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| ABBA The Most Famous Swedish Band Ever Agnetha, Björn, Benny, Anni-Frid: ABBA, the greatest Scandinavian band ever. Very few other bands in the world have produced as many Top Hits as ABBA did. Not only they were the biggest pop musical sensation in the 1970's; their Greatest Hits compilations are still among the best-selling albums of all times and their songs are classics on charts and dance floors all over the world When Björn and Benny met Agnetha and Anni-Frid Stockholm, Sweden, 1966. Years before the four members of ABBA decided to sing together they all were enjoying success at the Swedish musical scene. Benny Andersson was a member of The Hep Stars, the biggest pop band in Sweden during the 1960s; Björn Ulvaeus, a passionate about folk music, was one of the popular Hootenanny Singers; Agnetha Fältskog and Norwegian-born Anni-Frid Lyngstad, better known as Frida, had both also a well established recording career. When Benny and Björn first met in 1966 they immediately liked each other's musical talent and soon started collaborating and writing songs together. Three years later, in 1969, when the boys met the girls, little they knew that they would become the most famous pop band of the 1970's and one of the timeless bands in modern music. After a couple of years of mutual musical cooperation and the marriage of Björn and Agnetha in 1971, the fantastic Swedes decided to join their talents together on a band called "Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Anni-Frid" and released a song called "People need Love", which became a hit in Sweden in 1972. The Eurovision years: Ring Ring (1973) and Waterloo (1974) Following the success of "People need Love", their band 'Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Anni-Frid' was selected to represent Sweden in the 1973 Eurovision Song Contest. Their happy and melodic song "Ring Ring" finished on third position and paved their way to stardom. "Ring Ring" was the first typical ABBA-sounding production, based on a rythmically strong and contagious melody with the perfectly matching voices of Agnetha and Frida and the intense keyboards of Benny. Björn, Benny, Agnetha and Anni-Frid's first album "Ring Ring" climbed steadily to the top of the charts in Sweden and in many other European countries. But the best was yet to come. First, the fab Swedes shortened their band name to an acronym of their first names with the kind permission of the Swedish fish processing company "ABBA", which had the ownership of the name. Second, they tried again their luck in the 1974 edition of the Eurovision Song Contest with their young and energetic song "Waterloo". "Waterloo" was the absolute winner of the Eurovision contest and took Europe by storm, going straight up to Number One on all Europe and up to the Top Ten in the USA. Swedish Pop takes over the world: ABBA (1975), Arrival (1976) and ABBA - The Album (1977) "ABBA", the name of their third album, took the songs of Björn, Agnetha, Benny and Frida back to the top of the charts worldwide with their hits "Mamma Mia" and "SOS". The popularity of the band had already reached well beyond Europe, creating a frenzy ABBA-mania as far away as Japan, and particularly in Australia, the most fervorous fans of the Swedish group in the world. Their forth album, "Arrival", considered my many as their most successful work, took again the charts by storm with the Top Hits "Dancing Queen", "Money, Money, Money", "Fernando" and "Knowing Me, Knowing You". The classic Hit "Dancing Queen" has become the most played ABBA song in radio stations and dance-floors around the world. By this time, ABBA had become the first band in the history of music to record their Hit Songs in three languages: Swedish, English and Spanish. ABBA was on the crest of the wave and their 1977 world tour was a full sold-out success. "ABBA-The Movie", filmed during their Australian tour for the delight of their Aussie fans, was released together with their album "ABBA - The Album", which included the Top Hits "Take a Chance on Me" and "The Name Of The Game". ABBA would take a composing break during 1978 to launch a massive promotional campaign tour in the USA. The last albums: Voulez-Vous (1979), Super Trouper (1980) and The Visitors (1981) After many years of romance, Benny and Frida got married in 1978, which was soon followed by the divorce of Björn and Agnetha in 1979. ABBA was having a very hectic lifestyle and they were finding difficult to combine at the same time their private life with their professional obligations. After almost three years of marriage, Benny and Frida divorced in 1981. Yet, the band was still on the top of success, touring around the world and producing more Hit Songs such us "Chiquitita", "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)"' and "Summer Night City" featuring on their sixth album "Voulez-Vous"; the hits "Super Trouper" and "The Winner Takes it All" on their seventh album "Super Trouper", and "One of Us" on their eighth album "The Visitors". One decade after the first success of Swedish pop on charts, discos and radio stations all around the world, ABBA decided to split up in 1982 and to follow separate directions: Benny and Björn continued working actively in the music business, Björn having more time for folk music and Benny producing and writing for other bands, both of them still working together many times. Agnetha and Frida revived for a while their solo careers but eventually left the music business for good. Thank You for the Music The proof that ABBA's music was more than a fashion disco-craze and was meant to stay as part of our lives came eventually in the 1990s. As if the world was suddenly missing their favourite Swedish band ever, a ABBA revival took again the world by storm, with Top Hit cover versions of their songs and big movie productions playing ABBA on their soundtracks. Released in 1992, a decade after the band had split up, the compilation album "ABBA Gold" sold over 25 million copies and brought them back to radio stations, homes and dance-floors all around the world. Much more material of ABBA has been reissued as old and new generations re-discover the Swedish hip. Besides the reedition of ABBA's eight albums in CD, there has also been many compilations such us "The Definitive Collection", "ABBA Gold" or "ABBA Oro" with ABBA singing in Spanish language, and several reeditions in VHS and DVD of ABBA's musical videos and film clips. Up to date, the main current event for all ABBA fans around the world is the musical "Mamma Mia!", produced by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus. Since its acclaimed première in London, Europe, in 1999, this hugely popular musical based on ABBA's favourite songs has travelled around Canada, USA, Japan, and their most loving fan-devoted Australia. Korea and New will host the "Mamma Mia!" musical during 2004.
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