Why ABBA almost never called itself ABBA

A pop hit machine that has sold tens of millions of records, Swedish cult group ABBA is back on Friday with their first album in nearly 40 years.

Here are five things to know about the band.

Read also ABBA, a last

and then leaves

One name, four first names and herring

Formed in stages at the dawn of the 1970s, the group enjoyed its first successes in Sweden.

But he struggled to find a name and after the flop of their first choice, Festfolk, and a contest launched in the newspapers.

Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson and Anni-Frid Lyngstad finally retain ABBA, an acronym of their four first names.

Problem: the name is already used by a fish cannery.

After a phone call to the director of the company, Agnetha obtains permission to use the name, in exchange for an easy promise never to go into the fishmonger.

Abba herring - without capital letters - is still sold in all supermarkets in Sweden.

Read alsoABBA: colossal sales figures for new songs