1975: The Hep Stars - Golden Hits (liner notes on Dutch compilation album)

The Hep Stars from Sweden - who remembers them? In 1968 they hit the big time with 'Sunny Girl' and 'Music Box', two romantic songs that stormed up the Dutch top 40. Shortly after that, the group disbanded and the first Swedish pop successes came to an end. But the Hep Stars were the origins of the Swedisch pop explosion of the last couple of months. The organ player of the group namely was Benny Andersson, who was already close friends with Björn Ulvaeus around that time and together with him he wrote songs on a regular basis. These days, Benny and Björn of course make up the male half of the most popular group in Europe at this time: ABBA, who have conquered the whole world with their hits 'Ring Ring', 'Waterloo', 'Honey, Honey', 'I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do', 'SOS' and 'Mamma Mia'.
Thanks in part to the phenomenal success of ABBA, Sweden has suddenly become an important pop country. Some examples: Sven & Charlotte with their 'Bang-A-Boomerang', Harpo with 'Moviestar', Blue Swede with 'Hooked On A Feeling' and Bo Hansson with his music accompanying the book 'The Lord Of Rings'.
The Hep Stars were the frontrunners of this Swedish pop explosion. They were the first pop group from that country that scored hits all over Europe and whose records were released in America (on Dunhill).
The story of the Hep Stars begins at the end of 1963 when guitar player Lennart Heglund and drummer Christer Petersson ran into each other during their military service with the air force. Their mutual hobby music soon started to pay off, so that they decided to form a pop group after their military service. Jan Frisk was hired as a solo guitarist and he would also do the vocals. An organ player was hired as well, but the archives don't mention his name anymore. After a couple of months his job was taken over by Benny Andersson. It soon turned out that the band needed a proper singer as well, that was found in Sven Hedlund which completed the line up. Their first try on record failed. Their single 'Kana Kapila' was hardly noticed. That's why the boys started looking for good songs abroad. Soon the right songs were found and recorded, like Mike Berry's 'Tribute to Buddy Holly' (already then!), the ancient 'Farmer John' and 'Cadillac', which became their first truly big hit. This song was initially recorded by The Renegades, a British group that moved to Finland to find the success that they couldn't find in their home country. The Hep Stars recorded a cover of this song and that established their name.

Not before too long there was a genuine Hep Stars mania in Sweden. It happened frequently that the boys were in the Swedish top 10 with two or three records simultaneously, an unprecedented achievement in that country. The boys got their nicknames too. Sven became Svenne, Jan became Janne, Lennart became Lenne, Christer became Crille and only Benny remained Benny. But the Hep Stars' success remained limited to Scandinavia, which wasn't that surprising because the group didn't have a very original sound at that time. They played tough rock and roll music, dominated especially by Jan's guitar and Benny's organ. Their approach may not have been too original, their performance mostly was outstanding and the group had a good ear for good songs. This is obvious from the choice of songs that they recorded: apart from the mandatory 'Sweet Little Sixteen' and 'Oh Carol' they also recorded 'Surfin' Bird', 'Then He Kissed Me' and 'Be My Baby'.
At the end of 1965 a live album was released, called 'Hep Stars On Stage' and that record made clear why the Hep Stars were the most important Swedish group in 1965. The album is one of the finest rock 'n' roll live records and it even far outshines the group's studio albums from that time.
The first two Hep Stars albums mainly consisted of covers, but after a while they also started to compose songs themselves. Especially Benny Andersson and Sven Hedlund were very productive in that department. At this stage, the musical approach of the group also changed. The tough rock was exchanged for music that was more mellow. The big example of singer Sven Hedlund was Elvis Presley. Sven even recorded an album full of songs of his idol.
Around this time, Benny also met Björn Ulvaeus, the lead singer of the Swedish folk group the Hootenanny Singers. The first song they composed together can be found on the fourth Hep Stars album: 'Isn't It Easy To Say'.
The international breakthrough of the Hep Stars was finally achieved in 1968. 'Sunny Girl' became a hit in our country and soon Germany and the other countries on the European continent followed. The follow-up was 'Music Box', perhaps a little less striking but still good for a couple of decent chart placings. After this sudden success things started to go wrong with the Hep Stars. Singer Sven Hedlund brought in his American girlfriend Charlotte Walker. Charlotte is known from the American girl group The Sherries who scored a hit in 1962 with 'Pop-Pop-Pop-Pie', good for a gold record. A nice addition to the group, but not everyone agrees. Sven decides to leave the group with his girlfriend. Benny Andersson quits as well and that sealed the group's fate.
Sven started recording with Lotte and now they are a popular duo in Scandinavia, where they are known as Svenne & Lotta. Abroad they are simply called Sven & Charlotte. Meanwhile they have recorded two albums together that both achieved gold status for sales in Sweden and Denmark. Benny started working at Polar Records, Stig Anderson's record company, where he became a producer together with his friend Björn Ulvaeus. In 1970, they recorded an album together called 'Lycka' (Happiness) for which they called in their girlfriends to help them out. That album certainly brought happiness for Benny and Björn, because it was the start of a new success story.

