Letter: Even with Bjorn's misgivings for the band's name, 'Abba' is also a very spiritual name

I always noted that Anni-frid, the brunette, often shortened her name to Frida, so I wondered why it could not have been ‘Fabb’ in order to match the 1970s exuberant feel.

Nonetheless, the name was alluded to in their cinema release of Abba - The Movie in 1977, when a man in Australia where the group were touring pointed out that ‘Abba’ was in the Bible, and indeed Jesus used that expression to pray to His Father in the more informal term of ‘Abba’, which corresponds to ‘Daddy’ in English.

When I went to work in Tel-Aviv, Israel, as a chef in the 1990s I recall all the kids in the streets calling out ‘Abba, Abba’, just like Jesus before to their fathers, and I sent off a little write-up to what was then the Abba Fan Club Magazine, joking that all the Jewish children were Abba fans!

Having been given a ‘greatest hits’ cassette in 1976 for Christmas when I was a boy, I didn't think ever that Abba would reform and do the Abba Voyage concerts in London with avatars, and I by chance met Benny from the group on the opening night. Who would have though it?

At any rate, even with Bjorn's misgivings for the name, it is also a very spiritual one!

Colin Nevin, Bangor