ABBA - PHOTOGRAPHS 1974 – 1980 by Wolfgang »Bubi« Heilemann

Largest illustrated book available on ABBA worldwide with around 500 unique photos!

Between 1974 and 1980, dozens (if not hundreds) of Wolfgang “Bubi” Heilemann’s photographs of ABBA appeared in magazines such as Bravo in West Germany and the official ABBA Magazine in the UK, as well as many other publications around the world. Spanning the period from the Eurovision Song Contest in Brighton in April 1974 to the Super Trouper album cover and promotional film session in November 1980, these photographs captured ABBA from the very start of their international fame, through the height of their career and towards their inevitable winding down.

ABBA - PHOTOGRAPHS 1974-1980 is a massive, 512 page tome with over 500 of those photographs, most of which have never before been published.

Whenever ABBA travelled to West Germany, they would have a photo session with Bubi, who would often provide costumes or props to make the session special. On some occasions, Bubi also travelled to Sweden to photograph ABBA on their home turf.

Many of Bubi’s photo sessions have become familiar images in ABBA’s history. Some of his photos were even used on official ABBA releases, the most well-known probably the four photos on the ‘Summer Night City’ single sleeve. Others have been used on record sleeves or other merchandise worldwide. A selection of that very memorabilia is included in the book.

Though the book is primarily photographs, throughout Bubi discusses each photo session. The text is in both German and English. However, through what can be assumed to be an unfortunate printing error, the text in the first chapter about Eurovision is only in German - twice. However, this does not detract from the overall enjoyment of the book.

While personally I’m not a big fan of photos for photos’ sake – seen one or two photos from a particular session, that’s enough for me – what is interesting about this book is that it gives the viewer an insider’s look at the promotional photo session of an internationally famous pop group. While at the time we see only a couple of carefully selected images, in reality many photographs are taken in an effort to get just the right look.

Since its initial release in 2004 this book has proven to be extremely popular with ABBA fans. It’s now available to fans around the world. Click one of the links below for ordering information in your territory.

February 2006.  Book supplied by the publisher.