record_label number ones 
Agnetha Åse Fältskog ( born 5 April 1950 ) is a Swedish recording artist . She achieved success in Sweden after the release of her debut ___MASK10___ " Agnetha Fältskog " in 1968 , and reached international stardom as a member of the ___MASK45___ group ABBA , which has sold over 380 million albums and singles worldwide , making them one of the best - selling music artists in history . The Eurovision Song Contest , sometimes popularly called Eurovision but not to be confused with the Eurovision network that broadcasts it , is the longest - running annual international TV song competition , held , primarily , among the member countries of the European Broadcasting Union ( EBU ) since 1956 . The competition was based upon the existing Sanremo Music ___MASK13___ held in Italy since 1951 . ABBA ( stylised ) are a Swedish ___MASK45___ group formed in Stockholm in 1972 by Agnetha Fältskog , Björn Ulvaeus , Benny Andersson , and Anni - Frid Lyngstad . They became one of the most commercially successful acts in the history of popular music , topping the charts worldwide from 1974 to 1982 . ABBA won the Eurovision Song Contest 1974 at The Dome in Brighton , UK , giving Sweden its first triumph in the contest , and are the most successful group to ever take part in the competition . Stig Erik Leopold " Stikkan " Anderson ( 25 January 1931  12 September 1997 ) was born in Hova , Sweden , and was best known as the manager of the ___MASK45___ group ABBA . Björn Kristian Ulvaeus ( born 25 April 1945 ; credited as Björn Ulvæus ) is a Swedish songwriter , producer , a former member of the Swedish musical group ABBA ( 1972  ___MASK72___ ), and co - composer of the musicals " Chess ", " Kristina från Duvemåla ", and " Mamma Mia !". He co - produced the film " Mamma Mia !" with fellow ABBA member and close friend Benny Andersson . Number Ones is a compilation ___MASK10___ of recordings by Swedish ___MASK45___ group ABBA , released by Polar Music in 2006 . Whereas ABBA Gold had pulled together 19 of the group ' s biggest hits and most familiar songs , Number Ones was a variation on this concept , collecting 18 tracks that were # 1 hits in many of the countries where ABBA were successful . In the end , only three tracks from ABBA Gold did not make the cut : `` Does Your Mother Know '' , `` Lay All Your Love on Me '' , and `` Thank You for the Music '' . In the UK , the track list included the full length version of `` Summer Night City '' ( originally released on the Thank You for the Music box set ) and an additional track `` Ring Ring '' , oddly never a big hit in that territory . A limited edition , also released in the UK , included a bonus disc with 12 tracks from ABBA ' s # 1 albums . In Taiwan , a hidden track follows `` I Have a Dream '' . This hidden track , titled `` ABBA Remix '' and running for 3 : 31 , is a medley of the choruses of the 18 songs on the CD . Anni - Frid Synni , Princess Reuss of Plauen ( born Anni - Frid Synni Lyngstad , 15 November 1945 ), widely known as Frida Lyngstad or by just the mononym Frida , is a Swedish ___MASK45___ and jazz singer . Born in Norway to a Norwegian mother and a German father , she grew up in Sweden and reached international stardom as a member of the ___MASK45___ group ABBA , which has sold over 380 million albums and singles worldwide , making them one of the best - selling music artists in history . After the break - up of ABBA , she continued an international solo singing career with mixed success . In 1996 , Frida recorded her final album before ' retiring ' from music . She now focuses on environmental issues . In April 1964 , aged 18 she married Ragnar Fredriksson . Immediately after their divorce in 1970 , Lyngstad courted eventual ABBA band member Benny Andersson , co - habiting until they officially married in 1978 . The couple separated in 1980 and divorced in 1981 . In 1992 , Lyngstad married Heinrich Ruzzo , Prince Reuss of Plauen , who was a German Prince of the former sovereign House of Reuss . The prince died of lymphoma in October 1999 . Lyngstad currently lives in Zermatt , Switzerland , sharing a home with her British boyfriend , Henry Smith , 5th Viscount Hambleden , since 2008 . Göran Bror Benny Andersson ( born 16 December 1946 ) is a Swedish musician , composer , member of the Swedish music group ABBA ( 1972  ___MASK72___ ), and co - composer of the musicals " Chess ", " Kristina från Duvemåla ", and " Mamma Mia !". For the 2008 film version of " Mamma Mia !", he worked also as an executive producer . Since 2001 , he is active with his own band Benny Anderssons orkester . ___MASK80___ is a Swedish ___MASK33___ company founded in 1963 by Stig Anderson and his friend Bengt Bernhag . The first act that it signed was the Hootenanny Singers featuring Björn Ulvaeus . Polar eventually gained prosperity producing Ulvaeus ' next group , international superstars ABBA . As a small Scandinavian company based in Sweden , Polar could not afford to set up operations worldwide and were only ABBA ' s ___MASK33___ company in the Scandinavian countries . Therefore , ABBA ' s recordings were licensed to different ___MASK33___ companies in each country , but usually to companies that had international operations , meaning they could effectively compete with each other to acquire the licenses in more countries if they proved successful in their own . The licenses gave the companies a few allowances to issue certain tracks as singles that Polar had not , or to modify single ( and occasionally ___MASK10___ ) artwork . The licenses were for three years at a time , meaning that between 1989 and 1992 , they had all expired . This enabled ___MASK71___ to release "" to major success around the world . ___MASK71___ a / k / a The ___MASK71___ Group was a Dutch owned mass - media company . It started as a major record label recording company founded by Philips and Siemens as a holding company for their music interests in 1979 . The name was chosen to reflect the Siemens interest Polydor Records and the Philips interest Phonogram Inc . The company traced its origins through ___MASK35___ back to the inventor of the flat disk gramophone , Emil Berliner . Later on , ___MASK71___ expanded into a larger entertainment company , creating film and television divisions . In May 1998 , it was sold to Seagram which owned ___MASK92___ . The newly merged company became ___MASK7___ . When the new company faced financial difficulties , its parent Seagram was sold in large part to Vivendi , and for a brief time , the company was known as Vivendi Universal . Vivendi is the current owner of UMG .