The news about ABBA spun through the world like a long-playing record. After 40 years of drought, fans suddenly found themselves blessed with manna from heaven – a new album, a tour, and a revolutionary reunion with their favourites.
At first, the quartet came together to record two songs. Then Agnetha, Frida, Benny and Björn said to themselves: “Let’s make a few more,” and the result became a full album. On stage during the upcoming tour, they will appear just as they once were – 3D images of their younger selves will dance and sing before the audience. This is made possible thanks to technology developed by George Lucas’ company. Using 160 cameras, their movements were recorded and transformed into avatars. No anti-wrinkle treatments needed – digital artistry brings them back to their peak.
Benny – the creative center
According to many, everything somehow revolves around Benny. He inherited his love of music from his father and grandfather, both accordion players. At the age of six he received his first accordion, and by ten he was teaching himself to play the piano. At fifteen he left school, played in clubs, and sold refrigerators to support himself. At seventeen he was already a father of two.
His life changed when he joined Hep Stars, known as “the Swedish Beatles.” At the same time, Björn was a musician in the immensely popular Hootenanny Singers. When the two met, they immediately recognised a creative spark between them. Their collaboration grew into one of pop history’s most enduring partnerships.
When love stepped into the picture
Benny met Frida in Malmö in 1968. That same year, Björn and Agnetha met on a TV show and soon fell in love. Agnetha and Björn married in 1971, Benny and Frida in 1978 – at the height of ABBA’s global fame.
The earliest hint of their musical magic came on a beach in Cyprus, where the two couples improvised songs together. UN soldiers listening nearby were stunned. Something extraordinary was happening. ABBA was born.
Their name is said to be an acronym of their first initials, though another version claims it was chosen through a contest in a Gothenburg newspaper.
Eurovision and world domination
Their rise began in April 1974 when ABBA won the Eurovision Song Contest in the United Kingdom with “Waterloo,” marking Sweden’s first victory in the competition. Yet not all members of the quartet are Swedish.
Frida – a life marked by drama
Anni-Frid, known simply as Frida, was born in Norway in 1945 to a Norwegian mother and a German officer. After her mother’s early death, she was raised by her grandmother in Sweden in poverty. She long believed her father had died, but in 1977 her half-brother discovered her story in a German teen magazine and located their father. Father and daughter finally met – 30 years later. The emotional impact led Frida into a depression shortly after.
The divorces and the songs that carried the heartbreak
From 1972 to 1982, ABBA became one of the best-selling groups in history, with over 400 million albums sold. But the internal relationships could not withstand the pressure.
Agnetha and Björn divorced first. One week later Björn had a new girlfriend, while Agnetha entered therapy. Their collaboration continued, but not without pain. When she sang “Tell me does she kiss / Like I used to kiss you?” in “The Winner Takes It All,” she did so with real emotion. Björn had written the song right after their divorce – something she later described as “touching.”
Benny and Frida divorced in 1981. Like Agnetha and Björn, they claimed the breakup did not affect the group’s work, and ABBA soon began recording their final album.
Who was the better singer?
Most of the vocal lines went to Agnetha. Frida admitted she was sometimes jealous, but their harmonies became one of the most recognizable elements of ABBA’s sound. Björn sang only occasionally, and Benny almost never – his only lead vocal appears on “Suzy Hang Around.”
A night out with Led Zeppelin — perhaps
Robert Plant recalled a wild night in 1978 when he, Benny and Björn visited a strip club in Stockholm while Led Zeppelin were recording in ABBA’s studio. The Swedish camp denies the story – but legends have a way of surviving.
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