ABBA - just the facts Part 2

ABBA - just the facts Part 2 A article written in May 2007

1978–1979
By 1978, ABBA were a megagroup. They converted a disused cinema into the Polar Music Studio, a new state-of-the-art studio in Stockholm which was used by several other bands: for example, Led Zeppelin's In Through the Out Door & Genesis' Duke were recorded there).
Their stand-alone single "Summer Night City" — their last Swedish number one — set the stage for their foray into disco with their sixth album, Voulez-Vous, released in April 1979. Two background tracks for the album were recorded in the famous Criteria Studios in Miami, U.S. with the assistance, among others, of the recording engineer Tom Dowd. The album topped the charts across Europe & in Japan, hit the Top 10 in Canada & Australia & the Top 20 in the US. None of the singles from the album reached #1 on the UK charts, but "Chiquitita", "Does Your Mother Know", "Voulez-Vous" & "I Have a Dream" all charted no lower than #4. In Canada, "I Have a Dream" became ABBA's second #1 on the RPM Adult Contemporary chart (the first being "Fernando").

In January 1979, the group performed "Chiquitita" at the Music for UNICEF Concert held at the United Nations General Assembly. Their performance at the concert was, however, lip-synched. ABBA donated the copyright of this worldwide hit to the UNICEF; see Music for UNICEF Concert.

"Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!" (1979)Later that year, the group released their second compilation album, Greatest Hits Vol. 2, which featured a brand new track: "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)", their best known disco hit in Europe. In Russia during the late 1970s, they were paid in oil commodities because of an embargo on the ruble.

On September 13, 1979, ABBA began their first (and only) North American tour at the Northlands Coliseum, in Edmonton, Canada, with a full house of 14,000. During the next four weeks, they played a total of seventeen sold-out dates, thirteen in the U.S. & four in Canada.

The last scheduled ABBA concert on U.S. soil, in Washington, DC, was cancelled due to Agnetha Fältskog's emotional distress suffered during the flight from New York to Boston, when the private plane she was on was subjected to extreme weather conditions (see Windsor Locks, Connecticut Tornado) & could not land for a long time. The tour ended with a show in Toronto, Canada at Maple Leaf Gardens before a capacity crowd of 18,000. The shows also generated the same type of complaints that were expressed during the group's 1977 tour: many fans regarded ABBA as more of a studio group than a live band.

On October 19, the tour resumed in Western Europe where the band played 23 sold-out gigs, including an unprecedented six sold-out nights at London's Wembley Arena.

1980–1982
In March of 1980, ABBA travelled to Japan where upon their arrival at Narita International Airport they were besieged by thousands of fans. The group played eleven concerts to full houses, including six shows at Tokyo's Budokan. This tour was the last "on the road" adventure of their career.

1980 saw the release of ABBA's seventh album,Super Trouper, which reflected a certain change in ABBA's style with more prominent use of synthesisers & increasingly more personal lyrics. It set a record for the most preorders ever received for a UK album after one million copies were ordered before release. Anticipation for the album had been built up by "The Winner Takes It All", the group's eighth UK chart topper (and their first since 1978). In the US, the single reached #8 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart & became ABBA's second Billboard Adult Contemporary #1. The song was allegedly written about Ulvaeus & Fältskog's marital tribulations. The next single from the album, "Super Trouper", also hit #1 in the UK but failed to reach the Top 40 in the US. Another track from Super Trouper, "Lay All Your Love on Me", released in 1981 as a 12-inch single only in selected territories, managed to top the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart & peaked at #7 on the UK singles chart becoming at the time the highest ever charting 12-inch release in UK chart history.

Also in 1980, ABBA recorded a compilation of Spanish-language versions of their hits called Gracias Por La Música. It was released in Spanish-speaking countries as well as Japan & Australia. The album became a major success & along with the Spanish version of "Chiquitita", this signalled the group's breakthrough in South America.

The Visitors (1981), ABBA's eighth & final studio album, showed a songwriting maturity & depth of feeling distinctly lacking from their earlier recordings but still placed the band squarely in the pop genre, with catchy tunes & harmonies. Although not revealed at the time of its release, the album's title track, according to Ulvaeus, refers to the secret meetings held against the approval of totalitarian governments in Soviet-dominated states, while other tracks address topics like failed relationships, the threat of war, ageing, loss of innocence, a parent watching a child grow up & so on. This change of content was reflected in the relative commercial decline, mostly evident in the UK, after the release of the #3 single "One of Us" in December 1981.

