ABBA were formed in 1970 by Swedish quartet Anni-Frid Lyngstad, Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus, and Agnetha Fältskog, deriving their moniker from the first letters of each of the group members' given names (the group took this name officially in late 1973). Prior to forming ABBA, each member had been involved in the music industry for a number of years. Benny Andersson joined popular Swedish pop-rock group, The Hep Stars (who were known as ‘The Swedish Beatles’), in 1964, initially playing keyboard, but eventually writing songs which became major hits in Sweden, such as "Sunny Girl", "Wedding", and "Consolation" (all number 1’s in 1966). Björn Ulvaeus began writing for and fronting The Hootenanny Singers, a popular Swedish folk-skiffle group, in 1963, and the group crossed paths with The Hep Stars whilst touring. In June 1966, Benny and Bjorn decided to write a song together (“Isn't It Easy To Say", later recorded by The Hep Stars), but it wasn’t until 1969 that the pair wrote and produced their first real hits together, such as "Ljuva sextiotal" (“Merry Sixties”), recorded by Brita Borg, and The Hep Stars' 1969 hit "Speleman" ("Fiddler"). Benny wrote the song "Hej, Clown" for the 1969 Melodifestivalen, the Swedish Eurovision Song Contest finals, and it was here that he met his future spouse, singer Anni-Frid Lyngstad, who had also participated in the contest. Anni-Frid sang from the age of 13 with various dance bands, and also formed her own band, the Anni-Frid Four. In the summer of 1967, she won a national talent competition with the song "En ledig dag" ("A Day Off"), earning a recording contract with EMI Sweden, and subsequently releasing several Swedish hit singles on EMI. Meanwhile, Agnetha Fältskog had a number 1 record in Sweden in 1967, aged just 17, earning a reputation as a talented singer/songwriter of schlager style songs, releasing 5 solo studio albums between 1967 and 1975. She briefly met Anni-Frid for the first time during a TV show in January 1968, and met future spouse Björn Ulvaeus at a concert venue a few months later.

As their respective bands began to break up during 1969, Benny and Bjorn teamed up and recorded their first album together in 1970, “Lycka” ("Happiness"), with Agnetha co-writing one of the songs. Benny also started to produce Anni-Frid’s solo recordings, notably her debut album, “Frida”, released in March 1971, followed later that year by her first number 1 single, "Min egen stad" ("My Own Town"), for which all the future ABBA members sang backing vocals. An attempt at combining their talents occurred in April 1970 when the 2 couples went on holiday together to Cyprus. What started as singing for fun on the beach ended up as an improvised live performance in front of the United Nations soldiers stationed on the island. Agnetha and Anni-Frid then added backing vocals to several tracks on Benny and Bjorn’s “Lycka” album, and they eventually launched a stage act, "Festfolk" (which translates from Swedish to mean both ‘Party People’ and ‘Engaged Couples’) in November 1970 in Gothenburg. The quartet’s first record together "Hej, gamle man", a song about an old Salvation Army soldier, became their first hit. The song was credited to Björn & Benny, and reached number 5 on the Swedish sales charts and number 1 on Svensktoppen, staying there for 15 weeks. Agnetha, Benny and Bjorn toured together in May 1971, while Anni-Frid toured on her own, but frequent recording sessions brought the foursome tighter together during the summer of 1971. Stig Anderson, the manager of The Hootenanny Singers and founder of the Polar Music label was determined to break into the mainstream international market with music by Benny and Bjorn, and encouraged them to write a song for Melodifestivalen. After 2 rejected entries in 1971, the duo submitted their new song "Säg det med en sång" ("Say It With A Song") for the 1972 contest, and chose newcomer Lena Anderson to perform. The song won 3rd place, and became a huge hit in Sweden. Surprise foreign success came in the form of the Benny and Bjorn single "She's My Kind of Girl", which was released by Epic in Japan in March 1972 and gave the duo a Top 10 hit. 1972’s "People Need Love", featuring guest vocals by Agnetha & Anni-Frid, was released by Stig Anderson as single, credited to Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Anni-Frid, and it reached number 17 in the Swedish charts. It also became the quartet’s first record to chart in the US, where it peaked at number 114 on the Cashbox Singles chart and number 117 on Record World's Singles chart. The foursome decided to record their first album together in the autumn of 1972, and sessions began in the September.

In 1973, the band and Stig Anderson, now their manager, decided to have another try at the Melodifestivalen, this time with the song "Ring Ring". Anderson arranged an English translation of the lyrics by Neil Sedaka and Phil Cody, but the song placed 3rd. Nevertheless the group put out their first album, “Ring Ring”, which did well, with the lead single of the same name becoming a hit in many parts of Europe. It was around this time that Stig Anderson, tired of unwieldy names, started to refer to the group privately and publicly as ’ABBA’. However, ‘Abba’ was also the name of a well-known fish-canning company in Sweden, so a competition to find a suitable name for the group was held in a Gothenburg newspaper. The group was impressed with the names ‘Alibaba’, ‘FABB’ and ‘Baba’, but in the end all the entries were ignored and it was announced in the summer that the name ABBA was official (the group later negotiated with the canners for the right to the name). The first 'B' in the logo version of the name was a mirror image of the second ‘B’ on the band's promotional material from 1976 onwards and became the group's registered trademark.

