Take a chance on me...

ABBA (1972–1982) was a Swedish pop music group. They remain the most successful Swedish music act and were one of the most popular groups in the world.

ABBA was formed around 1972 with Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, Agnetha Fältskog, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad (nicknamed "Frida"). They became widely known after winning the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest with "Waterloo". The group consisted of two couples, Björn and Agnetha along with Benny and Frida. ABBA collectively decided to take a break in 1982. They have yet to record together again in the studio.

ABBA is an acronym formed from the first letters of each group member's name. It is usually written ABBA but is sometimes written as a word, Abba. The first B in the logo version of the name was reversed on the band's promotional material from 1976 onwards.

Before they were called ABBA, the band carried the awkward naming of Björn, Benny, Agnetha & Frida, under which they put out an album called Ring Ring. The album did well and the "Ring Ring" single was a hit in many parts of Europe. Having tired of the unwieldy names, they manager Stig Anderson started to jokingly refer to the group privately and publicly as ABBA, which was also the name of a well-known fish cannery in Sweden. However, since the fish canners were more or less unknown outside Sweden Stig came to believe the name would work in international markets and it stuck. The rest, as they say, is history...

Few people (outside of Sweden, that is) would know, though, that the fish cannery has now evolved into an incredibly varied selection of canned and pickled goods, sauces, spreads, mustards and even cheese in a tube flavored with the most unbelievable stuff, like shrimp or reindeer meat. Swedish supermarkets invariably have a whole shelf filled with little jars all proudly proclaiming: Abba.

The uninformed tourist, venturing into a supermarket to try and cut down on the cost of eating in spendy Stockholm, upon seeing this might think it is a marketing ploy along the same lines of Paul Newman's line of pasta sauces. He would be wrong: in this case, the canned weirdness came first! According to guide-book lore, Abba (the group) actually asked Abba (the cannery) for permission to use the name, and they graciously said yes. So it's all squared away...

Most info from Wikipedia