And it only struck me this morning that we’ve also had Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again since we last spoke. But the 1990s ushered in a new wave of ABBA appreciation, and their music found favor again in modern popular culture.

But I don’t think I’ve properly encountered a telephone attached that way since the days my Mum would take herself off to the hall, perching at the bottom of the stairs while chatting to friends and family. But of the bands that are around today, the ones that I’ve bought every album and everything are the Fleet Foxes. Then ‘Waterloo’ was a big hit and a remix of ‘Ring Ring’ was released in the UK, and that was the one that went to No. This book charts the journey of ABBA from their separate beginnings in pop, forming the group, Eurovision 1974 (how embarrassing that the UK judges gave them zero points 😳), their rise to worldwide fame, personal relationships, the break up and right through to Mamma Mia the musical and ABBA voyage (which I’ve seem and is absolutely amazing! In 2021, after a forty-year hiatus, the band released a new album Voyage, and announced an accompanying concert featuring their digital avatars, dubbed "ABBAtars.

ABBA at 50 takes fans on a remembrance journey…before, during, and after this group took the music world by storm. It seems apt that Voyage came out – and straight in at the top of the charts – 40 years to the month after The Visitors seemed to signal the end of the story. They’re like The Beatles now, in the sense that they’re part of the culture … it’s a reference point, it’s everything else, you know. From their humble beginnings in post-war Sweden to global superstardom, ABBA at 50 charts the remarkable story of this Swedish quartet. ABBA at 50' is packed with history, trivia and photographs of the band from birth till the present day.

Depicting the group as they appeared in 1977 in a motion-capture hologram show held in the ABBA Arena, a purpose-built venue within East London’s Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, their 22-song set each night included two singles from their comeback LP and plenty of old hits. The thing about ABBA during their heyday is that they were at least liked by most (even if secretly) and loved by many. Beautifully illustrated with essential images, this book examines the group's enduring legacy and much-loved musical repertoire of perfectly crafted pop. This was an interesting book and I learned a lot about a band I loved and found it so interesting especially the beginning.I remember 30 years ago when people said to me, when I was working on my first book, ‘You better hurry up, before the ABBA revival dies down. With regard to listening to the back-catalogue, it’s great to wallow in nostalgia now and again, but I’m guessing that’s just a part of your life. A People's History of Slade (Spenwood Books, 2023) and This Day in Music's Guide to The Clash (This Day in Music, 2018), currently writing, editing and collating Solid Bond in Your Heart: A People's History of The Jam (Spenwood Books, 2024).

But he soon put me right, telling me that while it was first released in ’73 – the title track of their debut LP – it didn’t chart until just after their Eurovision success, subtly telling me, ‘That’s both right and wrong – ha! I considered starting this feature/interview with the line, ‘Ring, ring, I stare at the phone on the wall’ as a build-up to tracking down Carl Magnus Palm, seen as the world’s leading historian for a certain legendary pop quartet from his home nation. This managed to be both a trip down memory lane as well as an introduction to music I missed the first time around. As far as I know … and for me – and I guess it’s the same for you, at least to an extent – I’ve been working from home for 30 years, so things just continued as they always had, largely. Beautifully illustrated with essential images, this book examines the group’s enduring legacy and much-loved musical repertoire of perfectly crafted pop.ABBA at 50 by Carl Magnus Palm is a delightful history of the individuals as well as the group, complete with beautiful photographs. ABBA AT 50" by Palazzo Editions, follows ABBA's surprise new music announcement after a 40 year pause alongside the universally-praised digital show, ABBA Voyage. my more, shall we say, normal reaction makes it seems like I’m putting it down … but I’m not really. After winning 1974’s Eurovision Song Contest with their song “Waterloo,” ABBA catapulted to fame, capturing hearts across the globe with their melodic and ever-so-catchy pop songs.