ABBA blog

Thoughts and observations on the Swedish foursome

10% off ABBA On Record – but what's the book about?

published June 05, 2025

If you're an ABBA fan, most of your fellow fans will tell you that ABBA On Record – which you can currently get at a 10% price reduction – is a pretty much essential purchase. Reviewers like it too: the five-star review in Classic Pop magazine said that the book is "a complete triumph and treasure trove of information that will be devoured by ABBA fans"; the magazine also singled it out as one of the best books of 2024. So all these people think that ABBA On Record is a great volume, but what is it about?

Well, the book traces the story of ABBA's record releases: the stories behind the sleeves, how the singles and albums were promoted by record companies and ABBA themselves, and then what kind of success they found on the charts and how they were reviewed. It's far from a dry, boring story, as the book tells the story of how ABBA were signed to different record labels in the UK, the US and Australia, and the memories that record company staff have of interacting with the ABBA members. In short, the book traces the group's career development, and I, as the author, learned so many new things about ABBA when writing the book.

As if all the above wasn't enough, you also get a recording-sessions style chapter about the making of the Voyage album, including the background stories of all the songs on the album. The book closes with a chapter about The Michael B. Tretow Tapes, which reveals so much about ABBA's studio work during the group's heyday that we didn't know before: alternate lyrics that were tried out for well-known songs, chatter that gives us a glimpse of how the members interacted in the studio, tunes that were tried out and then never heard from again, and more – much more.

So, what are you waiting for? Order your copy right here. Throughout June 2025, you can get it at a 10% price reduction, so there has never been a better time to buy the book.

ABBA On Record book.

ABBA On Record. Published 15 March 2024. English language. 456 pp. Hardback. CMP Text. ISBN: 978-91-519-0980-6 (or 9789151909806).