MUMBAI: More than three decades after their last album (The Visitors, 1981), Swedish pop super group Abba is in the news again. Their Greatest Hits collection released in 1992 has overtaken greatest hits The Beatles’ iconic Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club band in sales to become the UK’s second biggest selling album of all time.
According to the Official Charts Company, while both albums have sold over 5.1 million copies in the UK, the Swedish band’s 1992 Best Of collection has now nudged ahead of The Beatles’ 1967 album by nearly 15,000 copies.
Abba’s ‘Gold Greatest Hits’ album has spent a total of eight weeks at the top of the UK album charts since its release 21 years ago.
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Unsurprising it contains all of Abba’s nine No 1s including ‘Waterloo’, ‘Mamma Mia’, ‘Fernando’, ‘Dancing Queen’, ‘Knowing Me Knowing You’, ‘The Name Of The Game’, ‘Take A Chance On Me’, ‘The Winner Takes It All’ and ‘Super Trouper’.
An estimated one in five British households owns a copy of either Gold or Sgt Pepper’s.
UK’s rock band Queen’s 1981 Greatest Hits album retains the title of the country’s most popular, with sales of 5.9 million. Adele’s 2011 album, ’21’, and Oasis’ 1995 second album, ‘(What’s the Story) Morning Glory?’ complete the top 5.
Bjorn Ulvaeus, who co-wrote Abba hits including Dancing Queen, Knowing Me Knowing You and The Name Of The Game said: “It feels unreal – outselling the greatest record of all time.”
Coincidentally, the announcement also pairs nicely with ex- Abba singer Agnetha Faltskog’s march to the UK charts- her highest position in her solo career. Her album ‘A’ is set to break into the Top 10.
Also, this year’s Eurovision Song Contest was held in Abba’s homeland-Sweden. The group won Eurovision in 1974 with Waterloo, which became their first number one single in the UK.
2013’s Eurovision has been won by Denmark’s Emmelie de Forest on 18 May before an international TV audience of around 125 million.
