ABBA Concert History

ABBA is a Swedish pop group formed in Stockholm in 1972 by Agnetha Fältskog, Björn 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 at The Dome in Brighton, UK, giving Sweden its first triumph in the contest. They are the most successful group to have taken part in the competition.

Date Concert Venue Location
Jan 09, 1979
The Music for UNICEF Concert 1979
Olivia Newton-John / Donna Summer / Kris Kristofferson / Rita Coolidge / ABBA / john denver / Andy Gibb
  Setlists
United Nations General Assembly New York, New York, United States
Mar 12, 1977
ABBA
  Setlists
Perth Entertainment Centre Perth, Western Australia, Australia
Mar 11, 1977
ABBA
  Setlists
Perth Entertainment Centre Perth, Western Australia, Australia
Mar 10, 1977
ABBA
  Setlists
Perth Entertainment Centre Perth, Western Australia, Australia
Mar 08, 1977
ABBA
  Photos   Setlists
Westlake Stadium Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
Mar 06, 1977
ABBA
  Setlists
Sidney Myer Music Bowl Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Mar 05, 1977
ABBA
  Setlists
Sidney Myer Music Bowl Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Mar 04, 1977
ABBA
  Setlists
Showgrounds Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Mar 03, 1977
ABBA
  Setlists
Showgrounds Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Feb 14, 1977
ABBA
  Setlists
Royal Albert Hall London, England, United Kingdom
Feb 12, 1977
ABBA
  Setlists
The Glasgow Apollo Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom
Feb 11, 1977
ABBA
  Setlists
Free Trade Hall Manchester, England, United Kingdom
Feb 10, 1977
ABBA
  Setlists
Odeon Birmingham Birmingham, England, United Kingdom
Feb 08, 1977
ABBA
  Setlists
CCH Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
Feb 07, 1977
ABBA
  Setlists
Eilenriedehalle Hanover, Lower Saxony, Germany
Feb 06, 1977
ABBA
  Setlists
Grugahalle Essen Essen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany
Feb 05, 1977
ABBA
  Setlists
Arenahall Antwerp, Flanders, Belgium
Feb 04, 1977
ABBA
  Setlists
Jaap Edenhal Amsterdam, North Holland, Netherlands
Feb 03, 1977
ABBA
  Setlists
Sporthalle Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany
Feb 02, 1977
ABBA
  Setlists
Deutschlandhalle Berlin, Berlin, Germany

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ABBA on Mar 8, 1977 [725-small]

ABBA
Mar 8, 1977
 Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
  Uploaded by Zimtrim

Rory Gallagher / Electric Flag / Senstational Alex Harvey Band / ABBA on Aug 5, 1974 [771-small]

Rory Gallagher / Electric Flag / Senstational Alex Harvey Band / ABBA
Aug 5, 1974
 West Hollywood, California, United States
  Uploaded by Zimtrim

ABBA on Aug 13, 2023 [658-small]

ABBA
Aug 13, 2023
 Stratford
  Uploaded by Paul Kingham

ABBA on Aug 6, 2023 [503-small]

ABBA
Aug 6, 2023
 Stratford-upon-Avon, England, United Kingdom
  Uploaded by Emily Smith

ABBA on Jul 24, 2023 [765-small]

ABBA
Jul 24, 2023
 London, England, United Kingdom
  Uploaded by Teheerintehe

ABBA on Aug 4, 2022 [410-small]

ABBA
Aug 4, 2022
 London, England, United Kingdom
  Uploaded by Beck⭐️

ABBA on Aug 4, 2022 [409-small]

ABBA
Aug 4, 2022
 London, England, United Kingdom
  Uploaded by Beck⭐️

ABBA on Aug 4, 2022 [403-small]

ABBA
Aug 4, 2022
 London, England, United Kingdom
  Uploaded by Beck⭐️

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2034 1 concert
2025 2 concerts
2024 13 concerts
2023 25 concerts
2022 43 concerts
2018 1 concert
1980 11 concerts
1979 42 concerts
1977 24 concerts
1975 21 concerts
1974 12 concerts
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Ricky Racer Feb 18, 2023

I was a 15 to 18 year old in the mid-‘70’s, so I understand why many people mistakenly think ABBA dominated US airwaves when actually, they didn’t as they only scored 1 #1 hit here. The primary reasons for that were:

1. The band focused too heavily on the European audience as it was their "Backyard" so-to-speak and didn't require much effort to reach given they lived there and were primarily an 8 to 10 member highly engineered Studio band, not a performance band.

2A. In the mid to late '70s, for a band really to conquer the US, they were expected to tour as live concerts created additional buzz / attention with both new / existing fans and the local media in the towns played. Additionally, here in the US, live concerts were a powerful driving force behind album sales. Whether as the Headliner or an Opener for other bands, groups of the time, for example: Aerosmith, Boston, REO, Styx, The Who, Rolling Stones, RUSH, KISS and etc toured heavily to connect with fans, promote their albums, drive sales, get even more radio airplay and in turn, stay relevant. ABBA didn't value touring though and instead remained primarily a European studio band with easy reach to the Euro market.

2B. ABBA, by miscalculating the touring work necessary to take on music's most significant and largest market (the USA) and by being stubbornly unwilling to be an Opening Act for other bands in it, meant the group would continue to stay primarily a European based Studio Band. Even in Europe, the band remained timid resulting in only about 250k people seeing them on the first tour in 1977.

3A. During the last half of the '70s, the songs released by ABBA fit better into the "Dance Band" and Disco categories rather than their previously established mainstream Pop genre. But, in 1978 with Disco and Dance oriented music's popularity fading fast and New Age bands like The Cars, Blondie and The Knack commanding attention, ABBA lost even more traction with mainstream audiences.

3B. By the time ABBA came to the USA in 1979 for a six month tour, the band's relevance and popularity were in steep decline. The six month toured consisted of just 15 shows, not near enough to hold onto their fans given the evolving music scene at hand. Since other popular bands of the time typically did 2 to 3 concerts each week, a typical music fan was more likely to see them than catch an ABBA show. As the saying goes, it was too little, too late and ABBA headed back home to Europe again without ever capitalizing on the North American market.

4A. As 1980 drew close, by staying a Euro band and sticking with their traditional sugary based, soft sounds and dance themed music style and combined with their unwillingness to properly tour, ABBA's time in the spotlight was practically over. Like many of the Soft Rock bands of the '70s, the rise and phenomenal popularity of louder, harder-n-faster, guitar driven, Glam, Hair and Metal bands such as: Poison, Van Halen, Def Leppard, Cheap Trick and AC/DC took control and dominated the music scene in terms of widespread appeal, radio airplay, fans, sales, concert tickets, merch and overall revenues.

4B. Those bands were fueled by their dedicated fans through constant touring and powered like a rocket by MTV. In reality, these bands slammed the door shut for good on the '70s era of ABBA oriented, Soft Rock, Dance and Disco music. By 1981, ABBA was on life support and the following year, 1982, ABBA broke up, disbanded completely and began a slow fade as they coasted then aged out of contemporary musical relevance. Of particular note is the fact that many of the Glam, Hair, Metal and Hard Rock bands that replaced ABBA are still on the radio, have huge fan bases spanning decades, and continue to tour 40 years later here in 2023.

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