Although it topped the charts across most of Europe, & entered the Top 20 in Canada, France & Japan & the Top 30 in the US & Australia, The Visitors was not as commercially successful as its predecessors..

A track from the The Visitors, "When All Is Said & Done", was released as a single in North America, Australia & New Zealand, & became ABBA's final Top 30 hit in the US, while reaching #4 on the RPM Adult Contemporary chart in Canada. The song's lyrics (as with "The Winner Takes It All" & "One of Us") dealt with the painful experience of splitting up from a long-term partner: February 1981 saw Andersson & Lyngstad announce their divorce, increasing speculation of tension within the band. Also released in the US was the title track of The Visitors, which hit the Top Ten on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart.

In the spring of 1982, songwriting sessions had started, & the group came together for more recordings. Plans were sketchy, but a new album was discussed & the prospect raised of a small tour. The recording sessions in May & June were an uphill struggle, & only a handful of songs were eventually recorded. Several tapes were shelved, & the foursome took a break for the summer.

Back in the studio in early August, the group had changed plans for the rest of the year: they settled for a Christmas release of a double album compilation of all their past successes to be named The Singles: The First Ten Years. New recording sessions took place, & during the autumn, they released the singles "The Day Before You Came"/"Cassandra", & "Under Attack"/"You Owe Me One", the A-sides of which were included on the compilation album.

There was little interest in the singles, but the album went to #1 in the UK & Belgium, Top 5 in Holland & Germany & Top 20 in many other countries.

Other songs recorded during the year, "I Am the City" & "Just Like That", were left in the can. "I Am the City" was eventually released as a bonus track on the compilation album More ABBA Gold in 1993.

The group travelled to London to promote The Singles: The First Ten Years in the first week of November 1982, appearing on Saturday Superstore & The Late, Late Breakfast Show, & also to Germany in the second week, to perform in Show Express.

On November 19, ABBA appeared for the last time in Sweden on the TV programme Nöjesmaskinen, & on December 11 made their last performance ever — transmitted to the UK on Noel Edmonds' The Late, Late Breakfast Show, via a live link from a TV studio in Stockholm.

Although plans were to continue work as a foursome, they never got together again.

Despite numerous requests from fans, Ulvaeus & Andersson are still refusing to release "Just Like That" in its entirety, yet it has surfaced on bootlegs.

ABBA's very last single, a re-issue of "Thank You for the Music" (1983)Andersson & Ulvaeus had meetings with Tim Rice in December 1981, & in early 1983 started songwriting sessions for their musical project Chess, while Fältskog & Lyngstad both concentrated on their international solo careers.

Last performances / reunions
All four members made their last public appearance — as four 'friends' more than as ABBA — in January 1986, when they recorded a video of themselves performing an acoustic version of "Tivedshambo", (the first song written by their manager, Stig Anderson), for a Swedish TV show honouring Anderson on his 55th birthday. The four had not seen each other for more than two years.

That same year the foursome also performed privately at another friend's 40th birthday: their old tour manager, Claes af Geijerstam. They sang a self-composed song titled "Der Kleine Franz" (later to surface in Chess). 1986 also saw the release of their ABBA Live album, featuring selections of live performances from their 1977 & 1979 tours.

Their last known appearance (not filmed) as a group, was as guests in 1999 on the 50th birthday of Görel Hanser, long-time friend of all four, & also former secretary of Stig Anderson. Görel still works for Benny Andersson in his Mono Music offices, & still handles matters concerning all four former members. Honouring Görel, ABBA performed a Swedish birthday song ("Med En Enkel Tulipan") a capella.

Nowadays Andersson & Ulvaeus are frequently at premiéres of the musical Mamma Mia! or other galas, every now & then joined by Frida Lyngstad, as at the show's fifth anniversary in London. All four members attended the premiére in Stockholm of the Swedish staging of the musical, in February 2005, but were not seen nor photographed together. January 2007 saw Fältskog & Ulvaeus attend the show's last performance.

