ABBA (although an acronym the name is often written as Abba) was a Swedish pop music group, the most successful to date from that country. The group was formed around 1970 by Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, Agnetha Fältskog, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad, and the name ABBA comprises their first initials. They became widely known when they won the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest with "Waterloo". Abba split up in 1982.1 Pre-history
Benny Andersson was a member of the Hep Stars, a Swedish rock/pop band who were very popular in their native country during the 1960s. The band was modeled after various US and UK groups of the time, such as Herman's Hermits, The Who and the Rolling StonesThis article is about the rock band. For the science-fiction novel by Robert Heinlein, see The Rolling Stones (novel). For the music industry magazine, see Rolling Stone. The Rolling Stones are a British rock band who rose to prominence during the mid- 19, and had a huge following, particularly among teenage girls. At the same time, Björn Ulvaeus fronted a skiffle group, the Hootenanny SingersThe Hootenanny Singers (originally called the Westbay Singers were a popular skiffle group from Sweden, playing in the late 1950s and early 1960s. The group included Bjorn Ulvaeus, who later was a member of ABBA., with an altogether softer and more easy-listening sound than the Hep Stars. Nevertheless, the singers' paths crossed on a number of occasions, and eventually the two found a lot in common and decided to write songs together. One of these, a track called Isn't It Easy To Say, became a big hit for the Hep Stars, and Björn sometimes guested with the band on tour. It was even suggested that the two bands merged, but in the end this never happened. Instead, the Hep Stars manager, Stig AndersonStig "Stikkan" Anderson ( January 25, 1931 September 12, 1997) was the manager of ABBA and the founder of the Polar Music record label. In 1989 he made a donation for the Polar Music Prize. He died of a heart attack. Anderson, Stikkan Anderson, Stikkan An, saw more potential in Benny and Björn working together, and encouraged them to write more songs and create an album together, eventually called Lycka (happiness) when released.
In the meantime, Agnetha Fältskog was a pop phenomenon in her own right, singing light pop songs in the ShlagerShlager (German Schlager literally "a hit") is a style of popular music that is prevalent in northern Europe, in particular Germany and Scandinavia, but also to a lesser extent in France, Belgium and the Netherlands. It is characterised by sweet, overly s style, as well as cover versions of hits from groups of the day. As a result, Agnetha went on a tour of the Swedish folkparkIn Sweden, a folkpark is a public recreation space, usually featuring large grassed areas, trees, children's play facilities, etc. In larger folkparks, there is sometimes a bandstand or stage, and they are used for concerts and other entertainment. Most ts, which was the main "live circuit" at that time. It was only a matter of time before she bumped into the Hep Stars on their folkpark tours, and so she met and fell in love with Björn. They married in 19711971 is a common year starting on Friday (click for link to calendar). Events January January 1 British divorce Reform Act comes into force January 2 66 die in stairway crush at Rangers v Celtic football match, Glasgow, Scotland. See Ibrox disaster. Janua, in what was the Swedish celebrity wedding of the year, with huge publicity. The final piece of what was to become Abba was provided by housewife Anni-Frid "Frida" Lyngstad, who worked as a cabaret singer part time. She decided to enter a talent competition, which she won. On that particular night, Sweden changed overTransportation in Sweden. Road traffic See also: Rules of the road Sweden had left-hand traffic Vanstertrafik in Swedish) from approximately 1736 and continued to do so well into the 20th century. Despite this virtually all cars in Sweden were actually le from driving on the left of the road to the right, and the TV companies put on a series of "big" shows to encourage people to stay off the roads. As a result, Frida was invited to appear on TV with her winning song. The TV exposure brought her to the attention of the wider public for the first time, and so her musical career took off. It was not long before she was noticed by Benny Andersson, and the two met on the inevitable folkpark tour. They became lovers and Benny invited Anni-Frid to sing backing vocals with Agnetha on the Lycka album. The two women were uncredited for this work.
