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ABBA
From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist
ABBA is a Swedish pop group, formed in Stockholm in 1972 by two couples: Agnetha Fältskog and Björn Ulvaeus, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad and Benny Andersson. The two women sang, the two men wrote and produced. ABBA proved that a group from outside England and America could conquer the world market, and made Sweden a country of hit writers.
Music and breakthrough
On 6 April 1974 ABBA won the Eurovision Song Contest in Brighton with Waterloo. It became their first number 1, in nine European countries, including England. Sound engineer Michael B. Tretow gave the group a clear studio sound, in which parts were doubled as in Phil Spector's Wall of Sound, but in which every instrument remained audible. Dancing Queen (1976), from the album Arrival, became a number 1 in the United States and fifteen other countries. For the dance rhythm, Andersson and Ulvaeus took inspiration from Rock Your Baby by George McCrae. In 1978 the group converted an old cinema in Stockholm into the Polar Music Studio. After The Visitors (1981) ABBA split up at the end of 1982.
Influence
The music stayed popular afterwards. The compilation album ABBA Gold (1992) became a worldwide bestseller, the musical Mamma Mia! premiered in 1999 and was made into a film in 2008. In 2021 Voyage appeared, the first new album in forty years. Since 2022 digital avatars of the four have performed in a purpose-built venue in London. After ABBA, Sweden built a hit industry, with Max Martin among others.
Listening
Dancing Queen · ABBA, 1976Apple Music ↗
Waterloo · ABBA, 1974Apple Music ↗
Discography
Studio albums
- 1973Ring Ring
- 1974Waterloo
- 1975ABBA
- 1976Arrival
- 1977The Album
- 1979Voulez‐vous
- 1980Super Trouper
- 1981The Visitors
- 2021Voyage
In School of Rock
The chapters, maps and magazine stories of School of Rock are currently available in Dutch only.
- Mixtape 12: The Hit FactoryNL Reader
Mentioned in other articles
- Swedish pop (ABBA) Genre
ABBA won the Eurovision Song Contest in April 1974 with Waterloo.
- Ding-a-dong Song
The cheerful song also became a hit outside the Netherlands, in England among other places, just as ABBA had a year earlier with Waterloo.
- Waterloo Song
On 6 April 1974, ABBA won the Eurovision Song Contest in Brighton with Waterloo.
- Dancing Queen Song
On 16 August 1976 ABBA released Dancing Queen.
- The Look Song
After ABBA, Roxette proved once again that Sweden could make English-language worldwide hits.