138 Fun Facts About ABBA

In which country was ABBA singer Anni-Frid Lyngstad born?

Norway was home only briefly: Frida was born in Ballangen in November 1945 and was taken to Sweden at 18 months; her mother, who followed, died soon afterwards.

Which ballad did ABBA nearly enter for Eurovision in 1974 before choosing a livelier song?

Hasta Mañana looked the safer bet because it resembled earlier Eurovision winners, but only Agnetha sang lead on it, so the group chose the song that featured both women.

ABBA gained international fame after winning the Eurovision Song Contest with which song in 1974?

Waterloo exists in four languages: ABBA cut it in Swedish and English, then added German and French versions in the spring of 1974 for the European market.

Which 1977 ABBA LP included 'Take a Chance on Me' and 'The Name of the Game'?

The Album closed with three songs from a mini-musical ABBA had staged on their 1977 tour, and it reached the shops alongside the group's feature film.

Benny and Björn's Chess opened in 1986 in a London theatre just vacated by which long-running musical?

Evita closed there in February 1986 and Chess opened that May; Trevor Nunn had stepped in to direct after Michael Bennett, who cast the show and ordered its sets, withdrew through illness.

Which ABBA UK number one grew out of a 'tck-a-ch' rhythm Björn chanted while out running?

Take a Chance on Me began as the sound Björn made to pace his runs; the syllables turned into the title phrase, and he wrote the rest of the lyric around it.

Which future star represented the United Kingdom at the Eurovision Song Contest that ABBA won?

Olivia Newton-John finished joint fourth with 'Long Live Love', though her own favourite among the songs offered to her had only been runner-up in the British selection.

What do ABBA's four letters stand for?

The first letters of the members' first names: Agnetha, Björn, Benny and Anni-Frid. Their manager coined it in 1973 because billing all four names in full had become unwieldy.

Which ABBA song was first recorded in Swedish by Frida for her 1975 solo album?

Fernando began as a Swedish love song in which the singer consoles a heartbroken friend; for ABBA's version Björn rewrote it as two old soldiers recalling a long-ago war.

In the stage musical built on ABBA's songs, what was Donna's old girl group with Rosie and Tanya called?

Donna and the Dynamos reunite at the hen party in their old stage costumes, belting out an ABBA number just as Sophie's three possible fathers wander in.

What was the title of ABBA's debut studio album, released in 1973?

Ring Ring took its name from a song that had just finished only third in Sweden's Eurovision selection, yet the single and album became the group's first big hits at home.

Which Stockholm studio did ABBA open in a converted cinema in 1978 and use for three albums?

Polar Studios, set up with the group's manager in a disused cinema, stayed open until 2004; visiting rock bands hired it, and all four members kept using it for their solo records.

Which lyricist co-wrote the lyrics of the musical Chess with Björn Ulvaeus?

Tim Rice shared the lyric-writing with Björn; as with his earlier hit shows, a concept album came out first, in 1984, to help raise the money for a stage production.

Which actress played Donna's daughter Sophie in the 2008 film of the ABBA stage musical?

Amanda Seyfried was one of hundreds of young women auditioned for Sophie, well-known names among them; the director said it was her singing voice that set her apart.

Which 1992 compilation became one of ABBA's best-selling albums and drove their revival?

Gold: Greatest Hits has sold more than 30 million copies; it arrived just as cover versions and film soundtracks were bringing ABBA's songs back into fashion.

ABBA's 1981 album The Visitors was among the very first albums manufactured in which new format?

Compact disc pressing began in 1982, and The Visitors, one of the first albums recorded and mixed digitally, was among the earliest titles pressed, though a Billy Joel album reached the shops first.

What kind of business did Benny Andersson open at Stockholm's Mariatorget in 2003?

A hotel: Benny bought the old Hotel Aston and the Rival cinema next door in 2002 and reopened them as Hotel Rival, later recording a single with its staff.

Which 1975 single put ABBA back in the UK top ten after their post-Eurovision slump?

