Carl Magnus Palm

About me

I was born in 1965 and grew up in the Stockholm suburb of Jakobsberg. After university studies in English and cinema history and theory, I began writing music books. Today, I am considered an international authority on the history of ABBA.

I have written the following books about ABBA or ABBA-related subjects: 

ABBA - The Complete Recording Sessions (1994)
ABBA - Människorna och musiken ("ABBA - The People And The Music", 1996)
From ABBA To Mamma Mia! (with Anders Hanser, 1999)
Bright Lights Dark Shadows - The Real Story Of ABBA (2001)
Cadillac Madness - den otroliga berättelsen om The Hep Stars ("Cadillac Madness - the incredible story of The Hep Stars", with Dan-Eric Landén, 2004)
Benny's Road To ABBA (2004)
ABBA - The Complete Guide To Their Music (2005)
ABBA - The Story (2008).

My books have been published in Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, Great Britain, the United States, Australia, Japan, Germany, Russia, the Czech Republic and Estonia.

I am a consultant for Polar Music International/Universal Music, having planned, conceived and contributed to numerous ABBA-related CDs and DVDs for more than 15 years. I am also a contributor to the official website, ABBA - The Site.

I have appeared on television and radio to talk about ABBA in Sweden, Norway, Finland, Great Britain, Ireland, the United States, Australia, Russia, Germany and The Netherlands (a number of the television appearances are available for viewing, see Media links in the More Info menu). I also contribute a regular column about ABBA's songs in the magazine issued by The Official International ABBA Fan Club.

I am the co-producer of three television documentaries about ABBA that premiered on SVT in Sweden in December 2012 and January 2013.

Aside from my ABBA work, I have written the liner notes for the multi-CD box sets Disco Fever (2006) and Hard & Heavy (2008), both issued by Time-Life in the United States and elsewhere.

I have also written books about The Beatles and Swedish jazz singer and actress Monica Zetterlund. My most recent book is the memoirs of Swedish singer and actress Siw Malmkvist, written in collaboration with the singer.

More details on how I began writing books and my start as an ABBA historian are available in this lengthy essay.

Useful links:

My Facebook page.

My Youtube channel.

My Swedish site.