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Thank you for the music: The Swedish supergroup Abba performs on stage in New York in the late Seventies. Photo: Getty Images

‘I could never let you go …’

The new Abba biography gets me thinking about the band’s role in an angry young man’s life

Songs such as “Wild Time” conjure up images of industrialisation and nature juxtaposed with one another. (Michael Zagaris/Getty Images)

Songs for the end of the world: pop music and climate change

Analysis: from Lana Del Rey and Weyes Blood to the 1975 and Matmos, pop stars are showing it’s a wild time to be alive to observe the end of the world

Gaga’s ‘Artpop’: Disco delight or darkwave disaster?

"ArtPop" is an energetic mix of disco, darkwave, R&B and cheese, and while there are some sure-fire hits, the misses are far, far off the mark.

Miley Cyrus’s ‘Bangerz’ cuts through the hype

Miley Cyrus has been hell-bent on getting her new record ‘Bangerz’ to the top, and we have to give it to her – it’s not half bad.

Did Bieber pull a Miley Cyrus with the ‘lolly dance’?

Licking seems to be the latest craze as Justin Bieber features in the new single from R&B artist Maejor Ali, calling on fans to "lick his lolly".

Just two guys being Pet Shop Boys: Chris Lowe and

Sticking to a winning template

Three decades and 11 albums in, the Pet Shop Boys still feel like they are renting their place as unlikely pop stars.

Adele adds more trophies to her cabinet at Brit Awards

The biggest awards night in British music honoured artists often left out of other international ceremonies.

Madgic moments

Madgic moments

Her half-time show at the Super Bowl was met by outrage and barbed comments, but there was some classic Madonna magic.

Learn how to dance like Lady Gaga

Learn how to dance like Lady Gaga

There is a fine line between dance that suggests surrendering to the spirit of pop, and movements that prompt passers-by to dial emergency services.

Lady Gaga steals the show (again)

Lady Gaga steals the show (again)

Lady Gaga was the big winner at last night’s MTV Europe Music Awards, while Justin Bieber brushed off allegations that he had fathered a fan’s child.

K-pop rocks Japan

K-pop rocks Japan

South Korean bands strike gold in the world’s second-largest music market.

‘I’ve always been the outsider’

She was a pop powerhouse whose songs lit up the 1980s. And now Cyndi Lauper is back, writes Caroline Sullivan.

Buoyant clairvoyants

Every now and then a spectacular musical force rises up from the landfill of throwaway hooks, sexy poses and layers of cheese.

The Police, almost at peace

During a lengthy reunion tour, The Police didn’t necessarily resolve the conflicts that blew apart one of rock’s most successful groups.