SOS reached number six in Britain some 18 months after the Eurovision win; until then the contest's stigma had made it hard for the group to be taken seriously.

On the future ABBA's first US single, Agnetha and Frida were billed as 'Svenska Flicka', meaning what?

Swedish girl: the label read 'Björn & Benny (with Svenska Flicka)', leaving two singers with solo careers of their own unnamed on the record.

Which ABBA video was filmed inside the group's own studio, showing them apparently recording the track?

'Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)' was written to give ABBA's 1979 tour and second hits collection a new single; its video shows the four at work in their own studio.

Frida grew up believing which relative had died in the Second World War, only to meet him in 1977?

Her father, a German soldier, was thought lost when his ship sank on the way home; a 1977 magazine profile of Frida led his family to recognise the story and get in touch.

What was the subject of the first song Agnetha Fältskog wrote, at the age of six?

Two little trolls: 'Två små troll' came years before the piano lessons and dance-band work, and by 17 she had written the song that became her debut single.

Which manager encouraged Björn and Benny's early songwriting and went on to manage ABBA?

Stig Anderson also wrote lyrics for many of ABBA's early hits; in 1989 he sold the group's label and used part of the proceeds to found an international music prize.

Which ABBA album became the UK's best-selling album of its year despite arriving only in November?

Super Trouper needed only the last weeks of 1980 to outsell every rival in Britain; its title song was the final track written and recorded for the album.

Which Swedish actor played Bill, one of Sophie's three possible fathers, in the 2008 film of the ABBA musical?

Stellan Skarsgård's Bill is a Swede only on screen: in the original stage show the same character is an Australian writer and adventurer called Bill Austin.

Which folk group did Björn Ulvaeus front before ABBA?

The Hootenanny Singers began as the West Bay Singers in Björn's home town; a 1963 radio talent contest brought them a record deal, a new name and a run of Swedish hits.

At which London venue was ABBA's 1979 concert recorded for a live album finally released in 2014?

Wembley Arena hosted the shows in November 1979, filmed at the time for a TV special; the tapes then waited 35 years before a complete ABBA concert finally reached the shops.

Which instrument plays the tick-tock opening hook of ABBA's 'Mamma Mia'?

Marimba: Benny found one lying in the studio, tried it out of curiosity and liked the ticking sound so much that it became the song's signature.

Which children's TV characters starred in the interval film at the 1974 Eurovision contest ABBA won?

The Wombles, then also a chart act as a novelty pop band, were filmed at spots around Brighton for a pre-recorded montage shown between the songs and the voting.

The permanent ABBA exhibition that opened in 2013 was inspired by a museum devoted to which other band?

The Beatles' museum in Liverpool was the founders' model when they announced their plan in 2006; meant to open in 2008, the Stockholm exhibition finally arrived five years late.

ABBA's last performance before their hiatus was shown live on which British TV programme?

The Late, Late Breakfast Show took the performance by live link from Stockholm in December 1982; nobody announced a split, but it proved the last of the group's original ten-year run.

Which music company bought ABBA's record label and back catalogue in 1989?

PolyGram bought the label from ABBA's manager, then waited for the old country-by-country licensing deals to run out before reissuing the hits worldwide.

Which 1972 single was the first record by the four future ABBA members to chart in America?

'People Need Love' reached only number 114 on the Cashbox chart; the group's manager blamed a small American label that lacked the distribution to meet demand.

The title of Agnetha's 1967 debut single, 'Jag var så kär', means what?

I was so in love: she wrote it as a teenager for the dance band she sang with, and as her first single it went to number one in Sweden.

Which Australian TV pop show's airing of ABBA's music videos triggered the group's huge popularity there?

Countdown replayed the clip of one ABBA album track so often that Australia became the first country to release it as a single, and ABBA fever swept the country.

The 1976 video for ABBA's 'Dancing Queen' shows the group performing in what kind of venue?

