It With A Song"), and they chose newcomer Lena Anderson to perform.The song became a huge hit in Sweden.Benny single "She's My Kind of Girl" was released by chance by Epic in Japan in March 1972, giving the duo a Top 10 hit.Round" and "Love Has Its Ways"."People Need Love": the first 'real' ABBA song
Ulvaeus and Andersson persevered with their songwriting and experimented with new sounds and vocal arrangements.Benny (with Svenska Flicka), it was released there on Playboy Records.However, according to Stig Anderson, "People Need Love" could have been a much bigger American hit, but a small label like Playboy Records did not have the distribution resources to meet the demand for the single from retailers and radio programmers.Frid and Agnetha's first take at ABBA harmonies
As 'People Need Love' did so well, the foursome decided to record their first album together.The studio sessions were handled by Michael B.Tretow, who experimented with a "wall of sound" production technique that became the wholly new ABBA sound.The album did well and the "Ring Ring" single was a hit in many parts of Europe, but Stig Anderson felt the true breakthrough could only come with a UK or US hit.The ABBA name: October 1973
In the spring of 1973, Stig Anderson, tired of unwieldy names, started to refer to the group privately and publicly as ABBA.The group were impressed with the names Alibaba and Baba, but in the end all the entries were ignored and it was announced in the summer that the name "ABBA" was official.Later the group negotiated with the canners for the right to the name.The first time the name is found written on paper is on a recording session sheet from the Metronome Studio in Stockholm, dated October 16, 1973.Frida", but was subsequently crossed out with "ABBA" written in large letters on top.ABBA performing "Waterloo" at Melodifestivalen 1974.Benny and Stig as composers.In late 1973, the composers were invited by Swedish television to contribute a song for the 1974 contest, and from a number of newly written compositions, the foursome chose the upbeat "Waterloo"; the group was now inspired by the growing glam rock scene in England.ABBA won their national heats on Swedish TV on February 9, 1974, and with this third attempt were far more experienced and better prepared for the international contest.Winning the ESC gave ABBA the chance to tour Europe and perform on major TV shows; thus the band saw the "Waterloo" single climb the charts in most countries.Billboard 200 album chart."Ring Ring" (albeit in a remixed format) instead.Tour
In November 1974, ABBA embarked on their first European tour, playing dates in Denmark, West Germany, and Austria.It wasn't as successful as the band had hoped, since most of the venues didn't sell out, and due to a lack of demand, they were even forced to cancel a few shows, including a sole scheduled concert in Switzerland.For three weeks in the summer of 1975, ABBA compensated for the Swedish tour they had tentatively scheduled for the previous summer, but had to cancel after their Eurovision triumph.Sweden and Finland, attracting huge crowds.UK at the end of January 1976.Yet the success of the group in the United States remained uneven.Opinions were voiced, by Creem in particular, that in the US ABBA had endured "a very sloppy promotional campaign".This phenomenon for ABBA is further strengthened by the fact that the 1976 compilation album 'The Best of ABBA' is still the biggest selling album ever in Australia, selling 1.Australian TV's Channel 9 broadcast "The Best of ABBA", filmed during the group's visit the week before.ABBA into the Top 50 on the US album charts for the first time, eventually selling more than a million copies there.After the huge success Frida scored with the song in Scandinavia, the group decided to record an English version.It also topped the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart, ABBA's first American number one single of any kind.UK music weeklies such as Melody Maker and New Musical Express, and mostly appreciative notices from American critics.In fact, hit after hit flowed from Arrival: "Money, Money, Money", "Knowing Me, Knowing You", and "Dancing Queen".In 1977, Arrival was nominated for the inaugural BRIT Award in the category "Best International Album of the Year".By this time ABBA were very popular in the UK, most of Western Europe and Australia.Billboard album chart and reaching platinum there as well.Europe and Australian tour, The Movie and The Album
