Bravo, 1981: Björn: he almost became a teacher

After the divorce from his wife Agnetha, with whom he lived together for thirteen years, Björn Christian Ulvaeus (36) didn't remain a bachelor very long. Only one week later, he met his new life partner Lena Källersjö at a party. In the meantime the couple got married and Lena is even expecting a child. There's no doubt about it: Björn has had an easier time dealing with the divorce than Agnetha.

The ABBA guitarist was born on April 25, 1945 in Göteborg. When he was six years old, he moved with his parents to Västervik. His father had been able to get a job there at a paper factory. On his twelfth birthday, Björn got a guitar as a present; he learned his first chords from his older nephew Jon Ulfsäter.

The foundation for Björn's musical career had been laid at a very early age. Because soon after that, he started his first skiffle group together with Jon, with whom he joined another band from the city later on, the Westbay Singers. Their speciality was Swedish folk music, that they sang in English with great success.

The first big breakthrough for the Westbay Singers came in 1963, when they performed on a TV show. Someone named Stig Anderson - who had started a record company in Stockholm shortly before that - saw the broadcast and he signed the young lads right away.

First he persuaded them to take on a Swedish band name. With immediate effect, they called themselves the Hootenanny Singers.

They didn't have to wait for success very long under their new management. Already a couple of years later, Björn and his Hootenanny Singers were the most successful group in Sweden. In 1967, Björn moved to Stockholm. He wanted to study business economics and law at the university. Next to his studies, he had a job with Stig Anderson, whose record company was starting to become more and more successful.

In 1966, Björn met the second ABBA member, Benny Andersson. They became close friends very quickly and started to write their first songs together. Björn met the third member, Agnetha Fältskog, by coincidence in a television studio. Two years later, the couple was married already. When one adds on Anni-Frid Lyngstad, who performed as a solo singer prior to that, the foursome was complete. The super quartet ABBA had been born.

Björn is an ever decent and thoughtful human being. His merits are undoubtedly his efficiency, his thrift and a certain talent as an organizer.

In short: Björn is one of those young men who succeeds at everything that he sets his mind to. In the very early days he wanted to become a teacher. He often repeated this pious wish later on, especially at times when he came out of the recording studio after 14 hours of work.

The alleged ideal marriage between Agnetha and Björn came to an end in 1978. The divorce was handled without much fuss. However, there were tears. But that's hardly surprising when you have been living together for thirteen years, says Björn. Right after the divorce, Björn left their mansion and moved into a house not far way from Agnetha's. He didn't want to be too far away from the children Linda and Christian.

But Björn didn't remain alone there very long. Only a week later, he met Lena Källersjö at a party at Benny and Frida's place. Apparently it was love at first sight, because two years later the couple got married. Lena is even expecting their first child. "It doesn't matter whether it's a boy or a girl," he says. "The most important thing is that both of them remain healthy..."