In late 1973, ABBA were invited by Swedish television to contribute a song for the 1974 Melodifestivalen contest, choosing "Waterloo", which was inspired by the growing glam rock scene in the UK. They won, and then went on to win the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest, propelling “Waterloo” to become their first number 1 single in the UK, Germany and Australia. In the US, it reached number 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, although the album of the same name only peaked at number 145 on the Billboard 200 chart. Follow up single "Honey, Honey" reached number 27 on the Billboard Hot 100, and was number 2 in Germany. However, in the UK, a cover version of the song by Sweet Dreams made number 10 because ABBA’s British record company, Epic, decided to re-release a remixed version of "Ring Ring" instead, which failed to reach the Top 30. “So Long” was also released in 1974 as a single in the UK but it received no airplay from Radio 1 and failed to chart. In the summer of 1975 they released “I Do I Do I Do I Do I Do”, which again received little airplay on Radio 1, but managed to climb up the charts to number 38. However, later in 1975, their next album “ABBA”, and the single "SOS" fared better in the UK, charting at numbers 13 and 6 respectively. “SOS” also became their second number 1 single in both Germany and Australia, reached number 10 on the Record World Top 100 singles chart and number 15 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, collecting the BMI Award along the way as one of the most played songs on US radio in 1975. Follow up single “Mamma Mia" topped the UK, German and Australian charts in January 1976. Despite its UK success, the “ABBA” album only peaked at number 165 on the Cashbox Album chart, and number 174 on the US Billboard 200 chart.

In March 1976, the band released the compilation “Greatest Hits” (despite having had only 6 Top 40 hits in the UK and the US), which became their first UK number 1 album, and also broke into the US Top 50 for the first time (eventually selling more than 1 million copies there). At the same time, a compilation, “The Very Best of ABBA”, was released in Germany, also becoming a number 1 album, with the very similar “Greatest Hits” following a few months later to number 2 on the German charts. A new single, “Fernando”, was included on “Greatest Hits”, a song which had first been written by Benny and Bjorn in Swedish for Anni-Frid’s number 1 solo album “Frida ensam” (Frida alone), released in 1975, but, following on from the major success of the song in Scandinavia, the group decided to record an English version. "Fernando" hit number 1 in 12 countries worldwide (including the UK and Germany), occupying the top position in Australia for 14 weeks (tying with The Beatles’ “Hey Jude” for the longest stay at number 1). In the US, "Fernando" reached the Top 10 of the Cashbox Top 100 singles chart and number 13 on the Billboard Hot 100. It also topped the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart, ABBA’s first US number 1 single of any kind.

The group's next album, “Arrival”, a number 1 bestseller all over Europe and Australia, spawned "Money, Money, Money", another number 1 in Germany and Australia, and "Knowing Me, Knowing You", ABBA’s 6th consecutive German number 1, as well as another UK number 1. Then came "Dancing Queen", which topped the UK, German, Australian, and, finally, the US Singles charts. “Arrival” peaked at number 20 on the US Billboard 200 Album chart, was certified gold by RIAA, and in 1977, was nominated for the inaugural BRIT Awards in the category ‘Best International Album of the Year’.

In December 1977, ABBA followed up “Arrival” with a 5th album, “The Album”, released to coincide with “ABBA: The Movie”. The first 2 singles, "The Name of the Game" and "Take a Chance on Me", both topped the UK charts, and reached numbers 12 and 3 respectively on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart (although "Take a Chance on Me" did not top the US charts, it has proved to be ABBA’s biggest hit single in the US, selling more copies than "Dancing Queen"). “The Album” also included the ABBA signature tune, "Thank You for the Music", released as a single in the UK in 1983 (it was the B-side of "Eagle" in countries where the latter had been released).

In 1979, ABBA released "Chiquitita", donating the copyright to UNICEF, and it reached number 1 in 10 countries. 6th album, April 1979’s “Voulez-Vous”, topped the charts across Europe, Japan and Mexico, hit the Top 10 in Canada and Australia, and the Top 20 in the US. None of the singles from the album reached number 1 on the UK charts, but "Chiquitita", "Does Your Mother Know", "Angeleyes" and "Voulez-Vous" all charted at numbers 2, 3 or 4. "I Have a Dream" also reached number 2 in UK, number 1 on Eurochart Hot 100 singles, and became ABBA’s second number 1 on the Canadian RPM Adult Contemporary chart (after "Fernando"). Later in 1979, “Greatest Hits Vol. 2” was released, featuring a brand new track, "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)", another number 3 hit in both the UK and Germany.

