Books about ABBA and related subjects

PROJECT SUMMARY
It's the return of ABBA – The Complete Recording Sessions! Eight years after the first revised and expanded edition of the book was published, it's time for an updated version. It will be based on the most recent edition, but will be revised and further expanded, with new and corrected information on the 1972–1982 period, more pages, and more illustrations. The book will be printed on glossy paper and in full colour. The production of the book is funded through a month-long crowdfunding campaign on the Kickstarter platform, launching 31 July, ending 31 August 2025. I'm pleased to report that the campaign reached its goal on 23 August, so this revised edition will now definitely happen.

Prices for a signed copy of the book, including shipping, are as follows:
Sweden: €58
Europe (whether inside or outside the EU, including the UK): €75
Rest of world: €90

BACKGROUND
ABBA – The Complete Recording Sessions was originally published in 1994 and then revised and updated in 2017. This most recent, award-winning edition sold out in 2020, and ever since then there has been demand for a reprint. Meanwhile, the moment the 2017 edition was published, I opened a document on my computer, and over the past eight years I have kept adding corrections, updates and new information to it. Going through the document a while ago, I was surprised by the amount of interesting stuff that was in there, making me convinced that it would be worthwhile not just to reprint the 2017 edition, but to use it as a basis for an enhanced edition, with all the corrections, updates and new information pertaining to the 1972–1982 era incorporated.

THE NEW STUFF
The new edition will not only be of interest to those who missed out on the 2017 book: it will be an essential purchase for those who want the best, most up-to-date, and most accurate version of ABBA – The Complete Recording Sessions, since there will be plenty of new information in it. Some examples:

● If you've read my 2024 book ABBA On Record, you will know that there was a massive amount of previously unknown info about ABBA's recording sessions in the chapter about The Michael B. Tretow Tapes. The full story will remain exclusive to ABBA On Record, but, naturally, some of the information from those tapes will be incorporated into ABBA – The Complete Recording Sessions to enhance its accuracy. 

● Some of the musicians who contributed to ABBA's recordings have strong memories of playing on certain songs they were never credited for, which I've only learned about since 2017. This information will be detailed in the book.

● New facts and stories about many of the individual songs: some of these facts have emerged in recent years, some I have come across in vintage press, radio and TV interviews. One of my favourite gems, discovered in an old magazine article, is the original working title for Waterloo, used when Björn and Benny were writing the song.

● There are more details and insights concerning Björn and Benny's songwriting methods, both music and lyrics.

● Also quite a few new insights about Agnetha and Frida's methods and philosophies when recording vocals.

● A handful of recording session dates, that I wasn't aware of previously, will be detailed.

● Since 2017 I have been able to hear an alternate mix of one of ABBA's 1982 recordings; the findings from this mix will be included in the book.

The above bullet points are just some examples of what the new edition will offer (I will, of course, also endeavour to correct a number of spelling, punctuation and grammar errors). Quite simply: the 2017 edition was pretty good, but this new edition will be even better.

ABBA – The Complete Recording Sessions will gain a new subtitle, "1972–1982", as the 2017–2021 Voyage sessions, detailed in ABBA On Record, will be kept out of the new edition. There are three reasons for this:

1. If I were to add the 30 or so pages of Voyage sessions in ABBA On Record to ABBA – The Complete Recording Sessions, the book would probably become excessively large and heavy, and be very expensive to ship.

2. Quite a few people will have invested in ABBA On Record mainly to read the chapter about the Voyage sessions, and it would be unfair to them to include that chapter in this revised volume of ABBA – The Complete Recording Sessions.

3. I want to keep the integrity of the original volume intact and let it remain a book about ABBA's "classic" period only.

FORMAT AND LAYOUT
As some of you may recall, earlier in 2025 I considered printing this new edition on cheap and very thin paper and all in black and white. However, I've had a rethink. In all likelihood, this will be the final-ever edition of the book, so it should look as nice as possible. Accordingly, the second revised and expanded edition of ABBA – The Complete Recording Sessions will be full colour, printed on glossy paper: the same type of nice, glossy paper as in ABBA On Record, but just slightly thinner. This paper will enable us to add more pages, but without any risk of the total weight of book and packaging exceeding 2kg, which in turn will keep shipping costs as low as possible. The format and measurements will be the same as the 2017 edition, but there will not be a dust cover; the cover design will be printed directly on the hardcover. The number of pages will probably be at least 480 (the 2017 edition had 448 pages). 

