Abba Gold

ABBA are a Swedish pop supergroup formed in Stockholm in 1972 by Agnetha Faltskog, Bjorn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. The group's name is an acronym of the first letters of their first names. They became one of the most commercially successful acts in the history of popular music, topping the charts worldwide from 1974 to 1982. ABBA won the Eurovision Song Contest 1974, giving Sweden its first triumph in the contest. They are the most successful group to have taken part in the competition. Estimates of ABBA's total record sales are over 380 million, making them one of the best-selling music artists of all time.

Japanese exclusive limited edition 39-track 2-disc SHM-CD album set, including the hits "Dancing Queen", "Take A Chance On Me", "Voulez-Vous", "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)" and many more.

The initial Polydor Abba CDs released in 1982 were only available in territories where PolyGram had the Abba licence but this was to change in 1983 as Polar entered the CD market. In reality, Polar’s entry into the CD market masked a simple case of outsourcing as PolyGram were simply asked to press up copies of their Abba titles with Polar catalogue numbers and packaging. While PolyGram would continue to supply their local markets with red coated Polydor CDs, Abba’s other European licencees would be sent the ‘Polar’ CDs.

They may have been released later than the first European Abba CDs but the group’s earliest Japanese CD releases are much rarer and more sought after than even the coveted West German redface Polydor CDs. The six titles released by Abba’s then Japanese licencee, Discomate, in early 1984 [The Visitors and Super Trouper have 1983 copyright dates] remained in circulation for a relatively brief period of time before being supplanted by Polydor’s P33P series three years later. By this time, Discomate had either lost its Abba licence or gone bust, depending on what version of events you believe. In any case, the CDs seem to have sold relatively poorly and are rarely seen for sale within the collector’s market – when they do, they generally fetch astronomical amounts by the standards of Abba CDs.

Here we go again - the ABBA phenomenon refuse to die. Welcome to what can only be described as the latest episode in a continuing success story, starring a group from Sweden whose brilliant music has captivated the world's pop fans for a amazing 25 years.