Tuesday, April 5, 2016

Did You Know Tuesday - Fun Facts About ABBA

The 1970's Swedish pop group ABBA launched their career after they won the Eurovision Song Contest on April 6, 1974.  In their honor, a few fun facts:

ABBA has sold over 380 million albums and singles.  Wow!

The group began with two married couples:  Agnetha Fältskog and Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson and Anni-Frid Lyngstad.  Faltskog and Ulvaeus divorced in 1979, and Andersson and Lyngstad divorced in 1981.

The original name of this band was "Fest Folk" ("party people" in Swedish).

The name ABBA comes from the group members' first names:  Agnetha, Bjorn, Benny, Anni.

They wore sparkly, outlandish outfits because they could write them off their taxes in Sweden.  Tax law there dictated that stage outfits could not be street clothes.

The group disbanded in 1982, but had a resurgence in popularity after the musical play Mamma Mia! was released. 

The movie musical Mamma Mia! was the top grossing movie in the U.K. in 2008.  It was #14 in the U.S.

My favorite ABBA song is "SOS" (1975):



Do you like ABBA?  What is your favorite of their songs?  I'd love to hear from you in the comments, below.