The Andersson-Ulvaeus Chronology | Part 2 | 1972-1974

This instalment sees our heroes migrate from their comfortable folk music to international pop fame. Manager Stig Anderson knew the songwriting team was capable of an international hit, and the most direct way to achieve it was to compete at the Eurovision Song Contest (ESC). In Sweden, the ESC contestant was (still is) chosen via a competition called Melodifestivalen. In 1972, the Benny, Björn and Stig composition ’Säj det med en sång’, sung by Lena Anderson came third in Melodifestivalen and became a hit in Sweden. In 1973, the team wrote ’Ring ring (bara du slog en signal)’, this time sung by the foursome yet to be named ABBA. Again, the song came third but was otherwise a hit. For a time, the top three entries on the Swedish charts were ’Ring ring...’, ’Ring Ring’ (English) and ’Ring Ring’ (the album). The song also charted well in Belgium, Austria, South Africa and The Netherlands. The public outcry at the Melodifestivalen’s expert jury’s judgement led to the inclusion of a public vote in future finals. So in 1974, ABBA competed with ’Waterloo’ and thanks to public opinion, won Melodifestivalen. And then they won the other thing. The Andersson-Ulvaeus Chronology | Part 2 | 1972-1974 [29] Anni-Frid Lyngstad / Vi är alla bara barn i början (BA, BU) [30] Lena Andersson / Säj det med en sång (BA, BU, Stig Anderson); Better To Have Loved (BA, BU, Stig Anderson, Wayne Bickerton, Tony Waddington) [31] Lena Andersson / Cecilia (BA, BU, Stig Anderson); Cecilia [English] (BA, BU, Stig Anderson, Wayne Bickerton, Tony Waddington) [32] Björn & Benny / Att finnas till (BA, BU, Stig Anderson) [33] Björn & Benny / Santa Rosa (BA, BU) [34] Björn & Benny / Merry-Go-Round (BA, BU, Stig Anderson); Björn & Benny / En karusell (BA, BU, Stig Anderson) [35] Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Anni-Frid / People Need Love (BA, BU) [36] Lena Andersson / En visa om arton svanar (BA, BU, Cornelis Vreeswijk) [37] Lena Andersson / Barn (BA, BU, Beppe Wolgers) [38] Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Anni-Frid / Åh, vilka tider (BA, BU) [39] Björn & Benny / Love Has Its Ways (BA, BU, Koichi Morita) [40] Björn & Benny / Rock ’n’ Roll Band (BA, BU); Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Anni-Frid / Rock ’n’ Roll Band (BA, BU) [41] Jarl Kulle / Ture Sventon (BA, BU, Stig Anderson) [42] Jarl Kulle / Jag är blott en man (BA, BU, Stig Anderson); Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Anni-Frid / I Am Just A Girl (BA, BU, Stig Anderson) [43] Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Anni-Frid / Another Town, Another Train (BA, BU); Wer im Wartesaal der Liebe steht [German] (BA, BU, Fred Jay) [44] Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Anni-Frid / He Is Your Brother (BA, BU) [45] Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Anni-Frid / Nina, Pretty Ballerina (BA, BU) [46] Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Anni-Frid / Ring Ring (Bara Du Slog En Signal) (BA, BU, Stig Anderson); Ring Ring [English] (BA, BU, Stig Anderson, Neil Sedaka, Phil Cody); Ring Ring [German] (BA, BU, Stig Anderson, Peter Lach); Ring Ring [Spanish] (BA, BU, Stig Anderson, Doris Band) [47] Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Anni-Frid / Me And Bobby And Bobby’s Brother (BA, BU) [48] Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Anni-Frid / Love Isn’t Easy (But It Sure Is Hard Enough) (BA, BU) [49] ABBA / Dance (While The Music Still Goes On) (BA, BU) [50] ABBA / Suzy-Hang-Around (BA, BU) [51] ABBA / My Mama Said (BA, BU) [52] ABBA / What About Livingstone (BA, BU) [53] ABBA / Honey, Honey (BA, BU, Stig Anderson); Honey, Honey [Swedish] (BA, BU, Stig Anderson) [54] ABBA / King Kong Song (BA, BU) [55] ABBA / Gonna Sing You My Lovesong (BA, BU) [56] ABBA / Waterloo (BA, BU, Stig Anderson); Waterloo [Swedish] (BA, BU, Stig Anderson); Waterloo [German] (BA, BU, Stig Anderson, Gerd Müller-Schwanke); Waterloo [French] (BA, BU, Stig Anderson, Alain Boublil) [57] ABBA / Watch Out (BA, BU) [58] ABBA / Hasta Mañana (BA, BU, Stig Anderson); Hasta Mañana [Spanish] (BA, BU, Stig Anderson, Buddy &, Mary McCluskey) [#59] ABBA / Sitting In The Palmtree (BA, BU)