Maps of Music

ABBA Live (1986)

Where the lyrics of ABBA Live take you, and where it was really made.

Most tracks came from ABBA's November 1979 Wembley Arena concerts, yet the album was released with 80s synth drums overdubbed on most of them.

Key places

Wembley Arena, November 1979 (1979)

Recording site Wembley Arena — Most tracks on this album come from ABBA's concerts at Wembley Arena in London in November 1979. Other tracks came from Australia in 1977 and a 1981 television special. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• ABBA Live: first live album by Swedish pop group ABBA
• Released 18 August 1986 via Polar Music
• First ABBA album released on LP and CD at the same time; the CD had three extra tracks
• Tracks recorded in 1977, 1979 and 1981
• Most tracks from ABBA's concerts at Wembley Arena in London, November 1979
• A few songs from the Australia tour, March 1977
• Also from the Dick Cavett Meets ABBA television special, taped April 1981

Background

• Many ABBA fans had demanded a live album for several years
• ABBA had considered the idea on a couple of occasions but always decided against it
• Released four years after the members went their separate ways
• Band popularity was at an all-time low at the time of release
• None of the members were involved in producing the album
• Most tracks had 80s synth drums overdubbed, removing the true live feeling
• Songs performed live but never on a studio album, such as "I Am an A" and "Get on the Carousel", were not included
• Original live versions of songs from The Girl with the Golden Hair were not included either
• Several tracks were heavily edited; the 1979 "Does Your Mother Know" was cut by as much as five minutes

Recording

• The 1979 "Does Your Mother Know" was originally performed on tour as a medley with "Hole in Your Soul"
• Overdubbed synth drums were added to most tracks in the studio
• Studio additions made the album less live in feel than the original performances

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• ABBA was a Swedish pop group formed in Stockholm in 1972 by Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson and Anni-Frid Lyngstad.
• Their name is an acronym of the members' first names; it was officially adopted in 1973.
• Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson first collaborated as songwriters in 1966 and became hit writers in 1969.
• Stig Anderson, founder of Polar Music, pushed the pair toward international success.

Members

• Agnetha Fältskog and Björn Ulvaeus were married from 1971 to 1980.
• Benny Andersson and Anni-Frid Lyngstad were married from 1978 to 1981.
• Fältskog sang lead and backing vocals; Lyngstad sang lead and backing vocals.
• Ulvaeus played guitar and sang; Andersson played keyboards and sang.

Career

• The group won the Eurovision Song Contest 1974 for Sweden with "Waterloo".
• Hits include "Dancing Queen", "Fernando", "Mamma Mia" and "The Winner Takes It All".
• They disbanded in December 1982 after their final public performance.
• ABBA Gold, released in 1992, became a worldwide best-seller.
• Mamma Mia! the stage musical premiered in 1999 and was adapted into a 2008 film.
• The group reunited in 2016 and released the album Voyage in 2021.
• ABBA Voyage, a concert residency with digital avatars, opened in London in May 2022.
• In 2024 all four members were appointed Commanders, First Class, of the Royal Order of Vasa.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Billboard reviewed the album favorably, describing it as essentially a greatest-hits package
• Cash Box called it a mostly satisfying posthumous collection of live performances
• Much of the release was criticized by music critics and ABBA fans over the 80s synth drum overdubs

Reappraisal

• The album did not perform well internationally or domestically
• The overdubs were seen as taking away the true live feeling of the performances

Records

• Peaked at number 49 in Sweden
• Stayed in the charts for only two weeks
• Remastered and rereleased by Polydor/Polar in 1997
• Currently out of print

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• ABBA Live was the first ABBA album released on LP and CD at the same time, and the CD carried three extra tracks.
• The 1979 live "Does Your Mother Know" was cut by as much as five minutes in editing.
• The album left out songs the band had played live on tour but never put on a studio album.
• The 1979 version of "Does Your Mother Know" had originally been performed as a medley with "Hole in Your Soul".

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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