Product Description

In April 1974, Abba stormed to victory in the Eurovision Song Contest with "Waterloo", resplendent in their shiny satin costumes and silver platform boots. More than 25 years and 350 million record sales later, Abba's popularity remains undiminished, even though the group has not recorded a note since they split up in 1983. From instant dancefloor-fillers like "Dancing Queen" to sing-a-long ballads like "The Winner Takes It All", Abba's legacy of classic pop songs is unequalled. Between "Waterloo" and the break-up, Abba had nine Number Ones in the UK, and spent a total of 265 weeks in the charts. Worldwide, they are the second biggest-selling band of all time, surpassed only by the Beatles. When Polygram released the greatest-hits collection "Abba Gold" in 1992, it helped to kickstart a huge Abba revival; the album has sold more than 15 million copies to date and is still making appearances in the UK Top 10. Abba songs played a key role in hit movies such as "Muriel's Wedding" and "The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert", and "Mamma Mia!", a musical written around 27 Abba songs, opened in London in April 1999 and is still one of the hottest tickets in the West End. On the Internet, there are more than 380 web sites dedicated to Abba, and Abba imitators Bjorn Again (one of six tribute bands) have become a successful group in their own right. "Abba: The Book" is the definitive history of thr group, fully illustrated throughout with hundreds of photographs, many of which are from Abba's private archive. Drawing on interviews with the group and their manager and mentor, Stig Anderson, the book relates in detail the story of Abba's career, including their years as teen idols in Sweden before Eurovision, the recording of their nine hit albums, their numerous world tours, the making of "Abba - The Movie", a gallery of their most outrageous costumes, and a full discography.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #733575 in Books
• Published on: 2003-09-25
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 264 pages

From the Author
The definitive ABBA biography
ABBA: The Book is the definitive ABBA biography that every fan will treasure. It takes a new approach to the ABBA story. Drawing on exclusive interviews with the group, their collaborators and their manager and mentor Stig Anderson, I have reconstructed the complete history of ABBA’s glittering career. I have also spent about 3 years researching the Swedish press archives. For the first time, the career of each member of the group prior to the formation of ABBA is pieced together. Access to numerous archives has enabled me to retrace their step, detailing all their activities and tours before and after they came together as ABBA the group, and following the success of ABBA in Scandinavia, the UK and the rest of Europe, Australia and the United States. As a result of exhaustive research,

ABBA: The Book is the most complete and factually accurate history of ABBA to date. It is also a visual biography - it contains more than 300 illustrations including many rare and previously unpublished photographs, as well as a number of interesting documents such as record sleeves, advertisements, tickets, newspaper cuttings and magazine covers. In addition, the book is packed with quotes from the four members of the group about what life was with ABBA, and from their collaborators or famous ABBA admirers.

Many old and new fans will be able to explore the complete history of their favourite group in detail. I have included a lot of previously unpublished information and anecdotes. For example, did you know that in 1973, the group replaced the blond Agnetha by another blond female singer on a promotional tour? Did you know that in 1975 the Polish fans, taking Björn to be a woman, portrayed him with breasts?

What gives me most pleasure is that each of you, on reading this book, is going to discover - or rediscover - the story and the magic of ABBA.

Happy reading!

Jean-Marie Potiez (author of ABBA: The Book).

Customer Reviews

An indepth study of a world band ABBA
Being a fan of Abba since Brighton 1974, when they blazed onto the international scene, I`ve read everything about them that I could get hold of. Nothing compares, for me, with the book that I have just read. "Abba The Book" by Jean-Marie Potiez. Its the most comprehensive and in-depth study of Swedens supergroup yet. I cannot praise it enough. Jean-Marie an out and out Abba fan himself has left no stone unturned. Years of research into Swedens archives, many conversations with friends of, and those who worked with them throughout their reign having taken place, the book is an exercise in detail. Agnetha, Bjorn, Benny and Anni-Frid each have a chapter as does Abba`s manager Stig Anderson, who was of course their friend and co writer of many of their massive hits. The book then chapters Abba`s progress from 1969 to 1982, an in-depth diary style account, many pages have comment from Band members on matters of the time. Later chapters imform us of what Swedens fab four are up too now. "Abba the Book" is packed from cover to cover with the most fantastic photographs, many in colour, that I have ever seen of them, from backstage at Brighton, those two stunning Scandinavian girls in their "Waterloo" costumes to what must be family album pics of Bjorn and Agnetha(Complete with pigtails) with their new baby on their laps. pics of Benny and Anni-Frid at home as well of course. This book is a photo album,a diary, a text book and a complete story. If you are a fan of Abba its an absolute MUST.A large hardback printed on quality paper I recommend it!

This Winner Takes It All
Hands down the best book available on ABBA. It's meticulously chronologically detailed (similar to the recent Beatles Anthology) and is a great read from start to finish. It contains the best quality photos I've seen of the group, printed on high quality paper. Beware, though: it does contain much information that the average ABBA fan will already know, and the individual members contribute little new in the way of personal insight or experience. The individuals comprising ABBA, unlike the Beatles, will remain an enigma; the first truly postmodern supergroup.

Your coffee table needs this book!
Jean-Marie Potiez has produced a wonderful book. The fantastic photos (many of which have not previously been published) are worth the price of the book alone. The photos must have been very carefully selected: they are all, unfailingly, flattering and the band never look less than achingly glamorous. The informative and enjoyable commentary, pieced together from a mind-boggling number of interviews, is clearly a labour of love and there are many surprisingly revealing and poignant quotes. Particularly sweet (and, ultimately, sad, given the couple's subsequent history) is Frida's statement that the best thing that ever happened to her was Benny, not ABBA. The history of the ultimate pop group is traced on a year-by-year basis, from the mid 1960s, following the pre-ABBA careers of each member, through the romantic encounters, to the Eurovision win, to the will-we-ever-have-another-hit? tension, to (phew!) world domination. Every step is lavishly illustrated with great photos. ABBA's story reads like a film script - humble beginnings, beautiful people in love, amazing talent, runaway success leading to a heartbreaking denoument. There is even a 'where are they now?' epilogue. This book wipes the floor with Potiez's video documentary of the band ("Thank you ABBA"). While it will certainly be a treasured luxury for ABBA's huge army of fans, this excellent book will also be of interest to anybody with an interest in perfect pop.