Benny Andersson has on several occasions performed old ABBA songs. In June 1992 he & Björn Ulvaeus appeared with U2 at a Stockholm concert, singing the chorus of "Dancing Queen", & a few years later during the final performance of the B & B in Concert in Stockholm, Andersson joined the cast for an encore at the piano. Andersson frequently adds an ABBA song to the playlist when he performs with his BAO! band. He also played the piano during new recordings of the ABBA songs "Like an Angel Passing Through My Room" with opera singer Anne Sophie Von Otter, & "When All Is Said & Done" with Swede Victoria Tolstoy. Frida Lyngstad performed & recorded an a capella version of "Dancing Queen" with the Swedish group The Real Group in 1993, & has also re-recorded "I Have a Dream" with Swiss Dan Daniell in 2003. Apart from that, none of the former members perform their old songs.

The four members have never officially announced the end of the group, but as the years pass by the chances of ABBA working together again have become increasingly slim, & the group is now considered dissolved.

Benny & Björn after ABBA
In October 1984, Ulvaeus & Andersson released the musical concept double album Chess, created together with lyricist Tim Rice, & with vocals by among others Elaine Paige, Murray Head, Barbra Dickson & swedes Tommy Körberg & Björn Skifs. The singles "One Night in Bangkok" & "I Know Him So Well" were both huge successes. In May 1986, the musical premiéred in the West End of London, & ran for almost three years. On Broadway it opened in April 1988, but closed within two months due to very bad reviews. The musical has been staged regularly on small scale to great success, & even the concert version is popular. In Stockholm, the composers staged Chess På Svenska ('Chess in Swedish') in 2003, with new material.

What is considered to be Andersson & Ulvaeus' masterpiece, however, is Kristina från Duvemåla, a Swedish epic musical, which the composers premiéred in Malmö in southern Sweden in October 1995, directed for the stage by Lars Rudolfsson & based on the The Emigrants tetralogy by Swedish novelist Vilhelm Moberg. In Sweden, the tale of one family's migration from the poor Småland of 1840 to the promised lands in Minnesota is considered a national treasure. (The film version of 1971 was nominated for four Academy Awards.) The musical ran for five years in Stockholm, & an English version has been in the works for a long time, & it had been reported that the Broadway pre-production is in its earliest stage.

Their next project was Mamma Mia!, a musical built around 24 of ABBA's songs & produced by Ulvaeus. It is a worldwide box-office blockbuster with versions in several languages currently being played in many countries, including the UK (West End premiere in April 1999), USA (Broadway premiere in 2001) & Sweden (Swedish language premiere in 2005).

A film version of Mamma Mia! is scheduled to premiére on July 18, 2008.

Since 1983, besides Chess & Kristina Från Duvemåla, Benny Andersson has continued writing songs with Björn Ulvaeus. The pair produced two English language pop albums with Swedish duo Gemini in 1985 & 1987. The same year, Andersson released his first solo album on his own label, a collection of his own folk music material called Klinga Mina Klockor, & followed it with November 1989. In the 1990s, Benny wrote music for the popular Swedish cabaret quartet The Ainbusk Singers, giving them two massive hits: "Lassie" & "Älska Mig", & later produced Shapes — an English language album by the group's Josefin Nilsson — with all-new material by him & Ulvaeus. Andersson has regularly written music for films (most notably to Roy Andersson's Songs from the Second Floor), & in 2001 put together his own band, BAO!, which has released two successful albums in 2001 & 2004. Benny Andersson has the record of staying in the longest ever run in the Svensktoppen charts in April 2007 (the song "Du Är Min Man", sung by Helen Sjöholm is still there, in its 147th? week).[citation needed] Andersson is currently recording new material with BAO! as well as producing the soundtrack to the Mamma Mia! film, using the musicians of ABBA's backing band.

Björn Ulvaeus is heavily involved in the musical Mamma Mia! & its current stagings worldwide. He has not appeared on stage performing music since ABBA, but had a reunion with his co-members of The Hootenanny Singers on 16 July 2005 at a music festival in his hometown of Västervik.

Frida & Agnetha after ABBA
Both female members of ABBA pursued solo careers on the international scene following the break-up of the band.

In September 1982, Anni-Frid Lyngstad released her Phil Collins-produced album, Something's Going On. This Top 20 UK & Top 50 US release included the hit single "I Know There's Something Going On", which reached No.13 on the Billboard Hot 100, & became a Top Five hit in Australia & most of Europe. The album sold one million copies internationally.