A nightclub: the clip was shot among the dancers at Alexandra's, then a fashionable Stockholm discotheque. When Benny first played Frida the backing track, she burst into tears.

At which West End venue did the musical Mamma Mia! open in April 1999?

Prince Edward Theatre had also launched Björn and Benny's Chess in 1986; the new show stayed five years before moving on to the Prince of Wales Theatre.

Which ABBA album cover shows the group sitting in a helicopter?

Arrival's helicopter was a Bell 47, and it has ended up in the ABBA museum in Stockholm, where visitors can sit at its controls.

In 1972 Agnetha Fältskog starred in the original Swedish production of which hit musical?

Jesus Christ Superstar: Agnetha auditioned for Mary Magdalene and won the part, playing it in the same year the future ABBA made their first single together.

Which Australian star sang an ABBA hit at the Sydney Olympics closing ceremony?

Kylie Minogue sang an ABBA cover she had added to her own tour two years earlier, then followed it at the ceremony with her new single.

Which Andersson and Ulvaeus musical is based on Vilhelm Moberg's Emigrants novels?

Kristina från Duvemåla follows a farming family driven by poverty from Sweden to Minnesota in the mid-19th century; its Malmö premiere in 1995 drew a ten-minute standing ovation.

Which Led Zeppelin album was recorded at ABBA's own studio?

In Through the Out Door was recorded in Stockholm in three weeks late in 1978, after two years in which tax exile had kept Led Zeppelin from touring Britain.

Which instrument did Benny Andersson first learn as a child, before he took up the piano?

The accordion came first: his father and grandfather both played, and at six Benny was given one of his own, learning the folk music he later returned to on his solo albums.

Which ABBA song's music video, showing Frida in a 1920s hat, was inspired by the film Cabaret?

The 'Money, Money, Money' video (1976) borrowed its look from Cabaret, with Frida, who sings lead, in a 1920s hat; the ABBA-DABBA-DOOO!! TV special shot an alternative clip.

Which fellow Swedish act teamed up with ABBA's Benny and Björn on the anthem for the 2013 Eurovision final in Malmö?

Avicii worked on 'We Write the Story' with the two ABBA songwriters, and a choir sang it to open the final; nine years on, Björn's company bought most of the late DJ's catalogue.

Which music giant became the owner of ABBA's recordings through a takeover in the late 1990s?

Universal Music absorbed the company that had bought ABBA's label a decade earlier, and with the deal control of the catalogue went back to Stockholm.

Which pop group joined Billie, B*Witched, Cleopatra and Tina Cousins on the 1999 medley 'Thank ABBA for the Music'?

Steps and friends first performed the medley at the 1999 Brit Awards; its release was timed to the London opening of the stage musical built on ABBA's songs.

In which US city did ABBA cut a 1979 disco backing track, their only studio recording outside Sweden?

Miami's Criteria Studios hosted the session, where members of the disco band Foxy laid down the rhythm track that ABBA then finished at home.

Which German teen magazine's 1976 photo shoot is said to have led to ABBA's mirrored-B logo?

Bravo's photographer Wolfgang 'Bubi' Heilemann took the pictures, and the group's sleeve designer turned his suggestion into the logo used on releases from 1976 onward.

ABBA's best-selling hits collection became the first album to spend 1,000 weeks on which country's chart?

United Kingdom charts logged the 1,000th week in July 2021 for a compilation first released a full decade after ABBA had stopped recording together.

What UK streaming milestone did ABBA's May 2023 BRIT honour recognise?

1 billion plays is the bar for a BRIT Billion Award, which extends the record industry's gold and platinum discs to the streaming era; ABBA were in the first group honoured.

Where in London was the purpose-built ABBA Arena erected for ABBA Voyage?

Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park was only ever a temporary home: the arena stands on a site earmarked for housing, so its planning permission was granted for a limited period.

In which Swedish city was Agnetha Fältskog born?

Jönköping's dance-band scene gave Agnetha her start: a local band took her on as a teenager, and she soon left school to sing.

In which city was Björn Ulvaeus born?

