3.5 ⭐

I’m an ABBA fangirl!

This is an extremely detailed and highly informative unauthorized biography written by a music journalist who has spent four decades in the industry. While the content is interesting and I learned many new things, the non-linear manner in which it was presented didn’t appeal to me. I was also aware of the jarring flow that comes with translation and was frustrated with the lack of transitions between paragraphs. Many times, I couldn’t see the relationship between one paragraph to the next. These disappointments are personal preferences and in no way reflect the author’s skills or the content.

Disappointments aside, this fangirl learned:
✔️that dansband culture was crucial to ABBA’s evolution
✔️how the Swedish tax law influenced their fantasy costumes
✔️that Thank You For The Music was written in 30 minutes during a house party. He sat down and “started to play and the song was just there.”
✔️that the story of ABBA is more a tale of overcoming adversity than one of success
✔️about the two love stories that gave the group its name, A+B, B+A
✔️that the working title for ‘Dancing Queen’ was ‘Boogaloo’
✔️that Frida was conceived as part of the Lebensborn program between German soldiers and Norwegian women

After thirty years of media silence, the group agreed to the author’s request for an interview. What an honour to be there to learn directly from the source. You’ll get the scoop on everyone who came in contact on a professional level with this group and gain insight into how the lyrics reflected what was going on in their lives. I’d consider this a must-read for any ABBA fan.

I think ABBA Gold is my most listened-to album!

I was gifted this copy by the publisher through NetGalley and was under no obligation to provide a review.