ABBA Band History

For those who are conversant with the culture of Sweden, many would agree that pop culture plays a significant role as evidenced in the Eurovision music concert held annually where more Swedish bands have performed better. There are many pop bands to have graced the musical scene from Sweden but none has dazzled the world with their glittering and dazzling musical success as ABBA band. It is a pop band that rose to prominence during the period of the 1970s to become one of the most successful music bands in the history of pop music (abbasite.com). It is through their success that gave the much-needed flavor to pop music and catapulting it to the international scene. Their music was able to transcend the national borders within Sweden to other European nations such as Italy, England, Germany, Scandinavian countries and Netherlands. In the music scene, ABBA band had branded itself as one of the most successful brands raking in more in the form of foreign exchange, a feat only bettered by Volvo in Sweden at that time. It is the aim of this essay to look at the biography, history, fact sheet, press release and other issues surrounding the manner in which they rose on to become one of the most popular bands in pop music.

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Band Name

One of the most important aspects in marketing is the aspect of the brand name. The name of the brand plays an important factor in determining how easily fans relate to the works of a given firm, group or band. It is out of this recognition that the popular music band made up of vocalist and keyboardist Benny Andersson, vocalist and guitarist Bjorn Ulvaeus and singers Agnetha Faltskog and Anni-Frid Lyngstad met in the year 1972 to come up with a musical band in Stockholm (abbasite.com). The four band members decided to name their band as ABBA as part of sticking to their identity as a group. They chose the initial letters of each of the four members to come up with a name that would later grow out to be one of the most successful bands from Sweden to grace the music scene and particularly in the pop music. Despite working for a few years together, it is only in the period of 1974 when the Eurovision song contest was held and the group won the prize. This earmarked the first sign that the ABBA band was destined for greatness. The first prize won marked the breakthrough for the band as the whole world was able to take notice of the musical abilities at the bands disposal and this gave them a chance to work with S.O.S which gave them the opportunity to dazzle the world with their musical hits (abbasite.com). The brand name ABBA was thus now a household name in countries such as Sweden, United Kingdom and the United States where they performed many songs. Despite making a bow in the musical scene in the period of 1980s, a period where they performed their last performances, the group made a comeback in the 1990s where cover bands, broadways and compilation of hits ensured that the brand name ABBA band etched their names in the rock & roll hall of fame.

History of ABBA band

Just like any other popular brand, there is a history that serves to explain how the group has grown from the time it was formed. For ABBA band, the band was formed during the period of 1972 when the first idea of the song was conceptualized (abbasite.com). It was in the period of 1972 when the manager of the Hootenay singers who happened to be the founder of Polar Music; Stig Anderson encouraged Benny and Bjorn to draft lyrics for the Eurovision Contest. After much convincing, the two were able to meet and came up with the song Say it with a Song which Lena Anderson was given the honor to perform. The song did not win first prize but took position three but their hit song was able to get massive airplay in different countries in Europe. Having seen the success and well-choreographed chemistry between the two singers, Stig encouraged them to write another song which they named as People Need Love. To do this, they required the backing of vocalists Anni-Frid and Agnetha. Stig was thus able to encourage the establishment of the quartet based on the success of the hit song that peaked at position 17 in the popular Swedish charts (abbasite.com). It is from this song that Stig got the impetus to work with the four artists especially in the year 1973 when the Eurovision contest was held and the group wrote another song Ring Ring which went on to achieve third position in the context. This caught the attention of Michael B Tretow, the producer in the studio during the context. Michael was experimenting with novel production technique that was known as the Wall of sound. This went on to become a sound synonymous with the proto-group made by the four members who were at that time known as Bjorn & Benny, Agnetha & Anni-Frid releasing their first album titled Ring Ring in the period of 1973. The album was one of the most popular albums in Europe at that time. History point out that Stigs quest for reaching out to the markets in the United States and the United Kingdom even led to better music and performances from the band. He deemed the name of the band as being to lengthy and tiresome not only to him but also for the audience. This led to him coming up with a different name for the band where he decided to use the acronyms of the first letters of the names of the four band members. This led to the emergence of the bands name ABBA which at that time appeared as a joke since there existed a fish-can company under the same name. The negotiation between the two led to the band and the company having to negotiate over the rights to use the name. This serves as the history of the band and how they grew up to use the name ABBA.

Fact Sheet

Understanding the work of any band requires one to dig deeper into their history and looking at a compilation of their works. This is a tedious process especially if the band has a large compilation of works. As part of making it easier for the audience and the stakeholders, a fact sheet helps in saving time. It contains information about the name of the band, the year it was formed, the genre they sing as well as the notable achievements attained in the form of awards and key performances. For ABBA band, this is also the case as they have notable works that define their glittering career. The following is a fact sheet that summarizes the history and achievements of ABBA band throughout their musical career.