Gothenburg was home only until Björn was six, when the family moved to the small town of Västervik; there he fell for skiffle and rock'n'roll and joined a folk group.

Which city is the setting of ABBA's 'Our Last Summer', inspired by a teenage romance of Björn's?

Paris was where the teenage Björn visited a girl from his home town who was working as an au pair; he admitted he remembered her far better than the sights.

Which country won Eurovision in 1973 but declined to host again, sending ABBA's 1974 contest to Brighton?

Luxembourg had staged the 1973 contest and balked at the cost of doing so twice running; Spain's broadcaster also said no before the BBC stepped in.

What was the title of Andersson and Ulvaeus's first collaborative album in 1970?

Lycka is Swedish for 'happiness'; the duo's partners Agnetha and Frida added backing vocals on several tracks, and the idea of working as a foursome grew from there.

Frida's 1967 TV breakthrough came on the day Sweden made which nationwide change?

Switching to driving on the right kept Swedes off the roads that evening, so a huge audience was at home to watch the unknown talent-contest winner sing on live television.

Which member of The Who said he was 'transported' by an ABBA single before realising who had made it?

Pete Townshend told Rolling Stone in 1982 that the sound had hooked him, 'great bass drum and the whole thing', before he knew it was ABBA, and by then it was too late.

What day job did Agnetha Fältskog hold as a teenager while singing with a dance band?

Telephonist at a car dealership by day, she sang with a dance band by night until juggling the two jobs became too exhausting and music won.

On which island did the four future ABBA members sing for UN soldiers in April 1970?

Cyprus is where the four first sang together for an audience, the UN troops stationed there in April 1970; back home that autumn they launched a joint cabaret act.

The pre-ABBA cabaret act Festfolket had a name meaning 'party people' and what else?

Engaged couples: the Swedish word for a betrothed pair sounds just like the one for party people, a pun on the two real-life couples who made up the act.

Benny Andersson played keyboards in which band, Sweden's biggest pop group of the 1960s?

The Hep Stars were on tour in June 1966 when their path crossed that of Björn's folk group; the two songwriters met and wrote their first song together within weeks.

Which country gave Andersson and Ulvaeus a surprise Top 10 hit with 'She's My Kind of Girl' in 1972?

Japan made a hit of a song the pair had recorded back in 1969, long before ABBA existed; it was later added to the group's first album.

The future ABBA's first US single came out in 1972 on a record label owned by which magazine?

Playboy Records was the magazine company's small in-house label; when the group won Eurovision in 1974 their American releases moved to Atlantic.

Which American songwriting pair is credited with the English lyrics of ABBA's 'Ring Ring'?

Neil Sedaka and Phil Cody supplied English words meant to launch the song abroad, yet it only came third in Sweden's own Eurovision selection.

Which sound engineer, ABBA's studio partner from 1972 to 1982, helped create the group's layered sound?

Michael B. Tretow began experimenting with recording techniques on the group's earliest sessions, and Björn and Benny kept him on afterwards to engineer the Chess album.

ABBA shared its name with a Swedish company in what business?

Fish canning: Abba was already a well-known Swedish seafood brand, so the group checked with the cannery, which agreed to share its name with a pop act.

ABBA's Björn Ulvaeus has spent years campaigning for Sweden to do away with what?

Cash: after burglars raided his son's flat, Björn began arguing that crime runs on notes and coins, and the ABBA museum in Stockholm has been cash-free since it opened in 2013.

Who designed ABBA's official logo and most of their record sleeves?

Rune Söderqvist's logo was set aside for other lettering after the catalogue changed hands, then reinstated on official releases once control returned to Stockholm.

In which Brighton concert hall did ABBA win the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest?

The Dome could normally seat about 2,100, and for the broadcast some seats were taken out to make room for commentators and cameras.

Which punk band's bassist says he lifted one of its best-known riffs from ABBA's 'SOS'?