In January 1977, ABBA hit the road.London's Royal Albert Hall.There were, however, complaints about the group's performance lacking "personality" and being "too polished" and "sterile".One of the Royal Albert Hall concerts was filmed and recorded for the intention of a television special.After the European part of the tour, in March 1977, ABBA played eleven dates in Australia before a total of 145,000 people.Upon their arrival in Melbourne, a civic reception was held at the Town Hall and ABBA appeared on the balcony to greet a hysterical crowd of 6,000 people.In Melbourne, ABBA played three concerts at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl with 14,500 at each including the Australian Prime Minister.The Australian tour and its subsequent ABBA: The Movie produced some ABBA lore, as well.Australian newspaper to use the headline "Agnetha's bottom tops dull show".When asked about this at a news conference, she replied: "Don't they have bottoms in Australia?"In December 1977 (January 1978 in many territories), ABBA followed up Arrival with the more musically and lyrically ambitious fifth album The Album, which was released to coincide with ABBA: The Movie.Although "Take a Chance on Me" did not top the American charts, it has actually proved to be ABBA's biggest hit single in the United States, selling more copies than "Dancing Queen")."Eagle" in countries where the latter had been released.Polar Music Studio opens, US visit and "Summer Night City"
By 1978, ABBA was a megagroup.Stockholm which was used by several other bands (for example, Led Zeppelin's In Through the Out Door and Genesis' Duke were recorded there).John's TV show among other things.The track would also set the stage for ABBA's foray into disco with their upcoming album.ABBA donated the copyright of this worldwide hit to the UNICEF; see Music for UNICEF Concert.Agnetha announced they were getting divorced.The news caused a massive interest from the media, and led to discussion about ABBA's future: were they going to split up?Vous, was released in April 1979, with two background tracks recorded in the famous Criteria Studios in Miami, U.The album topped the charts across Europe and in Japan and Mexico, hit the Top 10 in Canada and Australia and the Top 20 in the US.RPM Adult Contemporary chart (the first being "Fernando").On September 13, 1979, ABBA began their first (and only) North American Tour at the Northlands Coliseum, in Edmonton, Canada, with a full house of 14,000.The last scheduled ABBA concert on U.New York to Boston, when the private plane she was on was subjected to extreme weather conditions (see Windsor Locks, Connecticut Tornado) and could not land for a long time.The shows also generated the same type of complaints that were expressed during the group's 1977 tour: many fans regarded ABBA as more of a studio group than a live band.Japan tour and Super Trouper
In March 1980, ABBA travelled to Japan where upon their arrival at Narita International Airport, they were besieged by thousands of fans.The group played eleven concerts to full houses, including six shows at Tokyo's Budokan.This tour was the last "on the road" adventure of their career.The year 1980 saw the release of ABBA's seventh album Super Trouper, which reflected a certain change in ABBA's style with more prominent use of synthesisers and increasingly more personal lyrics.Stig Anderson celebrated his 50th birthday with a huge party.For this occasion, ABBA recorded the track 'Hovas Vittne' as a tribute to him, and released it only on 200 red vinyl copies, to be distributed to the guests attending the party.At the end of April, the group recorded a TV special with the US talk show host Dick Cavett.Recording sessions came to a halt when the Polar Studio acquired a new digital tape recorder to replace an existing analogue one.The Visitors, ABBA's eighth and final studio album, showed a songwriting maturity and depth of feeling distinctly lacking from their earlier recordings but still placing the band squarely in the pop genre, with catchy tunes and harmonies.With the now publicized story of Andersson and Lyngstad's divorce, speculation increased of tension within the band.Also released in the US was the title track of The Visitors, which hit the Top Ten on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart.The last recording sessions, future plans and breaking up
In the spring of 1982, songwriting sessions had started and the group came together for more recordings.Andersson and Ulvaeus were not satisfied with the outcome, so the tapes were shelved and the group took a break for the summer.Back in the studio again in early August, the group had changed plans for the rest of the year: they settled for a Christmas release of a double album compilation of all their past single releases to be named The Singles: The First Ten Years.There was little interest in the singles in the UK, though both singles became Top 5 hits in The Netherlands and Belgium.The two other songs recorded during the summer, I Am the City and Just Like That, were left unreleased on The Singles for possible inclusion on the next projected studio album from ABBA, though this never came to fruition.The chorus section of "Just Like That" was eventually released on a retrospective boxset in 1994.Despite numerous requests from fans, Ulvaeus and Andersson are still refusing to release ABBA's version of "Just Like That" in its entirety, even though