Behind the Letters: How Abba Transformed from Four Solo Artists into a Legacy
By Alexander Ross
Stig Anderson grew tired of the endless typing. In administrative paperwork and daily correspondence, he began referring to the quartet informally by their initials: A-B-B-A. Swedish disc jockeys and newspapers caught wind of the internal shorthand and adopted it. By early 1973, Polar Music realized the phonetic simplicity of the moniker was too sticky to abandon.
There was a major complication: Sweden already had an Abba. Established in 1838, Abba Seafood (Abba AB) was a household name in Sweden, famous for its canned tuna, fish pastes, and jars of pickled herring. The company held comprehensive trademark rights over the word throughout Scandinavia.
Anderson did not ignore the conflict. He contacted the management of the seafood packaging firm, asking for permission to assign the identical moniker to a pop music outfit. As the story goes, the canning executive reviewed the request and replied with dry humor: "As long as you don't bring shame to the herring, we have no objection."
The formal agreement was signed without financial compensation changing hands. At the time, neither party foresaw that the musical act would dwarf the seafood firm in international recognition. In later years, when the reversed "B" logo was designed by Rune Söderqvist in 1976, the band solidified an unmistakable visual identity that fully separated the musicians from the grocery aisle.
Alexander Ross has covered the video game industry for a decade, writing deep dives on game design, esports tournaments, VR developments, and gaming culture.
