ABBA

The girls in the group first attained fame in Sweden as solo singers; Björn was in The Hootenanny Singers and Benny was with the Hep Stars, who were known as the "Swedish Beatles." In 1972, Björn and Benny released the single "People Need Love," which featured Agnetha and Anni-Frid on backup vocals. This single was credited to "Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Anni-Frid," and was included on ABBA's debut album Ring Ring.

When the band formed, Benny and Anni-Frid were a couple, as were Björn and Agnetha. The band name is their initials as an acronym.

Quickly popular in Europe, ABBA became more famous when "Waterloo" won the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest. The Eurovision stigma held them back for a year, but they followed with a remarkable run of 18 consecutive Top 10 UK singles (eight at #1), and eight #1 albums.