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ABBA

NME.com feature on ABBA including news, reviews, biography, youtube video, audio, concerts, tour dates, photos, pictures, commentary, album reviews and live reviews and cool facts.

ABBA News

ABBA's 'Gold' overtakes' 'Sgt. Pepper's' to become UK's second biggest selling album of all time

Eurovision group's greatest hits collection has sold more than 5.1million copies

  • May 19, 2013

Abba didn't 'sound very good' live, says singer Agnetha

Singer Agnetha Faltskog also regrets the band's lack of choreography during live shows

  • May 9, 2013

Abba to write theme for Eurovision Song Contest

'We Write the Story' will be performed at this year's event in Sweden on May 18

  • Apr 15, 2013

ABBA's 'Gold' named UK's all-time best selling CD

The Swedish band's greatest hits collection has sold more CDs than Adele's '21'

  • Oct 1, 2012

ABBA's Agnetha Faltskog hints at reunion

Ladbrokes also offer odds of Swedish band appearing at Royal Wedding

  • Dec 29, 2010

More ABBA News

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ABBA Music Videos

Waterloo Play Video

Waterloo

Abba Waterloo music video - official.

Under Attack Play Video

Under Attack

Official music video for the track Under Attack by Abba.

That's Me Play Video

That's Me

Official music video for the track That's Me by Abba.

Head Over Heels Play Video

Head Over Heels

Official music video for the track Head Over Heels by Abba.

Bang-A-Boomerang Play Video

Bang-A-Boomerang

Official music video for the track Bang-A-Boomerang by Abba.

View more ABBA videos from Muzu or Youtube

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ABBA Biography

ABBA was a Swedish pop group formed in Stockholm in 1972, comprising Agnetha Faltskog, Bjorn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. ABBA is an acronym of the first letters of the band members' first names (Agnetha, Benny, Bjorn and Anni-Frid) and is sometimes stylized as the registered trademark ????. They became one of the most commercially successful acts in the history of pop music, topping the charts worldwide from 1972 to 1982. They are also known for winning the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest, giving Sweden its first victory in the history of the contest and being the most successful group ever to take part in the contest.

ABBA had sold over 370 million albums and singles worldwide and still sell millions of records a year, which makes them one of the best-selling music artists of all time. ABBA was the first pop group to come from a non-English-speaking country that enjoyed consistent success in the charts of English-speaking countries, including the UK, Ireland, the U.S., Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Philippines and South Africa. The group also enjoyed significant success in Latin American markets, and recorded a collection of their hit songs in Spanish.

During the band's active years, Faltskog and Ulvaeus were a married couple, as were Lyngstad and Andersson, although both couples later divorced. At the height of their popularity, both relationships were suffering strain which ultimately resulted in the collapse of the Ulvaeus-Faltskog marriage in 1979 and the Andersson-Lyngstad marriage in 1981. These relationship changes were reflected in the group's music, with later compositions including more introspective lyrics.

After ABBA broke up in late 1982, Andersson and Ulvaeus achieved success writing music for the stage while Lyngstad and Faltskog pursued solo careers with mixed success. ABBA's music declined in popularity until several films, notably Muriel's Wedding and The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, revived interest in the group, spawning several tribute bands. In 1999, ABBA's music was adapted into the successful musical Mamma Mia! that toured worldwide. A film of the same name released in 2008 became the highest-grossing film in the United Kingdom that year. The group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on 15 March 2010.

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