Abba: 10 facts that hardly anyone knows about the Swedish band
1. Little recognition at home Sweden
In the 1970s were Abba treated not very carefully by numerous journalists in their home country, let alone praised. In a documentary from 1999, which tears out the rise of the group to fame, Frida Lyngstad recalled that the band received violent criticism from the Swedish press because it did not interfere with the country’s turbulent domestic policy during that decade. Some will remind you of the currently repeating discussion about celebrities like Helene Fischer, from which it was repeatedly asked to speak out against xenophobia in Germany. As so often in the pop world: everything has already happened somewhere.
Lyngstad added that the team of four also had to listen to a lot about the fact that it sold millions of records and earned an impressive sum. This was considered immoral by many of their fellow citizens.
Abba: 10 facts that hardly anyone knows about the Swedish band
2. The Swedish Beatles
However, it was not always so uncomfortable for the ABBA members at home. Both and Björn were already successful in Sweden in the 1960s with two separate groups. Benny in the Hep Stars, known as the “Swedish Beatles”, and Björn with a folk band called The Hootenanny Singers.
Her paths crossed their home country during a tour. The two finally started to write melodies together and to record an album called “Lycka” together in 1970. They brought their friends Anni-Frid and Agnetha to the studio and the quartet created his first single “Hej, Gamle Man” (hello, old man) with the women as background singers.
Abba: 10 facts that hardly anyone knows about the Swedish band
3. FESTFOLK
After the recordings to “Lycka”, the duo Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus finally became a quartet. The band existed from 1972, but it had a different name for a long time. Abba, the initials of the first names of the band members, was the successor to “FESTFOLK”, which means “celebrating group” in Swedish. The English “Party People” can be used as a more grateful translation. The pronunciation of this word is also very similar to “Festival”. In the 70s, the latter was often used for fiance couples – a suitable name for the ABBA from that time.
Abba: 10 facts that hardly anyone knows about the Swedish band
4. The Cold War and its peculiarities
Abba was once paid in oil by Russia, at that time in the form of the Soviet Union. Due to a federal embargo against the Russian ruble in the years of the Cold War, the band received the normally usual license fees for using their music during that period in oil products from all countries under communist control.
The unusual exchange that was organized by the management of the band was actually quite lucrative. At the height of her fame, ABBA was the second most important export product after Volvo Sweden.
Abba: 10 facts that hardly anyone knows about the Swedish band
5. The German father
Frida Lyngstad, who is now called Princess Reuss von Plauen with a full name, was not born in Sweden in contrast to the other ABBA members. She was born in Norway in 1945. Her mother got involved with a German soldier during the Second World War, which could sometimes be very dangerous after the end of the war. Not only for the mothers, but also for the resulting children. As a toddler, Frida Lyngstad came to Sweden with her grandmother.
For many years she believed that her father had died in the last days of the war, but Bravo revealed the truth about her family history in 1977. Despite a personal encounter with her German father, Frida Lyngstad never built a real bond with him.
6. Protectionism
Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson are very picky when it comes to sampling requests from their catalog. They even went so far as to sue the British band The KLF, who were wildered in 1987 in the text for “Dancing Queen”. So far, only a few artists have been given permission to sample ABBA songs.
First, the Fugees used a section of “The Name of the Game” for their song “Rumble in the Jungle”, which was released in 1996. The most famous takeover of Abba material can be found in Madonna’s hit “Hung Up” from 2005. She asked Benny and Björn to be able to use the main topic from “Gimme!, Gimme!, (A man after midnight)” . With the “Queen of Pop” you may think about it twice.
7. Past the tax authorities
These unusual, sometimes futuristic clothing that ABBA often wore at their shows were not only a means to an end when it came to a sensation on stage. They actually helped them save taxes. Sounds strange, it is too.
The reason for this was a loophole in the Swedish. Accordingly, the expenses for attraction that were not suitable for everyday use could be deducted from the tax.
8. Get away again
Abba was on a tour of the United States in 1979. A private jet was chartered to get from New York to Boston, but this turned out to be a bad idea during the flight. Money certainly does not protect against all inconvenience.
A tornado pulled up and brought the band into real danger to life together with the crew. They dropped an SOS before they finally made it at the next best airport. The horror sat so deep that Agnetha did not put a foot on a plane until further notice.
9. Abba vs. Abba
If you hear the name Abba, the thing is clear. It’s about the band. Not quite, provided you come from Sweden. A company for fish products with the same name has existed since the 19th century.
Of course, a dispute was inevitable. Abba had already drawn attention to itself over a large area and basically couldn’t go back. A name change alone would have presented a huge challenge business. In 1974, the ultimately agreed behind closed doors. The producers of inserted herring and Co. had probably realized that one of the greatest bands of that time made excellent advertising for their offers. Quite for nothing.
10. Your own playground
Together with her manager, the legendary Stig Andersson, Abba founded the Polar Music label. But that’s not all. As an enormously successful band, they had the financial means to also launch their own studio. An abandoned cinema in Stockholm was selected as the perfect place for this purpose and quickly converted into the Polar Studios.
Before they had to close due to impregnable rent increases in 2004, the Polar Studios became a real mecca of pop music not only through ABBA itself. The Who-I is who pushed the handle into his hand. Led Zeppelin, Genesis, Rammstein, Beastie Boys, The Ramones – the list speaks for itself.