"ABBA Gold: Greatest Hits" is a compilation album by the Swedish pop group ABBA, released on September 21, 1992, through PolyGram. This marked the first compilation released after the company acquired Polar Music and the rights to ABBA's back catalog.
With sales of 30 million, Gold: Greatest Hits is the best-selling ABBA album and one of the best-selling albums worldwide. Since its release, it has been reissued several times, notably in 1999 for the 25th anniversary of ABBA's Eurovision win, in 2008 to coincide with the film Mamma Mia!, in 2014 for the 40th anniversary of their Eurovision victory, and most recently in 2022 to celebrate the album's 30th anniversary.
In 1989, Stig Anderson, ABBA’s manager and occasional songwriting partner, sold Polar Music to PolyGram, which was later acquired by Universal Music. Prior to this, Polar had primarily produced and distributed ABBA's records in Scandinavia, licensing them for release in other regions, leading to various compilations worldwide. Between 1989 and 1992, as these licenses expired, PolyGram waited to release new ABBA compilations.
In the summer of 1992, the band Erasure released a four-track ABBA cover EP titled Abba-esque, which topped charts globally and demonstrated continued interest in ABBA's music. Instead of reissuing previous compilations, PolyGram created a new collection designed for the CD format.
The compilation was curated by a team including Chris Griffin and Jackie Stansfield from PolyGram International, George McManus from Polydor UK, Ingemar Bergman from Sweden Music and Polar, and music journalist John Tobler, who wrote the liner notes. Griffin aimed to sequence the tracks like a radio show, beginning with "Dancing Queen" and culminating with "Waterloo," reflecting the band’s Eurovision breakthrough.
Gold: Greatest Hits includes a selection of tracks from ABBA's discography, featuring three songs each from Arrival, ABBA: The Album, and Super Trouper, four from Voulez-Vous, and two from the self-titled ABBA, along with one each from Waterloo and The Visitors. The album also includes singles "Fernando" and "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)."
The album was well received and became one of the best-selling albums of all time.
