It’s hard to believe it’s been 50 years since ABBA won the Eurovision Song Contest.
The Swedish pop group formed in Stockholm back in 1972 by Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. It was two years later, in 1974, that they were crowned Sweden’s first winner of the competition, as their hit song “Waterloo” saw them take home the gong.
But, even though we’ve been singing their hits for years, the group’s name is actually pretty clever, as it’s an acronym of the first letters of the members names, arranged as a palindrome. This is when a word, number, phrase or other types of symbols read the same backwards and forwards.
Due to their epic catalogue of hits, it’s no surprise that ABBA are one of the most successful pop groups of all time. Consisting of two married couples – Fältskog and Ulvaeus and Lyngstad and Andersson – the quartet took the world by storm until their relationships came to an end.
People have only recently just been discovering how quirky the group’s name is after “rare” footage of the four emerged online. A video was shared on TikTok which showed the members discussing just how the unusual name came about.
In the clip, all four are seen explaining which order they actually come in the acronym – ABBA. Anni-Frid, who is the last “A”, also explained they all met due to their shared interest in music.
She also said it was because the boys fell “madly in love” with the girls. Sadly, as their popularity rocketed, their personal lives suffered.
This led to both relationships ending, and this was reflected in their later music. They eventually called things a day as a group back in 1982, but Andersson and Ulvaeus continued to write music for stage shows, musicals and films.
Even though they stopped making music as a group, their hits are still loved across the world today, with the recent ABBA Voyage Tour showing just how much their art is still cherished.
Since the clip was shared, it’s been viewed thousands of times. People have been blown away by the intelligence of the name – it’s hard to believe just how much thought when into it when you think about it.
One person said: “Yes, and it’s so cool how they do the backwards B.” Another admitted they knew the mystery behind the name, writing: “I did.”
ABBA Disco Wonderland, who shared the video, replied: “As a true fan should.” And, while many top fans may have known all about it, the story still surprises some people.
After all, it’s a pretty interesting name when you start to unpick the logic behind it. As well as providing us with songs to dance to for years to come, the pop stars also taught us just how clever language can be.
The fact continues to stun people, even five decades on from the band’s debut.
