Craig Halstead & Chris Cadman

So far as most people are concerned, ABBA burst on the music scene in 1974, when they swept to victory in the Eurovision Song Contest with Waterloo.

It is true, prior to Eurovision, the Scandinavian quartet was largely unknown internationally – in fact, they hadn’t officially used the name ‘ABBA’ before. But it is equally true Björn, Benny, Agnetha & Frida (as the group was billed on their early releases) were not an overnight sensation. All four members had tasted success – as a group and separately – before they started recording together as ABBA.

Numerous books have been written over the years, telling the ABBA story – but this book is different. This book focuses on the songs – the ‘Gold Hits’ as we have called them, and details Björn, Benny, Agnetha & Frida’s chart successes on six continents, in no less than 22 countries.

Published:

First published May 2005

Craig Halstead

Before they won the Eurovision Song Contest in April 1974, few people outside Scandinavia had heard of ABBA – indeed, before Waterloo, the quartet were credited as ‘Björn Benny & Agnetha Frida’ on the few singles they released and on their debut album, as the name ABBA hadn’t been coined.

Björn, Benny, Agnetha and Frida were all successful musicians in their own right, before they formed a group together, and they continued to enjoy success after ABBA ceased to exist, and the quartet went their separate ways. Incredibly, the four members of ABBA have scored more than a hundred Top 40 singles and eighty Top 40 albums between them over the years, if their pre-ABBA and post-ABBA recordings are taken into account.

For the purposes of this book, to qualify as a Top 40 hit, a single or album must have entered the Top 40 singles/albums chart in at least one of nineteen featured countries: Australia, Austria, Belgium (Wallonia), Canada, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland (singles only), Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, the United States and Zimbabwe.

The Top 40 singles and albums are detailed chronologically, according to the date they first entered the chart in one or more of the featured countries. Each Top 40 single and album is illustrated and the catalogue numbers and release dates are detailed, for both Sweden and the UK, followed by the chart runs in each featured country, including any chart re-entries. Where full chart runs are unavailable, peak position and weeks on the chart are given.

For both singles and albums, the main listing is followed by ‘The Almost Top 40 Singles/Albums’, which gives an honorable mention to ABBA and ABBA-related singles/albums that peaked between no.41 and no.50 in one or more countries. There is also a points-based list of the Top 40 ABBA and ABBA-related Singles and Albums, plus a fascinating ‘Trivia’ section at the end of each section which looks at the most successful ABBA and ABBA-related singles and albums in each of the featured countries.

Published:

First published 11 March 2014

Updated 2022

Craig Halstead

Before they won the Eurovision Song Contest in April 1974, few people outside Scandinavia had heard of ABBA – indeed, before Waterloo, the quartet were credited as ‘Björn Benny & Agnetha Frida’ on the few singles they released and on their debut album, as the name ABBA hadn’t been coined.

Björn, Benny, Agnetha and Frida were all successful musicians in their own right, before they formed a group together, and they continued to enjoy success after ABBA ceased to exist, and the quartet went their separate ways. Incredibly, the four members of ABBA have scored more than a hundred Top 40 singles and over eighty Top 40 albums between them over the years, if their pre-ABBA and post-ABBA recordings are taken into account.

For the purposes of this book, to qualify as a Top 40 hit, a single or album must have entered the Top 40 singles/albums chart in at least one of nineteen featured countries: Australia, Austria, Belgium (Wallonia), Canada, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland (singles only), Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, the United States and Zimbabwe. The Top 40 singles and albums are detailed chronologically, according to the date they first entered the chart in one or more of the featured countries. Each Top 40 single and album is illustrated and the catalogue numbers and release dates are detailed, for both Sweden and the UK, followed by the chart runs in each featured country, including any chart re-entries. Where full chart runs are unavailable, peak position and weeks on the chart are given.

For both singles and albums, the main listing is followed by ‘The Almost Top 40 Singles/Albums’, which gives an honorable mention to ABBA and ABBA-related singles/albums that peaked between no.41 and no.50 in one or more countries. There is also a points-based list of the Top 40 ABBA and ABBA-related Singles and Albums, plus a fascinating ‘Trivia’ section at the end of each section which looks at the most successful ABBA and ABBA-related singles and albums in each of the featured countries.

Released:

First published 11 marches 2024

Updated March 2025