Joepie, 1977: ABBA, the oil barons of pop! Behind the Iron Curtain worth their weight in... oil

An article from Belgian magazine Joepie about ABBA’s success in Eastern Europe.
There are only very few countries in the world where ABBA-mania isn’t raging at the moment. The Swedish quartet is even on its way to surpass the record-breaking achievements of the late Beatles. And this success isn’t of the kind that is simplifying the business interests of this four-piece pop industry. Especially since ABBA has become successful behind the Iron Curtain and particularly in Poland and Russia. Concerning this matter, Benny revealed the following to us on the phone:
“The problem in these countries is that you have to spend the money that you make over there primarily in that country and that you can’t take it abroad. In the beginning, you think it won’t be that bad and you buy things that are far cheaper over there than at home, like for instance caviar, salmon, fur coats, leather garments, cameras, yes even our own apartment in the centre of the Soviet country. But you’ll understand that you can’t keep buying these things as your earnings are increasing. And now that our records can be bought over there since a couple of weeks and we are entitled to a fair amount of copyrights, we were forced to think of another solution if we wanted to make a penny out of it.”
But the ABBA-members and their manager Stig Anderson have proved more than once in the past that they are clever business people and it was clear that they would come up with something within a matter of time. A plenary meeting was being held and the matter was thoughtfully pondered on.
“We have founded a new company, the umpteenth,” Benny smiled at the other end of the telephone line. “It’s going to look after our interests behind the Iron Curtain and specialise in converting our money assets over there in oil and oil products, because we can never have enough of these goodies in Sweden. The people in Russia and Poland have already agreed to that. Therefore, our company will transport all our oil acquisitions to our country and then resell them. Simple, isn’t it? But still you have to think about things like this. From now on, we will no longer occupy ourselves only with music, but we will be up to our ears in oil as well!”

ABBA Info, November 1984: Frida in Holland again

Here’s a report from a Dutch fan magazine about Frida’s promotional visit to Holland in October 1984. It also includes an interview with Frida that shows that she was still full of plans at the time, considering a new album and even a tour.

For the second time in one month, Frida arrived at Schiphol Airport. We were at the airport very early and later on, we saw some other fans. Frida arrived at five minutes to eleven. When she saw us (we were waving at her) she walked up to us leisurely and gave Görel and Jan Bakema (Polydor) a sign that they had to wait for the suitcases. Of course, we walked to the door as quickly as possible but Frida thought it was better to stand in the middle of the hall so that we wouldn’t bother anyone. We gave Frida some flowers and took our time to take pictures. Meanwhile, we talked a little about ‘Shine’ and about several other artists. We gave her a compliment for her appearance on Met Mike In Zee in Belgium. Frida was rather surprised that we had seen it. Frida told us that she had been listening to Sade on the plane, on her walkman. She also told us that she had just got back from America where she had been with Hans and Liselotte.
Frida asked us if we didn’t have to go to school because it was an ordinary weekday (Tuesday October 9). When we told her that all of us were terribly sick, she laughed in her familiar way. We were fortunate that it took quite some time before the suitcases arrived. Therefore, we could talk to her in a relaxed manner about for instance Cyndi Lauper, of whom she thought ‘Time After Time’ was a very good song, about Chicago that she loved to listen to and about Sade, the singer who, as Frida explained, brought back some of the old jazz music for the first time in many years. The jazz music that was the start of Frida’s long career as an artist.

Finally, Görel and Jan joined us. Of course, we had flowers for Görel as well and when we gave her a nice bouquet later that same day, she whispered in our ear: “That’s the reason why we come back to Holland time and time again, those flowers are so beautiful!”
Görel was dragging around a strange long bag. When we made a joke about it and asked whether she was planning to play some golf, she smiled and told us that it wasn’t her bag, but Frida’s. For that matter, in the bag was the instrument that has to provide new songs for Frida’s next album.
That’s right, Frida’s own keyboard that lays the foundation of her songs. We didn’t hear any complaints from the hotel, but it’s certain that she had been playing it for a while. The suitcases in the car, the flowers on the hat stand, the collars wrapped tight around the necks, since it was a typical Dutch rainy day, and Frida was off to Rotterdam.
We travelled along with Frida in our car. Headed for the Ahoy venue in Rotterdam where the rehearsals for the Platengala would take place in the afternoon.
The security of the Ahoy knew that we were coming so there were no problems getting in. Luckily, the same went for the other fans who were waiting in the hall. Frida had walked by already but when she realised she had already missed the first rehearsal, she went to the hotel first to put away all her stuff. After that, she came back to the Ahoy venue where she was welcomed extensively by the AVRO people who were taking care of all the proceedings.

