“Our band has such a stupid name”

Björn Ulvaeus of Abba said the world-famous band has “such a stupid name”.

The 79-year-old Swedish musician, who is a founding member of the pop group consisting of Ulvaeus, Agnetha Faltskog, Benny Andersson and Anni-Frid Lyngstad, said they share it with a “very famous herring factory in Sweden”.

Speaking to Gyles Brandreth on the Rosebud podcast, he said: “Since we were quite famous, all famous in Sweden, we made our first records under Agnetha, Benny, Björn and Anni-Frid.

“And the DJs on the radio and everywhere else, in our office, were sick of saying that… as you can imagine.

“So they just shortened it to the initials Abba.

“We had no choice. I thought the name was so stupid. And it is.”

“It’s also the name of a very famous herring factory in Sweden – marinated herring, a big thing in Sweden.

“And we had to ask them for permission to use the name because they had the name.

“And then they said, ‘As long as you don’t start marinating.’

“I thought we should have a cool name, like The Rolling Stones or something like that. The Northern Lights.

“And here we are with Abba.”

With nine number one singles, Abba is the most successful Swedish band of all time in the British charts.

The group gained worldwide fame after winning the Eurovision Song Contest in 1974 with their hit “Waterloo”.

Last month, they were appointed Commander First Class of the prestigious Order of Vasa in Sweden – the first award of this distinction in nearly 50 years.

The Eurovision Song Contest returned to the country in early May, but the band did not reform. Instead, their digital Abba-Tars from the show Abba Voyage were played as interval music on a recording from London during the competition.