ABBA 1972-1982 by Bulls Press

That his style has little in commonwith that of the foul-mouthed US rapper. “Our lyrics are very different,” he says, laughing again. “I guess I didn’t have quite the same relationship with my mother.” At home in Stockholm, he listens to the music played by his two younger daughters by his second wife Lena – Anna, 17, and Emma, 21. But none of it really grabs him.His girls – and his two children with Agnetha, actress Linda, 30, and civil engineering student Christian, 23 – are proud of his past. “They don’t play Abba music, but they think it’s good,” he says. “They still tease me about the outfits I used to wear. We found a picture the other day and I’m wearing a red cape and tight blue-sequined leotard. I just cringed. “But that was glam rock – you had to be outrageous to get noticed. Most of the clothes we wore are in a museum in Stockholm now. I don’t suppose they’d fit any of us now anyway.” Ever since the band split up,rumours of

rows over money and animosity between the girls have persisted. “We’re actually the best of to go on.“By 1973, we regarded ourselves as a group,” says Bjorn “But the group was called Agnetha, AnnaFrid, Benny and Bjorn. It wasn’t very catchy. “People actually started calling us Abba. It could just as easily have been Baba. “We weren’t as clean-cut as we seemed. There were no drugs and very few groupies, but there were a few wrecked hotel rooms. Both couples were really bad.” But by the early 80s, the group was running out of steam. “We weren’t enjoying it any more,” says Bjorn. “We tried everything but we decided to take a break. We thought we’d get together again in a couple of years, but it never happened. “I’m not nostalgic for those days. I wouldn’t like to have it back. Creating was what I really enjoyed. “In this business, it all begins and ends with a song. Without that, no one is anything.” b.davies@

mirror.co.uk Mamma Mia! is at the Prince Edward Theatre, London. Bookings: 0870 8500393. Benny and me sitting with two guitars under a big oak tree singing Beatles songs

1972 – 1982 in the early morning. A year after that, we wrote our first song together.” They met the Abba girls within three months of each other. “I met Agnetha first and fell hopelessly in love,” says Bjorn. “But we never contemplated forming a group together until two years later.” Their first song, People Need Love, was a minor hit in Germany and Holland, and gave the four enough faith German prince Ruzzo Reuss von Plauen, died two years ago after battling cancer. “Frida and I meet up when she’s in Stockholm,”

harakteristisch für die Gruppe waren die zu dieser Zeit ausgefallenen bunt-poppigen Kostüme, die die Musiker während ihrer Auftritte und in den Musikvideos trugen. Vor allem Mitte der 1970er Jahre, in denen Hits wie SOS, Mamma Mia, Fernando und Dancing Queen entstanden, galt ABBA wegen ihrer aufwändigen und ausgefeilten Musikproduktionen als Mitbegründer einer neuen internationalen Popmusik. Die Band formierte sich in den frühen 1970er Jahren und schaffte ihren internationalen Durchbruch 1974 mit dem Sieg beim Eurovision Song Contest im englischen Seebad Brighton mit dem Titel Waterloo.

Über Jahre pflegten ABBA fortan das Image zweier glücklicher und sehr gut befreundeter Paare, die ohne die sonst für viele Bands üblichen Skandale wie Liebesaffären, Drogenkonsum usw. stets nett und freundlich in der Öffentlichkeit, bei Fernsehshows und gegenüber ihren Fans auftraten.

Und auch nach der Trennung von Fältskog und Ulvaeus präsentierten die vier Musiker sich als Gruppe, die trotz persönlicher Differenzen gemeinsam für ein Musik-Projekt arbeiteten. Während viele Bands Anfang der 1970er Jahre noch Musik spielten, die sich an die populäre englische Rockmusik der 1960er Jahre anlehnte, waren ABBA bestrebt, modernere, eingängige und kommerziell erfolgreiche Unterhaltungsmusik zu produzieren. Nachdem ABBA auf den ersten Platten noch mit sehr verschiedenen Musikrichtungen experimentierten – von der Glam-Rock-Nummer Watch Out bis zum internationalen Schlagersong Honey, Honey – fand die Gruppe 1975 einen eigenen und so bislang noch nicht produzierten Pop-Sound. Unterstützt durch eine vielseitige Instrumentenauswahl, moderne Arrangements und ausgefeilte Studiotechnik, die im Vergleich zu vielen anderen Pop- und Discomusikern ihrer Zeit sehr aufwendig war, erreichten ABBA

TEN years ago two young Swedish couples were madly in love. One girl was heavily pregnant. They called themselves Abba and made their first record. Today they are held together by a multinational multi-million pound company that pushes Volvo cars as Sweden‘s biggestexport. But they have paid for it all with their own lives. Where once stood twobeaming couples are now four distinct lndi‚ viduals. In London yesterday they talked of the riches and their private worlds as they celebrated their .tenth birthday. Bjorn Ulvaeus married Agnetha Faltskog in 1970. They had two children together. They divorced in 1979 and Bjorn married again. Better „My wife, Lena, would rather I wasn‘t part of Abba anymore,“ he said.„It reminds her too much of my past. „Agnetha does not give a damn about the past.. We have to talk about the children anyway. „Abba is better now because we do not all live together.“ Benny Andersson agrees. He was divorced from Frida Lyngstad last year and has a new wife, Mona. THEN: Two happy couples‘ first song, People Need Love. „The fact that we are ex-husbands and exwives and working together doesn‘t make any diffe-

rence to us, said Benny. Since the summer Benny has stayed at home looking after his 10-month-old son Ludwig while Mona goes out to work as a TV presenter. „I‘m doing it because I enjoy it,“ Ben-

