ABBA Omnibus

ABBA is an acronym of the initials of the four members' first names: Anni-Frid (Frida) Lyngstad, Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus, Agnetha Fältskog.

Which A and which B represent which member?

There is no official order for the names. In different interviews or introductions over the years, either Agnetha or Frida would be identified as the first or last A, the same for Björn and Benny.

In the early days when the group was known by their first names, the billing was Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Anni-Frid (later Frida). In the opening titles of ABBA - The Movie in 1977, the order of names was Anni-Frid, Benny, Björn, Agnetha.

How old are the ABBA members?

Björn is the oldest, born 25 April 1945 (making him 63). Frida is next oldest, born 15 November 1945 (63). Benny was born 16 December 1946 (61), while Agnetha is the youngest of the four, born 5 April 1950 (58).

How many albums did ABBA release?

ABBA released eight studio albums:
Ring Ring (1973)
Waterloo (1974)
ABBA (1975)
Arrival (1976)
ABBA - The Album (1977)
Voulez-Vous (1979)
Super Trouper (1980)
The Visitors (1981)
In 1980 they recorded an album of Spanish-language versions of their hits, Gracias Por La Música.
During the group's lifetime, three "official" compilations were released:
Greatest Hits (1975)
Greatest Hits Vol. 2 (1979)
ABBA - The Singles - The First Ten Years (1982).

There have been innumerable compilations released around the world over the last 35 years. Check the Discs section for a selection of compilations.

How many ABBA songs are there?

During their time together ABBA released 97 unique songs (96 in English, 1 only in Swedish), plus four alternate mixes, 3 Swedish versions, 3 German versions, 1 French version and 14 Spanish versions.

Since the group ended another 3 complete songs have been released, plus another Spanish version, two further alternate mixes, and a medley of snippets of previously unreleased songs. This does not count the myriad of edited versions to either shorten or lengthen a song without altering the mix - at last count there were 80 or so of these.

See the Songs section for more details.

What are ABBA's biggest selling album and single?

ABBA's biggest selling album is the 1992 compilation ABBA Gold - Greatest Hits, which is reported to have sold over 26 million copies. Super Trouper is thought to be ABBA's biggest selling studio album. The biggest selling single worldwide is 'Dancing Queen' closely followed by 'Fernando'.

Who sings lead on a particular song?

Check the Who sings which song? page.

What year did ABBA win the Eurovision Song Contest?

ABBA won the contest on 6 April 1974 with 'Waterloo'.

In 1973 they entered 'Ring Ring' in Melodifestivalen (the Melody Festival), the Swedish heats for the Eurovision Song Contest - it came third.

Where can I write to the ABBA members?

You can write the any of the ABBA members c/-:

Universal Music AB
Box 55777
114 83 Stockholm
Sweden

Mono Music AB
Södra Brobänken 41 A
Skeppsholmen 111 49
Stockholm
Sweden

Agnetha Fältskog Produktion
Södra Brobänken 41 A
Skeppsholmen 111 49
Stockholm
Sweden

For Mamma Mia! related correspondence:

Littlestar Services Ltd
6 Fareham St
London
W1D 3BD UK

If you are a member of the Official International ABBA Fan Club, you can send a letter to the club, who will forward it on.

However I can't guarantee that you will get a reply, or how long a reply may take.

What ABBA concert films are available?

There are two available on DVD:

ABBA - The Movie, a 90 minute cinema documentary filmed during ABBA's March 1977 tour in Australia.

ABBA In Concert, filmed for a one hour television special at Wembley Arena in London in November 1979.

There are no films of complete concerts available. Director Lasse Hallström said that over 50 hours of footage was shot on the Australian tour, but in various interviews over the years he has said that either the footage is in storage somewhere waiting to be found and used, or was destroyed when the film was completed. Apparently in preparation for filming the Australian tour, one concert at London's Royal Albert Hall was filmed, but it is not known how much was filmed or what became of this film. Similarly, director Urban Lasson has said that the only songs filmed at Wembley were the songs required for the television special (and portions of 'Thank You For THe Music', pieced together for the ABBA In Concert DVD), and no other film exists.

Where can I buy official ABBA merchandise?

You can buy a limited range of official merchandise from ABBA - The Site. The ABBA Fan Club Shop has other merchandise available. It is expected that ABBA the Museum will have merchandise for sale whenever it opens.

Why won't ABBA or Universal Music release more ABBA songs from the vaults?

ABBA, particularly Benny and Björn as the songwriters and producers, are reluctant to release unissued songs, feeling that if they weren't good enough to release at the time, they're still not good enough now. They did relent in 1993 to allow the inclusion of 'I Am The City' on More ABBA Gold - More ABBA Hits, and in 1994 when several songs were released for the first time, some in full, but many in truncated form in the 'ABBA Undeleted' medley.

Why won't ABBA release their recording of 'Just Like That'?

