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They were formed as ABBA in 1972 but the members had
known and worked with each other for several years prior. The reason for the name is that
their manager, Stig Anderson, wanted something easier to call them than by their
first names which they had originally used to perform. They entered the Eurovision Song
Contest in 1973 with "Ring, Ring", which came third, and in
1974 they decided to try again and came first with "Waterloo"
which introduced them to the world music scene. They released ABBA: The Movie which was a feature length documentary of their
1977 Australian tour. In 1978
they converted a disused cinema into Polar Music Studio which has been used
by various groups including Led Zeppelin and Genesis. They have received a Georgie Award
by the American Guild of Variety Artists, an Edison Award which is the
Dutch equivalent of Grammy and a Golden Gramophone from Deutsche Grammophon
as well as numerous other musical awards. They are the only pop/rock group
ever to have received the Spelmannen prize which is awarded by a jury which
has members from the Royal Swedish
Academy of Music and Swedish
Academy. They were inducted into the Vocal
Hall of Fame in 2002 but their nomination for the Rock and Roll Hall of
Fame failed in 2003. "
Under Attack" and "The Day Before You Came"
were the last songs ever recorded by ABBA together. By November 1982 the members had
started to do other things and their final appearance together as a group
was in January 1986 when they were honouring Stig Anderson's 55th
birthday. They have never
officially announced their disbandment but the members have said it is
unlikely they will appear together as ABBA again, although at one time they
were offered one billion dollars to do a reunion tour.
Members:
Benny Bror Goran Andersson (keyboard/vocals)
Bjorn Kristian Ulvaeus (guitar/vocals)
Agnetha Ase Faltskog (vocals)
Anna-Frid "Frida" Synni Lyngstad
(vocals)
Songs
Elaine (Bjorn Ulvaeus/Benny Andersson)
I'm A Marionette (Bjorn Ulvaeus/Benny
Andersson)
Take A Chance on Me (Bjorn Ulvaeus/Benny
Andersson)
The Winner Takes It All (Bjorn Ulvaeus/Benny
Andersson)
Sources:
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ABBA
- www.abbaannual.com/
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