As the leader of Genesis in the early '70s, Peter Gabriel helped move progressive rock to new levels of theatricality. In his solo career, Gabriel was no less ambitious, but he was more subtle in his methods. With his first eponymous solo album in 1977, he began exploring darker, more cerebral territory, incorporating avant-garde, electronic, and worldbeat influences into his music. The record, as well as its two similarly titled successors, established Gabriel as a critically acclaimed cult artist, and with 1982's Security, he began to move into the mainstream; "Shock the Monkey" became his first Top 40 hit, paving the way for his multi-platinum breakthrough So in 1986. Accompanied by a series of groundbreaking videos and the number one single "Sledgehammer," So became a multi-platinum hit, and Gabriel became an international star. Instead of capitalizing on his sudden success, he began to explore other interests, including recording soundtracks and running his company Real World. By the time he returned to pop with 1992's Us, his mass audience had faded away and he spent the remainder of the '90s working on multimedia projects for Real World.

Following his departure from Genesis in 1976, Peter Gabriel began work on the first of three consecutive eponymously titled albums; each record was named Peter Gabriel, he said, as if they were editions of the same magazine. In 1977, his first solo album appeared and became a moderate success due to the single "Solsbury Hill." Another self-titled record followed in 1978, yet received comparatively weaker reviews. Gabriel's third eponymous album was his artistic breakthrough. Produced by Steve Lillywhite and released in 1980, the album established Gabriel as one of rock's most ambitious, innovative musicians, as well as one of its most political -- "Biko," a song about a murdered antiapartheid activist, became one of the biggest protest anthems of the '80s. "Games Without Frontiers," with its eerie chorus, nearly reached the Top 40.

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In 1982, Gabriel released Security, which was an even bigger success, earning positive reviews and going gold on the strength of the startling video for "Shock the Monkey." Just as his solo career was taking off, Gabriel participated in a one-shot Genesis reunion in order to finance his WOMAD -- World of Music, Arts and Dance -- Festival. WOMAD was designed to bring various world musics and customs to a Western audience, and it soon turned into an annual event, and a live double album was released that year to commemorate the event. As Gabriel worked on his fifth album, he contributed the soundtrack to Alan Parker's 1984 film Birdy. His score was highly praised and it won the Grand Jury Prize at Cannes that year. After founding Real World, Inc. -- a corporation devoted to developing bridges between technology and multiethnic arts -- in 1985, he completed his fifth album, So.

Released in 1986, So became Gabriel's commercial breakthrough, largely because his Stax homage "Sledgehammer" was blessed with an innovative video that combined stop-action animation with live action. So climbed to number two as "Sledgehammer" hit number one, with "Big Time" -- featuring a video very similar to "Sledgehammer" -- reaching the Top Ten and "In Your Eyes" hitting the Top 30. As So was riding high on the American and British charts, Gabriel co-headlined the first benefit tour for Amnesty International in 1986 with Sting and U2. Another Amnesty International Tour followed in 1988, and the following year, Gabriel released Passion: Music for The Last Temptation of Christ, a collection of instrumentals used in Martin Scorsese's film. Passion was the furthest Gabriel delved into worldbeat, and the album was widely acclaimed, winning the Grammy Award in 1989 for Best New Age Performance. In 1990, he released the hits compilation Shaking the Tree.

Gabriel labored long on the pop-music follow-up to So, finally releasing Us in the spring of 1992. During the recording of Us, Gabriel went through a number of personal upheavals, including a painful divorce, and those tensions manifested themselves on Us, a much darker record than So. For various reasons, not the least of which was the fact that it was released six years after its predecessor, Us wasn't as commercially successful as So, despite positive reviews. Only one single, the "Sledgehammer" knockoff "Steam," reached the Top 40, and the album stalled at platinum sales. In 1993, Gabriel embarked on the most ambitious WOMAD tour to date, touring the United States with a roster including Crowded House, James, and Sinéad O'Connor, with whom he had an on-off romantic relationship. The following year, he released the double-disc Secret World Live, which went gold. Later in 1994, he released the CD-ROM Xplora, one of many projects he developed with Real World. For the next three years, Gabriel concentrated on developing more multimedia projects for the company.