Björn and Benny have stated that they feel that the Gemini version, recorded for that duo's self-titled album in 1985, is the final version of the song with that title, and they can't have two similar but different songs with the same title.

Almost all of the components of ABBA's version of 'Just Like That' have seen the light of day in other songs: a guitar riff from an early mix became part of the verse melody of 'Under Attack'; most of the chorus was used in the Gemini version; the original verse was used in 'Glöm mig om du kan' in the 2002 Swedish production of Benny and Björn's musical Chess.

What will it take for an ABBA reunion?

It's highly unlikely that we will ever see a public ABBA reunion. When the group has performed together since coming to an end in 1982, it has been for private purposes, ranging from singing 'Tivedshambo' for a Stig Anderson television tribute in 1986, to singing for their friend and business associate Görel Hanser for her 50th birthday in June 1999.

Agnetha, Frida, Benny and Björn did appear together at the Stockholm premiere of the film Mamma Mia! in July 2008, and were photographed with the film's major cast and crew.

Are ABBA records without the backwards B logo rare and valuable?

No. The ABBA logo with the first B reversed was introduced in July 1976, and first appeared on the 'Dancing Queen' single sleeve. All records released before that, and even some after, had ABBA written normally.

There is one exception: the Australian 'Dancing Queen' single sleeve, which appeared with both the ABBA logo and ABBA written normally. However, the sleeve with ABBA written normally is not all that rare or valuable - rumours that there are only three copies worth hundred or thousands of dollars are false.

Where can I find lyrics to ABBA's songs?

You can find ABBA lyrics on many ABBA websites - see the Links section. Lyrics to all of ABBA's released songs can be found on ABBA - The Site, the official website.

Where can I download ABBA songs?

You can buy downloadable ABBA songs from many legal websites including iTunes, Napster and MSN.

How much are ABBA autographs worth?

That's hard to say. With the advent of eBay and other online auction sites, the price of autographs has increased. These days a full set will probably set you back around US$1,000, individual autographs can sell for US$300.

Beware that there are more forged autographs available these days than genuine ones. A Certificate of Authenticity is no guarantee that autographs are indeed authentic.

Here are examples of ABBA's autographs, circa 1976:

I have a rare memorabilia item I'd like to sell to a deserving fan, where can I advertise it?

eBay is easily the most popular site for selling memorabilia, but it's often flooded with thousands of items at any one time.

The ABBA Trading Point is popular with ABBA fans in the know.

How much is this piece of memorabilia worth?

It's hard to say what any particular piece of merchandise may be worth. There is no real price guide for ABBA memorabilia, and prices fluctuate with supply and demand. Generally an item is worth whatever someone will pay. I suggest check eBay or other auction sites to get an idea of what your item might be worth.

What's the story about the unreleased album Opus 10?

There was no planned ABBA album titled Opus 10. There is a long complex story behind this mythical unreleased album.

In mid-1981, a journalist from Swedish newspaper Expressen visited ABBA in the studio during sessions for what would become The Visitors album, then titled his story "Now ABBA are recording their tenth album", reasing it was the tenth ABBA album since the first in 1973, including the two greatest hits volumes (but excluding the collection of Spanish recordings Gracias Por La Musica). Jokingly this "tenth" album was dubbed "Opus 10" in the article.

Over the years the myth grew. First "Opus 10" was rumoured to have been a working title for The Visitors, which would have had an instrumental title track, the demo recording known as 'Nationalsång'. Then it became the alleged title of the unfinished 1982 album. Due to repetition and publication of this "fact" in several sources it has become "fact". It was even referred to in Agnetha's authorised biographical book As I Am as "the cancelled ABBA album".

Will Agnetha record again?

Not long after Agnetha's 2004 "comeback" album My Colouring Book, there was talk of another album from Agnetha. Swedish songs or self-composed songs were bandied about. But in rare interviews, she has said that her career is now behind her.

Will Frida record again?

In several interviews over the past few years, Frida has said that the inspiration to create music was no longer inside here. However, in an interview in Germany in October 2007, she said that she and her friend Jon Lord, with whom she recorded 'The Sun Will Shine Again' in 2004, have been discussing the possibility of working together on a full-length project.

When will Benny and Björn's musical Kristina från Duvemåla be staged in English?

The English translation by Herbert Kretzmer, who was responsible for translating such blockbuster musicals as Les Miserables, has apparently been finished for quite some time. A couple of English versions of songs have been made public in concert: Swede Helen Sjöholm has sung 'Home' (Hemma) with Benny Anderssons Orkester, and American Alice Ripley has performed 'You Have To Be There' (Du måste finnas).

Apparently after workshops for the musical in New York, potential financiers declared that "sad doesn't sell". Benny has said he hopes to stage a concert version in America in 2008 or 2009 to drum up interest in the musical.

Will Benny and Björn write a new musical?

Both Benny and Björn have hinted in recent interviews that they have discussed the idea of writing another musical.

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