It may have been almost 40 years since their last single, but ABBA are now back on the charts with two new songs – I Still Have Faith in Yo...
It may have been almost 40 years since their last single, but ABBA are now back on the charts with two new songs – I Still Have Faith in You and Don’t Shut Me Down. The new songs form part of a ten-track album that will be released in November.
The band went on what they called a “short break” at the end of 1982. But despite the amount of time it has taken the group to release new songs, ABBA is more popular than ever, largely due to the success of the compilation Abba Gold (1992) and the Mamma Mia! films (2008, 2018). The numbers speak for themselves – ABBA has sold around 400 million records worldwide, with Abba Gold spending more time in the top 100 charts than any other album. So what is behind ABBA’s staying power?
My ongoing PhD research looks at ABBA fandom in the 21st-century, specifically ABBA’s long-term fans. I look beyond typical media or even academic portrayals that present them as a monolithic tribe, or pathologise them as obsessive, crazy youths. I focus on the differing yet bonded make-up of ABBA fans and explore how their fandom can be understood as a mutually affectionate relationship between band and fan.
Indeed, ABBA’s most devoted fans have helped...
