ABBA

ABBA was a Swedish pop group formed in Stockholm in 1972, comprising Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. ABBA is an acronym of the first letters of the band members' first names and is sometimes stylized as the registered trademark ᗅᗺᗷᗅ. The band became one of the most commercially successful acts in the history of popular music, topping the charts worldwide from 1975 to 1982 when the band split. It also won the Eurovision Song Contest 1974, giving Sweden its first triumph in the history of the contest and being the most successful group ever to take part in the competition. ABBA has sold over 380 million albums and singles worldwide, which makes it one of the best-selling music artists of all time, and the second best-selling music group of all time. ABBA was the first group to come from a non-English-speaking country that enjoyed consistent success in the charts of English-speaking countries, including the UK, Ireland, the U.S., Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. The group also enjoyed significant success in Latin American markets, and recorded a collection of their hit songs in Spanish.

Links To Peel
On the A For ABBA TV documentary, which Peel presented in 1993, he introduced a tribute to the group:

"In the 1970s, when I should have been humming Pink Floyd b-sides, I caught myself humming ABBA singles. Now, when I should be humming Nirvana b-sides, I catch myself humming ABBA singles"

While a fan of the group, Peel admitted on his 16 October 2001 show that he never played any ABBA songs on his show, but did mention that he had a copy of ABBA songs in Hindi by Salma & Sabina, which he played predominantly in the 90's. Peel also mentioned on the same show that he had a version of Dancin' Queen by Cheeze on a single, which on 08 March 1992 he thought was better than the original. The Cheeze record was kept as part of John Peel's Record Box. Only one copy of ABBA's record, the album, Voulez-Vous was kept in his Record Collection: A, but nonetheless Peel did play many ABBA cover versions by artists on his show.

Shows Played
1983 1993 1996
 * 05 May 1983 (TOTP): Waterloo (clip from 02 May 1974)
 * A For ABBA: Many songs
 * Punk Fiction: Mamma Mia