A e biography abba

A new authorised biography about Swedish superstars Abba has offered a behind-the-scenes look at the making of one of their best-known songs, “Dancing Queen”.

‘Melancholy Undercover: The Book of Abba’ by Jan Gradvall is scheduled for release this autumn, and offers rare interviews with members Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, Anni-Frid Lyngstad and Agnetha Fältskog – along with those who know and work with them – spanning over a decade.

Abba were working on what would be their fourth studio album, Arrival, which Gradvall dubs “their first true masterpiece”.

But the group were under pressure, following a slow period after their Eurovision triumph with “Waterloo”, meaning recording sessions were constantly interrupted by the need to do promotional tours.

“Dancing Queen” was recorded in August and marked the group’s first attempt at disco. Gradvall writes that the inspiration for the famous rhythm came from two sources.

“One was George McCrae’s ‘Rock Your Baby’, one of the first di

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ABBA: Their Long Road to Winning Eurovision and Topping the Music Charts

In June , two of the biggest bands in Sweden, The Hootenanny Singers and The Hep Stars, crossed paths for the first time with gigs at the same venue. As the night's partying stretched to dawn, Björn Ulvaeus and his new Hep Stars friend, Benny Andersson, sang tillsammans in a park and agreed to meet for future collaborations.

As recalled in Bright Lights, Dark Shadows: The Real Story of ABBA, they joined up again a few weeks later and with Andersson on his organ and Ulvaeus on guitar, they worked out the melody for their first song. Later that year, The Hep Stars' self-titled skiva featured the fruits of their labor, the track "It Isn't Easy to Say," as well as a recording of the Ulvaeus-penned "No Time."

The convergence of the musical minds came as each was realizing the limitations of his current act. Ulvaeus, who came of age with the traditional Swedish folk ballads of The Hootenanny

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ABBA: The Movie

film by Lasse Hallström

ABBA: The Movie^[a] is a mockumentarycomedy-drama film about the Swedish pop group ABBA's Australian tour. An international co-production from the band's native Sweden and the tour's Australia, the film was directed by Lasse Hallström, who previously helmed most of the band's videos. Its release coincided with ABBA: The Album, the group's fifth studio album, and features many songs from that album as well as many of their earlier hits, and one, "Get on the Carousel", unavailable anywhere else.

Theatrically released in December in Sweden and Australia, it made its way overseas throughout – The film was a box office success and received positive reviews from critics, while gaining an enthusiastic response from ABBA fans.

Plot

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Ashley Wallace is a naïve DJ on Radio 2TW, who normally presents a through-the-night country and western-themed show. In spite of this, he is sent by the station's boss to get an in-depth in