Agnetha Fältskog followed in 1983 with the album Wrap Your Arms Around Me. This included the hit single "The Heat Is On", which was a big hit all over Europe & Scandinavia that year. In the US, Fältskog scored a Billboard Top 30 hit with "Can't Shake Loose". In Europe, the single "Wrap Your Arms Around Me" was another successful hit, topping the charts in Belgium & Denmark, reaching the Top 5 in Sweden & Top 20 in Germany & France. Her album sold over 1.3 million copies worldwide.

Lyngstad's second solo album, Shine (produced by Steve Lillywhite), released in 1984, was a moderate success in Sweden but a commercial failure elsewhere. Fältskog fared better with her second post-ABBA solo album, Eyes of a Woman. It reached #2 in Sweden & performed reasonably well in Europe. The first single from the album was "I Won't Let You Go".

After I Stand Alone, produced by Peter Cetera (which included the Billboard hit "I Wasn't The One") in 1988, Fältskog withdrew from public life & halted her music career. In 1996 she released her autobiography, called As I Am, & a compilation album featuring her solo hits alongside some ABBA classics. In 2004, she made a successful comeback, releasing the critically acclaimed album My Colouring Book, which debuted at #1 in Sweden (achieving triple-platinum status), #6 in Germany & #12 in the UK (winning a silver award). The album also achieved gold status in Finland. The single "If I Thought You'd Ever Change Your Mind" became Fältskog's biggest solo hit in the UK reaching #9 in the midweek sales, but finally settling for the #11 position. The single reached #2 in Sweden & was a hit all over Scandinavia & Europe. Lately, Fältskog's public appearances have been more frequent. In January 2007, she sang a live duet on stage with Swedish singer Tommy Körberg (of Chess fame) at the after party for the final showing of the ABBA musical, Mamma Mia!, in Stockholm, at which Benny Andersson & Björn Ulvaeus were also present. It is rumoured that Agnetha Fältskog is currently planning a new solo album to be released in 2008.

Anni-Frid Lyngstad released her last album to date in 1996 (for Scandinavia only), the Swedish-language Djupa andetag (Deep Breaths). It reached #1 in Sweden, selling around 90,000 copies,[citation needed] although none of the singles released from the album reached the Top 10. In 2004, Lyngstad recorded a song called "The Sun Will Shine Again", written for her & released with former Deep Purple member Jon Lord, while the following year, she released a career retrospective DVD in Europe. Nowadays, Lyngstad lives a low-profile life but every now & then appears at a party or charity function. On August 26, 1992, she married Prince Heinrch Ruzzo Reuss von Plauen (May 24, 1950–October 29, 1999), of the German Reuss family. Von Plauen died of lymphoma at the age of 49. In addition to losing her husband, Lyngstad had also lost her daughter in a car crash a year earlier.

Revival
After receiving little attention during the acme of punk & new wave in the mid- & late 1980s, ABBA experienced a major resurgence in the new decade: starting with UK synth-pop duo Erasure's release of an EP featuring cover versions of their songs, which topped the charts in the spring of 1992. As U2 arrived in Stockholm for a concert in June of that year, the band paid homage to ABBA by inviting Björn Ulvaeus & Benny Andersson to join them on stage for a rendition of "Dancing Queen", playing guitar & keyboards. The September 1992 release of ABBA Gold: Greatest Hits, a new compilation album, ended up selling massively worldwide & setting chart longevity records. In the US, the album became the most popular ABBA release ever there, selling more than six million copies to date.

The enormous interest in the Gold compilation saw the release of More ABBA Gold: More ABBA Hits in 1993. This collection also contained the bonus track "I Am the City", one of the unreleased songs from the 1982 recording sessions.

In 1994, two Australian movies caught the attention of the world's media, both focussing on admiration for ABBA: The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert & Muriel's Wedding. The same year, Thank You for the Music, a four-disc box set comprising all the hits & stand-out album tracks was released with the involvement of all four members. For this release, several demo versions & odd tracks were discovered in the Polar vaults.

ABBA were soon recognised & embraced by other acts: Kurt Cobain & Courtney Love professed to be fans, R.E.M. performed "Does Your Mother Know" live, Evan Dando of The Lemonheads recorded what fans consider the best cover version of "Knowing Me, Knowing You",[citation needed] Sinéad O'Connor & Boyzone's Stephen Gately have recorded "Chiquitita", Tanita Tikaram & Blancmange paid tribute to "The Day Before You Came", Cliff Richard covered "Lay All Your Love On Me", while Dionne Warwick recorded her version of "SOS". Tribute albums were released both in Sweden & the UK, & tribute bands such as Bjorn Again & Arrival found a market; the former had to put together several incarnations of themselves to cover the huge demand.

