“They had a hot blond chick and catchy tunes. Just not music for me.”
Abba was at the absolute peak of the Cold War. Russia and the USA and Nato could have been throwing nukes at any moment. The lyrics of Abba were light and catchy. They were a relief of the reality of those most dangerous times and the female lead singer was extremely hot. Thus their success. Musically they were talented but not great talents. They filled a notch in time.
Abba is the perfect example of a group that quit before they got too irrelevant, just as with The Beatles, they had a good seven-year run, and they didn’t overextend their welcome, which is why today they remain as big as they are.