When Agnetha Fältskog gave birth to her daughter Linda in 1973, [22] she was replaced for a short period by Inger Brundin on a trip to West Germany. Steve Harnell (ed.): Classic Pop Presents Abba: A Celebration. Classic Pop Magazine (special edition), November 2016 On 13 September 1979, ABBA began ABBA: The Tour at Northlands Coliseum in Edmonton, Canada, with a full house of 14,000. "The voices of the band, Agnetha's high sauciness combined with round, rich lower tones of Anni-Frid, were excellent...Technically perfect, melodically correct and always in perfect pitch...The soft lower voice of Anni-Frid and the high, edgy vocals of Agnetha were stunning", raved Edmonton Journal. [ citation needed] Abba reunite for Voyage, first new album in 40 years". The Guardian. 2 September 2021. Archived from the original on 20 October 2021 . Retrieved 10 September 2021.

The group also had 12 Top 20 singles on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart with two of them, "Fernando" and "The Winner Takes It All", reaching number one. "Lay All Your Love on Me" was ABBA's fourth number-one single on a Billboard chart, topping the Hot Dance Club Play chart. Bronson, Fred (6 April 2019). "45 Years Ago Today, ABBA Started Its Global Conquest With Eurovision Win for 'Waterloo' ". Billboard. Archived from the original on 28 April 2019 . Retrieved 21 August 2019. Breihan, Tom (2 September 2021). "ABBA Announce Reunion Album Voyage& Share Two New Songs, Their First In 39 Years". Stereogum. Archived from the original on 20 October 2021 . Retrieved 2 September 2021.Hit after hit flowed from Arrival: " Money, Money, Money", another number-one in Germany, France, Australia and other countries of western and northern Europe, plus number three in the UK; and, " Knowing Me, Knowing You", ABBA's sixth consecutive German number-one, as well as another UK number-one, plus a top five hit in many other countries, although it was only a number nine hit in Australia and France. The real sensation was the first single, " Dancing Queen", not only topping the charts in loyal markets like the UK, Germany, Sweden, several other western and northern European countries, and Australia, but also reaching number-one in the United States, Canada, the Soviet Union and Japan, and the top ten in France, Spain and Italy. All three songs were number-one hits in Mexico. In South Africa, ABBA had astounding success with each of "Fernando", "Dancing Queen" and "Knowing Me, Knowing You" being among the top 20 best-selling singles for 1976–77. In 1977, Arrival was nominated for the inaugural BRIT Award in the category "Best International Album of the Year". By this time ABBA were popular in the UK, most of Europe, Australia, New Zealand and Canada. In Frida – The DVD, Lyngstad explains how she and Fältskog developed as singers, as ABBA's recordings grew more complex over the years. The Dutch edition of Agnetha's book "Som jag är" also includes translations of more recent interviews. In September 2010, band members Andersson and Ulvaeus criticised the right-wing Danish People's Party (DF) for using the ABBA song "Mamma Mia" (with modified lyrics referencing Pia Kjærsgaard) at rallies. The band threatened to file a lawsuit against the DF, saying they never allowed their music to be used politically and that they had absolutely no interest in supporting the party. Their record label Universal Music later said that no legal action would be taken because an agreement had been reached. [141] Success in the United States [ edit ]

In Australia, the airing of the music videos for "I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do" and "Mamma Mia" on the nationally broadcast TV pop show Countdown (which premiered in November 1974) saw the band rapidly gain enormous popularity, and Countdown become a key promoter of the group via their distinctive music videos. This started an immense interest for ABBA in Australia, resulting in "I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do" staying at number one for three weeks, then "SOS" spending a week there, followed by "Mamma Mia" staying there for ten weeks, and the album holding down the number one position for months. The three songs were also successful in nearby New Zealand with the first two topping that chart and the third reaching number two.

Björn Ulvaeus (born 25 April 1945 in Gothenburg, Sweden) also began his musical career at the age of 18 (as a singer and guitarist), when he fronted the Hootenanny Singers, a popular Swedish folk– skiffle group. Ulvaeus started writing English-language songs for his group and even had a brief solo career alongside. The Hootenanny Singers and the Hep Stars sometimes crossed paths while touring. In June 1966, Ulvaeus and Andersson decided to write a song together. Their first attempt was "Isn't It Easy to Say", a song that was later recorded by the Hep Stars. Stig Anderson was the manager of the Hootenanny Singers and founder of the Polar Music label. [22] He saw potential in the collaboration, and encouraged them to write more. The two also began playing occasionally with the other's bands on stage and on record, although it was not until 1969 that the pair wrote and produced some of their first real hits together: " Ljuva sextital" ("Sweet Sixties"), recorded by Brita Borg, and the Hep Stars' 1969 hit "Speleman" ("Fiddler"). In May 2017, a sequel to the 2008 movie Mamma Mia!, titled Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, was announced; the film was released on 20 July 2018. [92] Cher, who appeared in the movie, also released Dancing Queen, an ABBA cover album, in September 2018. In June 2017, a blue plaque outside Brighton Dome was set to commemorate their 1974 Eurovision win. [93] covers the time from Benny's childhood through the Hep Stars era up to the very first ABBA recording. Youtube video". 1:10. Archived from the original on 17 April 2016 . Retrieved 30 September 2016– via YouTube. [ dead link] Oldham, Andrew, Calder, Tony & Irvin, Colin (1995) "ABBA: The Name of the Game", ISBN 0-283-06232-0

