Update, March 25, 2008:

An updated version of Bright Lights Dark Shadows will be published in June 2008. For more information, click "Recent news about the book" in the "More info" menu to the right.

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WHY AN ABBA BIOGRAPHY?

At the time of its original publication, this ABBA biography was my fourth book in eight years about the group. So how, I hear you ask, did this volume differ from my previous efforts?

I believe Bright Lights Dark Shadows may be the first true, full-scale biography ever written about ABBA. Certainly, it was my first attempt to achieve anything along those lines. My first book, ABBA - The Complete Recording Sessions, was a chronological account of the group's songwriting and recording work. Människorna och musiken (The People And The Music) was basically a Swedish, reworked version of The Complete Recording Sessions. From ABBA To Mamma Mia!, finally, was a collection of Anders Hanser's photographs with my commentary text.

Although Bright Lights Dark Shadows touches on many of the subjects covered in those books, this volume seems to be the first time that anyone has attempted capturing all facets of the ABBA story: the biographical details of the main characters - from childhood to the present day - their careers in music, their interpersonal relationships and the business aspects. It was also my aim to put the story into cultural and historical context.

I had toyed with the idea of writing a major ABBA biography for several years when I got in touch with Chris Charlesworth, the editor at Omnibus Press. Chris had been trying to get such a project off the ground for a couple of years, and after a meeting in early 2000, he offered me the chance to write the book we both wanted.


THE STRUCTURE OF THE BOOK

Bright Lights Dark Shadows begins with the early days of all four ABBA members, as well as their all-important manager, Stig Anderson. Then follows an account of the members' pre-ABBA careers and Stig's rise to national fame and notoriety. This first section is called "The Days Before", and I was astounded at discovering and uncovering all the drama that occurred long before anyone outside Sweden knew who ABBA were. I also feel that this section will give the reader important background information necessary to understand ABBA's cultural roots. For instance, it goes some way towards explaining many of their actions and decisions during their years at the top, such as their reluctance to tour.

The book then continues with a somewhat shorter section, entitled "The March To Waterloo". This covers the period 1970-1974, ie the years when the four members enjoyed an on-off collaboration that gradually led to the formation of a permanent group.

Then comes the main section of the book, "The Time Is Right", which details ABBA's years of worldwide fame from 1974 to 1982. This is where you will find the ups and downs of their career, the bumpy road that made up the two couples' married life, the stories behind some of ABBA's most famous songs - including some analysis of their musical development - as well as the dramatic rise and fall of their business interests. And much more! Again, I found the ABBA story to be much more riveting than even I as an author had expected.

The final section, "That's Our Destiny", aims to describe what happened to the four members and Stig Anderson after ABBA split up, including the rift between the group and their manager. It also describes the ABBA revival, bringing the story up to the present with the success of the Mamma Mia! musical.

The book took me a little over a year to write, but naturally one also has to take into account all the ABBA research that I've had ongoing since the early 1990s. I was working seven days a week between early April 2000 and late April 2001, before finally submitting the manuscript. After further editing and additions I ended up with close to 240,000 words, which in this case translates as a 554 page book.


ANYTHING NEW - AND WHAT ABOUT PICTURES?

So is there anything new in this book? Unless you have collected every book, read each and every of the tens of thousands of ABBA-related newspaper or magazine articles over the past five decades, watched every single television documentary or interview, listened to all the radio interviews, and then memorised it all - and, certainly, very few people have done that - the book should hopefully be as much of a revelation to you as it was to me when I wrote it. Naturally, the numerous interviews I made over the years - with the four members as well as their associates - have also produced stories and insights you won't have read elsewhere.

A few words on the subject of pictures. A couple of truly rare photographs have been included in the book; these are surely unseen by at least 99% of all ABBA fans. But there are also plenty of familiar pictures, which are needed to properly illustrate the events depicted in the book. Bright Lights Dark Shadows, then, is mainly about the text: the ABBA story. All pictures are in black and white, printed on four 8-page inserts, which is a quite common format for this type of biography. Although many of my suggestions for photographs have ended up in the book, Omnibus Press were mainly in charge of the picture selection.

A German translation of the book, entitled Licht und Schatten, was published in early 2003. A Russian version was published in October of that year. Click the links under More info to read about them.