‘Our band has a stupid name – we should have been called Northern Lights’, says ABBA legend Bjorn Ulvaeus

The name of his group is one of the most famous in pop history.

But Abba’s Bjorn Ulvaeus has revealed he thinks it’s a ‘stupid’ name and said he and his bandmates – Agnetha Fältskog, Benny Andersson and Anni-Frid Lyngstad – actually wanted to call themselves ‘the Northern Lights’.

Ulvaeus said the Swedish supergroup, which sold more than 385 million records after winning the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest, did not come up with the name but imposed it on them.

The 79-year-old said he didn’t like it at the time and his opinion of it hasn’t changed.

ABBA, Bjorn Ulvaeus, Anni-Frid Lyngstad, Agnetha Faltskog and Benny Andersson pose for a photo after receiving the Royal Vasa Order from the Swedish King and Queen during a ceremony at the Royal Palace of Stockholm on May 31, 2024

Ulvaeus added, “We had no choice.

‘I thought it was such a stupid name. And it is.

“I thought we should have a cool name, like the Rolling Stones or something. The Northern Lights were on our minds – and here we are with Abba.”

Ulvaeus said the foursome was conveniently given the names of others after becoming established stars in their country.

He told the Rosebud podcast: ‘Because we were quite famous, all famous in Sweden, we made our first records under Agnetha, Benny, Bjorn and Anni-Frid.

‘The DJs on the radio, and everywhere else in our office, got tired of saying that: ‘Agnetha, Benny, Bjorn and Anni-Frid’, as you can imagine.

“So they shortened it – to the initials Abba.”

Ulvaeus added: ‘It is also the name of a very famous herring factory in Sweden: marinated herring. We had to ask permission to use the name and they told us, “As long as you’re not marinating herring.”