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ABBA Home
BIOS: -The Early Years -The Disco Years -Begining of the end -Post ABBA blues -Arrival of the Revival -Today:Where are they Now? DISCOGRAPHY: -Abba Albums -Solo Albums PHOTO GALLERY STATISTICS: -Top 40 Singles -Gold and Platinum Singles -Our 10 favorite songs -Our 10 favorite Albums ABBA LINKS |
THE EARLY YEARS
It was 1969 when the Fab Four from Sweden would first get together. Each member of the group had musical ties prior to their being in ABBA in Sweden. Benny Andersson was in a group called the "Hep Stars" Bjorn Ulvaeus was in a group called "Hootenany Singers". The two met while the "Hootenany Singers" were on tour and instantly became great friends. Meanwhile Anni-Frid Lyngstad and Agnetha Faltskog met while singing on national television in Sweden. Agnetha and Bjorn were dating at this time. Then on 1 November 1970, the four performed in a night club in Sweden as "Festfolket". This was a disastrous attempt and bombed. However in 1972, the group formed again under the name "Bjorn and Benny, Agnetha and Anni-Frid. They recorded a song called "People need Love" and then submitted it for the Eurovision song fest. The song hit number 17 on the Swedish pop charts. The group also submitted another song called "Ring Ring". "Ring Ring" won third place. In 1974, the group hit big at Eurovision with the song "Waterloo". The group decided to change their name to ABBA. An acronym of their names and easily pronounced in any language. "Waterloo went on to become a Number 1 hit on the British charts and Number 6 on the U.S. Charts. However their follow ups didn't faire as well. "Ring Ring only went to number 32. "I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do" only reached number 38 and "So Long" never charted at all. Meanwhile in the U.S. their first album "Waterloo" and their second album "ABBA" had lackluster sales. Even though the album "ABBA" Contained two big hits. "S.O.S." and "Mama Mia" hit Number 15 and Number 32. In the U.S. Respectively. Toward the end of 1976, the group released their "Greatest Hits" album. This Album had several of their hits from "Waterloo" and "ABBA" as well as their earlier songs that were never released in the U.S. In addition the group included a new song "Fernando". "Fernando" became a huge success for the group, hitting number 11 on the U.S. charts and making America and the World known that ABBA was here to stay. |
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