Abba

Among the most commercially successful groups in music history, ABBA came together in Stockholm in 1972, when Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson and Anni-Frid Lyngstad joined forces. Three of them had already made their names in Sweden: Fältskog as a singer-songwriter of schlager-style songs, Ulvaeus as the frontman of the Hootenanny Singers, and Andersson as a keyboardist and songwriter with the Hep Stars. Their records pair bright pop melodies with lyrics that grew darker and more introspective in their later work.

Their breakthrough arrived in 1974, when "Waterloo" won the Eurovision Song Contest for Sweden. Voted the best song in the contest's history during its 50th anniversary in 2005. At the peak, two married couples made up the line-up, and as fame grew both marriages collapsed. ABBA split in December 1982. A decade later, the compilation ABBA Gold became a worldwide bestseller, and in 1999 their music gave rise to the stage musical Mamma Mia! Its 2008 film was the highest-grossing in the UK that year. Voyage, their first album in 40 years, followed in 2021, and ABBA Voyage opened at the purpose-built ABBA Arena in London in May 2022.