Popfoto, January 1980: What are you dreaming about, Agnetha?

Dutch magazine Pop Foto musing about Agnetha's thoughts in this picture, taken at a press conference during the 1979 tour.

What does this far off gaze in your cool Swedish eyes mean, Agnetha? What are you desperately longing for, being someone who has everything that others can only dream about? Could it be your heart that’s bothering you?

Does ABBA’s blonde singer Agnetha Fältskog give herself away? It sure seemed like it every now and then during the recent ABBA-tour through Canada, America and Europe. Time and time again, Agnetha, with a fresh, short haircut, was spotted gazing in the distance, absorbed in thought. If you didn’t know any better, you would think that the twenty-nine-year-old blonde from Jönköping was in love. And if you didn’t read the newspapers, the tabloids and pop magazines the past year, you might even think that Agnetha was reminiscing about the happy years before the ABBA-success. About that sunny afternoon in July for instance, when she said ‘I do’ to Björn in a small Swedish church and life was still full of promises...

Of course, we all know better. Obviously, we’re all familiar with the pictures of the dramatic divorce, Björn’s new love Lena and Agnetha’s brief fling with ice-hockey player Lars-Eric Eriksson... but still. Actually, Agnetha only seemed happy when her children Linda and Christian were flown in during the aforementioned tour and, if only for a short while, she got the feeling to be reunited with her little family again in London and San Francisco...
But still... despite the fact that girlfriend Lena Källersjö was travelling along with Björn on the tour, the formerly married couple was suspiciously often spotted together, not only with their children and during rehearsals, but in their spare time as well. This was especially obvious because the love birds of yore, Frida and Benny, were just behaving less friendly towards each other the past few months. The couple that was always known for their quiet, friendly behaviour, now excelled in quarrelling on stage, at their hotel and during public appearances such as press conferences...
It was obvious that Agnetha was dreaming about love, in between the busy ABBA-schedule. And what’s also obvious to everyone, is that love hasn’t been kind to the members of Europe’s most successful group. But what it will bring in the future, that’s the secret behind that mysterious glance of Agnetha...