Peter Gabriels lastest album Up (2002) was his first studio album in a decade and has since released and new material. However, Peter has released a cover album entitled Scratch My Back in 2010 which featured songs by David Bowie, Lou Reed, Arcade Fire, Radiohead and Neil Young done in the style of the great man himself. 

artistdirect.com 

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Through a combination of zealous righteousness and post-punk experimentalism, U2 became one of the most popular rock & roll bands of the '80s. They were rock & roll crusaders during an era of synthesized pop and heavy metal, equally known for their sweeping sound as for their grandiose statements about politics and religion. The Edge provided the group with a signature sound by creating sweeping sonic landscapes with his heavily processed, echoed guitars. Though The Edge's style wasn't conventional, the rhythm section of Larry Mullen, Jr. and Adam Clayton played the songs as driving hard rock, giving the band a forceful, powerful edge that was designed for arenas. And their lead singer, Bono, was a frontman with a knack of grand gestures that played better in stadiums than small clubs. It's no accident that footage of Bono parading with a white flag with "Sunday Bloody Sunday" blaring in the background became the defining moment of U2's early career -- there rarely was a band that believed so deeply in rock's potential for revolution as U2, and there rarely was a band that didn't care if they appeared foolish in the process.

During the course of the early '80s, the group quickly built up a dedicated following through constant touring and a string of acclaimed records. By 1987, the band's following had grown large enough to propel them to the level of international superstardom with the release of The Joshua Tree. Unlike many of their contemporaries, U2 were able to sustain such popularity in the '90s by reinventing themselves as a postmodern, self-consciously ironic, dance-inflected pop/rock act, owing equally to the experimentalism of late-'70s Bowie and '90s electronic dance and techno. By performing such a successful reinvention, the band confirmed its status as one of the most popular bands in rock history, in addition to earning additional critical respect.

With its textured guitars, U2's sound was undeniably indebted to post-punk, so it's slightly ironic that the band formed in 1976, before punk had even reached their hometown of Dublin, Ireland. Larry Mullen, Jr. (born October 31, 1961; drums), posted a notice on a high-school bulletin board asking for fellow musicians to form a band. Bono (born Paul Hewson, May 10, 1960; vocals), The Edge (born David Evans, August 8, 1961; guitar, keyboards, vocals), Adam Clayton (born March 13, 1960; bass), and Dick Evans responded to the ad, and the teenagers banded together as Beatles and Stones cover band called the Feedback. They then changed their name to The Hype in 1977. Shortly afterward, Dick Evans left the band to form the Virgin Prunes, and the group changed names once again, this time adopting the moniker of U2.

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U2's first big break arrived in 1978, during the members' final year of high school, when they won a talent contest sponsored by Guinness. By the end of the year, The Stranglers' manager, Paul McGuinness, had seen the band play and offered to manage them. Even with a powerful manager in their corner, the band had trouble making much headway, and they failed an audition with CBS Records at the end of the year. In the fall of 1979, U2 released their debut EP, U2 Three. The EP was available only in Ireland, where it topped the national charts. Shortly afterward, they began to play in England, but they failed to gain much attention away from home.

U2 scored one more chart-topping single, "Another Day," in early 1980 before Island Records offered the group a contract. Later that year, the band's full-length debut, Boy, was released. Produced by Steve Lillywhite, the record's sweeping, atmospheric but edgy sound was unlike most of its post-punk contemporaries, and the band earned further attention for its public embrace of Christianity; only Clayton was not a practicing Christian. Through constant touring, including opening gigs for Talking Heads, U2 was able to take Boy into the American Top 70 in early 1981. October, also produced by Lillywhite, followed in the fall, and it became their British breakthrough, reaching number 11 on the charts. By early 1983, Boy's "I Will Follow" and October's "Gloria" had become staples on MTV, which, along with their touring, gave the group a formidable cult following in the U.S.

Released in the spring of 1983, the Lillywhite-produced War became U2's breakthrough release, entering the U.K. charts at number one and elevating them into arenas in the United States, where the album peaked at number 12. War had a stronger political message than its predecessors, as evidenced by the international hits "Sunday Bloody Sunday" and "New Year's Day." During the supporting tour, the band filmed its concert at Colorado's Red Rocks Amphitheater, releasing the show as an EP and video titled Under a Blood Red Sky. The EP entered in the U.K. charts at number two, becoming the most successful live recording in British history. U2 had become one of the most popular bands in the world, and their righteous political stance soon became replicated by many other bands, providing the impetus for the Band Aid and Live Aid projects in 1984 and 1985, respectively.

