ABBA, a Swedish quartet, was one of the most commercially successful singing groups in popular music during the 1970’s. The group consisted of Agnetha Faltskog, Benny Andersson, Bjorn Ulvaeus, and Anni-Frid “Frida” Lyngstad. Andersson played the keyboards, and Ulvaeus, the guitar. All four sang. The name ABBA, often written with the first B backward, was taken from the first letter of the first name of each member.
Andersson and Ulvaeus and the group’s manager, Stig Anderson, composed most of ABBA’s songs. The songs included “Waterloo” (1974); “S.O.S.,” “Mamma Mia,” and “Fernando” (all 1975); “Dancing Queen,” “Money, Money, Money,” and “Knowing Me Knowing You” (all 1976); “The Name of the Game” and “Take a Chance on Me” (both 1977); and “The Winner Takes It All” and “Super Trouper” (both 1980). The songs were characterized by catchy melodies and rich orchestrations. Although the group was based in Sweden, they recorded their songs in English.
Ulvaeus was born on April 25, 1945, in Goteborg, Sweden. Lyngstad was born on Nov. 15, 1945, near Narvik, Norway. Andersson was born on Dec. 16, 1946, in Stockholm, Sweden. Faltskog was born on April 5, 1950, in Jonkoping, Sweden. All four were established pop music performers before they first performed in 1970 as Festfolk. They began performing together regularly in 1972 and took the name ABBA in 1973. The group gained European-wide fame in 1974 by winning the Eurovision Song Contest, an annual European music competition, with their performance of “Waterloo.” Ulvaeus and Faltskog were married from 1971 to 1979. Andersson and Lyngstad were married from 1978 to 1981. Both marriages ended in divorce.
ABBA disbanded in 1982, and all four members went on to separate careers in music. Andersson and Ulvaeus co-wrote the stage musical Chess (1986) with the British lyricist Tim Rice. It included the hit song “One Night in Bangkok.” The music of ABBA gained a new audience with the international popularity of the musical Mamma Mia! (1999), which featured 22 of the group’s songs. A popular film version of the musical was released in 2008. ABBA was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2010. In 2013, ABBA The Museum, part of the Swedish Music Hall of Fame, opened in Stockholm. The museum displays performance costumes worn by the members of ABBA and features music and videos by the group.
ABBA reunited in 2016. In 2021, the group released Voyage, its first album of new material in 40 years. In May 2022, ABBA launched “Voyage,” a one-year series of virtual concerts performed at a specially built venue called the ABBA Arena at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in London. The concerts feature avatars (graphical representations) of the group members performing their hit songs, accompanied by a live band.
