Hitkrant, 1985: "First and foremost, I want to be a good mother"

“With ABBA I’ve experienced good and bad times,” Agnetha Fältskog says. “Especially all the traveling and seeing so little of your loved ones is not very easy in the end. It’s not completely impossible that a new ABBA-album will see the light of day someday in the future, but there won’t be any firm group collaboration any longer.” An honest conversation about past, present and future.

Is there a big difference between Agnetha the singer and Agnetha privately?
“Definitely. I think that the image the audience has of me is totally wrong. Everyone seems to think that I’m a very vulnerable woman, who has difficulties standing up for herself. In reality it’s not like that at all. I am very shy, but I know exactly what I want. I like to go my own way. For instance, I realize now, more than ever, that in your life you always have to give priority to the things that are most important to you. For me, those are my children. That’s why I try to travel as little as possible. But I can record an album, I think.”
Why did you choose Eric Stewart as your producer?
“Indeed, finding a suitable producer is not very easy. I had met Eric and the other guys from 10CC a few times already during ABBA’s heyday. But it was risky, because beforehand you never know how you will get along. But things turned out for the best, because Eric is a calm man, it was very pleasurable working with him.”
Why did you write so few songs for the album yourself?
“Because I have very little time for that. Composing songs takes an enormous amount of energy and patience. And every time I get more critical when it comes to the songs. Apart from that, I don’t want to neglect my children anymore, the way I used to do when I was with ABBA.”
There are a lot of love-songs on your album. Is that a coincidence?
“Yes and no. All composers mostly write about love. It’s probably because a human being is full of emotions, that he wants to release while writing a song. Personally, I feel very comfortable with sentimentality and romance.”
Why did you choose ‘I Won’t Let You Go’ as a single?
“Eric and I left that to other people to decide on purpose. When you are recording an album, you’re so much into it that you can’t decide which song should be the single yourself. A convincing majority of my advisers went for ‘I Won’t Let You Go’”.
Are you considering any live performances?
“I don’t rule it out. I would like to get up on stage once again, especially in Stockholm. Actually, I see myself more as a recording artist than a performer, but I still enjoy to perform live.”
Any chances of a career as an actress?
“Why not, actually? I played a part in a Swedish movie not too long ago and I had to play several characters in a television special as well. It felt very good. Singing and acting seems like a fun combination.”
What are your plans for 1985?
“The spring is devoted completely to promoting the album. After that, I want to take an extensive break. At the end of this year, my son Christian will be going to school for the first time. I wouldn’t want to miss that for the world. It’s even possible that I will record a children’s album with him. As you can see, being a good mother comes first for me from now on.”