ABBA was a Swedish Eurovision Song Contest-winning pop music group active between 1972 and 1982. The quartet was formed through the friendship of Benny Andersson and Bjrn Ulvaeus and also consists of Anni-Frid Lyngstad (usually known as Frida) and Agnetha Fltskog.They topped the charts worldwide from the mid-1970s to the early 1980s. The name -ABBA- is an acronym formed from the first letters of each of the group member-s given name (Agnetha; Bjrn; Benny; Anni-Frid). "The Winner Takes It All", originally "The Story of My Life", was written by both Bjrn Ulvaeus & Benny Andersson, with Agnetha Fltskog singing the lead vocal. The lyrics to the song were thought to mirror the divorce between Ulvaeus and Fltskog in 1979. However, Ulvaeus himself denies this, saying the basis of the song "is the experience of a divorce, but it's fiction. There wasn't a winner or a loser in our case. A lot of people think it's straight out of reality, but it's not".
In a 1999 poll for Channel Five, "The Winner Takes It All" was voted Britain's favorite ABBA song. In a 2006 poll for a Channel Five program, "The Winner Takes It All" was voted "Britain's Favorite Break-Up.