Abba on the internet

written by Cliff McLenehan

That Eurovision Song Contest victory will always make it difficult for Abba to be taken seriously. I mean, only dorks go on that thing, don't they? Well, no actually. Abba, purveyors of finely-crafted pop songs, competed in 1974 and deservedly cleaned up. OK, so the critics sneered and even today the band is still thought of as Europop kitsch. But why should they or their fanscare what snide hacks think. They've sold something like 450 million (and counting) records worldwide. There's a West End musical featuring their songs and a besotted fanbase who have produced some of the best websites your humble scribe has ever come across.

Over the years I've seen some seriously lame official websites. No quibbles though about the Abba one, though. Abba - The Site sets the standard for group-sanctioned portals. It's got everything that a fan could possibly want, including an informative forum, a selection of interesting articles in the 'In Focus' section, lyrics with recording information and sound clips, videos, screensavers, desktop wallpapers, photo galleries, biographies, not only of the four members, but also of the musicians and producers who worked with them. For page designers, the site is a lesson in how to produce an informative site and not just another piece of promotional eye-candy.

One of the contributors to Abba - The Site is Carl Magnus Palm, the highly respected author of several Abba books and an RC contributor. He's also got his own site, imaginatively titled Carl Magnus Palm On The Web - Abba. It's a bit different from other sites. The main focus is Palm's books and how he came to write them, along with other band-related projects (such as sleevenote contributions). The site also contains an index and corrections to his book, The Complete Recording Sessions. A similar site is Abba: The Book, devoted to Jean-Marie Potiez's tome. There are some sample pages, book contents, ordering information and press reviews, including one from RC.

The Abba Annual Homepage is a colourful day-by-day chronology of TV recordings, recording sessions, video productions and concerts. Unfortunately, it's a bit dry, but there are lots of interesting photos to spruce up proceedings. That said, they frequently show that Abba's dress sense was, more often than not, pretty naff.

Given the number of pre-Abba releases by the four group members, most of which were only released in Scandinavia, the Abba discography is ripe for some excellent sites. The Abba Internet Database is a prime example. Besides the discog, there are lyrics, including some English translations of the Swedish originals, a FAQ and a different index to the Complete Recording Sessions book. Perhaps the most intriguing part of the site is what happens to the mix of Abba tracks when they're played with the out-of-phase stereo
effect (instructions provided).

Abba The Releases is another huge discography site, well worth checking out. As well as the group's output there's also information on the pre-Abba solo careers and post-Abba work such as the musical Chess and the group Gemini. Related artists such as Josefin Nilsson and Kristina Från Duvemåla also make an appearance. One speciality is a Spanish releases discography. Some of the pages include images of alternative album covers from releases in South Africa and Czechoslovakia. There's also information on Abba bootlegs.

Further bootleg information can be found at Abba Mania, which has material regarding unofficial CDs and videos. In addition to the pages devoted to a variety of rarities. In addition to pages devoted to a variety of rarities, there's also a large international discography, this one specialising in Japanese releases. The best site on the underground front is ABBAnatic, which includes The Official Abba Bootleg Page (I suspect this is something of an in-joke). The webmaster often displays a keen sense of humour: witness this review of one particular boot: 'This CD has exactly the same tracks as Rarities and Demos except in a different order. In fact, this page has the same reviews as Rarities and Demos except in a different order'. This site is more informative than others, providing commentary for each track appearing on a certain disc. You may also find Abba Plaza worth a quick browse. The site is well designed, but a bit more information would have made it even better.

Not strictly in the discograsphy domain, but related is Abba - The Worldwide Chart Lists, which is exactly what it says it is. If you want to find out where a particular Abba single reached in the Canadian charts for example, then this is the site for you. Most European territories are also covered as are the USA, Japan, Australia and some other markets that wouldn't normally spring to mind - South Africa, Zimbabwe and Argentina.

Abba - The Albums is a scrappily-designed site providing an analysis of the band's LPs as well as examining the pre-Abba Hootenanny Singers and Hep Stars releases, plus Agnetha and Frida's solo work. It was impossible to download the site for offline browsing. So why am I bothering to mention it? Because despite its faults, the site is intelligently written, with webmaster John Bernhardt's enthusiasm for his subject matter clearly shining through.

Abba World is a general all-round site, with excellent links, where sites are quality graded, which was pretty helpful when it came to researching this article. In addition there's a Who's Who of the Abba world, and some interesting 'musings' including a strong attack on Polygram (referred to here as Polygrab) for their 1997 reissues and a page of 'Fantasy Remasters', presumably what the author would have done, had he been in Polygram's well-heeled shoes.

Offering something a little different is The Abba Etc Home Page. This is the place to come if you want to turn your PC into a shrine for Abba. You can download a screensaver, start up and shut down screens, Abba fonts and desktop wallpapers. The site also has reviews of album artwork (not, I would have thought, Abba's strongest point) as well as the webmasters memories of UK concerts in 1977 and 1979. Promised soon is a 'Sweden and Swedes' section, whatever that might be.

There are a number of sites dedicated to the four individual members of Abba. Union Songs is a good one devoted to the partnerships of Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus. It includes histories of their pre-Abba outfits the Hep Stars and the Hootenanny Singers. There are also pages about their post-Abba musicals and other projects such as work with Kalle Moreaus, Josefin Nilsson and Gemini. If you're only interested in Björn, then the Tribute To Björn Ulvaeus Homepage is the place for you. Apparently he's 'the most talented member of Abba', although I'm sure there are many who would disagree with that statement. If you're a Benny fan, then probably best is Hep Stars Hemsida, which I presume is Swedish for Hep Stars Home Page. Contents are similar to those of the previous site.

Agnetha Fältskog's Official Home Page has an unnecessary Flash introduction, but once you get past that, you get into what is a very good site, if not quite as useful as the group's official pages. It boasts a well-presented discography, featuring lots of the picture sleeves which graced European issues long before we caught on in the UK. There's also a very good biography and a news section, which must have been difficult to compile at times, although as RC went to press, Agnetha is working on her first album for 15 years (see next month's RC). Agnetha Then And Now is a fan site worth checking out. The biography is only reasonable, but there's an excellent selection of pictures to gaze at.

Finally, Frida is the recipient of a fairly substantial fan-produced site. Twist In The Dark not only takes a look at her musical past but also her acting career both in films and on TV, of which I was completely ignorant. Besides the usual features, there are several translated articles.

Record Collector, issue February 2003, pages 102 and 103

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