Why we all love ABBA | DW History and Culture

Their songs have been part of every good party, wedding and karaoke night for decades: the iconic Swedish band ABBA wrote pop history and completely redefined coolness with their catchy melodies. Their story sounds like a fairy tale: Singers Agnetha Fältskog and Anni-Frid Lyngstad fall in love with songwriters Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson, make music together and celebrate worldwide success: ABBA told this love story perfectly and turned it into music that thrilled millions of listeners. In their songs, they take the fans with them into the ups and downs of their private lives, tell of love, longing, successes, but also of the painful separation of the two couples in the early 1980s. The melodies are catchy, their music amazingly complex and sophisticated. With “Waterloo“ they achieved their breakthrough in 1974. In the following eight years, the Swedes landed one number one hit after another and wrote music history with their novel pop sound. Even after th