For the follow-up to War, U2 entered the studios with co-producers Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois, who helped give the resulting album an experimental, atmospheric tone. Released in the fall of 1984, The Unforgettable Fire replicated the chart status of War, entering the U.K. charts at number one and reaching number 12 in the U.S. The album also generated the group's first Top 40 hit in America with "(Pride) In the Name of Love," a tribute to Martin Luther King, Jr. U2 supported the album with a successful international tour, highlighted by a show-stealing performance at Live Aid. Following the tour, the band released the live EP Wide Awake in America in 1985.

While U2 had become one of the most successful rock bands of the '80s, they didn't truly become superstars until the spring 1987 release of The Joshua Tree. Greeted with enthusiastic reviews, many of which proclaimed the album a masterpiece, The Joshua Tree became the band's first American number one hit and their third straight album to enter the U.K. charts at number one; in England, it set a record by going platinum within 28 hours. Generating the U.S. number one hits "With or Without You" and "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For," The Joshua Tree and the group's supporting tour became the biggest success story of 1987, earning U2 the cover of respected publications like Time magazine. U2 decided to film a documentary about their American tour, recording new material along the way. The project became Rattle & Hum, a film that was supported by a double-album soundtrack that was divided between live tracks and new material. While the album Rattle & Hum was a hit, the record and film received the weakest reviews of U2's career, with many critics taking issue with the group's fascination with American roots music like blues, soul, country, and folk. Following the release of Rattle & Hum, the band took an extended hiatus.

U2 reconvened in Berlin in 1990 to record a new album with Eno and Lanois. While the sessions for the album were difficult, the resulting record, Achtung Baby, represented a successful reinvention of the band's trademark sound. Where they had been inspired by post-punk in the early career and American music during their mid-career, U2 delved into electronic and dance music with Achtung Baby. Inspired equally by late-'70s Bowie and the Madchester scene in the U.K., Achtung Baby was sonically more eclectic and adventurous than U2's earlier work, and it didn't alienate their core audience. The album debuted at number one throughout the world and spawned Top Ten hits with "Mysterious Ways" and "One."

Early in 1992, the group launched an elaborate tour to support Achtung Baby. Dubbed Zoo TV, the tour was an innovative blend of multimedia electronics, featuring a stage filled with televisions, suspended cars, and cellular phones. Bono devised an alter ego called The Fly, which was a knowing send-up of rock stardom. Even under the ironic guise of The Fly and Zoo TV, it was evident that U2 were looser and more fun than ever before, even though they had not abandoned their trademark righteous political anger. Following the completion of the American Zoo TV tour in late 1992 and preceding the launch of the tour's European leg, U2 entered the studio to complete an EP of new material that soon became the full-length Zooropa. Released in the summer of 1993 to coincide with the tour of the same name, Zooropa demonstrated a heavier techno and dance influence than Achtung Baby and received strong reviews. Nevertheless, the album stalled at sales of two million and failed to generate a big hit single. During the subsequent Zooropa tour, The Fly metamorphosed into the demonic MacPhisto, which dominated the remainder of the tour. Upon the completion of the Zooropa tour in late 1993, the band took another extended break.

During 1995, U2 re-emerged with "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me," a glam rock theme to Batman Forever that was produced by Nellee Hooper (Björk, Soul II Soul). Later that year, they recorded the collaborative album Original Soundtracks, Vol. 1 with Brian Eno, releasing the record under the name The Passengers late in 1995. It was greeted with a muted reception, both critically and commercially. Many hardcore U2 fans (including drummer Larry Mullen, Jr.) were unhappy with The Passengers project, and U2 promised their next album, to be released in the fall of 1996, would be a rock & roll record.

The album took longer to complete than usual, ultimately being pushed back to the spring of 1997. During its delay, a few tracks, including the forthcoming first single "Discotheque," were leaked, and it became clear that the new album was going to be heavily influenced by techno, dance, and electronic music. When it was finally released, Pop did indeed bear a heavier dance influence, but it was greeted with strong initial sales and a few positive reviews. Demand for the album lessened in the following months, however, and Pop ultimately became the band's least popular album in over a decade. In late 1998, the group returned with Best of 1980-1990, the first in a series of hits collections issued in conjunction with a reported 50 million dollar agreement with Polygram. Included in the comprehensive track list was a remixed version of "Sweetest Thing," originally released as B-side in 1987, which charted well in multiple countries.

