Bright Lights Dark Shadows

The real story of Abba

By: Carl Palm

Narrated by: Adrian Mulraney

An exploration of all aspects of the Abba member’s lives and careers. Amazingly detailed, it examines the group member’s family backgrounds, the pre-Abba days, the legendary Seventies, the marriages, the divorces, the business ups and downs and the post-Abba solo careers.©2002 Carl Magnus Palm by agreement with Bengt Nordin Agency (P)2011 Bolinda Publishing

Critic reviews

“How did Abba do it? And why, 20 years after they split, are they still so popular? Palm’s book achieves the difficult feat of capturing the multiple layers of Abba… with a deftness unusual in a rock biography.” ( The Sunday Times, London)

“Another fine addition to the canon of music biographies…. Palm’s biography is extremely thorough and dipped deeply in a pond of melancholy.” ( The Times, London)

In depth look at the band and the individuals

What made the experience of listening to Bright Lights, Dark Shadows the most enjoyable?

The content. Very well researched and the stories of each of the band members made them "real people" to me after decades of being a fan.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Bright Lights, Dark Shadows?

Frieda's story. From before her birth, through growing up and her first marriage, the children. She has an incredible story, and has overcome many hardships.

Which character – as performed by Adrian Mulraney – was your favorite?

There weren't particularly characters portrayed in the book, meaning that he never used different accents or changed his voice when reading quotes. He did a good job of getting around many of the Swedish pronunciations, but had to slow his speech considerably to do so.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

I can't think of one in particular. There were many things in the story of ABBA and of the individual members that were memorable, but not moving, per se.

Any additional comments?

If you are or were a fan of ABBA or music of that time, this is a great book for you. Very well researched, interesting from start to finish. It's a long book, but nothing is held back. It's also interesting to learn about how ABBA fits into the history of music (Fan hysteria, video promotion, pop vs. rock genre, other musicians perspectives on the band).

Excellent Book, Excellent narrator

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

yes, definitely. it's very detailed and comprehensive and takes you through the journey of the people that made up ABBA. It's incredibly well written and this is one of the best narrators I've ever heard.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Bright Lights, Dark Shadows?

I really enjoyed learning the family backgrounds of each performer and how they all ended up together. Very fascinating.

What about Adrian Mulraney’s performance did you like?

One of the most pleasant voices to listen to ever. This is very important with a book like this because this book is over 26 hours long.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

It was fascinating to learn about how the two couples came together and what broke them up.

Any additional comments?

I really enjoyed this book and I'm going to listen to it again. So thorough, deep and moving.

The definitive ABBA story!

I was looking for a behind the scenes history of ABBA. I found it here! Has input from every relevant source including each of the four members. Essential for any ABBA fan.

ABBA: The Story

This looks like the definitive book on ABBA. The interesting aspect of the book is it seems to be fairly balanced with its critical look at ABBA; not being too hyperbolic about anything. It’s amazing how the four members seems to behave like real people. Treasuring their privacy and family life. Not getting too caught up in the “Rock Star” lifestyle. Shy, contemplative, funny people.

Awesome! -- All the Swedish words pronounced!

I read the physical book 10 years ago, and I still learned a lot from this audiobook. Palm chronicles the lives of the major people involved in ABBA, since most of there were kids. It is an enjoyable story that doesn't hide the truth about many of the situations they've encountered whether good or bad. I will most likely listen to this several times, because the content is so rich. When I originally read the book, there were many Swedish words that I guessed at the pronunciations, making them not so memorable, the audio edition changed that! Also, I was pleasantly surprised that it was updated in 2011.