A Belgian article from 1978 about the ladies’ discontent with Björn and Benny’s demands.
It happens very often that a work meeting turns into a huge discussion with Anna. Most of the time, Anna and Frida pull together at these times, and try to resist the sometimes dictatorial decisions of their own spouses with might and main!
“You have no idea how tough Björn and Benny can get towards us where ABBA is concerned,” Anna whispered in our ear not too long ago. “At these moments, they completely forget that they are married to us and treat us like an artist that’s just starting out. For instance, in the studio things can get pretty heated. Sometimes we have to record our vocals for a particular song ten times before they are satisfied! That doesn’t even really bother Frida and me, because we know that Björn and Benny are mostly right. But we do get rebellious when they start to demand too much of us. Like recently: we had a week of holiday ahead of us, Frida and I were really over the moon about that. We would withdraw on our island to catch our breath, together with the children. But one day before our departure, our two gentlemen walked into the room, with the announcement that our holiday had been shortened with three days. The two of them had been watching footage of some kind of performance, and they had reached the conclusion that our performance – Frida’s and mine – was not completely perfect yet. That’s why they had hastily made an appointment with our dance instructor, without even consulting us. That was the last straw! Frida and I refused decisively and we called this man ourselves to postpone our appointment. I mean: sure, there are still a lot of things to improve upon. But all in due time! Just like everybody else, we need some time to get some rest and enjoy ourselves with our children. Our husbands are so committed to their job that it’s starting to turn into an obsession. Frida and I have decided to give them a wake-up call every now and then...”
It happens very often that a work meeting turns into a huge discussion with Anna. Most of the time, Anna and Frida pull together at these times, and try to resist the sometimes dictatorial decisions of their own spouses with might and main!
“You have no idea how tough Björn and Benny can get towards us where ABBA is concerned,” Anna whispered in our ear not too long ago. “At these moments, they completely forget that they are married to us and treat us like an artist that’s just starting out. For instance, in the studio things can get pretty heated. Sometimes we have to record our vocals for a particular song ten times before they are satisfied! That doesn’t even really bother Frida and me, because we know that Björn and Benny are mostly right. But we do get rebellious when they start to demand too much of us. Like recently: we had a week of holiday ahead of us, Frida and I were really over the moon about that. We would withdraw on our island to catch our breath, together with the children. But one day before our departure, our two gentlemen walked into the room, with the announcement that our holiday had been shortened with three days. The two of them had been watching footage of some kind of performance, and they had reached the conclusion that our performance – Frida’s and mine – was not completely perfect yet. That’s why they had hastily made an appointment with our dance instructor, without even consulting us. That was the last straw! Frida and I refused decisively and we called this man ourselves to postpone our appointment. I mean: sure, there are still a lot of things to improve upon. But all in due time! Just like everybody else, we need some time to get some rest and enjoy ourselves with our children. Our husbands are so committed to their job that it’s starting to turn into an obsession. Frida and I have decided to give them a wake-up call every now and then...”
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