 |
ABBA | |||
| Author: Nina Rasmussen | ||||
| Published by: An Onrion Paperbook, GB 1993 | ||||
| Pages: 122 | ||||
| ISBN: | ||||
Info:
There's a new release in 1996 by Carlton Books:
it's the same book with a different cover but it contains a CD
with 64 minutes of Abba's interviews (no music on it).
The interviews featured on the picture-CD are from the late '70s,
during the height of their global conquering period and the '80's with
Björn.
Foreword by Nina Rasmussen:
Like the erstwhile members of Abba, Nina has spent much of her life
living in or near Stockholm, from where she has been able to observe
the lives and times of sweden's most internationally successful musical
quartet. Her career as a rock and pop journalist has also taken her
to London on many occasions since the late 1970s, provinding her with
a unique viewpoint on the activities of the group members both during
and since their incredible career.
Text:
Abba - the epitome of Seventies glam-pop - were the first group from
a non-English speaking country to become internationally famous.
Propelled to stardom in 1974 by Waterloo their winning entry to the Eurovision Song Contest, Agnetha, Benny, Björn and Anni-Frid rapidly became one of the biggest groups in the worlds, with a succession of huge international hits - including nine UK Number One singles and eight Number One albums - that was unequalled during that time.
Although they disbanded in the early Eighties, the phenomenal success of 1992's greatest hits album ABBA Gold - which topped the charts in 15 countries - has brought the pop magic of Abba to a whole new generation of fans, who regard them as superstars; This is their story.
Contents:
 |
ABBA Gold (The Complete Story) | |||
| Author: John Tobler | ||||
| Published by: Century 22 limited, 1993 | ||||
| Pages: 162 | ||||
| ISBN: | ||||
Text:
Traditionally, the giants of popular music have come from either Britain
or America, and if it had been suggested at the start of the 1970s that
the biggest pop/rock act in the world at the end of the decade would come
from Sweden, the reaction would have been one of total disbelief.
This is the story of ABBA, the group who defied all conventions, and from
the somewhat insubstantial platform of victory in the
Eurovision Song Contest
in 1974, progressed to become the biggest record sellers in the
world. The name "Abba" was first known in the music business over
40 years ago, although it had nothing to do with the quartet from
Sweden. The first Abba was a songwriter, a New Yorker named eden ahbez
(he believed that only Gods should spell their names with capital letters).
He wrote a song called "NatureBoy" which became a number one hit for
Nat `King' Cole in 1948 - the songwriting credit was abbreviated to Abba.
In Scandinavia, the name Abba is also well known as the trade mark of a
famous food compagny who specialise in canning fish. The name is perhaps
better known around the world however as the abbrevation of Anni-Frid,
Björn, Benny and Agnetha - the pop sensations of the 1970s and 80s.
ABBA Gold - The Complete Story updates the group's history at a time
when its great heritage is being discovered by a new young generation,
whose parents are happily rediscovering it. It also coincides with the
worldwide release of
ABBA Gold, the first ever ABBA compilation to
include all the group's biggest hits on a single album, which has been
a massive seller around the world. The group's recordings are surveyed
chronologically, from the early failures to the multi-million sellers,
with an account of the events which influenced and affected the group
in their hugely successfulquest for superstardom. Lavishly illustrated
in colour and black and white and including many previously unpublished
photos, ABBA Gold - The Complete Story is the definitive account of
ABBA's career authorised by the group themselves.
Contents:
|
ABBA in their own words | |||
| Compiled by: Rosemary York | ||||
| Published by: Omnibus Press, 1981 | ||||
| Pages: 130 | ||||
| ISBN: | ||||
Text:
Success has not come easy for Abba. When they won the
Eurovision Song Contest
they appeared as two innocent couples singing a catchy song.
The accessibility of their tunes soon made them the favourites of the
deejays and the public. The string of hits grew longer and the melodies
more sophisticated. Their management compagny became one of the Sweden's
biggest exporters next to Volvo but behind the scenes the strain of
touring and the pressures of fame eventually caused both their mariages
to fail. Here, in quotes taken from contemporary interviews, is Abba
story, told by the group themselves.
Contents:
Info:
A lot of pictures, only in black and white, and some rares.