the complete version surfaced on bootlegs.The group travelled to London to promote The Singles: The First Ten Years in the first week of November 1982, appearing on Saturday Superstore and The Late, Late Breakfast Show, and also to West Germany in the second week, to perform on Show Express.UK on Noel Edmonds' The Late, Late Breakfast Show, via a live link from a TV studio in Stockholm.Stig Anderson led to the four members selling their shares in the record company and leaving future plans for ABBA on hold.Although plans suggested future recording work as a foursome, they never professionally reunited.Lyngstad both concentrated on international solo careers."Abbacadabra" being produced in France for television; a children's musical utilising 14 ABBA songs.Frida, who had recently moved to Paris, participated in the French version, and recorded a single, "Belle" a duet with French singer Daniel Balavoine.The song was a cover of ABBA's instrumental 1976 track "Arrival".Ulvaeus, got involved in the project, and contributed with one new song, "The Seeker".Among the actors were Elaine Paige, Michael Praed, Finola Hughes, B A Robertson and Jenna Russell.ABBA's My Love My Life: "Like An Image Passing By".Frida was involved in this production as well, recording 'Belle' in English as "Time"; a duet with actor and singer B.The four had not seen each other for more than two years.That same year the foursome also performed privately at another friend's 40th birthday: their old tour manager, Claes af Geijerstam."Der Kleine Franz" (later to surface in Chess).ABBA Live album, featuring selections of live performances from the group's 1977 and 1979 tours.ABBA performed a Swedish birthday song ("Med En Enkel Tulipan") a cappella.Frida Lyngstad, as at the show's fifth anniversary in London in April 2004.Stockholm of the Swedish staging of the musical in February 2005, but were not seen nor photographed together.Ulvaeus attend the show's last performance.Benny Andersson has on several occasions performed old ABBA songs.Andersson frequently adds an ABBA song to the playlist when he performs with his BAO!He also played the piano during new recordings of the ABBA songs "Like an Angel Passing Through My Room" with opera singer Anne Sophie Von Otter, and "When All Is Said And Done" with Swede Victoria Tolstoy."Fernando" as they accepted their Ivor Novello award in London in 2002.Have a Dream" with Swiss singer Dan Daniell in 2003.Apart from this, none of the former members perform their old songs.The four members have never officially announced the end of the group, but as the years pass by the chances of ABBA working together again have become increasingly slim, and the group is now considered dissolved.The singles "One Night in Bangkok" and "I Know Him So Well" were both huge successes.Sweden in October 1995, directed for the stage by Lars Rudolfsson and based on the The Emigrants tetralogy by Swedish novelist Vilhelm Moberg.Minnesota is considered a national treasure.Their next project was Mamma Mia!ABBA's songs and produced by Ulvaeus.The same year, Andersson released his first solo album on his own label, a collection of his own folk music material called Klinga Mina Klockor, and followed it with November 1989.Andersson has regularly written music for films (most notably to Roy Andersson's Songs from the Second Floor), and in 2001 put together his own band, BAO!Ulvaeus is heavily involved in the musical Mamma Mia!Benny's new music, as well as writing new Swedish lyrics to previous English language songs (or vice versa) that the two have written earlier.At that time, she wanted to distance herself from the "typical ABBA sound", which she thought had got a bit stuck by then, after 10 years work with the group.Recording began in ABBA's Polar Studios in Stockholm in February 1982.In the autumn of 1982, Frida unveiled the results of these recording sessions by releasing the single and video "I Know There's Something Going On".Audiences around the world accepted the new sound and both the album and single soon started to climb the charts.This included the hit single "The Heat Is On", which was a hit all over Europe and Scandinavia that year.Frida's second solo album after ABBA was the experimental Shine (produced by Steve Lillywhite), released in 1984.ABBA solo album was Eyes of a Woman, released in March 1985.Sweden and performed reasonably well in Europe.The first single from the album was "I Won't Let You Go".In 1996, she released her autobiography, As I Am, and a compilation album featuring her solo hits alongside some ABBA classics.UK (winning a silver award).The album also achieved gold status in Finland.Chess fame) at the after party for the final showing of the ABBA musical, Mamma Mia!Ulvaeus were also present.Frida accepted and became chairwoman for this organisation from 1992 to 1995.When planning the record, long discussions with the record company took place if the record should be in English or, as