ABBA at 50

After winning 1974’s Eurovision Song Contest with their song “Waterloo,” ABBA catapulted to fame, capturing hearts across the globe with their melodic and ever-so-catchy pop songs. Formed in Stockholm, in 1972 by Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid “Frida” Lyngstad, ABBA became one of the most commercially successful acts in the history of popular music, topping the charts worldwide with classic hits such as “Dancing Queen,” “Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man after Midnight),” “SOS,” and “Knowing Me, Knowing You.”

After their split in 1982, it seemed the ABBA story was all but over. But the 1990s ushered in a new wave of ABBA appreciation, and their music found favor again in modern popular culture. A host of ABBA-themed entertainment followed, including stage musical Mamma Mia! (1999), two box-office hit movies Mamma Mia! The Movie (2008), and Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again (2018), and in 2013 the opening of ABBA The Museum, in Stockholm. In 2021, after a forty-year hiatus, the band released a new album Voyage, and announced an accompanying concert featuring their digital avatars, dubbed “ABBAtars.”

Now celebrating their fiftieth year, ABBA are one of the great tales of pop music. From their humble beginnings in post-war Sweden to global superstardom, ABBA at 50 charts the remarkable story of this Swedish quartet. Beautifully illustrated with essential images, this book examines the group’s enduring legacy and much-loved musical repertoire of perfectly crafted pop. A must for all ABBA fans.