In Sweden, the growing recognition of the legacy of Andersson & Ulvaeus resulted in the 1998 B & B Concerts: a tribute concert (with Swedish singers who had worked with the composers through the years) showcasing not only their ABBA years, but even hits from the 1960s & after ABBA. The concert was a huge success, released on CD, & later toured Scandinavia & even went to Beijing in China for two concerts. In 1999, Sweden saw the birth of ABBA Teens, later re-named A*Teens, recording techno-pop versions of ABBA songs to huge success worldwide: not only the English original versions, but ABBA's Spanish versions also.

In April 1999, the Mamma Mia! musical opened in London, & soon premiéred in cities worldwide to huge success.

In 2000 ABBA were reported to have turned down an offer of approximately $1,000,000,000 USD (one billion) to do a reunion tour consisting of 100 concerts.

With Mamma Mia!'s huge success worldwide, & the forthcoming film starring Meryl Streep & Pierce Brosnan, there is a huge interest in ABBA's music. However, in a November 2004 interview with the German magazine Bunte, Ulvaeus said a reunion would not satisfy ABBA's many fans, even though there are legions of them around the world often clamouring for one.

Trivia
Although "Dancing Queen" gave ABBA their only #1 in the USA on 9 April 1977, "Take a Chance on Me" (which reached #3 in 1978) — measured in sales & other statistics — actually remains the group's biggest American hit.
The ticket sales for ABBA's two 14 February concerts at the Royal Albert Hall during their 1977 European tour surprised everyone: for the available 12,000 tickets, the Hall received 3.5 million ticket applications, enough to fill the venue some 580 times.
On Saturday, 20 March 1976, at 6.30pm, Australian TV's Channel 9 broadcast The Best of ABBA, filmed during the group's visit a week before. The transmission had more than half of the population watching: 54% according to contemporary reports. (The previous record was held by the Moon landing in 1969.) The record is unbeaten to this day.
Anni-Frid Lyngstad did backing vocals on Swedish singer Harpo's massive 1975 hit "Movie Star", which went on to reach #1 in Sweden & Germany, #2 in Australia & #24 in the UK. (It has sometimes been reported that Agnetha Fältskog also sang on the song but this is incorrect.)
Björn Ulvaeus' father was born Gunnar Andersson, but decided to change his surname to Ulvaeus. ABBA's manager, Stig Anderson, was also born Andersson, but decided to drop an 's' as an adult.
Anni-Frid Lyngstad briefly met Björn Ulvaeus at a talent contest in September 1963; Ulvaeus performed with The Hootenanny Singers (at this stage named The West Bay Singers; "West Bay" as in Swedish "Västervik"). A very young Norwegian girl also participated in the same contest: Anne Karine Strøm, who would sing the Norwegian entry in the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest.
Agnetha Fältskog went to see The Hootenanny Singers perform when she was only 15, & remembers: "All the girls were looking at Björn. My friends said, 'Isn't he cute?' But I said Johan was the cutest. I knew that in reality I liked Björn the most — I just wanted to stand apart from my friends."
Anni-Frid Lyngstad once happened to see The Hep Stars perform at a folk park venue, & was shocked by their stage act. She did not find their music interesting at all.
Björn Ulvaeus remembers seeing Agnetha Fältskog on TV in January 1968 (her television debut), & became immediately interested in the blonde songwriter — so much that he cannot recall the brunette Anni-Frid Lyngstad, who also performed on the show.
When Sweden hosted the 1975 Eurovision Song Contest, ABBA was not even invited to be present.
During their recording years (eight albums), ABBA only recorded their own written material apart from a short 4-minute medley of three songs recorded in 1975 for a charity album: "Pick a Bale of Cotton"/"On Top of Old Smokey"/"Midnight Special". These were American folk songs recorded by artists as diverse as Leadbelly, Pete Seeger & Burl Ives. The medley also appears on ABBA's self-titled 1975 album.
Alongside their own recording sessions, the four members of ABBA also spent a considerable amount of time in the studio backing other artists: the girls' voices are prominent on records by Ted Gärdestad, Lill-Babs, Lena Andersson & Finn Kalvik & several others. In 1975, their recording engineer, Michael B. Tretow, supervised recording sessions for an album named Let's Boogie, & all four members of ABBA joined in: backing vocals were provided by Lyngstad & Fältskog, the latter also played the piano, Ulvaeus guitar & Andersson keyboards. Fältskog also added vocals to Ulf Lundells "Snön faller och vi med den", & Lyngstad did the same for Adam Ant's "Strip".
Agnetha Fältskog opted for a career in West Germany only months after her breakthrough in 1968, & recorded some 16 songs in German. Fältskog was engaged to German singer/songwriter Dieter Zimmermann for almost a year before she met Björn Ulvaeus.