Three years after the mediocre response to Pop, U2 teamed up with Eno and Lanois once again to release All That You Can't Leave Behind in fall 2000. The album was heralded as a return to form, melding the band's classic sound with contemporary trends. It topped charts around the world, reached number three in America, earned Grammy Awards for the singles "Beautiful Day" and "Walk On," and became the band's biggest-selling record in years. (The Elevation tour that followed also brought U2 a hefty paycheck.) Steve Lillywhite, producer of the early-'80s landmarks Boy, October, and War, returned to the helm for U2's next record, How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb. Released in November 2004, it hit the top of the Billboard charts and quickly gained platinum status. The album also garnered eight Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year, Rock Album of the Year, and Song of the Year (for "Sometimes You Can't Make It on Your Own," which Bono had written for his father). U2 were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in early 2005 and launched an international tour soon after, selling out arena venues in the U.S. and outdoor stadium shows abroad. The Vertigo Tour became the highest-grossing tour of 2005; by the time the entire tour concluded in late 2006, its gross of $389 million had made it the second most successful tour ever.

U2 returned to the drawing board in 2006 by partnering with veteran rock producer Rick Rubin. Two songs from those sessions appeared on the compilation U218 Singles, but the remaining material was ultimately scrapped. The band then turned to longtime friends Brian Eno, Daniel Lanois, and Steve Lillywhite, all of whom helped shape the sound of U2's 12th studio effort. Entitled No Line on the Horizon, the album was originally slated to appear in October 2008, although the release date was ultimately pushed back to March 2009.

U2 started their 360 tour in June 2009 were they performed in the middle of arenas and stadiums so fans could get a new experience when seeing them live. They were also scheduled to perform at the 40th Glastonbury festival but Bono injured his back forcing them to pull out of their headline slot as well as many dates in North America.

Albums: 

Sources: artistdirect.com

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The band from Scotland and Northern Ireland formed in 1994 released three records before obtaining mainstream success with 'Final Straw'. Since the band was influenced by the likes of U2 and Coldplay, Snow Patrol has now created their own style of music that many people in the UK and America enjoy. Snow Patrol is now a household name and are one of the biggest bands of the noughties.

Originally formed in 1994 by Gary Lightbody (lead vocals, guitar, piano), Michael Morrison (drums) and Mark McCelland (bass guitar, backing vocals) called themselves The Shrug until they found out their was an another The Shrug in America. The band settled on calling themselves Polar Bear and creating their debut album 'Songs for Polar Bears'. After Michael Morrison left the band and the conflict between Jane’s Addiction bassist Eric Avery because his part time band was also called Polar Bear, they appointed the name that would stick, Snow Patrol. After appointing Johnny Quinn as their new drummer, Snow Patrol signed for Jeepster in 1997 and released two more albums. They were applauded by critics but unfortunately were a chart flop.

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Jeepster dropped Snow Patrol from their label in 2001 as the relationship soured between the two parties. After asking Nathan Connolly (lead guitar, backing vocals) to join the band, signing a record deal with Frition and working with producer Garrett ‘Jacknife’ Lee, the band secured their first number one album in the shape of ‘Final Straw’ in 2003. Their first top five hit also was supplied by this album called ‘Run’. After the success of the record, Mark McClelland departed Snow Patrol as he could not cope with the pressure of being a member of a successful band. Paul Wilson took his place. Full time keyboardist Tom Simpson also became an official member of the band.

After touring with U2, the band took a break to write their new album which would later become their biggest record to date ‘Eyes Open’ with £1.6 million in sales. They released the album in 2006 with their first single ‘You’re All I Have’ being a reasonable hit. The band however, was later pushed by their fans to release ‘Chasing Cars’ due to early download sales. The single remained in the top 75 for an astounding 90 weeks and was voted best song of all time in 2006 by Virgin radio listeners. Other singles included the notable ‘Set The Fire To The Third Bar’ featuring Martha Wainwright and ‘Open Your Eyes’. 2007 saw Snow Patrol writing ‘Signal Fire’, which became the official song for the film Spiderman 3.  

‘A Hundred Million Suns’ was released in 2008 with the singles of ‘Take Back the City’, ‘Crack The Stutters’ and ‘If There’s A Rocket, Tie It To Me’. Snow Patrol toured with Coldplay and again with U2 followed by there own sell out tour across the UK. They released a greatest hits compilation entitled ‘Up To Now’ in 2009.

Still young and going strong, the future looks bright for the alternative outfit.

Dean Woodhouse

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Ben E. King started his singing career as a member of American doo-wap group the Five Crowns which eventually became The Drifters. With King as its lead singer, they had hits with There Goes My Baby, Save the Last Dance for Me, and This Magic Moment.

King went solo and in 1961 he had his first hit with Spanish Harlem. Shortly after, he recorded and released the song that is synonymous with his career, Stand By Me.