Hastings, Chris (5 July 2008). "ABBA's Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson: We Will Never Reform". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 5 December 2008 . Retrieved 9 July 2021. Abba Reunite for Musical Premiere". BBC News. London. 14 February 2005. Archived from the original on 12 October 2021 . Retrieved 16 July 2008. In June 2019, Ulvaeus announced that the first new song and video containing the ABBAtars would be released in November 2019. In September, he stated in an interview that there were now five new ABBA songs [100] to be released in 2020. In early 2020, Andersson confirmed that he was aiming for the songs to be released in September 2020. [101] Bagwell, Matt (28 April 2020). "Whatever Happened To That New ABBA Music We Were Promised?". HuffPost. Archived from the original on 8 March 2021 . Retrieved 1 May 2020.The idea for the official logo was made by the German photographer Wolfgang "Bubi" Heilemann [ de] on a velvet jumpsuit photo shoot for the teenage magazine Bravo. In the photo, the ABBA members held giant initial letters of their names. After the pictures were made, Heilemann found out that Benny Andersson reversed his letter "B;" this prompted discussions about the mirrored "B", and the members of ABBA agreed on the mirrored letter. From 1976 onward, the first "B" in the logo version of the name was "mirror-image" reversed on the band's promotional material, thus becoming the group's registered trademark. [ citation needed] On 27 April 2018, all four original members of ABBA made a joint announcement that they had recorded two new songs, titled " I Still Have Faith in You" and " Don't Shut Me Down", to feature in a TV special set to air later that year. [94] [95] [96] In September 2018, Ulvaeus stated that the two new songs, as well as the TV special, now called ABBA: Thank You for the Music, An All-Star Tribute, would not be released until 2019. The TV special was later revealed to be scrapped by 2018, as Andersson and Ulvaeus rejected Fuller's project, and instead partnered with visual effects company Industrial Light and Magic to prepare the ABBAtars for a music video and a concert. [97] [98] In January 2019, it was revealed that neither song would be released before the summer. Andersson hinted at the possibility of a third song. [99] The members of ABBA were married as follows: Agnetha Fältskog and Björn Ulvaeus from 1971 to 1979; Benny Andersson and Anni-Frid Lyngstad from 1978 to 1981. [147] For their subsequent marriages, see their articles. Also in 1980, ABBA recorded a compilation of Spanish-language versions of their hits called Gracias Por La Música. This was released in Spanish-speaking countries as well as in Japan and Australia. The album became a major success, and along with the Spanish version of "Chiquitita", this signalled the group's breakthrough in Latin America. ABBA Oro: Grandes Éxitos, the Spanish equivalent of ABBA Gold: Greatest Hits, was released in 1999.

Griffin, Louise (24 November 2021). "Abba nominated for first ever Grammy in 48 years and how did this happen?". Metro . Retrieved 28 November 2021. In March 1976, the band released the compilation album Greatest Hits. It became their first UK number-one album, and also took ABBA into the Top 50 on the US album charts for the first time, eventually selling more than a million copies there. Also included on Greatest Hits was a new single, " Fernando", which went to number-one in at least thirteen countries all over the world, including the UK, Germany, France, Australia, South Africa and Mexico, and the top five in most other significant markets, including, at number four, becoming their biggest hit to date in Canada; the single went on to sell over 10million copies worldwide. [50] GRAMMY Hall Of Fame Class Of 2015". 16 December 2014. Archived from the original on 16 August 2016 . Retrieved 31 August 2016. ABBA Tribute Announced for River Moselle". The Luxembourg Chronicle. 19 January 2019. Archived from the original on 16 January 2020 . Retrieved 15 July 2020.a b "Abba win 'Eurovision 50th' vote". BBC News. 23 October 2005. Archived from the original on 19 October 2006 . Retrieved 20 July 2006. ABBA won their nation's hearts on Swedish television on 9 February 1974, and with this third attempt were far more experienced and better prepared for the Eurovision Song Contest. Winning the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest on 6 April 1974 (and singing "Waterloo" in English instead of their native tongue) gave ABBA the chance to tour Europe and perform on major television shows; thus the band saw the "Waterloo" single chart in many European countries. Following their success at the Eurovision Song Contest, ABBA spent an evening of glory partying in the appropriately named first-floor Napoleon suite of The Grand Brighton Hotel. [45] ABBA: The National Commercial". Abba-world.net. Archived from the original on 2 March 2012 . Retrieved 23 August 2010.