Sex Pistols bassist Glen Matlock was stuck for a riff when 'SOS' came on a bar jukebox; he borrowed its repeated octave pattern, altered it slightly and had 'Pretty Vacant'.

Which glam group did Björn say ABBA foolishly tried to imitate after Eurovision?

The Sweet were the model, Björn Ulvaeus admitted in 2014, calling the idea stupid because ABBA were always a pop group; the rockier 'So Long' duly missed the UK chart altogether.

What kind of venues did ABBA's 1975 Swedish summer tour play?

Outdoor folk parks filled the itinerary, along with the amusement parks Gröna Lund and Liseberg; months earlier, poor sales had forced a cancellation on ABBA's first European tour.

Which Queen single did ABBA's 'Mamma Mia' knock off the UK number one spot in January 1976?

Bohemian Rhapsody had ruled the UK chart for nine weeks when 'Mamma Mia' leapt from third place to depose it, a neat handover from a song whose own lyric cries 'mamma mia'.

Which 1976 compilation became ABBA's first UK number-one album?

Greatest Hits reached number one in May 1976 just as its newest track, 'Fernando', led the singles chart, so ABBA held Britain's top album and top single at the same time.

Which Ed Sheeran song broke ABBA's Australian record for longest-running number one in 2017?

'Shape of You', a song Sheeran wrote meaning to give it to another act, spent 15 weeks at number one in Australia in 2017, one more than 'Fernando' had managed in 1976.

Which ABBA song ends with a children's choir from the International School of Stockholm?

'I Have a Dream' closes with 28 pupils from the school singing along, and on the 1979 tour ABBA recruited a local children's choir in every city to perform it with them.

Which ABBA song gave Alan Partridge the title and theme tune of his spoof chat show?

'Knowing Me, Knowing You' also supplied Partridge's 'Aha!' catchphrase; ABBA released the break-up song in 1977, two years before the first of the group's own divorces was announced.

Which 1979 ABBA album includes 'Chiquitita', 'Does Your Mother Know' and its disco title track?

Voulez-Vous took a year of difficult sessions: begun in March 1978, they had yielded less than half an album by December, and the record did not appear until the following April.

Which song opened ABBA's 1977 tour mini-operetta?

'Thank You for the Music' opened The Girl with the Golden Hair from January 1977, so concert audiences heard it months before ABBA recorded it that summer.

Roughly how many postal ticket applications did ABBA's two 1977 Royal Albert Hall concerts attract?

Some 3.5 million applications arrived after tickets for the two February 1977 shows were offered by postal ballot only, for a combined capacity of just over 11,000 seats.

What disrupted ABBA's opening 1977 concert at the Sydney Showground?

Torrential rain fell throughout ABBA's opening Australian show at the Sydney Showground on 3 March 1977; Frida slipped on the wet stage, yet the crowd of around 20,000 stayed put.

Which actor won a Razzie as worst supporting actor for the 2008 Mamma Mia! film?

Pierce Brosnan, who sings as Sam, took the 2009 Golden Raspberry, yet audiences did not mind: the film took more than half a billion dollars at the box office.

Which Australian city, last stop of ABBA's 1977 tour, had a concert interrupted by a bomb scare?

Perth's Entertainment Centre was evacuated during the first of five shows there, yet the scare did not stop the concert.

'Thank You for the Music' was originally the B-side of which single?

'Thank You for the Music' first appeared as the B-side of 'Eagle' in 1978; it was only issued as an A-side in the UK and Ireland in 1983, when it reached the top 40.

Which Genesis album was recorded at ABBA's own Stockholm studio?

Duke was cut there in late 1979 after Tony Banks and Mike Rutherford had each made a solo album in the same rooms earlier that year, so Genesis already knew ABBA's studio well.

ABBA performed 'Chiquitita' in January 1979 at a concert benefiting which organisation?

UNICEF has benefited ever since: after the gala in the UN General Assembly hall, ABBA signed over royalties from 'Chiquitita', which had raised $4.8 million for the fund by 2021.