1980 saw the release of ABBA’s 7th album, “Super Trouper”, which set a record for the most pre-orders ever received for a UK album after 1 million copies were ordered before release. Anticipation for the album had been built up by "The Winner Takes It All", the group's 8th UK chart topper, which also made number 8 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart and became ABBA’s 2nd Billboard Adult Contemporary chart number 1. Follow-up single, "Super Trouper" also hit number 1 in the UK, as well as in Germany. 1981’s "Lay All Your Love on Me" managed to top the US Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart, and peaked at number 7 on the UK Singles chart. 1980 also saw “Gracias Por La Musica”, a compilation of ABBA-recorded Spanish-language versions of their hits, released in Spanish-speaking countries as well as Japan and Australia, becoming a major success (and coupled with the Spanish version of "Chiquitita", signaling the group's breakthrough in Latin America). In January 1981, manager Stig Anderson celebrated his 50th birthday, with ABBA recording “Hovas Vittne” (a pun on the Swedish name for Jehovah's Witness and Anderson's birthplace, Hova) as a tribute to him, releasing it on 200 red vinyl copies, which were distributed to the guests attending Anderson’s 50th party (this single has become a sought-after collectible).

“The Visitors”, ABBA’s 8th and final studio album, was released in 1981, and included “One Of Us”, which reached number 3 in the UK, and became their 9th and last number 1 in Germany. The album topped the charts across most of Europe, including the UK and Germany, and also boasted "When All Is Said and Done", which became ABBA’s final Top 40 hit in the US, and reached number 4 on the Canadian RPM Adult Contemporary chart.

In the spring of 1982, songwriting sessions had started and the group came together for more recordings. A new album was discussed, but the recording sessions were a struggle, and only 3 songs were eventually recorded: "You Owe Me One", "I Am the City", and "Just Like That". The group weren’t satisfied with the outcome, thus the tapes were shelved and they took a break for the summer. Returning to the studio in early August, their plans had changed - they settled on a Christmas release of a double album compilation of all their past singles, called “The Singles: The First Ten Years”. New songwriting and recording sessions took place, and during October and November, the singles "The Day Before You Came"/"Cassandra" and "Under Attack"/"You Owe Me One" were released (the A-sides of which were included on the compilation album). Neither single made the Top 20 in the UK, though "The Day Before You Came" became a Top 5 hit in many European countries such as Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. On its release, “The Singles: The First Ten Years” went to number 1 in the UK and Belgium, reached the Top 5 in the Netherlands and Germany and made the Top 20 in many other countries. "I Am the City" and "Just Like That" were left unreleased, for possible inclusion on the next projected studio album, although this never came to fruition. “I Am the City" was eventually released as a bonus track on the compilation album “More ABBA Gold” in 1993, while "Just Like That" has been recycled in new songs with other artists produced by Benny and Bjorn.

So, late 1982 and ABBA was shelved, although in interviews, Benny and Björn denied the split of ABBA (‘Who are we without our ladies? Initials of Brigitte Bardot?’), and Agnetha and Anni-Frid kept claiming in interviews that ABBA would come together for a new album during 1983 and 1984. Benny and Bjorn began collaborating with Tim Rice in early 1983 on writing songs for the musical “Chess” (which opened in May 1986 in London’s West End, ran for almost 3 years, and included “I Know Him So Well", a duet by Barbara Dickson and Elaine Paige, which was later recorded by both Barbra Streisand and Whitney Houston), while Agnetha and Anni-Frid both concentrated on international solo careers. In 1986, “ABBA Live” was released, featuring selections of live performances from the group's 1977 and 1979 tours, and September 1992 saw the release of ”ABBA Gold: Greatest Hits”, a new compilation album, which became the most popular ABBA release ever, selling more than 26 million copies to date.

In April 1999, the “Mamma Mia!” musical opened in London, and soon premièred in cities worldwide to huge success, driving the production of the 2008 movie of the same name, starring Meryl Streep and Pierce Brosnan. Benny produced the soundtrack, utilizing many of the musicians ABBA used on their albums and tours - he also makes a cameo appearance in the movie as a 'fisherman' piano player in the 'Dancing Queen' scene, while Bjorn is seen as a Greek god playing harp during the closing credits. All 4 members were reunited at the Swedish premiere of the movie in July 2008, and the compilation album “ABBA Gold: Greatest Hits” returned to number 1 in the UK album charts for the 5th time since its 1992 release in August 2008, and in the same month the “Mamma Mia! The Movie” film soundtrack went to number 1 on the US Billboard Charts.
In an interview with the Sunday Telegraph, following the movie premiere, Benny and Bjorn confirmed that there was nothing that could entice them back on stage again – ‘We will never appear on stage again. There is simply no motivation to re-group. Money is not a factor and we would like people to remember us as we were. Young, exuberant, full of energy and ambition. I remember Robert Plant saying Led Zeppelin were a cover band now because they cover all their own stuff. I think that hit the nail on the head’.

ABBA remain a fixture of radio playlists and are one of the world's best selling bands, having sold over 370 million records world wide; they still sell 2 to 4 million records a year.