It's interesting but it's only compilations from interviews:
it gives you the impression of truth, but is it?
 |
ABBA - The Complete Recording Sessions | |||
| Author: Carl Magnus Palm | ||||
| Published by: Century 22 Limited | ||||
| Pages: 130 | ||||
| ISBN: | ||||
Foreword by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus:
There was a little bit of suspicion when Carl Magnus Palm first came into
our lives. Not only was it a daunting task that he presumed to undertake,
but more importantly, who would be crazy enough to tackle it in the first
place? To chart our careers as songwriters and record producers from the
mid sixties to the beginning of the eighties seemed to us impossible and
futile, especially bearing in mind that we, and sometimes conveniently,
had forgotten so much about that period ourselves.
It was Michael Tretow, great friend and all important sound engineer, who
introduced us to Carl Magnus. "This is a serious guy", he assured us and
we took his word for it and agreed to meeting. It was the first of many,
for we found Carl Magnus to be a hardworking, dedicated and intelligent
man. We were intrigued by all the facts that he managedti dig up from the
depths of our slumbering memories as well as from those of other people.
And so, finally, here is Carl magnus Palm's Abba-The Complete Recording
Sessions. It ought to be of interest not only the avid Abba fan, but also
toanyone who wants to know more about a group that had a fair amount of
impact during the seventies. To us it is particulary pleasing because it
kills themyth of the "Hit Factory" and the conscious image-making that
the critics nurtured during those days to find a rational way of
explaining away the success. Anyone who reads this book will find that
Abba became a group by sheer coincidence and that the image never was
contemplated. The recordings seem to have been, especially in the early
days, planned in an almost haphazard, from-day-to-day manner, far from
the factory concept.
Thank you for being patient with us, and we wish you the best of luck
with your book, Carl Magnus.
Text:
In 1966 two young men from Sweden wrote and recorded a song called
Isn't It Easy To Say,
which marked the beginning of a songwriting and record
producing partnership that has continued to this day. As the 1960s drifted
into the 1970s, they started making recordings with two girls singers
(who also later became their wives), a working relationship that would
continue until August 1982. During that period the foursome recorded a
collection of songs which heralded one of the most successful recording
careers the world has ever known and claim a unique plce in the history
of popular music.
That quartet was of course
Agnetha Fältskog,
Björn Ulvaeus,
Benny Andersson
and
Anni-Frid Lyngstad, better known as Abba, and this
book is the story of these people and their recordings. Based on
extensive research and countless hours of original interviews with all
four members of Abba, their engineer Michael B. Tretow and many of the
musicians that played with the band, Abba-The Complete Recording Sessions
recounts their story in a way that has never been told before.
Beginnig with that very first mid-sixties recording session and tracing
the formation of the through their first tentative collaborations, Carl
Magnus Palm takes us on a fascinating journey through Abba's sensational
career. Continuing with the watershed March 1972 recording of the group's
first single
People Need Love
he recounts the full story behind such hits as
S.O.S.,
Dancing Queen
and
The Name Of The Game. He reveals the
facts behind Abba's final years and such classics as
The Winner Takes It All
and
The Day Before You Came,
as well as many lesser known tracks.
The definitive book "ought to be of interest not only the avid Abba fan,
but also to anyone who wants to know more about a group that had a fair
amount of impact during the seventies" as benny Andersson and Björn
Ulvaeus have written with typical reserve in their foreword. It details
the numerous unreleased recordings that the group left behind and is
fully illustrated with many rare photos, record sleeves, and original
recording documents and lyric sheets that have never before been
published. Abba-The Complete recording Sessions is the first book in
which all four members of the group look back on their career.
|
ABBA - The Music Still Goes On (the complete story) | |||
| Author: Paul Snaith | ||||
| Published by: Castle Communication Plc, 1994 | ||||
| Pages: 186 | ||||
| ISBN: | ||||
Text:
The music still goes on is the most complete and comprehensive account
yet of sweden's most famous export: Abba. Written by Paul Snaith,
an acclaimed authority on the band, and featuring many previously
unpublished photographs, this book will be seen to be the definitive
story of the greatest pop band of the seventies.
In five years, Abba notched up 9 numbers one singles and numerous others
top twenty hits. Their success was worldwide-their popularity is enduring.
This is the story of two guys, two girls and a lot of hit records.
Contents:
|
ABBA - A lyrical collection 1972-1982 | |||
| Published and compiled by: Century 21 Merchandising Ltd., Pinewood Studios, Iver Heath, Bucks, First Edition March 1982 | ||||
| Pages: 86 | ||||
| ISBN: | ||||
Contents:
Tom HUDEC,
Tom=at=ABBA-dot-cz,
Last modification: October 29, 2000