The past few weeks, things were boiling tremendously in the rumour-kitchen surrounding ABBA. Almost every day a fresh piece of bad news came to the table. Allegedly, Benny wanted to leave Sweden and find another home in England to decrease taxes. Supposedly, Agnetha had an argument with the other ABBA-members, because they couldn’t go through with a tour of South America due to her refusal to travel along. It was also rumoured that she got back together with Björn, after she had a quarrel with her boyfriend Dick Hakansson.When we give Benny a call in Stockholm and ask him about these rumours, he starts laughing. “None of that is true,” he then says earnestly. “There has never been talk of moving to England. However, it’s true that taxes are very high in Sweden. But we have a very competent financial adviser. That’s why each of us receives a salary that’s a sufficient means of existence. Because of that the tax burden isn’t that heavy,” he explains.
And what about the cancelled tour of South America? “There was never any talk of a tour, not to South America either,” Benny says. “That’s why there’s no reason at all to quarrel about it. But if a tour were planned, we would talk this through together, just like everything we take upon ourselves. When one member in the band has objections, he or she explains the reasons and we talk about it. Then we take a vote about it.”
And the final matter is: did Agnetha and Björn get back together? “That’s not true. However, her relationship with Dick isn’t as tight as it was a few weeks ago. But they are good friends. Agnetha is now living with her mother in the south of Stockholm. This way it’s easier for her to care for her daughter Linda who will be starting school. It’s true though that Agnetha hasn’t found the right partner yet since her divorce from Björn. It’s not fair to turn every new acquaintance into a big love affair. But that’s just a disadvantage of being so well-known.”
No comments:
Post a Comment