The Magic of ABBA

The Swedish band ABBA is the only group that could creatively take the first letters of their first names and come up with the name of their band. The four members of the band are Agnetha Faltskog, Bjorn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid “Frida” Lyngstad. Together they became internationally famous.

It was in 1969 that Bjorn and Benny met Agnetha and Anni-Frid. They became couples and Bjorn and Agnetha married in 1971 while Benny and Frida got married in 1978.

However, it was in 1974 that this group rocketed to stardom. On April 6, 1974, they appeared as ABBA in The Eurovision Song Contest in Brighton, England. They sang “Waterloo” for the first time and won the contest. Soon the song went to number one on the European music charts.

Their debut album was titled Ring Ring and came out in 1973 in Scandinavia. There were eight singles released from the album – the title track, “People Need Love”, “He Is Your Brother”, “Another Town, Another Train”, “I Am Just a Girl”, “Love Isn't Easy (But It Sure Is Hard Enough”, “Rock and Roll Band”, and “Nina, Pretty Ballerina”.

Their second album was Waterloo and the first that was released internationally in 1974. The singles from this album were the title track and global hits, “Honey, Honey”, and “Hasta Manana”.

ABBA was the third album and came out in 1975. The album included three hit songs “SOS”. “I Do I Do I Do”, and “Mama Mia”. Other singles from this album were “So Long”, “I've Been Waiting for You”, “Bang-A-Boomerang”, and “Rock Me”.

Their fourth album Arrival was released in 1976. It turned out to be one of their most successful albums. It included three of their biggest hits “Dancing Queen”, “Money, Money”, and “Knowing Me, Knowing You”. The album was certified Gold by the RIAA.

ABBA: The Album or simply The Album was the fifth album released in 1977. It was released in conjunction with “ABBA: The Movie”. This album included two UK number one hits “Take a Chance on Me”, and “The Name of the Game”.

ABBA's sixth album Voulez-Vous was released in 1979. This album featured five hits that were released as singles - “Chiquitita”, “Does Your Mother Know”, “I Have a Dream”, the title track, and “Angel Eyes”.

ABBA was a popular band the world over and had millions of fans everywhere. Unfortunately, the band which was made up of two happy couples was having trouble. Bjorn and Agnetha announced their divorce in 1979 and Benny and Frida announced their divorce in 1981. In 1980 ABBA went on tour to Japan which became their last live concerts in front of a paying audience.

Despite all the troubles ABBA came out with their seventh album Super Trouper in 1980. The album featured the number one singles “The Winner Takes It All” and “Super Trouper”. It became their biggest-selling album of the year in the UK. Other singles from the album included “On and On and On”, “Happy New Year”, “Andante, Adante”, and “Lay All Your Love on Me”.

ABBA's eighth album The Visitors came out in 1981. This album featured their major hit “One of Us”. The other singles were When All Is Said and Done”, “Head Over Heels”, and “The Visitors”.

The Visitors became their final album until their release of Voyage in 2021 after four decades showing that ABBA still had the magic in their music.

ABBA returned with their ninth and final album in 2021. There are ten songs written by Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus. This is the group's first album of new material in forty years. The album has become popular the world over and has become their highest-charting album ever in the US and Canada. The singles from this album are “I Still Have Faith in You”/”Don't Shut Me Down”, “Just a Notion”, “Little Things”, and “No Doubt About It”.