The Story of ABBA

Melancholy Undercover

By: Jan Gradvall

Narrated by: Ian Hallard

Through exclusive interviews and over a decade of deep research, renowned music journalist Jan Gradvall explores the secrets to ABBA’s success.

There has never been a group like ABBA. More than half a century after their songs were recorded, ABBA still make people the world over dance and sing their hearts out. In 2013, when the band had not been interviewed for over thirty years, Jan Gradvall was granted unique access to them for the next decade and the result is The Story of ABBA: Melancholy Undercover. Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad all share their personal stories, their thoughts and their opinions about ABBA’s music more openly than ever before. Weaving in and out of their story, well-known international music critic Jan Gradvall reveals the context in which their unique sound developed and shows how the story of ABBA is also the story of Sweden and the globalization of pop culture.

From their earliest hits in Sweden like “People Need Love” and “Ring, Ring” to their chart-topping international hits like “Dancing Queen,” “Gimme, Gimme, Gimme” and “Mama Mia!” to ABBA Voyage—their first album in forty years—and the two-million-ticket-selling eponymous concert-experience in London, it is undeniable that, in the history of pop culture and music, there has never been a group like ABBA. With remarkable intimacy, Gradvall’s sensational audiobook brings listeners closer than ever to one of the world’s most notoriously private groups.

A Macmillan Audio production from St. Martin’s Press.

Critic reviews

“Writing perfection on musical perfection: book heaven.” - Caitlin Moran, New York Times bestselling author of How to Be a Woman

“There are very few artists who are both extraordinarily successful and culturally important. ABBA were both and only Jann Gradvall - as the most respected of Swedish critics - could tell their story of sex, drugs and pop and roll with the gravitas their incomparable songs deserve.” - Merck Mercuriadis, Founder, Hipgnosis Songs

“Almost as miraculous as the songs it exists to celebrate." - Pete Paphides, journalist for The Times (London) and author of Broken Greek: A Story of Chip Shops and Pop Songs

“Gradvall, a well-known Swedish critic, has got more out of ABBA than most British journalists ever did…The context this book provides makes ABBA’s success seem even more extraordinary…it’s hard to imagine even the most obsessive fan leaving The Story of ABBA: Melancholy Undercover without discovering something new." - The Guardian

“A masterpiece of music journalism.” – The Scottish Herald

A book of minutia

I picked up this book hoping to learn about ABBA’s music and what made them such a phenomenon. Instead, I got random tangents about everything from the Swedish krona to some heart surgeon who listens to ABBA. It felt like the author went down every possible rabbit hole with obscure facts rather than diving into what actually matters - their hit songs and why they resonated with so many people. If you’re looking for insights into ABBA’s music, you might want to skip this one.