ABBA's success subsequently opened the doors for many other European acts. In November 2006 plans for an ABBA museum in Stockholm were announced. The idea has the backing of the band & the museum is expected to open in 2008.

In 1992, Erasure released an EP called "ABBA-esque". It consisted of four covers of ABBA songs: "SOS", "Lay All Your Love on Me," "Voulez-Vous," & "Take a Chance on Me."
The hit song "Bring Me Edelweiss" (1989) by Edelweiss features the tune & some lyrics from "SOS". This caused some controversy between Ulvaeus & Andersson, & manager Stig Anderson, who had granted approval to use the song without consulting the others.
Kylie Minogue performed "Dancing Queen" at the closing ceremony of the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games, & also performed it in her live shows.
The ABBA tribute band Björn Again became so successful that as of 2004 there were five casts of Björn Again performing in various parts of the world. The original Björn Again had been touring for 15 years, longer than the original group.
Techno & house remakes of many original ABBA hits were released under the name ABBAcadabra.
Oasis leader, Noel Gallagher, is a huge fan of the band
Elvis Costello included three lines from "Dancing Queen" in the lyrics of the title track of his 2002 album, When I Was Cruel.
The Fugees sampled ABBA's "The Name of the Game" for their contribution to the 1996 When We Were Kings soundtrack, Rumble in the Jungle. It was the first time ABBA ever gave permission for one of their songs to be sampled.
Madonna sampled the group's "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)" in her 2005 single "Hung Up". She subsequently honoured them during the finale of her Confessions tour (2006) when she donned an outfit based on Fältskog's & Lyngstad's costumes from ABBA's 1979 world tour, & a sequined cape emblazoned with the legend "Dancing Queen". ABBA's ABBA Gold: Greatest Hits album was sold alongside her own merchandise during the tour.
There is a heavy metal tribute album to ABBA entitled A Tribute to ABBA featuring prominent Swedish metal bands such Therion & Tad Morose. A number of ABBA hits are performed in the style of heavy metal. In addition, Swedish metal guitarist Yngwie Malmsteen covered "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!".
In the late 1990s, the teenage band A*Teens was formed. Their entire first album was made up of ABBA covers, including "Mamma Mia", "Dancing Queen", & "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)". Original singles of the band include artwork that list them as the ABBA*Teens.

Fashion & videos

ABBA were widely noted for the colourful & trend-setting costumes its members wore. The videos that accompanied some of their biggest hits are often cited as being among the earliest examples of the genre. Though the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, the Kinks, the Who, Bob Dylan & others had made several videos to promote their songs, it still hadn't become the industry standard by the early to mid-1970s Most of ABBA's videos (and ABBA: The Movie) were directed by Lasse Hallström who would later direct the films My Life as a Dog, The Cider House Rules & Chocolat.

ABBA made videos because their songs were hits in so many different countries & personal appearances weren't always possible. This was also in an effort to minimise travelling, particularly to countries that would have required extremely long flights. Fältskog & Ulvaeus had two young children, & Fältskog, who was also afraid of flying, was very reluctant to leave her children for such a long time. ABBA's manager, Stig Anderson, realised the potential of showing a simple video clip on television to publicise a single or album, thereby allowing easier & quicker exposure than a concert tour. Some of these videos became classics because of the 1970s era costumes & early video effects, such as the grouping of the band members in different combinations of pairs, overlapping one singer's profile with the other's full face, & the contrasting of one member against another.

Nowadays, most of their videos can be seen on the DVDs ABBA Gold & The Definitive Collection.

Lineup Agnetha Fältskog - Vocals Björn Ulvaeus - Guitar, Vocals Benny Andersson - Keyboards, Vocals Anni-Frid "Frida" Lyngstad - Vocals

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