Waterloo is the second studio album by the
Swedish pop group
ABBA. It was originally released in
Sweden on 4 March 1974 through
Polar Music. The album's title track won ABBA the
1974 Eurovision Song Contest.
Waterloo was first
released on CD in Sweden in 1988; a West German CD release
followed in 1990 (later released internationally). The album
has been reissued in digitally remastered form three times;
first in 1997, then in 2001 and again in 2005 as part of
The Complete Studio Recordings
box set. It was also released as a special 30th
Anniversary edition in 2004, celebrating 30 years of the
group's victory in the Eurovision Song Contest.
The
original 1974
Polar Music edition of the album opens with the Swedish
version of the title track and closes with the English
language version. The American version of the album,
released through
Atlantic Records, closes with a 1974 remix of "Ring
Ring". In the United Kingdom/Ireland and several other
European markets, the original 1973 version of "Ring
Ring" was added as track 6 on side 2. The cover features
the sub-title "Bjorn, Benny, Agnetha & Frida" although some
editions replaced 'Agnetha' with 'Anna' – by which Agnetha
Fältskog was known in some countries.
Waterloo peaked at the top of the charts in Sweden
and Norway, charting highly in many other countries as well.
In 2004, it was certified platinum in Germany, thirty years
after its release.
Waterloo was the group's first album released in
most countries outside Scandinavia, and the first to be
credited to "ABBA" (the band was originally referred to as "Björn
& Benny, Agnetha & Anni-Frid". However, to avoid confusion,
they were called "ABBA (Björn, Benny, Agnetha and Frida)".
The "Honey,
Honey" single was the first release to refer to the
group as ABBA and nothing else.