Where did Andersson and Ulvaeus retreat in 1979 to write after the first ABBA divorce?

Nassau, Bahamas, gave Björn and Benny two weeks away from the press and surrounded by American music; they came home with new songs, among them 'Kisses of Fire'.

Which Irish boy band took a cover of ABBA's 'I Have a Dream' to the UK Christmas number one in 1999?

Westlife topped the UK chart with it at Christmas 1999, twenty years after ABBA's original had stalled at number two there in the same festive week.

Which ABBA song features Björn Ulvaeus on lead vocals?

'Does Your Mother Know' has Björn warning off a much younger admirer; the 2008 Mamma Mia! film flips the roles, with Christine Baranski's Tanya singing it to a young man.

How were ABBA paid for sales in the Soviet Union in the late 1970s?

In oil commodities: the rouble could not be exchanged abroad, so the group's management struck a deal that swapped ABBA's records for barrels of Soviet oil.

Which hip-hop group's 1996 track 'Rumble in the Jungle' carried the first sample ABBA ever approved?

Fugees looped 'The Name of the Game' on that track; such permissions stayed so rare that Madonna later had to send Benny and Björn a pleading letter to win hers.

Why was ABBA's 1979 Washington concert called off?

Agnetha's terrifying flight to Boston was to blame: the group's plane was caught in a storm for what she recalled as an hour and a half, and, already fighting flu, she was too shaken for the next night's show.

Which Tokyo venue hosted six sold-out ABBA shows in March 1980?

ABBA played six sold-out nights at Tokyo's Nippon Budokan in March 1980 on their Japanese tour, the last concert tour of their career.

Which French singer re-recorded 'The Winner Takes It All' as 'Bravo tu as gagné'?

Mireille Mathieu sang 'Bravo tu as gagné' over a fresh backing track cut for her by Benny and Björn, with French words by Alain Boublil, co-creator of Les Misérables.

Who produced Agnetha Fältskog's 1983 solo album Wrap Your Arms Around Me?

Mike Chapman, the producer behind Blondie's Parallel Lines, produced Agnetha's first post-ABBA album Wrap Your Arms Around Me, released in 1983; it topped the Swedish chart.

Which ABBA track, issued in the UK in 1981 only as a 12-inch single, still reached number seven?

'Lay All Your Love on Me' was an album track until a remix caught on in nightclubs, so it came out months after the album, on 12-inch only, and still made the British top ten.

What was Björn drinking when he wrote the lyric of 'The Winner Takes It All' in about an hour?

Whisky, by his own account: Björn took the backing tape home, poured a couple of large ones and had the whole lyric in a rush, though he said writing under the influence had never worked before.

What was the background of the man ABBA's Frida married in 1992?

A German prince: Heinrich Ruzzo Reuss of Plauen had studied in Sweden alongside the future king, and through the marriage Frida became close to the Swedish royal family.

Which US talk-show host recorded a 1981 TV special with ABBA?

Dick Cavett flew to Stockholm in April 1981 to interview the four, and the short set they played for his cameras turned out to be the last concert ABBA ever gave to an audience.

According to Björn, the title track of 'The Visitors' refers to what?

Secret meetings in Soviet-bloc states are the setting of the Frida-sung track, which voices a dissident's fear of who is at the door; ABBA did not spell out the meaning when it was released.

Which single was ABBA's final Top 40 hit in the US?

'When All Is Said and Done' was Björn's lyric about Benny and Frida's divorce, sung by Frida herself; chosen as the American single, it reached number 27 in early 1982.

Which 1982 double compilation was the last album ABBA released before their long break?

The Singles: The First Ten Years promised a second decade in its title, but the group's 'temporary break' stretched on, and no new ABBA studio album followed for almost forty years.

Which hit from Benny and Björn's musical Chess took Murray Head to number three in the US in 1985?

One Night in Bangkok has a chess champion sneering that the city's nightlife interests him less than the board; Thailand banned it in 1985, yet it topped charts from Australia to West Germany.

