When Jan Gradvall's
The Book Of ABBA - Melancholy Undercover was first announced, it was advertised as an "Approved biography." Finding any proof of that now is kind of difficult as the book's official summary has since changed. Thankfully I was able to find some record of it because for a moment I was beginning to think I had read it wrong. The original summary is as follows:
Over half a century after their songs were recorded, ABBA's songs
still make people the world over dance and sing every day, and their
ability to evoke every emotion has made them the ultimate soundtrack to
major life events, from birthday parties and weddings to heartbreaks and
memorials.
Since interviewing the four members of ABBA for an article in 2013 -
at which time the band had not been interviewed for 30 years - a
relationship was sparked between writer Jan Gradvall and the band, and
he was granted unique access for the next decade. He has interviewed
each of them exclusively for Melancholy Undercover, and they share their thoughts and opinions with him here more openly than ever before.
Gradvall places ABBA at the centre of the musical universe, and
alongside his fascinating interviews, he gives readers the
socio-cultural context of how the band's sound was formed - including
the melancholic hints of Swedish folk music and the dansband culture of
their formative years - and shows how the story of ABBA is also the
story of Sweden and the internationalisation of pop culture.
With around 2 million tickets sold to the ABBA Voyage experience
in London since it opened in May 2023, it is undeniable that, in the
history of pop culture and music, there has never been a group like
ABBA. This remarkably intimate, approved biography brings readers a few
steps closer to one of the world's most famously private bands.
Publisher: Faber & Faber
ISBN: 9780571390984
Number of pages: 336
Dimensions: 234 x 153 mm
Edition: Main
Interestingly, a lot of the initial listings of this book that contain the word "approved" have since been removed. I did not realize this when I ended up repurchasing the book on ABBA Voyage's official shop page. (More on that in a bit.)
This is the synopsis as listed on ABBA Voyage's shop website:
With exclusive band interviews and over a decade of
deep research, in Melancholy Undercover, renowned
music journalist Jan Gradvall explores the secret to
ABBA's success.
Over half a century after their songs were recorded, ABBA’s songs still make
people the world over dance and sing every day, and their ability to evoke
every emotion has made them the ultimate soundtrack to major life events,
from birthday parties and weddings to heartbreaks and memorials.
Since interviewing the four members of ABBA for an article in 2013– at
which time the band had not been interviewed for 30 years– a relationship
was sparked between writer Jan Gradvall and the band, and he was granted
unique
access for the next decade. He has interviewed each of them exclusively
for Melancholy Undercover, and they share their thoughts and opinions
with him here more openly than ever before.
As we all know, I like to read ABBA books and have become a bit of a critic when it comes to so-called ABBA biographies, telling the "totally 100% true and definitive" story of ABBA. ABBA have always been very protective of their public image, so when ABBA historians come forward with unauthorized, dramatic retellings of the ABBA members' story, filled with all types of never-before-told stories and anecdotes, I am skeptical. So when I heard that "The Book Of ABBA - Melancholy Undercover" by Jan Gradvall was being advertised as an APPROVED biography on ABBA, I was very intrigued and excited. Up until then, I'd say the closest thing we have had to an official biographical book was ABBA the Official Photobook, originally from 2014, featuring quotes from interviews with all four ABBA members by none other than Jan Gradvall himself. The various quotes from the ABBA members sprinkled throughout the photobook have to me felt like ABBA at their most personal, and are among some of my favorite quotes from them ever. Jan Gradvall has also interviewed the ABBA members multiple times, including an official interview that was uploaded to ABBA's YouTube in I think 2021 or 2022 with Bjorn and Benny sort of on the making of Voyage, and the official interviews included in the ABBA Voyage programme that you can buy at the Voyage shop. So if anyone was to write an official biography on ABBA, I figured the story would be in good hands.
So all of that combined, when I initially pre-ordered the American release of Jan Gradvall's book in September, titled "The Story of ABBA - Melancholy Undercover", I had high hopes. The American version was intended for release in June, and as of writing this, hasn't been released yet, whereas the UK? or the rest of the world version, "The Book of ABBA - Melancholy Undercover", was released in October.
A bit of a side note/tangent but does tie in, I promise - I was intending to buy the Polar cape recreations as sold at ABBA the Museum, even though I will probably never wear it haha, but got kind of annoyed that despite the original version of the cape being accurate in terms of the pattern on the front, the new revised version is off center and like not accurate?? And it made me so upset that I did not end up purchasing it, but decided, hey why not get the ABBA Voyage capes as sold at the Voyage store so I can still have some ABBA costume recreations that I'll probably never wear??? So I ended up buying those from the Voyage store instead, and while I was there, I also went ahead and bought The Book Of ABBA - Melancholy Undercover, as well as the new revised version of the Official Photo Book. I have since canceled by order of the American release because as far as I can tell, the books are the same, content-wise.
