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Bright Lights Dark Shadows

The real story of Abba

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About this listen

 An exploration of all aspects of the Abba member’s lives and careers. Amazingly detailed, it examines the group member’s family backgrounds, the pre-Abba days, the legendary Seventies, the marriages, the divorces, the business ups and downs and the post-Abba solo careers.©2002 Carl Magnus Palm by agreement with Bengt Nordin Agency (P)2011 Bolinda Publishing Entertainment & Celebrities Music Celebrity Entertainment Career

Critic reviews

“Another fine addition to the canon of music biographies… Palm’s biography is extremely thorough and dipped deeply in a pond of melancholy.” (The Times)
“A melancholy insight into the gulf between dreams and reality.” (Stuff)
“How did Abba do it? And why, 20 years after they split, are they still so popular? Palm’s book achieves the difficult feat of capturing the multiple layers of Abba… with a deftness unusual in a rock biography.” (The Sunday Times)
"It ain’t exactly Keith Richards’s LIFE, full of hair-raising stories of rock-and-roll, but, as its title implies, this book exposes the humanity behind the otherworldly presence that is the Swedish band Abba. In the 1970s they were pioneers of dance pop and world music while maintaining a sleek, detached edge that, at times, made them seem cold and calculating. The text is delivered deftly by Adrian Mulraney, whose familiarity with stage performance in Australian theater makes him a natural for the high drama of Abba's up-and-down saga. His voice resonates with a condescending tone that decries the ego game of pop success while revealing the intimate details of the musicians’ personal lives." (AudioFile Magazine)
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A very very in depth and engaging account of one of the biggest music phenomenons the world has ever seen. It took a while to get through but gives a very clear picture of the lives and the music and the impact they had on the world.

If you love their music, you'll love there story..

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A superb overview and insight into the best pop band ever. Loads of facts and superb research. It could do with an an additional update as it's now slightly out of date at the end, but a terrific effort.

Definitive in terms of info

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A well researched biography of the group, my only complaint there was far too much info regarding their business ventures

Well read and absorbing

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Like many fans of Abba, the first time I saw them was on the Eurovision Song Contest in Brighton and you could tell, they were good and well above the average. Abba really made it big in Germany with plenty of radio time and TV appearances. Listening to Abba when I was serving in the forces in Germany brought a lot of happiness into my life and I am still a massive fan. Many years ago, I bought ‘ Abba - The Complete Recording Sessions ‘ by the same author and it was a truly informative read and I even re-read it quite often. I was very pleased to see that he had taken on this project and I can’t recommend it highly enough. Massive amount of detail which true fans will love. The only thing that would have made it better would have been the inclusion of a PDF file with photos which I am fairly sure would be in the physical copy.

Abba - As it was

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A very indepth account of one of the world's Supergroups. Delving details with a compassionate narrator. A must for anyone interested in the music industry and in particular Abba.

Labour of love

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