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Throughout the 60s, King had a string of Top 40 Hits including Amor, Don’t Play That Song, and I (Who Have Nothing). The fact that he wrote or co-wrote many of his songs has often been overlooked in the music history books. He also has been covered by such household names as John Lennon, Aretha Franklin, U2 and even bizarrely Siouxsie and the Banshees.

In 1986, Stand By Me was re-released to support a movie by the same name and almost instantly hit number one. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on the strength of his Drifters work but as yet has not been awarded the accolade as a solo artist.

In the 21st century, King is sporadically active in the recording studio and touring circuit as well as his charitable work for the Stand By Me foundation.

For The Record:

Born Benjamin Earl Soloman, September 28, 1938, in Henderson, N.C.

Formed first singing group, the Four B's, while in junior high school; began singing professionally with quintet the Crowns, 1956-59; member of the Drifters, 1959-61; solo performer, 1961—; produced several Top Ten singles, 1960s; collaborated with the Average White Band on Benny and Us, 1977; 1961 hit single "Stand by Me" featured on soundtrack of film Stand by Me, Columbia, 1986.

Addresses: Home—Teaneck, N.J. Record Company—Atlantic Records, 75 Rockefeller Plaza, New York, NY 10019.

Discography:

Spanish Harlem, Atlantic, 1961.

Ben E. King Sings for Soulful Lovers, Atlantic, 1962.

Don't Play That Song, Atlantic, 1962.

Greatest Hits, Atlantic, 1964.

Seven Letters, Atlantic, 1965.

Beginning of It All, Mandala, 1971.

Supernatural Thing, Atlantic, 1975.

Ben E. King Story, Atlantic, 1975.

I Had a Love, Atlantic, 1976.

(With the Average White Band) Benny and Us, Atlantic, 1977.

Let Me Live in Your Life, Atlantic, 1978.

Music Trance, Atlantic, 1980.

Street Tough, Atlantic, 1980.

Rough Edges, Maxwell.

Sources: Juanita Appleby, eNotes.

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Green Day can definitely be considered one of the iconic bands of modern times, with platinum plaques dating back nearly twenty years to 1992’s ‘Kerplunk’ album. In 2004 the Punk-Rock band Green Day released the critically acclaimed, politically driven, multi platinum selling album ‘American Idiot’, it would be this album that would finally see them crowned as rock ‘n’ roll royalty.

For Green Day it all begins at a venue called the Gilman in 1989, it was here that the band honed their performance and were able to gauge there song writing skills. By the end of the year the band released the adolescent and bratty ‘1039 Smooth’ EP on Lookout Records founded by Lawrence Livermore. This would later become the 1990 album '39/Smooth', which would become their first full-length album release. Two years later their second album “Kerplunk” became a huge underground success, which led to the band leaving Lookout records and signing with the Major label Reprise records.

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The release of the “Dookie” album in 1994 marked the moment the whole world was introduced to Green Day’s band members; Billie Joe Armstrong (Lead vocals, lead and rhythm guitar), Mike Dirnt (Bass) and Tre Cool (drums and percussion). ‘Dookie’ would go on to sell a reported 15 million units worldwide.

Green Day's music has always been characteristic of Punk, Anti-establishment, and hard-edged guitar-driven music, yet many a debate has been held over the Punk-Rock status of Green Day, in particular whether Green Day can be considered “Punk” at all. John Lydon (or Johnny Rotten of the Sex Pistols) a significant Punk contributor has repeatedly dismissed Green Day being what he considers “Punk”. Regardless of whether they are or aren’t “Punk” Green Day continue to have considerable success across the globe.

2004’s ‘American idiot’ album would be their crowning glory, in a climate polluted with illegal downloading, Green Day were without doubt, the band of the year, out wrestling U2 for the title. This eventually led to over 14 million sales worldwide and a Grammy for record of the year with the song “Boulevard Of Broken Dreams”.

The bands most recent effort “21st Century Breakdown” sold over 215,000 copies in it’s first three days of release and consequently reached number one on the Billboard album chart and No.1 in a further 13 countries, a clear sign that Green Day, as middle aged men, are as relevant among fans as ever.