Frida had just arrived when they started preparing her rehearsal. We were allowed to get into the hall and we picked a spot in front of the stage so that we could take good pictures and wouldn’t have to miss anything. Frida gave the impression that she was freezing since she had her hands tucked away in her dark blue suit. The scarf she was wearing was appropriately coloured in dark blue (to go with her suit) and red (the same as her hair). Matched with blue glasses and some jewellery, Frida was a remarkable appearance between all these technicians and artists in jeans. The rehearsal went very smoothly, actually it was only a test for the sound and lights, because Frida said she would put on more of a show tomorrow and walk around the stage more. This was immediately briefed to the cameramen by the floor manager who informed Frida about the plans for the show, the camera positions and so forth. The first song ‘Shine’ would be filmed from a wide angle and ‘Come To Me’ with Frida in close-up. A decision that would have some consequences for the recordings the next evening.
As usual, Frida walked up to Görel immediately after the rehearsal to discuss the performance. Görel gave some more suggestions and pointed Frida to the fact that there would be a lot of people sitting behind the stage as well. We followed Frida on her way to the dressing room. Thanks to Jan Bakema, who asked Frida if she had some time for her fans and the fan club, we could go with her to the artists’ lounge where we could sit cosily around a table with a group of about twelve people, take a drink and have a chat. As usual, Frida made a very relaxed impression and she apparently felt at ease. On the next pages, you can read what we talked about. But first, some quotes from Frida, taken from a Swedish interview with the magazine Revyn on the occasion of the release of her new album.

“The events in my childhood were some of my strongest driving forces when I was young. After all, insecurity doesn’t disappear just because you are successful. It’s only now that I’m starting to enjoy myself and I can be myself.”
“My hair is now extremely red, the stuff that I put into it is called ‘Crazy Colour’ and the colour is called ‘Fire’.”
“I started to write songs because Phil told me to. He said, if others can do it, you can do it as well. I wrote about ten songs by now. I might have a talent for this after all.”
“Going to concerts is too time-consuming for me. I’d rather listen to records at a high volume.”
“The most expensive garment was a sable fur coat that cost about 60.000 Dutch guilders. That’s quite a price. I can’t describe a typical day from my life. There are no typical days for me. Sometimes I work in a very disciplined manner for four or five hours a day, when I’m filming a video it’s totally different. On other days, I like to be lazy. Meet people or read good books. Most of the time, I read in English to keep that up. I also read trade magazines like The Business World.”
“My musical dream is a new album with ABBA. That could turn out to be a big surprise, since we all have new experiences now. It’s a dream!”

In the artists’ lounge of the Ahoy venue, we talked to an admirable woman about her new album, the fans and herself.