Frida wanted, Swedish.In 2004, Lyngstad recorded a song called "The Sun Will Shine Again", written especially for her and released with former Deep Purple member Jon Lord: The couple made several TV performances with this song in Germany, amongst others, "The Sunday Night Classics" and "The Golden Henne Show".Von Plauen died of lymphoma at the age of 49.If the results of these recordings turn out well, Frida will recorded a new album with Lord as producer.ABBA Gold'(1992) and 'Mamma Mia!The same year ABBA went separate ways, the French production of a 'tribute' show; a children's TV musical named "Abbacadabra", using 14 of ABBA's songs, spawned new interest in the groups music.The London staging of the musical had stars like Elaine Paige, and Finola Hughes singing new lyrics to the old hits.The September 1992 release of ABBA Gold: Greatest Hits, a new compilation album, ended up selling massively worldwide and setting chart longevity records.ABBA release ever there, selling more than six million copies to date.The enormous interest in the Gold compilation saw the release of More ABBA Gold: More ABBA Hits in 1993.This collection also contained the bonus track "I Am the City", one of the unreleased songs from the 1982 recording sessions.In 1994, two Australian movies caught the attention of the world's media, both focussing on admiration for ABBA: The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert and Muriel's Wedding.For this release, several demo versions and odd tracks were discovered in the Polar vaults.Swedish metal guitarist Yngwie Malmsteen covered "Gimme!Tribute albums were released both in Sweden and the UK, and tribute bands such as Bjorn Again and Arrival found a market; the former had to put together several incarnations of themselves to cover the huge demand.Concerts: a tribute concert (with Swedish singers who had worked with the composers through the years) showcasing not only their ABBA years, but even hits from the 1960s and after ABBA.ABBA songs to huge success worldwide: not only the English original versions, but ABBA's Spanish versions also.Meryl Streep and Pierce Brosnan, there is a huge interest in ABBA's music.However, in a November 2004 interview with the German magazine Bunte, Ulvaeus said a reunion would not satisfy ABBA's many fans, even though there are legions of them around the world often clamouring for one.The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones.ABBA's two 14 February concerts at the Royal Albert Hall during their 1977 European tour.Australian TV's Channel 9 broadcast The Best of ABBA, filmed during the group's visit a week before.The previous record was held by the Moon landing in 1969.These were American folk songs recorded by artists as diverse as Leadbelly, Pete Seeger and Burl Ives.Babs, Lena Andersson and Finn Kalvik and several others.Lyngstad did the same for Adam Ant's "Strip".Legacy
ABBA's success subsequently opened the doors for many other European acts.In November 2006 plans for an ABBA museum in Stockholm were announced.The idea has the backing of the band and the museum is expected to open in the spring of 2009.ABBA are thought to be the second most successful group in the world in the history of music, after The Beatles.Influence
The hit song "Bring Me Edelweiss" (1989) by Edelweiss features the tune and some lyrics from "SOS".Kylie Minogue performed "Dancing Queen" at the closing ceremony of the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games, and also performed it in her live shows.Again performing in various parts of the world.Again had been touring for 15 years, longer than the original group.Magnetic Fields frontman Stephin Merritt regularly lists ABBA as his favorite band.British singer, songwriter, drummer, producer and actor Phil Collins has often shown his admiration by ABBA's musical genius.The Fugees sampled ABBA's "The Name of the Game" for their contribution to the 1996 When We Were Kings soundtrack, Rumble in the Jungle.It was the first time ABBA ever gave permission for one of their songs to be sampled.Man After Midnight)" in her 2005 single "Hung Up".Lyngstad's costumes from ABBA's 1979 world tour, and a sequined cape emblazoned with the legend "Dancing Queen".ABBA's ABBA Gold: Greatest Hits album was sold alongside her own merchandise during the tour.She admitted spending much of her time in the studio, when recording sessions to Confessions On A Dance Floor began, listening to ABBA's music constantly, alongside with producer Stuart Price.Bono and The Edge went down on their knees shouting "We're not worthy", in a reference to Wayne's World.From a songwriting point of view they were up there with the best.Oasis and get away with it I would.ABBA were pop music in its purest form; my favorite is Dancing Queen.Philip Oakey, Nirvana's lead singer Kurt Cobain, REM's frontman Michael Stipe, Holly Lindin of Ophir fame, and Spice Girls' Geri Halliwell have cited ABBA as a musical influence.When