ABBA

songwriter Benny Andersson had a hunch that Waterloo might do the business for the Swedish quartet at the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest. ‘Actually, I had a £20 bet on it, in Brighton, at 20-1. There were some good songs, but I did think ours was better,’ the modest musician says of Abba’s debut hit. The win — worth about £3,000 in today’s money, money, money — was a decent downpayment on the £110 million that Benny has earned from the band since.