PLG finds Gold in ABBA’s vault: Hits package tops 5m in worldwide sales. By Thom Dufy

London

What’s a four-letter word for irrepressible pop from the 1970s? A few clues: dancing queens, the Battle of Waterloo, and a guy named Fernando.

Yes, the music of ABBA is back. In the past 12 months, ABBA Gold-Greatest Hits, compiled by the catalog division of PolyGram International in London, has sold more than 5.1 million copies outside the U.S., according to the record company. The collection has topped the album charts in 13 countries, including the U.K., Germany, France, Spain, Israel, Argentina, Mexico, Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong, and, of course, the quartet’s homeland of Sweden.

In the U.S., ABBA Gold was released on September 21st, 1993 on Polydor Records with retail orders surpassing 100,000, exceeding initial expectations for the hits package, says Rick Dobbis, president of the Polygram Label Group.

“There is a wonderfully fresh perspective that’s being brought to this music,” says Dobbis, noting that the ABBA resurgence is part of a wave of rediscovery of the music and culture of the 1970s. “People have looked down their noses at the 1970s and the disco and dance era, but with fresh perspective, some of this stuff is great.”

The bouyant foursome of Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, Agnetha Fältskog, and Anni-Frid “Frida” Lyngstad – who brought their talents (and the initials of their first names) to ABBA - disbanded a decade ago. Fältskog is no longer active in the music business. Lyngstad is involved in environmental issues and now lives in Zurich (where she made a guest appearance at a Roxette show early last year). Ulvaeus and Andersson continue working as songwriters and producers. No reunion of the group is planned.

But PLG in the U.S. has uncovered a “tremendous fan network” for ABBA, says Andrew Kronfeld, product manager for the album. “A lot of ABBA fans are sending us [memorabilia],” he says.

The company already has held one ABBA Gold party at a dance club in Chicago – bell-bottoms and blue eye-shadow were optional – and plans similar events in as many as a dozen major U.S. markets to supplement retail promotion efforts.

ABBA Gold was compiled by Chris Griffin, director of catalog marketing for PolyGram International, who explains that both corporate and creative developments prompted the project. In 1990, PolyGram Music Publishing purchased Swedens Polar Music, founded by ABBA manager Stig Anderson (no relation to group member Benny Andersson). PolyGram thus acquired the rights to the ABBA repertoire, both songs and master recordings, says Griffin.

Meanwhile, in recent years, ABBA hits like Dancing Queen, Waterloo, and Fernando have been gaining new exposure through some unlikely avenues. Erasure’s tribute EP, ABBA-esque, broke through on the upper half of The Billboard 200 in July 1992 and went to No.1 in the U.K. The Australian cover band Björn Again has brought the live ABBA experience to a new generation of fans. And even U2 added Dancing Queen to shows on last year’s Zoo TV tour, including a July 1992 performance of the hit in Stockholm, where the band was joined by Andersson and Ulvaeus.

PolyGram commissioned market research in London to choose the 19 tracks for ABBA Gold, beginning with Waterloo, the hit that won the Eurovision Song Contest in Brighton, England in 1974 and subsequently peaked at No.6 on the Billboard Hot 100 in June of that year. The album includes the 10 top-20 hits that ABBA scored in the U.S. between 1974-1980. The most of popular of those, Dancing Queen hit No.1 in the U.S. in 1977.

The tracks were remastered for CD by Michael B. Tretow, who engineered the original recordings. Music journalist John Tobler, who was press officer at the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest, was tapped to write liner notes for the collection and a subsequent biography, ABBA Gold: The Complete Story, just published in the U.K.

Market research also helped PolyGram International design the package for ABBA Gold. It decided not to feature a photo of the group on the front of the package because their 1970s image, unlike the music, seemed dated to consumers in focus groups, says Griffin.

At its peak, ABBA sold more albums in Europe than in the U.S., where the group was better known as a singles act. That may have prompted some initial reservations at retail about the potential for ABBA Gold in the U.S. However, PLG has been able to capitalize on the continuing appeal of the ABBA hits to raise retail enthusiasm for the new album, says Kronfeld.

The collection arrives in the U.S. a full year after its international release. That delay prevented erosion of overseas sales by the export of less expensive CDs from the U.S., executives say, and also allowed ABBA Gold to be positioned as a strong gift title during the year’s fourth-quarter. PLG’s Dobbis says he expects ABBA Gold will see immediate success and will remain a steady catalog seller for retailers.

“With ABBA, the timing really is excellent because of the building interest in this music and this era,” says Dobbis. “Enough time has passed that it’s no longer ‘uncool.’ “

PolyGram International in London will eagerly watch for the reaction ABBA Gold gets in the American market. It already has compiled and released a follow-up album outside the U.S., the 20-track collection of More ABBA Gold - More ABBA Hits. Transcribed for ABBA World

Billboard (USA) · 2 October 1993 (Pages 8 & 113)

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