Can you explain how you feel now, after the recording of ‘Shine’, because so much has changed since ‘Something’s Going On’.
Frida: “I’m exhausted.”
Why?
Frida: “No, I feel fine. The album represents exactly the direction of music that I was looking for. I had something special in mind and I’ve found it.”
You wanted the album to turn out like this?
Frida: “I’ve tried to enhance my music and put some more rock ‘n’ roll into it. That’s the direction I was looking for and the plan was that I would see where we would end up. When I’m going to record my next album, it will probably be produced by Steve again. We have a lot to give to each other.”
Steve said almost the same thing at the Polar Studios, that you inspired each other a great deal.
Frida: “Yes, that’s definitely true.”
It just clicked.
Frida: “Yes, it all felt very natural from the start and we had a great time in the studio. However, Steve wasn’t the only one I worked with in the studio. The others have helped me a lot too. We had so much fun together and that gave me a boost. They deviated from the schedule and weren’t afraid to try something new.”
Maybe because they were so young.
Frida: “Yes, and because they don’t have that musical tradition like older musicians who have been working in the music business for years”
Don’t you have that problem after twelve years with ABBA? After all, you have chosen a completely different musical direction.
Frida: “No, Benny and Björn wrote our songs and our sound was created by them. I have always loved to listen to other music as well. I’ve had my own musical taste for ages.”
First it was jazz, now it’s rock ‘n’ roll.
Frida: “Yes, rock ‘n’ roll mixed with jazz, because I feel that music always comes back, we go around in circles. Music always goes back to its roots. I notice that young people feel that too. The old styles of music are mixing again, that’s exactly what I want as well.”
So there won’t be a real jazz album by Frida.
Frida: “No, those times are gone.”
What do you think about the fact that most articles about you first and foremost are about ABBA and only the last few lines about you?
Frida: “Yes, they all do that. But I think it’s impossible to get rid of your past. I will always carry ABBA with me. And I don’t mind that either. Two years ago, I started out as a solo artist and I’ve worked with ABBA for twelve years. Things don’t happen that fast. I have to be patient.”
What you are doing at the moment is completely different from ABBA, yet they keep calling you Frida from ABBA.
Frida: “Yes, true. But they also say Benny and Björn from ABBA and Agnetha from ABBA.”
You mean that we can now read about the ‘ABBA’ musical Chess?
Frida: “Exactly, and ABBA has nothing to do with it. It’s Benny, Björn and Tim Rice but I think we’ll have to get used to it. And ABBA has meant a great deal to me, so I don’t mind. For that matter, ABBA still means a great deal to me.”
At Schiphol Airport, you told us that ‘Twist In The Dark’ was your favourite song from the album. Why that song?
Frida: “I think it’s a very dramatic song. It comes from the inside and I feel very strongly for that song. It sounds a bit ordinary, but that’s why I think the song is so good.”
So there will be more songs like that on your next album?
Frida: “Yes, I think I will be heading in that direction.”
You wrote ‘Don’t Do It’ yourself, a very quiet number, and ‘That’s Tough’, a tougher track. Will there be more of your own songs on the next album?
Frida: “I hope so, I don’t know yet.”
Is that the reason why you brought your keyboard along?
Frida: “Yes, I’ve been in America for a week and you get so much inspiration when you listen to the radio over there. They have a special kind of music there, it’s more rock ‘n’ roll. You rarely hear it here in Europe. It gave me a kick and when I got back home, I started writing. I started yesterday.”
And?
Frida: “Yes, I have a melody already.”
How do you usually start out?
Frida: “Just with the melody. First, I record my voice on a tape, so that’s only the singing and then I work with my keyboard.”
When did you start playing the keyboard?
Frida: “Two years ago. Haha, no, I played the piano when I was ten, just like everybody else.”
Well, I can’t play.
Frida: “Well, almost like everybody else then. I started when I was ten years old and I was quite good at it. But when you haven’t played for such a long time, you have to learn how to play all over again and get used to it.”
Obviously, there are so many possibilities with a keyboard.
Frida: “Oh yes, all you have to do is push a button and you have a melody.”
Some groups make their music like that.
Frida: “Yes, but that makes it a bit too easy. When you are composing, it’s better when you don’t have to think about everything. And you don’t have that problem when you are singing and playing the keyboard. After that, I go into the studio and record a demo of the song, to see if it’s any good. Whether it’s good or bad.”
Do you ask for the opinion of other people?
Frida: “No, because with this album there were so many people involved who all had their own opinion. That can be very confusing, so I stopped doing that and did exactly what I wanted to do myself. That’s actually the only way to do it.”
What do you think about the fact that you’re back in the same hall after five years?
Frida: “To be honest, I don’t really remember, haha. But I know that we’ve been here to perform, but you know, all these arenas are the same. When you have seen one, you’ve seen them all.”
Isn’t it strange to wake up, not knowing where you are?
Frida: “Well, it’s not that bad. I always know in which city I am, but I don’t know exactly in which hall or arena I’m performing.”
Do you remember MIES, the show that you did two years ago?
Frida: “Yes, I remember, that show was great fun with a lot of enthusiastic fans. I guess it will be more difficult for you tomorrow in that big hall with 7000 people. But when you start screaming, the rest of the audience might join you or something like that. But I want to hear you tomorrow night!”
What’s the deal with ‘Shine’ in America?
Frida: “The album hasn’t been released over there. They don’t think it’s good. They don’t want to release it. Probably, it’s because the album isn’t really American, it’s more British oriented. We are now considering to record a special single, only for the American market and then see what happens. If they want it, we can still release ‘Shine’.”
Does it bother you that the Americans didn’t take to the album?
Frida: “No, I don’t mind. For the time being, Europe is enough for me. I’m not aiming for the kind of success that we had with ABBA. That’s far too much work. I want to do it at my own pace and I don’t want to travel too much. I want to concentrate more on Europe than America. Lately, I’ve been thinking about doing a tour in Europe, not too big, not too many gigs.”
Görel: “She’s even thinking very hard about it!”
Frida: “I would love to do a tour, but first I would like to record another album and that depends on Steve’s time schedule. Maybe we will record the album in Paris again or London, but I think that we will end up in the Polar Studios because Steve likes them very much.”
By the way, the video for ‘Shine’ was very good!
Frida: “Thanks, I worked on it for three days. Twelve hours. The rest of the crew worked on it day and night. So I was pretty lazy. We have also filmed a video for ‘Twist In The Dark’. I think that’s the best one.”