In order to ensure this will be a quality product, the book will be printed at a highly reputable and experienced book printer in Sweden. The design will be handled by Maria Nicholas, whose expert design work graced both the 2017 edition of ABBA – The Complete Recording Sessions and ABBA On Record.

ILLUSTRATIONS
In the 2017 edition, the text was the "star" of the book, and the same goes for this new edition. That said, all the illustrations seen in the 2017 edition will be in the new edition, and, as we're expanding the number of pages, I also hope to add a few more illustrations. 

CROWDFUNDING – HOW AND WHY?
Making this new revised edition of ABBA – The Complete Recording Sessions a reality will require a financial investment, and – full disclosure – I simply don't have the funds to print it on the chance that it might sell enough copies to make the endeavour worthwhile. After considering various solutions, I concluded that the best way to make this happen is to raise the funds by conducting a crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter, one of the leading crowdfunding platforms. I'm pleased to report that the campaign reached its goal on 23 August, so this revised edition will now definitely happen.

However, although the crowdfunding campaign runs for one month, starting Thursday 31 July 2025 and ending Sunday 31 August 2025, it will still be possible to secure a signed copy of the book beyond the end date. If you decide to support the campaign you will, in Kickstarter speak, make a "pledge", and then get a "reward" for your efforts. In the case of ABBA – The Complete Recording Sessions, this means that your pledge is a pre-order, and your reward is a signed copy of the book when it's printed and ready to ship. Please note that your credit card will not be charged until the campaign has reached its end, i.e. on 31 August 2025. There will be a deadline to pre-order a signed copy of ABBA – The Complete Recording Sessions 1972–1982, which will be announced in my social media and in my newsletter (subscribe to the newsletter by filling in the form on the start page of this website; scroll down just a bit to see the form).

REWARD LEVELS AND SIGNED COPIES
Everyone who supports this crowdfunding campaign by opting for one of the "rewards" will receive a signed copy of the book. There will be a personal dedication – for example, "To John" – and then my signature. I regret that I will be unable to write anything beyond your name and my signature. Prices include shipping.

There are three different shipping areas:
Sweden: €58
Europe (whether inside or outside the EU, including the UK): €75
Rest of world: €90

TIMELINE
The production of the second revised and expanded edition of ABBA – The Complete Recording Sessions will be a rather straightforward process. The research has already been completed, and Maria Nicholas will be working from her original 2017 design of the book, so it will simply be a matter of inserting the new information and implementing the updates.

That said, Maria has a full-time job, so she will be conducting the design work in her spare time, and I also have a few other things on the agenda, but even so we expect our work to be completed before the end of 2025. I will only book time with the printer when Maria and I are reasonably certain we are nearing completion of our work, so finding a slot in the printer's schedule is another factor. Once I know when the book will be printed and ready, I will arrange with the distributor to visit their facilities and sign all the books, which will then be shipped by them as soon as possible.

I hope to be able to deliver the book no later than March 2026.

DELAYS
Despite all our best efforts to get this done as soon as possible, there might be delays, but they won't be because I've disappeared into a research rabbit hole or anything like that. In other words, we're not talking years: maybe a month or two at the most. I'm sure you will agree there is no sense in rushing things when a little more time will help us make the book that much better.

WILL THERE BE AN EBOOK?
I don't know yet, but it will not be a part of the crowdfunding initiative. If the ebook happens it will, in all likelihood, be a text-only version with no illustrations, as I will need to keep production costs low. The final decision on whether to go ahead with the ebook will not be made until work on the hardcover book has been completed.

THANK YOU
Thanks so much for reading this presentation of the book. The crowdfunding campaign is now live and will end on 31 August 2025. Many thanks in advance for supporting it so that this ultimate edition of the book can become a reality. And if you think you know someone who might be interested in the book, please let them know about the crowdfunding campaign – it might bring us that much closer to the "finishing line".