Bravo, 1975: Everything about the currently most popular group in the world: ABBA

Bravo spent two days with ABBA in Stockholm. The result: an intimate and surprising story, that turns the stars from Sweden into real people. Anna, Björn, Anni-Frid and Benny show openly and honestly how they live their private lives, how they work, how they think...

ABBA’s headquarter is situated in the upscale diplomatic neighbourhood in Stockholm. The streets are being guarded by two soldiers. They are there to protect the Chinese Embassy, which is next-door to ABBA’s head office, that’s hidden away behind a high wall. It turns out to be a smart mansion, wherein ABBA’s publishing company, management and recording studio are located. Only one year ago, all of this was shoved into a small three-room office...
The pretty, twenty-year-old Sussie Wageborg is sitting at the reception desk. As it turns out, for the fans she is the most important contact to ABBA: Sussie answers the fanmail. She gets 100 letters per day, almost half of them are from Germany. She requests to use the new fanmail address: ABBA Fanclub, c/o Harlekin AB FACK, 100 41 Stockholm 26. Sussie makes a promise: “Whoever writes to this address will get a reply within seven days.”
Two doors onwards, we bump into the weekly ABBA meeting: like business executives, Anna, Björn, Anni-Frid and Benny are sitting at a long table, between them their joint secretary Görel Johnson. Standing next to them, manager Stig Anderson is reporting about the current state of affairs: “We are number one in the charts in Germany, Belgium and Holland, we are number six in England and in America, we’ve stormed to number 17. We have received four offers for USA shows, that we could do at the end of November. Before that, we will go to Germany for two days to film a New Year’s Eve show for television...”
ABBA’s schedule is always packed to capacity. Benny says ironically: “We are on the road fourteen days every month, during the remaining days we are working. Apart from ABBA, Björn and I are producing four other Swedish artists, the girls are taking dancing lessons, they take care of our wardrobe and not least the children and the household.”

No wonder, that ABBA is living a fenced off life at home in Sweden. Up till now, no other magazine in the world except Bravo was allowed to visit ABBA privately. Why exactly this exception? “Because we already got to know each other and became friends before our Eurovision victory in Brighton,” Anni-Frid says. “All other reporters only came afterwards, when ‘Waterloo’ had made us famous...”
When one wants to describe ABBA and their world, plain words are in place. Any bigheadedness or pomposity is far removed from the hardworking quartet. From their modest townhouses in the Stockholm suburb Vallentuna, they haven’t moved into big palaces, but into good middle-class houses. Anna, Björn and their little daughter Linda are now living in their own house near the city centre. Anni-Frid and Benny have bought a place in the picturesque Old Town of Stockholm. They have to pay for the wonderful view over the harbour with the stairs that count 99(!) treads. Frida and Benny are only able to see the children, Hans and Lise-Lotte from Frida’s previous marriage and the joint children Helen and Peter, during the weekends. The rest of the time, they are living with relatives in the country.
Anna and Anni-Frid sometimes argue about the children. Because Anna says: “I would never give Linda away, even it would cause difficulties.” And honestly she admits: “At our home, things don’t look as organised as at Anni-Frid’s place. Toys and clothes are lying around on the floor, but I gladly accept that...”
While both men are playing the same part privately as they do on stage – Benny is the quiet tinkerer, Björn is the sunny boy –, with the girls it’s completely the opposite: Anna – on stage the sexy girl – is shy and dreamy privately, Anni-Frid on the other hand is secretly a bundle of energy.
Anni-Frid, who is into psychology, explains: “It’s revealing in which position one sleeps. I always sleep on my back, completely stretched out. This means that I’m not afraid of the world and I feel secure. Anna on the other hand sleeps on her belly, snuggled into her pillow. She is in need of affection, she needs a lot of love and always wants to be protected...”
You could discuss topics like this for hours with ABBA. They can talk until their heads see red (especially the girls) or laugh and relax with relish (the boys). A conversation like that, an extensive meal in a gourmet restaurant, reading a book, a film about the children, a little bit of time for themselves – these are the small joys that the four from ABBA are dreaming about – and that they rarely allow themselves.
There’s no doubt about it: at the moment they are the most hardworking pop group in the world, and with that, the most successful. ABBA’s dream wish for the future: “When the children are a little older, we want to buy a giant sail boat and sail around the world...”