Bravo, December 1976: Anna opens her heart

She looks like anyone would imagine a Swedish girl would look like: blonde, blue-eyed, long-legged and sexy. Anna revealed to Bravo in an honest and intimate interview what she is really like...

Bravo: Anna, you are often called Agnetha as well. Which name is the correct one?
Anna: “According to my passport, my name is Anna, Agnetha Fältskog – therefore both names are right. When I started my career as a solo singer in Sweden eight years ago, I called myself Agnetha. With ABBA, I changed it into Anna, because it was the start of a completely new career for me. My husband Björn calls me Anna as well.”
Bravo: When did you get in touch with music for the first time?
Anna: “Since my father was the leader of a television ballet, we sang, danced and made a lot of music at home. When I was five years old, I got a children’s piano and I wrote my own songs about trolls, the goblins of the Nordic fairytales. When I was eight, I started a classic piano education, that I kept up for ten years. At the time, I played the church organ regularly. When I was eighteen, my father introduced me to people from the show business and not long after that I recorded my first single. It was called ‘Jag Var Så Kär’ which means something like ‘I Was So In Love’.”
Bravo: Were you successful right from the start?
Anna: “Strangely yes, although I actually didn’t want to become a singer. My wish was to become a psychologist or a veterinarian. But since my first single became a hit, even my parents advised me to try my luck as a singer. Altogether, I recorded five albums and fifteen singles, before I joined ABBA. There was even a German single: ‘Geh’ Mit Gott’ and ‘Tausend Wunder’ were the titles of these songs.”
Bravo: Is it true that you were engaged to a German guy?
Anna: “Yes, it was a guy from Berlin, that I met when I was recording a German single over there. It was really more like a fling. He was living in Berlin, I was living in Stockholm. It just couldn’t work out. Apart from that, Björn came between us...
Bravo: How did you meet?
Anna: “We met at a big midsummer night show, in which we both performed. At the time, Björn was playing with the Hootenannys, a well-known folk group. Not much happened at this first meeting. We only watched each other secretly in the dressing room, but we didn’t speak a word to each other. Two days later, a record by the Hootenannys was sent to me by mail, on which Björn had marked his head and written: ‘I’d like to see you again’...”
Bravo: Is Björn somewhat shy?
Anna: “And how! I even had to take the initiative. When we met each other again at a television show and sat together with some colleagues afterwards, I asked Björn if he’d like to take a walk. He wouldn’t have dared to ask. Then, when we were alone, sparks were flying immediately...”
Bravo: Are you in reality actually how you look like: a typical Swedish girl, a blonde poison?
Anna: “You should ask Björn about that, but I believe he’s not dissatisfied with me. In any case, I’m faithful one hundred percent. I object to partner swap and quick flirts.”
Bravo: Is it true that you are so attached to your little daughter Linda that you will take her along on the upcoming ABBA-tour?
Anna: “Then I would be a bad mother. After all, Linda is only three years old. But it’s true that I suffer from every separation from Linda. That’s why we arranged our European tour in such a way that we will have two to three days off every week. Björn and I will fly back to Stockholm to Linda every chance we get...”

