Interprète: ABBA
Titre: Ring Ring
Année: 1973
ABBA est un groupe de pop suédois fondé à Stockholm en novembre 1970. Le groupe est originellement composé d'Agnetha Fältskog, Anni-Frid Lyngstad, dite "Frida", Benny Andersson et Björn Ulvaeus. Les initiales des quatre prénoms formant l'acronyme et palindrome ABBA, ce n'est qu'en 1976 que le désormais célèbre ambigramme, avec un B inversé, sera utilisé comme logo. Le groupe a vendu plus de 375 millions de disques. Ce chiffre est de janvier 2010. Bien que le groupe se soit séparé en 1982, leurs albums continuent à se vendre, soit environ 3 millions par an.
ABBA (stylized ᗅᗺᗷᗅ) was a Swedish pop group formed in Stockholm in 1972, comprising Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad.
ABBA is an acronym of the first letters of the band members' first
names and is sometimes stylized as the registered trademark ᗅᗺᗷᗅ. The
band became one of the most commercially successful acts in the history of popular music, topping the charts worldwide from 1975 to 1982. They won the Eurovision Song Contest 1974 at the Dome in Brighton, UK, giving Sweden
its first triumph in the contest, and were the most successful group
ever to take part in the competition. Ulvaeus and Andersson wrote the
Broadway musical "Chess" in 1980.
ABBA has sold over 380 million albums and singles worldwide, which makes them one of the best-selling music artists,
and the second best-selling music group of all time. ABBA was the first
group to come from a non-English-speaking country to enjoy consistent
success in the charts of English-speaking countries, including the UK, Ireland, the U.S., Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. The group also enjoyed significant success in Latin American markets, and recorded a collection of their hit songs in Spanish.
During the band's active years, Fältskog & Ulvaeus and Lyngstad
& Andersson were married. At the height of their popularity, both
relationships were suffering strain which ultimately resulted in the
collapse of the Ulvaeus–Fältskog marriage in 1979 and the
Andersson–Lyngstad marriage in 1981. These relationship changes were
reflected in the group's music, with later compositions including more
introspective, brooding, dark lyrics.
After ABBA broke up in late 1982, Andersson and Ulvaeus achieved
success writing music for the stage while Lyngstad and Fältskog pursued
solo careers with mixed success. ABBA's music declined in popularity
until several films, notably Muriel's Wedding and The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, revived interest in the group and the spawning of several tribute bands. In 1999, ABBA's music was adapted into the successful musical Mamma Mia! that toured worldwide. A film of the same name, released in 2008, became the highest-grossing film in the United Kingdom that year.
ABBA were honored at the 50th anniversary celebration of the Eurovision Song Contest in 2005, when their hit "Waterloo" was chosen as the best song in the competition's history. The group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on 15 March 2010.