One of the first things I do when I get ABBA books is check the sources, and of course when I saw Carl Magnus Palm's Bright Lights, Dark Shadows, I was a little concerned because I question the validity of his book and sources, but I was relieved to find that really the only thing quoted from that book were quotes from interviews Carl Magnus Palm did with the ABBA members for his book, namely just one quote from Bjorn. However, this line towards the end of the book had me even more confused:
How can a book that had been, to my knowledge at this time, approved, and is sold on ABBA's official Voyage web store and I'm assuming in person as well, not be an authorized biography of ABBA? I began gaslighting myself that maybe I made up in my head that this book as approved, but as already listed above, that is not the case.
It would seem to me some funny business has been going around, and perhaps this book was initially intended as an approved or authorized book on ABBA, but things were changed and the book is no longer an authorized/approved book and in this case, is simply yet another story on ABBA. Perhaps that's why the American release has been changed from "Book" to "Story", because we've had plenty of stories of ABBA published, from a TV special in 1982 to Carl Magnus Palm's biographies, even my children's book, but a story doesn't necessarily denote authorized, official status like "Book" does. Just a theory.
All of that being said, however, I kept an open mind when reading this book. I spent the last couple of days fully immersed in this book (and I just have to add, the gold trim, as BEAUTIFUL as it is, has been flaking off and turning me into a glittery, sparkly princess, so just keep that in mind), and I actually enjoyed reading it. There were a lot of quotes in it, a lot of statements, that made me laugh out loud. The writing was well done. I like Jan Gradvalls' writing style. It's very journalistic, but also very personal, as a lot of it was written from his perspective, including personal anecdotes and experiences from when he grew up in Sweden, experiencing the ABBA story first hand.
I would say the book itself spends more time talking about the societal landscape of Sweden in ABBA's time, like the raggare and dansband phenomenon, and then a lot of stories about every day people or other musical acts/aritsts who were majorly inspired by ABBA or had an exciting ABBA story. Like a doctor who would listen to only ABBA when he was doing a risky surgery to excise an inoperable tumor on a child, or the child of an immigrant from Cypress who found comfort in ABBA's music. There's also a lot of references to birds, which as you can imagine as a bird lover, is really nice.
The book has an overall positive tone and atmosphere. It even goes into a bit of detail on the whole ABBA and Stig fallout that happened in the 80s and became broken beyond repair when a lawsuit was involved between ABBA and their former manager, but it does so without making anyone seem like a villain. Stig is never shown is this "evil, controlling manager" and the whole situation is handled well. Jan Gradvall's adoration for Mamma Mia! the Musical is even kinda infectious, and though I still don't like Mamma Mia!, I certainly have a little more appreciation for the impact it had on ABBA's revival.
As for the "exclusive interviews", all of the interviews are seemingly the same interviews that were conducted for the official photobook and the official voyage programme, with nothing particularly new, with the exception of an interview with Agnetha for her 2023 A+ album. As someone who loves the tidbits shared in the official photo book, it's nice to see the quotes in more complete format, but I wouldn't really call them exclusive considering you can find them elsewhere.
The book is not written in a linear format, which in some ways is a bit confusing, but at the same time kinda feels like my undiagnosed but likely ADHD brain and how it goes off in a million different directions and topics on things that are semi-related but not quite. It feels like a bunch of individual articles all put together and compiled into a book. The book only goes into some detail on the traditional ABBA story, choosing to put focus on only some bits, like the Eurovision win, but glosses over Festfolk, but it's not a bad thing.
A highlight, and honestly one of the best things about the book, is Jan Gradvall's recount of what happened during Bjorn and Benny's 50th anniversary party, celebrating 50 years of friendship in 2016. Considering the only footage we have of that party is a leaked video of Agnetha and Frida performing The Way Old Friends Do, and a few photos from the party, it was nice to have a little more insight as to how the party was Like for example, I learned that it was Claes af Geijerstam who set up the whole thing, how a lot of old friends performed Bjorn and Benny's hits from the 60s with the Hep Stars and Hootenanny Singers, Svenne Hedlund sang "Isn't It Easy To Say," Bjorn and Benny's first song together, Benny's sons Ludvig and Peter performed Rock Me, Bjorn and Benny sang Does Your Mother Know, and they even received a video message from Paul McCartney. After Agnetha and Frida surprised everyone with The Way Old Friends Do, I believe it said all of ABBA sang traditional Swedish drinking song Nu Alla Goda Vanners Skal, the same song that they sand together in 1980 on the TV show Applauso. It was so nice getting to read all of that, and it made me wish that I got to actually be there and witness all of this happening.
So overall, I wouldn't say this book adds anything new, aside from the B&B 50th anniversary segment, but it's not a bad book, and definitely has a more positive overall feel than anything Carl Magnus Palm has published. Like, dare I say, in his book, he made the ABBA members all kinda seem rather unlikable, but this book reminds me that it is possible to write a book on ABBA that isn't overshadowed by alleged negative incidents and feelings. The book is definitely a reminder of the overall positive impact ABBA have had on the world, how unique their story and circumstances were, and how they've continued to be an inspiration to many.
So if I had to give this book a rating, I'd give it a 7.5-8/10.
