'ABBA Gold's' twentieth anniversary

This year marks the twentieth anniversary of the phenomenally successful compilation album, “ABBA Gold”, which at over 28 million sold to date, makes it the group’s bestselling album ever. “ABBA Gold” also has the distinction of being one of only three albums in Great Britain to sell five million copies. The triumph of this album is documented in “From ABBA to Mamma Mia! The Official Book” by Anders Hanser and Carl Magnus Palm.
One of the most surprising things about the success of “ABBA Gold” is the fact that it was released ten years after the group’s final recordings together. Although the Swedish foursome never officially announced that they were calling it quits, the book describes how the two couples, who had both divorced by the early eighties, decided to pursue other projects. The two women, Anni-Frid Lyngstad and Agnetha Falkskog, both embarked on solo careers, while Benny Anderson and Bjorn Ulvaeus wrote songs for the Broadway musical “Chess”. Even after the enormous popularity of “ABBA Gold”, the members of ABBA still refused to reunite; despite what was reportedly a billion dollar offer to go on tour. Ulvaeus says he wants the group to be remembered the way they were at their peak.

A marquee announces the upcoming fall musical 'Mamma Mia' based on the songs of Abba August 22, 2001 at the Winter Garden Theatre in New York City.

As hot as ABBA was during the years when the group was active, they were often panned by critics and not taken seriously by the general public. According to “From ABBA to Mamma Mia”, in the years since the release of “ABBA Gold”, and ABBA-based projects like the Broadway show “Mamma Mia”, critics have been singing a different tune. It is no longer un-cool to be a fan of ABBA. Benny Anderson and Bjorn Ulvaeus have been highly praised for their songwriting skills, especially for their more profound compositions. Anni-Frid Lyngstad and Angetha Faltskog are revered for their amazing voices.
ABBA had many things going for them. The fact that they were Swedish, something that hurt them early on, later served to add to their exotic appeal in other parts of the world. They were two attractive married couples, which enhanced the romantic appeal of most of their songs. They also had a very clever recording engineer, Michael Tretow, who played a major role in giving them a unique sound. And then there was the man they called the fifth member of ABBA, Stig Anderson, a brilliant and devoted manager the likes of which most artists can only dream about. But the biggest reason for ABBA’s success was the high quality and in many cases timelessness of the music itself, which is the reason ABBA continues to be so popular thirty years after they went their separate ways.