Segun Murray Ogunsheye

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The most commercially successful pop group of the 1970s, the origins of the Swedish superstars ABBA dated back to 1966, when keyboardist and vocalist Benny Andersson, a onetime member of the popular beat outfit the Hep Stars, first teamed with guitarist and vocalist Bjorn Ulvaeus, the leader of the folk-rock unit the Hootenanny Singers. The two performers began composing songs together and handling session and production work for Polar Music/Union Songs, a publishing company owned by Stig Anderson, himself a prolific songwriter throughout the 1950s and 1960s. At the same time, both Andersson and Ulvaeus worked on projects with their respective girlfriends: Ulvaeus had become involved with vocalist Agnetha Faltskog, a performer with a recent number one Swedish hit, "I Was So in Love," under her belt, while Andersson began seeing Anni-Frid Lyngstad, a one-time jazz singer who rose to fame by winning a national talent contest.

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In 1971, Faltskog ventured into theatrical work, accepting the role of Mary Magdalene in a production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Jesus Christ Superstar; her cover of the musical's "Don't Know How to Love Him" became a significant hit. The following year, the duo of Andersson and Ulvaeus scored a massive international hit with "People Need Love," which featured Faltskog and Lyngstad on backing vocals. The record's success earned them an invitation to enter the Swedish leg of the 1973 Eurovision song contest, where, under the unwieldy name of Bjorn, Benny, Agnetha & Frida, they submitted "Ring Ring," which proved extremely popular with audiences but placed only third in the judges' ballots.

The next year, rechristened ABBA (a suggestion from Stig Anderson and an acronym of the members' first names), the quartet submitted the single "Waterloo," and became the first Swedish act to win the Eurovision competition. The record proved to be the first of many international hits, although the group hit a slump after their initial success as subsequent singles failed to chart. In 1975, however, ABBA issued "S.O.S.," a smash not only in America and Britain but also in non-English speaking countries such as Spain, Germany and the Benelux nations, where the group's success was fairly unprecedented. A string of hits followed, including "Mamma Mia," "Fernando," and "Dancing Queen" (ABBA's sole U.S. chart-topper), further honing their lush, buoyant sound; by the spring of 1976, they were already in position to issue their first Greatest Hits collection.

ABBA's popularity continued in 1977, when both "Knowing Me, Knowing You" and "The Name of the Game" dominated airwaves. The group also starred in the feature film ABBA - The Movie, which was released in 1978. That year Andersson and Lyngstad married, as had Ulvaeus and Faltskog in 1971, although the latter couple separated a few months later; in fact, romantic suffering was the subject of many songs on the quartet's next LP, 1979's Voulez-Vous. Shortly after the release of 1980s Super Trouper, Andersson and Lyngstad divorced as well, further straining the group dynamic; The Visitors, issued the following year, was the final LP of new ABBA material, and the foursome officially disbanded after the December 1982 release of their single "Under Attack."

Although all of the group's members soon embarked on new projects - both Lyngstad and Faltskog issued solo LPs, while Andersson and Ulvaeus collaborated with Tim Rice on the musical 'Chess' none proved as successful as the group's earlier work, largely because throughout much of the world, especially Europe and Australia, the ABBA phenomenon never went away. Repackaged hits compilations and live collections continued hitting the charts long after the group's demise, and new artists regularly pointed to the quartet's inspiration: while the British dance duo Erasure released a covers collection, ABBA-esque, an Australian group called Bjorn Again found success as ABBA impersonators. In 1993, "Dancing Queen" became a staple of U2's "Zoo TV" tour -- Andersson and Ulvaeus even joined the Irish superstars on-stage in Stockholm -- while the 1995 feature Muriel's Wedding, which won acclaim for its depiction of a lonely Australian girl who seeks refuge in ABBA's music, helped bring the group's work to the attention of a new generation of moviegoers and music fans.

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For The Record:

Members include Benny Andersson (born December 16, 1946, in Stockholm, Sweden); Agnetha Fältskog (born April 5, 1950, in Jankoping, Sweden); Anni-Frid Lyngstad (born November 15, 1945, in Narvik, Norway); Björn Ulvaeus (born April 15, 1945, in Gothenburg, Sweden). Ulvaeus and Fältskog married, 1972-78; had three children. Andersson and Lyngstad married, 1978 (divorced). 

Group formed in Stockholm, 1972; released internationally successful series of pop-rock recordings, 1974-83; recorded multiplatinum LP Arrival, 1976; group dissolved, 1983; Andersson and Ulvaeus co-authored musical Chess, 1986; revival of public interest in group, including release of retrospective reissues and cover recordings by other artists, early 1990s.

Awards: Winner, Eurovision song contest, 1974; named Sweden's fastest-growing corporation by Swedish publication Business World, 1978. 

Addresses: Record company—Polygram, 825 8th Ave., New York, NY 10019. 

*Purchase these albums here.