THE GREATEST EUROVISION SONG… EVER!
According to research undertaken by Bristol University in 2005, the most perfect
song for the contest was Waterloo by ABBA. When you consider the lyrics of the song, it repeats
the three-syllable title of the song approximately TWENTY times (how's that for re-enforcing the
message of their 'product'?!)
With English being their second (or third) language, the foursome took great care
in the enunciation of the words in their songs – making it easier for people to hear / understand
/ sing along (clarity of message).
So what else can we learn from ABBA?
Well for a start, they needed a strong and experienced team.
Björn Kristian Ulvaeus and Göran Bror Benny Andersson wrote their first song
together in 1966 and, in 1969 met their fellow band members, Agnetha Åse Fältskog and Anni-Frid
Synni Lyngstad (better known as Frida).
Individually, all four had had seen success:
Björn had sung with the West Bay Singers and then the Hootenanny Singers (one of Sweden's
most popular groups).
In 1964, Benny was 18 when he joined The Hep Stars and the band was seen as Sweden's number one
pop group of the 1960's. In 1969, he left the group and spent time on collaborating with Björn.
Agnetha was 16 when she started singing in a dance band and wrote her first Swedish hit single.
The following years saw several hit singles and albums. She also appeared as Mary Magdalene in
Jesus Christ Superstar.
Frida, born in Norway had signed to EMI when she was 22 after appearing on a talent show on
Swedish television (on that particular night, Sweden changed over from driving on the left of
the road to the right – TV companies put on a series of shows to encourage people to stay at
home and so Frida appeared on the nation’s TV).
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They showed that they could evolve to satisfy the 'customer' need / want – and
re-branded each offering.
In 1970 they foursome put together the folk act Festfolk which proved to be
unsuccessful;
In 1972, playing under the name 'Björn and Benny, Agnetha and Anna-Frid',
they recorded the medium-sized hit (in Sweden) People need Love;
In 1973, they entered the Swedish heats of the Eurovision Song Contest and came
3rd with the song Ring Ring – the single and album proved successful (Ring Ring became a hit in
several European countries);
By 1974, the band had re-named itself as ABBA and they entered the song
Waterloo for the finals held in Brighton, England.
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They had multiple-products
One of the differences between ABBA and many Eurovision winners is that the group
had a back-catalogue of material to back up the initial success. They were able to ensure that
they would not be one-hit wonders – and sell continually to their customer. They already had the
album Ring Ring whilst the album Waterloo (released in March 1974 – one month before their
Eurovision final) also includes Honey, Honey.
They also released albums in 1975, 1976, 1977, 1979, 1980 and 1981 – a regular
sales cycle with singles helping to maintain the frequency of their sales.
Even though the group disbanded in 1982 with Visitors being their last album,
there have been so many compilations, re-issues and live albums that their products are now selling
beyond the life of their own 'business'.
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They were seen as the market-leader
Other Eurovision groups tried to copy the two-boy / two-girl format of ABBA
(Brotherhood of Man and Bucks Fizz leap to mind) but they just couldn't pull it off. ABBA was
always seen as the first and anybody that followed would just be 'copying'.
At the last count, I could find EIGHTY-FOUR ABBA Tribute bands (including Abba
Dabba Doo, Dancing Queens and, of course, Waterloo).
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They had a culture of evolution
Musically, the band had launched their career with glam rock (Waterloo) but also
embraced disco (Voulez-Vous) and were even covered by such bands synthesiser-oriented bands as
Blancmange (The day before you came) and Erasure (Gimme, Gimme, Gimme).
Not just innovating, but also embracing current cultures, ABBA consolidated their
position as a successful global group.
* * *
So what did this culture of strong management, listening to their customers,
satisfying their customers and evolving to accommodate new markets ever do for ABBA?
Well… the success of the Eurovision final led to number one hits in Europe as
well as a top ten hit in America. Between 1974 and 1980, the band had nine UK number ones and
six Australian number ones – although they only had one number one in America ("Dancing Queen").
To date, the greatest hits compilation "ABBA Gold' has sold 26m copies alone.
The stage show "Mamma Mia!" uses ABBA songs to tell a tale of love set on a
Greek island and has been seen by 20m people over four continents. In 2008, the Hollywood movie
of the stage show was released, starring Meryl Streep, Colin Firth, Pierce Brosnan and more:
the brand is being managed to this day.
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And what about the downsides?
Well, during this time, Björn and Agnetha had married each other – and Benny and
Anni-Frid had also married. However, in 1979, Björn and Agnetha announced their divorce (Benny
and Anni-Frid announced their divorce in 1981). The dynamics of the foursome had changed with
Björn and Benny spending time on writing the musical 'Chess' and Agnetha and Anni-Frid trying to
revive their solo careers.
Agnetha was reticent about singing / speaking in English as we increasingly
uncomfortable with the rigours of being in a successful group.
The personal difficulties in the group led to it finally splitting in 1982.
Basically... the management team stopped getting along.
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