Which Elvis Costello hit has a piano part its player says he modelled on ABBA's 'Dancing Queen'?

Oliver's Army sets a lyric inspired by British soldiers patrolling Belfast to a bright piano part that Attractions keyboardist Steve Nieve borrowed from 'Dancing Queen'.

Which UK synth-pop duo's 1992 EP 'Abba-esque' helped revive interest in ABBA?

Erasure had twice stalled at number two in the UK with their own songs; it took four ABBA covers to give the duo a first chart-topper, and it stayed there for five weeks in 1992.

Which 1994 Australian comedy follows an ABBA-obsessed misfit from the dead-end town of Porpoise Spit?

Muriel's Wedding came from life: director PJ Hogan based Muriel on his own sister, who took their father's money and vanished to Sydney, and she agreed to the film on condition that she be its heroine.

What was the title of the A-Teens' hit 1999 debut album of covers?

The ABBA Generation was made by four Stockholm teenagers launched as the ABBA Teens; their first single ended 1999 as Sweden's biggest seller, by which time the name had been shortened to A-Teens.

ABBA reportedly turned down about how much for a 100-concert reunion tour in 2000?

One billion US dollars was the reported offer for 100 shows, and ABBA said no; Björn has argued that fans would only be let down by the sight of four ageing musicians on stage.

Which Madonna hit samples an ABBA riff she begged Benny and Björn for?

'Hung Up' loops the riff from ABBA's 1979 hit subtitled 'A Man After Midnight'; Madonna sent an emissary to Stockholm with a pleading letter, and the two songwriters took their time before saying yes.

Which album gave ABBA their first US chart-topping album, in August 2008?

The Mamma Mia! The Movie soundtrack, produced by Benny and Björn, topped the Billboard 200 in August 2008; ABBA's own best US album peak in their heyday had been number 14, for The Album.

Members of which group inducted ABBA into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2010?

Bee Gees brothers Barry and Robin Gibb gave the induction speech in New York, where Frida and Benny collected the award on behalf of all four members.

Why were ABBA's outrageous costumes partly a tax decision?

Only non-everyday clothes were deductible under Swedish tax rules, so the outfits had to be too wild for the street; Björn later admitted, 'we looked like nuts in those years'.

Which 2008 US presidential candidate used an ABBA song as his campaign theme?

John McCain picked 'Take a Chance on Me' as his primary-season theme; his campaign blog called him a huge ABBA fan, and he wondered aloud why liking the group was thought uncool.

Which comeback single became ABBA's first Swedish number one since 1978?

'Don't Shut Me Down' did what no ABBA single had managed at home since 'Summer Night City': even their great break-up ballad of 1980 had stalled at number two in Sweden.

Which Swedish order of chivalry were all four ABBA members appointed to in 2024?

Royal Order of Vasa insignia went to all four, as Commanders First Class, in March 2024, when Sweden's orders were conferred on Swedish citizens for the first time in almost 50 years.

Which Swedish film-maker directed most of ABBA's music videos?

Lasse Hallström was hired in 1974 to film clips that could be sent to places ABBA found hard to visit, such as Australia; he went on to direct Chocolat and The Cider House Rules.

Which ABBA song did Björn write after watching his seven-year-old daughter Linda walk off to school?

Slipping Through My Fingers left Björn wondering what he had missed of Linda's childhood; her mother Agnetha sang it, and in the Mamma Mia! film Donna sings it to her own daughter.

Which 1974 disco hit inspired the rhythm of 'Dancing Queen'?

'Rock Your Baby', George McCrae's hit, supplied the dance feel, with extra rhythmic ideas borrowed from the drumming on Dr. John's album Gumbo; the track then took Benny and Björn several more months to finish.

On which Greek island was the 2008 'Mamma Mia!' film mainly shot?

Skopelos won out after a scouting trip strayed as far as the volcanic coast of Turkey; the film-makers came back for its white sand and turquoise water.

Which stage director, who launched the original 1999 musical, also directed the 2008 Mamma Mia! film?

