In June 1966, two of the largest bands in Sweden, The Hootenanny Singers and The Hep Stars, crossed paths for the primary time with gigs on the identical venue. Because the night time’s partying stretched to daybreak, Björn Ulvaeus and his new Hep Stars pal, Benny Andersson, sang collectively in a park and agreed to fulfill for future collaborations.
As recalled in Shiny Lights, Darkish Shadows: The Actual Story of ABBA, they joined up once more just a few weeks later and with Andersson on his organ and Ulvaeus on guitar, they labored out the melody for his or her first track. Later that yr, The Hep Stars’ self-titled album featured the fruits of their labor, the observe “It Is not Straightforward to Say,” in addition to a recording of the Ulvaeus-penned “No Time.”
The convergence of the musical minds got here as every was realizing the restrictions of his present act. Ulvaeus, who got here of age with the standard Swedish folks ballads of The Hootenanny Singers, was now fascinated with the pop music triumphs of The Beatles and had taken to shadowing his group’s major songwriter and producer, Stig Anderson, across the studio.
And Andersson, the lone songwriter of a bunch that had discovered success by way of the English-language pop that Ulvaeus admired, was additionally in search of an outlet for his artistic inspirations, significantly as The Hep Stars’ immersion into the cabaret circuit was creating an unbridgeable inside rift.
ABBA, circa 1970
Picture: Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Pictures
The lads entered relationships with future bandmates Frida Lyngstad and Agnetha Fältskog
In 1969, Andersson entered the Swedish trials of the favored Eurovision Track Contest. Though his track simply missed out on successful and advancing to the worldwide finals, the expertise introduced a chance to fulfill one other contestant, Anni-Frid “Frida” Lyngstad.
Hailing from a jazz background, Lyngstad had competed in quite a few expertise contests through the years and was then performing in a cabaret act. Shortly after the Eurovision trials, she bumped into Andersson and Ulvaeus at a restaurant, and after the three met as much as seem on a radio program, she struck up a relationship with the free-spirited Hep Star.
In the meantime, Ulvaeus had already met his future ABBA soulmate. At simply 17, Agnetha Fältskog had captured Swedish audiences with a breakout single in early 1968, leading to her collaborations and engagement to a West German songwriter-producer. Nevertheless, her music did not catch fireplace exterior of Sweden, additional complicating a relationship already strained by distance.
When Ulvaeus and Fältskog reunited in Might 1969 for a TV particular that includes a number of Swedish pop stars, the latter was once more single and the previous was decided to reap the benefits of their proximity, they usually grew to become an merchandise once more earlier than the manufacturing concluded.
An early collaboration resulted in an unsuccessful cabaret act
By the top of 1969, The Hep Stars had disbanded, and The Hootenanny Singers have been by as a performing act (although they’d proceed with studio work), liberating Ulvaeus and Andersson to concentrate on their work as songwriters and producers. Andersson took to nursing alongside Lyngstad’s fledging profession, although Ulvaeus initially resisted getting concerned professionally along with his vital different.
In April 1970, all 4 took off for a vacation in Cyprus. Together with serving because the event for Ulvaeus and Fältskog’s engagement, it marked the primary time they realized the magic of harmonizing collectively, their collective hunch confirmed with a spontaneous efficiency for U.N. troopers stationed on the island.
That summer time, Ulvaeus and Andersson targeted on creating an English-language report, with Lyngstad and Fältskog on backing vocals. The completed product, Lycka, was uneven, although it produced a success with the only “Hej Gamle Man!”
In November, the 4 launched the cabaret act Festfolk, a title that carried the double which means of “celebration individuals” and “engaged {couples}.” Festfolk flopped, because the quartet lacked the chops to drag off the comedic parts of the present, although their efficiency of “Hej Gamle Man!” at all times drew a positive response.
(L-R) Benny Andersson, Anni-Frid Lyngstad, Agnetha Faltskog and Bjorn Ulvaeus of ABBA posing at Waterloo railway station in 1974.
Picture: John Downing/Categorical/Getty Pictures
The group discovered their identify and hit sound with “Ring-Ring” and “Waterloo”
Following a interval of intermittent successes – Ulvaeus and Andersson had a shock hit in Japan with “She’s My Type of Woman”, whereas Lyngstad and Fältskog loved starring roles in stage productions – the 4 convened in spring 1972 to report their first single, “Individuals Want Love,” beneath the group identify Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Anni-Frid.
The foursome then teamed with Anderson to ship a track for the 1973 Eurovision contest. The Anderson/Andersson/Ulvaeus-penned “Ring-Ring,” accomplished with engineer Michael B. Tretow’s progressive sound mixing, was the form of catchy, upbeat observe that will develop into a trademark of the band’s sound. To the shock of many, “Ring-Ring” did not win the Swedish trials, although it did develop into a serious hit for the quartet and the title observe for his or her debut album.
In the meantime, Anderson was uninterested in the band’s cumbersome title. Enjoying round with their initials, he got here up with ABBA, a reputation that would simply overcome the obstacles of foreign-language branding. It additionally occurred to be the identify of a Swedish canned fish firm, and whereas the corporate gave its approval, it took a bit of longer for the band to simply accept their affiliation with canned fish.
The primary information credited to ABBA surfaced in October 1973, although the band’s full transformation would not come till the launch of the 1974 Eurovision contest. This time, clad of their glam rock most interesting as they carried out the irresistibly catchy “Waterloo,” the Swedish quartet blew away the competitors with their look and sound, strolling away with a contest victory and a smash report that introduced their arrival as worldwide pop stars.
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