Bravo, 1975: Bronze Otto winners ’75: ABBA

ABBA winning the bronze Otto 1975 in German magazine Bravo.
1975 was an ABBA year as well: Anna, Björn, Benny and Anni-Frid were successful with the three hits ‘I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do’, ‘SOS’ and ‘Mamma Mia’. That’s why 4.090 Bravo readers voted for ABBA. In 1974, the Swedes won the silver Otto. Here’s a review of their steep career.

Clockwise from top left:
Privately, ABBA harmonise wonderfully as well: Anni-Frid, Benny, Anna and Björn are happy as couples.

It all started in Brighton: ABBA won the Eurovision Song Contest 1974 with ‘Waterloo’.

Fancy costumes are a speciality of both Swedish girls. You will rarely see them in long dresses like they are wearing during this performance in Disco ’75.

On their German tour and in several TV-shows, Anni-Frid and Anna appeared in sexy mini skirts.

ABBA are the uncrowned pop kings in their home country Sweden.

ABBA as beaming Otto winners 1974.

Das Freizeit-Magazin, 1975: Star portrait

Biography in short.
ABBA – since the Eurovision Song Contest in 1974 this name stands for custom-made hits from Sweden. Because since their winning song ‘Waterloo’ things are steadily going upwards for the four good spirited characters. All four of them had already been working in the music business when they decided to continue as a quartet in 1972. Agnetha sang and composed, Björn and Benny had already gathered experience in other groups and Anni-Frid already was a popular singer and equally popular television star in her home country Sweden as well. So it’s no surprise that a supergroup has evolved from this combination of professionals. And privately they get along great as well. All four of them are living in a suburb of Stockholm and they mostly spend their scarce spare time on sailing.

Profile.
A for Agnetha Fältskog. Born on April 5, 1950 in Jönköping. Equipped with long blonde hair and blue eyes. Agnetha is the wife at Björn’s side and she has a daughter, Linda (1 ½). She started a solo career when she was seventeen years old (‘I Was So In Love’).
B for Björn Ulvaeus. Born on April 25, 1945 in Göteborg. He founded a skiffle group at the age of eleven. After that he sang folk songs with the group Hootenanny (these days Björn is still involved in this studio group on the side).
B for Benny Andersson. Born on December 16, 1946. He started out in 1963 with the pop group Hep Stars. Together with Björn he composed numerous hits for other groups. In 1972, Benny and Björn founded ABBA.
A for Anni-Frid Lyngstad. Born in November 1945 in Norway. Hazelnut brown eyes and equally brown hair. She has already been a singer and television star from 1967 onwards.

Pop Foto, 1975: Without Agnetha, no success for ABBA?

The ABBA-fans have been worried for a while when it was reported that the group was on the verge of breaking up. What was this all about? Pop Foto made some inquiries into the matter and found out the truth...

Indeed, it didn’t take much more or all of pop-lovin’ Europe would have had to face the future without the trend-leading offerings of the usually so joyous Swedish group ABBA. That’s something we don’t even want to think about. The reason for the impending break-up between the two singing couples Anni-Frid and Benny Andersson and Agnetha and Björn Ulvaeus was... Agnetha’s looks. Here and there, people had started whispering lately that ABBA would only be successful thanks to the attractive blonde singer of the group. No one knew where these talks came from and that’s how it happened that Anni-Frid and Benny thought that Agnetha had got it into her pretty little head that she was the main attraction of ABBA.

During a normal little argument, the bubble burst and the result was that Agnetha decided to leave the group immediately, despite the fact that Björn tried to change her mind. It didn’t help. “Alright,” her husband then said, “if you quit, then I’m not doing it anymore either.” And that’s how the break-up became a reality. Thankfully, the foursome thought things over after the emotions had calmed down. “Actually, this can’t be,” the Ulvaeus household mused, “there has to be a mistake.”

The other half puzzled their heads off. “This is completely unlike Agnetha, she isn’t arrogant at all.” As expected with good friends, an appointment was made to talk about the matter and that’s how ABBA found themselves in a cosy bar on a sunny afternoon in July, grumpily staring at each other, because no one actually knew how to start the conversation. All of a sudden, Anni-Frid started laughing uncontrollably and gave Agnetha a spontaneous kiss. “I’m sorry,” she said honestly, “maybe I’ve been a little stressed which caused such a stupid thought to enter my mind.” Obviously, the ice was now broken and ABBA was saved. The boys sighed with relief and cheerfully started talking about new compositions.