Phyllida Lloyd was best known as an opera director, at work on Wagner's Ring cycle, when producer Judy Craymer recruited her for the ABBA show; she then took it to the screen herself.

Which actress plays the young Donna in the 2018 Mamma Mia! sequel, Here We Go Again?

Lily James carries the flashbacks to 1979, a bigger job than it sounds: in the sequel's boldest stroke, the older Donna has died before the story begins.

Which visual effects company created ABBA's digital doubles for the Voyage show?

Industrial Light & Magic, founded by Star Wars creator George Lucas, filmed the four performing in motion-capture suits before some 160 cameras over five weeks; it was the company's first music project.

Which actress wrote a fan letter to the Broadway cast of Mamma Mia! years before she played Donna on screen?

Meryl Streep saw the show in New York soon after the 9/11 attacks and wrote to say how much she adored it; producer Judy Craymer later offered her the lead without asking for an audition.

Which country's entry at the 1974 Eurovision that ABBA won was later used as a radio signal to start a revolution?

Portugal's 'E depois do adeus' scored just three points in Brighton, but on 24 April 1974 its airing on a Lisbon station told rebel officers to begin the Carnation Revolution.

ABBA's hit 'Super Trouper' takes its title from what kind of stage equipment?

A spotlight: Super Troupers are the giant follow-spots of arena shows, and the album already carried their name when Benny and Björn wrote this song, the last one recorded for it.

What was the original demo title of 'The Winner Takes It All'?

'The Story of My Life' began as a brisk number with a steady beat that Benny and Björn found too stiff; four days later they slowed it into the ballad the world knows.

Which country finished second to ABBA at the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest?

Italy's Gigliola Cinquetti, the 1964 winner, came second with 'Sì', a title so awkward during a divorce referendum campaign that Italian television held the contest back for two months.

Who presented the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest that ABBA won, her record fourth time as host?

Katie Boyle was born in Florence, the daughter of an Italian marquis, and came to Britain only at 20, yet she became the BBC's Eurovision host four times over.

Which Take That star duetted with Agnetha Fältskog on stage in 2013, her first live performance in 25 years?

Gary Barlow co-wrote 'I Should've Followed You Home' for her comeback album; the two recorded their parts separately, then sang it side by side at the BBC's Children in Need concert.

Which drummer turned producer made Anni-Frid 'Frida' Lyngstad's 1982 solo album Something's Going On?

Phil Collins was Frida's own choice: after her split from Benny she had been captivated by Face Value, the album coloured by his own divorce, and wanted its maker for her record.

Who raised ABBA's Frida after her mother died young?

Her grandmother had carried the infant Frida to Sweden and brought her up in Torshälla, near Eskilstuna; by 13 the girl was singing with a dance band.

Besides Album of the Year, which 2023 Grammy category nominated ABBA's Voyage?

Best Pop Vocal Album was one of four 2023 nominations for Voyage and its single; ABBA had gone unnominated through their whole 1970s heyday, their first Grammy nod arriving only in 2022.

Which two singers took 'I Know Him So Well' from Chess to UK number one?

Elaine Paige and Barbara Dickson recorded their vocals separately and never met in the studio; they first stood together for the video, yet the duet held the top spot for four weeks.

Which country stood in for Greece when the 2018 Mamma Mia! sequel was filmed?

Croatia's island of Vis, a Yugoslav naval base until 1989, played the Greek island of Kalokairi, and the film's success brought the quiet island a new wave of visitors.

Which pop legend plays Ruby, Donna's mother, in the 2018 Mamma Mia! sequel?

Cher is only three years older than the actress who plays her daughter; she followed the film that same year with Dancing Queen, a whole album of ABBA covers.

In which country did Voyage, entering the chart at number two, become ABBA's first top-ten album?

United States buyers had sent ABBA singles into the top ten but never an album: before Voyage, which sold over a million copies worldwide in its first week, the group's best Billboard album placing was number 14.