Hitkrant, October 1980: The new clothes of Empress Frida

An article from Dutch magazine Hitkrant, featuring pictures of Frida that were published first in Swedish magazine Damernas in July 1980.

Anni-Frid from ABBA is very passionate about fashion; that’s the reason why she has a huge amount of influence on designing the clothes in which ABBA always performs. Therefore, she thought it was great fun to seek out her favourite clothes for a fashion spread and pose in them. Like a trained professional, she browsed through the clothes racks, and after that, she posed in front of the cameras in her favourite dresses.
For a garden party by moonlight, Anni-Frid chose a summery spotted dress in which she found herself up in the clouds. When you, like Frida, have to attend a party at a real palace every now and then, you can move around most quickly on roller-skates. When you, on top of that, dress up to the nines as well in a beautiful laced dress and you are being blindfolded, then you don’t know what’s coming over you!
Frida didn’t know what came over her at all when she was chatting away at the poolside. The photographer gave her a little push and there she went, with her trouser suite into the water! Luckily, she could have a good laugh about it. The trouser suite had such quality that she could still easily appear in it on a ‘royal’ party anytime.

Muziek Expres, 1984: Shine album review

A (very) short review of Frida’s second international album Shine from Dutch magazine Muziek Expres.

With a producer like Steve Lillywhite and musicians from young groups like, for instance, Big Country, it isn’t surprising that Frida’s album ‘Shine’ sounds extremely contemporary. Concerning content, it’s a mixture of solid rock songs and sensitive ballads.
The track ‘Slowly’ was written by Björn and Benny, but for the rest, the album doesn’t sound like ABBA in any way. Frida has chosen her own path and we can only compliment her with that.

Magazine unknown, 1976: ABBA

A short report about ABBA’s visit to Holland in November 1976, highlight of which was their performance on the television show Eén Van De Acht.
Finally, it was Friday, the day that ABBA would come to Holland. So we were off to the press conference, together with a photographer! It would start at five o’clock, but at half past five, the quartet still hadn’t arrived. The room had become pretty crowded by then. Finally, ABBA, the most popular group in the world since the Beatles, was standing on the stage. All four of them received a gold and a platinum record and a gold cassette, and after these official moments, the press was allowed to ask some questions.
Benny, the bearded guy, was willing to share some things about the group: “Actually, it all started with the Swedish group the Hep Stars, that I joined back in 1963. I started to write songs for them and after I had met Björn in 1966, we went on to write together. We wanted to continue on our own and started looking for two singers. Anni-Frid and Agnetha turned out to be those singers. We had a lot of fun together, not only on stage and while recording music, but in our spare time as well. Meanwhile, Björn and Agnetha got married (they got a daughter in 1974) and Anni-Frid and I have been living together for years. We don’t have any children together, but we both have two children from previous marriages and we took them along when we got together. We’ve never performed in Holland, we simply didn’t have the time. Most groups are on tour during the entire year. I don’t understand how they cope with that. We can’t live in hotels and write our songs in hotel rooms. The way that we approach things, suits us fine. We do whatever we like and every now and then we go on tour to show that we actually do exist for real! In February, we will come to Holland for a one-off concert in the Jaap Eden hall.”

Veronica, July 1975: ABBA, do you mean the pop group or the Swedish herring?

An article from Dutch Veronica magazine, July 12, 1975. At the time the SOS single was at number 3 and the ABBA album at number 4 in the Dutch charts. Another example of a journalist who didn’t do much research on his subject. According to this article, Benny was Stig’s son and Frida and Benny were already married. Allegedly, Benny said in this interview that they liked to dress Frida in stylish clothes and Agnetha in sexy clothes. Did the girls have any say in the matter?
ABBA has conquered the world. With ‘SOS’, they softened the ears of millions yet again. Not bad for a Swedish group. We decided to go and see how these two married couples are doing. They are getting richer and richer, but happier as well?