Ten years of riches ny said. What about Abba? „I am now drinking to the next ten years together,“ says Benny, with a smile that is not reflected In his eyes. They deny that they are a bigger Swedish export than Volvo. „But last year we did make the biggest profit of any corporation in Sweden, says Bjorn smugly. For that, the soul Is a small price to pay. TEN years ago two young Swedish couples were madly in love. One girl was heavily pregnant. They called themselves Abba and made their first record. Today they are held together by a multinational multi-million pound company that pushes Volvo cars as Sweden‘s biggestexport. But they have paid for it all with their own lives. Where once stood twobeaming couples are now four distinct lndi‚ viduals. In London yesterday they talked of the

fame and heartbreak

cars as Sweden‘s biggestexport. But they have paid for it all with their own lives. Where once stood twobeaming couples are now four distinct lndi‚ viduals. In London yesterday they talked of the riches and their private worlds as they celebrated their .tenth birthday. Bjorn Ulvaeus married Agnetha Faltskog in 1970. They had two children together. They divorced in 1979 and Bjorn married again. Better „My wife, Lena, would rather I wasn‘t part of Abba anymore,“

HE world‘s top-selling pop group have been together for ten incredible years thismonth. But while ABBA have reigned supreme in the charts the personal side of their lives has been a disaster. instead of two loving couples they ore now two divorced couples . . . each going his or her own way and talking of the day in the not-toodistant fyture when the group will split $ . . . forever. In the decade they have been together Anni-Frid, Benny, Bjom and Agnetha have sung themselves into the Ho. 1 spot os Sweden‘s most profitable company—more so even than car giant Volvo. Abba own shopping malls and leasing companies, a firm that buys art galleries and are even involved in international oil deals. They are the world‘s top-selling pop group—yet they break ai! the rules. They hardly ever tour.

Super IT WAS, to say the least, an unlikely venue for an Abba reunion. But three years ago, in a house in the heart of Stockholm, Agnetha, Anni-Frid, Benny and Bjorn crammed themselves into a downstairs toilet and quickly ran through their song in whispered tones. When they emerged minutes later and performed their impromp tu number at a friend’s 50th birthday party they brought the house down. Bjorn Ulvaeus – the clean-shaven one w h o was for

Die Band formierte sich in den frühen 1970er Jahren und schaffte ihren internationalen Durchbruch 1974 mit dem Sieg beim Eurovision Song Contest im englischen Seebad Brighton mit dem Titel Waterloo.

time in nearly two decades. “It was so strange,” he says, revealing the reunion for the first time. “I was standing on that little stage and I looked right and saw Agnetha singing beside me again and it feels stranger is that just a year earlier the four members of one of the most successfull bands in history had turned down a billion-dollar offer to reunite and perform together for the last time.

Troupers POP group Abba have a hands. Bearded Benny Andersson and dark haired Annifrid Lyngstad announced yesterday that their marriage has broken down. The other half of Abba - Bjorn Ulvaeus and Agnetha Faltskog - parted two years ago. gut the famous Swedish foursome plan to carry on making music together. Benny and Annl way affect Abba‘s future plans and is a c o m,; pletely nersonal matter. In the pipeline is an American TV spec~al folowed by the recording of a new single. Benny, 34, and Annl, 35, married in 1978 after living together for nine years. They met when she was singing solo in cabaret. In 1970 they teamed up with Agnetha and Bjbrn to form one of the werld‘p top-selling groups. issued,‘ a statement say- Rumours of a second ing:

Die Band formierte sich in den frühen 1970er Jahren und schaffte ihren internationalen Durchbruch 1974 mit dem Sieg beim Eurovision Song Contest im englischen Seebad Brighton mit dem Titel Waterloo.

POP group Abba have a hands. Bearded Benny Andersson and dark haired Annifrid Lyngstad announced yesterday that their marriage has broken down. The other half of Abba - Bjorn Ulvaeus and Agnetha Faltskog - parted two years ago. gut the famous Swedish foursome plan to carry on making music together. Benny and Annl way affect Abba‘s future plans and is a c o m,; pletely nersonal matter. In the pipeline is an American TV spec~al folowed by the recording of a new single. Benny, 34, and Annl, 35, married in 1978 after living together for nine years. They met when she was singing solo in cabaret. In 1970 they teamed up with Agnetha and Bjbrn to form one of the werld‘p top-selling groups. issued,‘ a statement say- Rumours of a second ing:

Die Band formierte sich in den frühen 1970er Jahren und schaffte ihren internationalen Durchbruch 1974 mit dem Sieg beim Eurovision Song Contest im englischen Seebad Brighton mit dem Titel Waterloo.