Band/Artist Name: ABBA band

Year of Formation: 1972

Musical Style/Genre: Popular music, Pop rock, Europop and Disco

Country of origin: Sweden

Band members Names and Instruments played: Bjorn & Benny, Agnetha & Anni-Frid

Associated Acts:

Discography: Between 1973 and the period of 1981, the following are the albums released by the band (abbasite.com):

Ring Ring-1973

Waterloo-1974

ABBA-1975

The Arrival-1976

The Album-1977

Voulez-Vouz-1979

Super Trouper-1980

The Visitor-1981

Tours: Just after inception, the following are some of the major tours conducted by the band during the period between 1973 and 1980 (abbasite.com):

Swedish Folkpark Tour-Took place in 1973.

European Tour- The band made trips to major countries in Europe during the period between 1974 and 1975.

European and Australian Tour- The band made its European and Australian tour during the period of 1977.

ABBA: The Tour- This happens to be the most famous tour by the band during the period between 1979 and 1980.

Awards: During the active years ranging from the period between 1972 and 1983, the band ABBA won numerous awards thus cementing theirs status as one of the worlds most popular music bands to have graced the music world from Sweden. According to (abbasite.com) the following is a list of the awards they won as a band:

Won the Eurovision Song Contest with the song Waterloo-1974

Won the Goldene Lowe von Radio Luxemburg Prize award- 1974

Won the West German Music Prize commonly known as Deutscher Schallplattenpreis for the song SOS- 1975

Nominated for the BRIT award during its inaugural for Best International Album with the LP The Arrival- 1977

Received the United Kingdoms Carl-Alan Award, Best Vocal Record for Dancing with the song Dancing Queen- 1977

United Kingdoms Carl-Alan Award, Best Vocal Record for Dancing with the song Take a Chance on me- 1978

Won the Dutch Music Prize equivalent of the Grammy Award Edison Award for the LP The Album- 1978

Received the Georgie Award for the Best Vocal Group of the Year from the American Guild of Variety Artists better known as AGVA- 1980

Won the Svenska Grammofon Priset for the album Super Trouper given by the Musikrevyn magazine and Royal Swedish Academy of Music for Best Album Recorded and Produced and directed in Sweden- 1981

Won the Golden Gramophone Award from the Deutsche Gramophon in recognition for their outstanding impact to popular music world wide becoming the first Pop music band to win the award- 1982

Won the Expressens Kultupris Spelmannen) Swedish Culture Prize selected by jury members from Royal Swedish Academy of Music and the Swedish Academy, a feat not matched by any pop/rock music- 1982

Bio Information for ABBA band

In a world where information is readily available in the internet, it is difficult to make ones work get the recognition it deserves as the internet is flooded with information. Some information is important while others are less important. It is for this reason that public relations managers aiming to promote their brand come up with press releases for different avenues and media. They may present information for press releases, for websites and even magazines as part of marketing their brands. In recognition of this need to market and promote the ABBA band, the following are examples of Bio information for the different media for ABBA band:

Bio for Press Release

The following is the bio information for the band ABBA that can serve as a good tool to market their brand:

Source: (abbasite.com)With a glittering career in music, ABBA band stand out as one of the most decorated pop/rock band from Sweden if not the whole world. Ever since they graced the music scene in 1972, the band went on to dazzle the world with their classic hits such as S.O.S, Chiquitita and many others. Most of their songs went on to win various awards and even earning them an induction into the rock & roll hall of fame.

The ABBA story or factor came to be during the period of 1966 when Benny Anderson born in 1946 met Bjorn Ulvaeus who was a year older. Music had brought them together and little did they know that this was the beginning of the start of a glittering music career for them (abbasite.com). Benny was a keyboardist playing for the then biggest pop groups in Sweden, The Hep Stars while Bjorn was a vocalist for the Hootenanny Singers, a famous pop folk music group in Sweden during the 1960s (abbasite.com). Their meeting led to the pair writing their first ever song. Having combined to their first song, the duo met with another pair of musicians; Anni-Frid Lyngstad and Agnetha Faltskog who went on to become their fiancees. The meeting between the duos was facilitated by Stig, their manager. It was then that the band decided to stick to the name: ABBA which is an acronym of the first letters of their names. This was in the year 1972. It is after the band decision to use the name ABBA that led to their first recording People need love that motivated them to participate in the Eurovision contest in the year 1973. The song Ring ring won them second runners up position in the awards. It is out of this popularity that sa...