questioned what group was most likely to succeed The Beatles' popularity, John Lennon named ABBA.Vous," and "Take a Chance on Me".Techno and house remakes of many original ABBA hits were recorded in the late 1990s by Abbacadabra, a group comprised of studio musicians and singers and released through Almighty Records.Another group called Angeleyes released a similar album entitled ABBAdance in 1999.In the late 1990s, the teenage band A*Teens was formed.Their entire first album was made up of ABBA covers, including "Mamma Mia", "Dancing Queen", and "Gimme!Original singles of the band include artwork that list them as the ABBA*Teens.Numerous ABBA tribute albums have been released by various solo artists and groups over the years including one by British singer Hazell Dean, Tribute To ABBA by U.Rotic, Funky ABBA by Swedish musician Nils Landgren, and I Let The Music Speak by Swedish opera singer Anne Sofie Von Otter.Numerous ABBA tribute compilations with tracks by various artists have been released over the years.Lay All Your Love On ABBA; an electronica tribute entitled An Electronic Tribute To ABBA; and ABBAlicious, a compilation performed by various American drag queens.There is a heavy metal tribute album to ABBA entitled ABBAMetal (AKA A Metal Tribute to ABBA) featuring prominent Swedish metal bands such Therion, Flowing Tears and Tad Morose.ABBA made videos because their songs were hits in so many different countries and personal appearances weren't always possible.ABBA's manager, Stig Anderson, realised the potential of showing a simple video clip on television to publicise a single or album, thereby allowing easier and quicker exposure than a concert tour.Some of these videos became classics because of the 1970s era costumes and early video effects, such as the grouping of the band members in different combinations of pairs, overlapping one singer's profile with the other's full face, and the contrasting of one member against another.Nowadays, most of their videos can be seen on the DVDs ABBA Gold and The Definitive Collection.From "ABBA" to "Mamma Mia!"ABBA's biography, page 2.Interview with Songwriter magazine, 6, 1981, pp.This article or section is missing citations or needs footnotes.List of Number 1 Dance Hits (United States)
List of artists who reached number one on the U.World's top selling music artists chart.ABBA at Discogs
ABBA at Last.This video has been added to your favorites.The video has been added to your playlist.Thank you for flagging this video.Content of this nature is not necessarily prohibited on YouTube, however we will review this video and take action as appropriate.Per our Community Guidelines, hate speech is specifically defined in reference to "protected groups."We can only process copyright complaints submitted by authorized parties in accordance with processes defined in law.Please refer to our Help Center for more information and the complete instructions.In order to process a privacy complaint we need more information from you.Please refer to our Help Center for more information and the form to submit.Thank you for sharing this video!Change this to see only comments above a certain value.This is the sort of song that if you played it to God even he would be impressed!Numerous artists have praised ABBA's music.Bjork, John Lennon, Chili Peppers, Oasis, Sex Pistols, The Ramones, Madonna, Kylie Minogue, Elvis Costello, Spice Girls, Cliff Richard, Richard Clayderman, Mike Oldfield, Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath, The Carpenters, Human League, Scissor Sisters, Tina Turner, Cher, The Fugees, Phil Collins, Nirvana, Coldplay, Blondie, Magnetic Fields, U2, REM, Moby, Robert Plant (Led Zeppelin), Sharleen Spiteri (Texas), Erasure, Alanis Morissette and so on.ABBA was to be beheaded during the 1970's.Today they are worshiped, either as commercial or as cult band.Let's bring out the next ABBA super group..Propose Swedish TV stations or MTV Europe organise reality shows to recruit members of the new ABBA group like what MTV are doing for Menudo...Would you like to comment?After making your selection, copy and paste the embed code above.The code changes based on your selection.Weird Al Yankovic Polkarama!Get the latest Flash player.This video will appear on your blog shortly.Thank you for flagging this video.Content of this nature is not necessarily prohibited on YouTube, however we will review this video and take action as appropriate.There may be significant legal penalties for false notices.Thank you for sharing your concerns.Please refer to our Help Center for more information and the form to submit.Change this to see only comments above a certain value.Habia como una inocencia, una seguridad...ABBA made a lot of "best "tracks, but finaly this is the best.After making your selection, copy and paste the embed code above.The code changes based on your selection.Het wijzigen van deze code is niet toegestaan en zal uw account definitief blokkeren! |
