This year marks 50 years of great success ABBA on Eurovision with the song “Waterloo”. Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson and Anni-Frid “Frida” Lyngstad precisely on April 6, 1974, they entered the colorful stage at The Dome in Brighton, England, dressed in shiny glam rock costumes typical of that era. Then the pop world changed forever. “Waterloo” promoted the album of the same title. It was the band's second album. Long-playing “Waterloo” It became a huge success, setting a sales record in Sweden at the time. This is hardly surprising, because Björn and Benny wrote, arranged and produced a number of great songs, most of which featured the fascinating vocals of Agnetha and Frida. This had to be a success.
ABBA won the hearts of pop music fans with their songs. She sold over 150 million records, the only ones who were better in this race were The Beatles. During the concerts, fans could also admire the musicians' fabulously colorful stylings. They were trendsetters among artists.
“The story of ABBA is one of the most important stories in the era of pop music. The group and all the side effects of its work, especially the world-famous musical and film 'Mamma Mia!', made music ABBA (check) is much more famous today than she was at the height of their career in the 1970s.” – we read in the book “ABBA. The story of a cult band”.
In a book published in 2018 “Nothing Is Real” music journalist David Hepworth mentioned “five records that are always good to play at a wedding”. In places two to five there are faster songs by Madonna, Bruce Springsteen, David Bowie and House of Pain. And it comes first “Dancing Queen” ABBA. “You won't find a single person who doesn't love this song” – Hepsworth said. “It's so kitschy that guys are able to convince themselves that their dancing is ironic” – added.
ABBA's beginnings were not so obvious. Carl Magnus Palm notes that the mere combination of four personalities creating the team was unprecedented. It's hard to believe that such different people, with so much experience from the past, would be able to communicate and create a harmonious group.
“A naive blonde, former band singer and dancer who had several big hits in Sweden, however, seemed unprepared for an international career. The Norwegian-born brunette grew up in a small town, sang in various dance groups for ten years, and although she had several opportunities to enter wider waters, she never managed to win the hearts of a wider audience. Let's add to this two former pop stars, wildly popular in the 1960s, but now linking their future with behind-the-scenes roles as composers and producers. Let's add to this the singers entering into romantic relationships with these composers and producers and we have a story straight from a novel “which everyone would consider not very realistic”, a cheap romance intended to detach readers from reality and transfer them to the world of fairy tales” – we read in the book.
Misunderstandings resulting from the musicians' differing fates and characters were not the band's only problem. ABBA also faced significant resistance from the international music market, which was not particularly interested in what artists from Sweden had to offer. Despite everything, the band managed to find a place for themselves on the world stage. This happened thanks to the victory of the mentioned song “Waterloo” in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1974 “God, yesterday we were completely unknown, and tomorrow the whole world will be open to us. We became famous overnight” – said Björn Ulvaeus after the victory.
“The Swedish group, whose unique work was influenced by American and British pop and rock music, Swedish folk, Italian ballads, German hits and French songs, was an unlikely candidate for world stardom. Yet it was this lack of verisimilitude, and their willingness to accept whatever influences they might encounter, not caring whether they were fashionable as long as they struck a chord with them, that made them so successful.” – Palm emphasized.
The group, contrary to the opinions of skeptics, managed to conquer other countries. In some cases it was even wildly popular. “At the same time, she had to face enormous criticism at home and abroad due to the allegedly boorish commercial nature of her music; she tried to reconcile the need for privacy with the demands of an international career; she became entangled in a complex network of barter and tax avoidance, and as a result she lost millions of crowns” – we learn from the book.
In the book “ABBA. The story of a cult band” the author also explains the background behind the creation of the songs. “ABBA's songs were born when Björn and Benny, using a piano and an acoustic guitar, tried to create catchy melodies. These sessions generally took place in a holiday home on Viggsö Island or in one of their own homes. They spent many hours playing fragments of melodies to each other and trying to recognize which ones were promising.” – he wrote. We also learn from the book that the working titles of songs often came from initial lyrics that the musicians improvised. “SAUCE” at least it was initially titled “Turn Me On”, “Story of My Life” over time it turned into “The Winner Takes It All”and the working title “Dancing Queen” it sounded “Boogaloo”.
As the author pointed out, “in a way ABBA's musical development, from its joyful debut single 'People Need Love' to painful breakup masterpieces like 'The Winner Takes It All' at the end of their career is as astonishing as the Beatles' evolution from 'Love Me Do' down 'Strawberry Fields Forever'“. He also pointed out that not exactly “secret weapon” there was beauty and the voices of two singers. In his opinion, their multi-layered harmonies were the most important element of ABBA's world-famous sound.
Carl Magnus Palm also noted that it was cruel fate that caused ABBA members' problems in their private lives. Their musical development was accompanied by marriage breakdowns and other traumatic events related to it. This must have influenced their career path and the sound of the music they created.
“Although it was not planned, ABBA offered the world not only top-class pop music, but also psychodrama to which listeners, watching the band members' path to fame, could transfer their own experiences, dreams and fears. As the musicians established themselves as global stars, their lyrics, generally written by Björn, no longer followed the earlier philosophy of 'we just have to sing some words', but became reflections on the ups and downs in the lives of ordinary women and men” – we read in the book.
In November 1982, ABBA musicians performed as a full band for the last time and started working on solo projects. Some hope for the band's reactivation was brought by the comeback album released in 2021 “Voyage” and a virtual concert “ABBA Voyage”. Benny Anderson, on the other hand, clearly stated in an interview that although he had never announced that ABBA would never do anything together again, now – after the release of 'Voyage' – he felt that he was ready to say that it was definitely over. Agnetha responded to this issue in a similar way. Only Frida broke down and took a stand “never say never”.
“With three-quarters of the group now well into their 70s, it actually seems likely that they would see Voyage less as a new chapter than as a more satisfying end to their story than the early 1980s fade-out.” – assessed the author of the book. October 27, 2021. Anderson in an interview with the newspaper “Guardian” officially confirmed the end of the group's activities.
Anna Kruszyńska