They are pure Swedish. ABBA is so Swedish that the younger generation over there thinks that a certain kind of herring is named after this super quartet. That’s not true, because as a kind of herring, ABBA has existed for years already. ABBA as a popular singing group dates back to 1972. Since the release of ‘Ring Ring’, they have acquired a spot at the absolute top in Scandinavia, but in the rest of Europe they are keeping their end up as well. From their album ‘Waterloo’ (named after the winning Eurovision song), more than 300.000 copies were sold. That speaks volumes.

Their new album was Album Of The Week, their top ten hit ‘SOS’ was the week’s Chartbuster and with this achievement they’ve made their permanent mark. For the time being, they won’t be present in Holland in the flesh. Recently, ABBA was here to film a television special for the NCRV. This show will be broadcast at the end of August. Four young people, who look great and make nice music. A treat for the eye and the ear. Good heavens, what else could you long for.
Benny: “We still want to achieve a definitive breakthrough in England and America. Then, we will have achieved everything that’s within our possibilities. Our records always made the American top 100, but we still haven’t been really accepted.”
Pianist and composer Benny Andersson is more or less the mastermind behind the group. He is the son of the famous and powerful Swedish music publisher Stig Andersson. He knows the music business like no other.

Benny: “I already started as a pop musician back in 1963. Simply in a band called the Hep Stars. But the Beatles paved the way for us. Within a matter of time we were the Swedish Beatles, the top group in Scandinavia. I met Björn during a tour in 1966. He played in the skiffle group the Hootenanny Singers. We talked a lot and it turned out that we had a lot of things in common. Every now and then, we worked together but it wasn’t until 1970 that we really set our minds to it. At the time, I had achieved eight gold records with the Hep Stars and that seemed enough for the time being.”
In the meantime, Benny got married to singer Anni-frid Lyngstad, who was very well-known in Sweden. Björn had tied the knot with a beautiful girl as well. That was the blonde and sexy Agnetha Fältskog, who had scored a couple of number one hits in Stockholm and its surroundings. The quartet was already very famous as individuals. Therefore, it was a sensation when both couples decided to join forces. Initially, they were launched as Agnetha, Benny, Björn and Frida. An unutterable name for foreigners, therefore it was changed into ABBA rapidly, after the Swedish herring. With ‘Ring Ring’, they got European recognition, but ‘Waterloo’ conquered the world.

Benny: “Since the Eurovision Song Contest last year, we’ve been travelling all over the world. Sometimes it got so crazy, that we asked in the television studios in which country we were. To prevent ourselves from going completely insane, we gave our manager a clear assignment. Every now and then, we’d like to be at home for a while. All four of us love sailing, but we prefer to do that separately. We live close to each other in a beautiful area just outside Stockholm, but consciously we don’t see too much of each other in our spare time.”
ABBA is paying a lot of attention to their outward appearance. They wear the most outrageous clothes. We already saw that at Eurovision, but in later television performances they kept surprising us with their tasteful clothes.
Benny: “That’s really our image. We don’t care much for all that glitter, but nice and extraordinary things are always appealing to the audience. My wife Frida is rather sophisticated, therefore she looks more stylish than Agnetha. She is very sexy, therefore we prefer to dress her in mini skirts and things like that.”
Does husband Björn think it’s okay that men are drooling over his wife?
Björn: “I really don’t care one tiny bit. They can do what they like. Agnetha is around me most of the time, so why should I worry.”
Last question before they get in front of one or the other camera for the umpteenth time. For two couples, it can sometimes be hard to bear to spend even two weeks together when they go on a holiday. Isn’t it an enormous task to last this long under these circumstances?
Benny: “Obviously, tensions occur sometimes. That’s only natural. But first and foremost, we are friends and only then we are colleagues. That’s a big difference. All four of us know that we mustn’t give each other a hard time, or annoy each other and then nothing earth-shattering will happen. And if one of us is down or too tired or disheartened, then there are always three others to give some shelter. We have developed a nice collaboration. We can be completely honest to each other and we talk about everything. So you don’t have to worry about that aspect.”