That’s how the fairytale of a group, wherein everyone is equally important, can go on without interruption, a fairytale that started with a modest international success for their single ‘Ring Ring’. That’s what the ABBA-members have agreed upon, after their conversation. Even if a lot of men will turn their heads whenever Agnetha walks by...

Bravo, July 1975: ABBA is too saucy for television – Both ABBA-girls cause a commotion

On May 24, 1975, ABBA appeared on German television show Disco 75 to promote their then current I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do single. Apparently, Agnetha and Frida weren’t allowed to wear the short cat dresses, as they were considered too sexy by the show’s directors. Today, it’s hard to imagine what the fuss was about since several female artists hardly have any clothes on these days.
Dressed in leather boots up to their knees, in ultra short mini skirts with side slits – that’s how you are able to see Anna and Anni-Frid from ABBA only in Bravo. This photograph was taken shortly before ABBA’s latest performance on Ilja Richter’s Disco 75. On that show, both Swedish girls wanted to show themselves dressed in these saucy outfits as well – but they weren’t allowed. The directors of the show decided at the dress rehearsal: “They are showing too much leg, and when they dance you can even see their knickers. We can’t show that...”
With clever foresight, Anna and Anni-Frid had brought along long versions of their cute dresses with embroidered wild cats, that they put on for their television performance. Benny said: “This has never happened to us in Sweden. After all, part of our show is that the girls look sexy. But in the future, we will have to come to Germany with slightly more buttoned-up clothes.”

The evening after the Disco recording, it was demonstrated how popular ABBA is in our country. For the second time this year, Anna, Anni-Frid, Björn and Benny received four gold records. In January, they were awarded gold for the sales of two million copies of the ‘Waterloo’ single and now for two million copies of the ‘Honey, Honey’ single.
“We have our most loyal fans in Germany,” is what Anni-Frid thought, who is now wearing her former curly hair straight. “That’s why we are keen to learn how to speak German. Who knows, maybe we will record a single in German in the near future...”
‘Eine Gulaschsuppe bitte’ and ‘Nehmen Sie die Finger von der Dame’ are what Björn has already learned perfectly. Anna already knows how to say ‘alles klar’ and Benny says to everyone he runs into ‘du hast ‘ne Meise’.
In the autumn, they will have learned more than that. Because that’s when ABBA want to go on a big tour through Germany again. Before that, we can expect a new single again, after ‘I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do’. Its title will be ‘SOS’.
Both girls are especially excited to perform live on stage again in our country: “At least then we can wear what we want to again...”

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.”

Pop Foto, June 1975: ABBA's blonde Agnetha: "We don't want any more children"

When we have to believe ABBA’s blonde Agnetha, having children and singing in an internationally known pop-group at the same time, isn’t exactly a good combination. “If I had known we would become so popular, I would have made sure there wouldn’t have been any children,” says Agnetha, who thinks she fails as a mother...

Ever since ABBA won Eurovision last year with the wonderful song “Waterloo”, there have been some changes for Agnetha, Annifrid, Benny and Björn. All of a sudden they had to appear in front of television cameras everywhere, conduct press-conferences and photo-sessions, and thus barely had the time to relax, back home in Sweden. That wasn’t a problem for Annifrid and her musical husband, but for Agnetha it was! Not long before the Eurovision Song Contest in Luxemburg Agnetha had become a mother. And of course she felt dreadful leaving her little daughter in Sweden. The other members of ABBA have witnessed how much strain having a career and a baby put on Agnetha, and they have decided not to start a ‘real’ family for the time being.

“At the time we were of course delighted winning Eurovision,” Agnetha comments. “But still, for me it couldn’t have come at a worse time. For years we had been trying to get recognition in Sweden. At a certain time, we didn’t see it happening for ABBA, and we just wanted a baby, like every married couple. And right after our daughter was born, ABBA became immensely popular in Sweden. We got to represent our country in Luxemburg, and won too! Now I try to divide my time between my daughter and ABBA as much as possible, but still I have the feeling I’m not doing enough. It’s impossible to take a baby with you everywhere, that’s why she mostly stays with my family when we’re on tour.”

All this hasn’t prevented ABBA from recording a magnificent new album, back in Sweden. This record is simply titled “ABBA” and has just been released. And now we’re waiting for the follow-up to 'I do, I do, I do, I do, I do'.