ABBA blog

Thoughts and observations on the Swedish foursome

25 years of Bright Lights Dark Shadows

published September 10, 2026

A few days ago, on 30 August, it was exactly 25 years since my plane touched down in Sydney, kicking off 10 days of intense book promotion. Which also means that my book Bright Lights Dark Shadows – The Definitive Biography Of ABBA celebrates its 25th anniversary, for it was first published in September 2001.

The book has never been out of print in all this time, and has somehow become the main text about ABBA, so I think the anniversary of its publication is worth celebrating. Ian Cole, who has been heavily involved with the book ever since its inception, has conducted a Q&A published on his ABBA Omnibus website, wherein we look back on the book.

There are convenient ordering links for the latest revised and updated edition of the book on this very website.

My ABBA biography was published exactly a quarter of a century ago this month.