Hitkrant, November 1983: Will ABBA have to make way for Agnetha's children?

Agnetha’s recent bus accident has dealt a severe blow to the Swedish singer’s point of view. More and more, the blonde diva has her doubts if it makes any sense to take dangerous risks while there are far more important things in the life of a mature woman and mother. Now that it has become known that Agnetha is pregnant again, ABBA’s future is more unsure than ever.

“Flying has always been a nightmare for me but now I’m not even safe on a bus anymore,” Agnetha whispers. “When the accident happened, a severe panic came over me. For one moment, a few seconds that seemed to last forever, my life was hanging on a string. When I regained consciousness in the hospital, I immediately asked for my children. It was a true nightmare.”
There’s not a single doubt for the singer that Linda and Christian are the most important people in her life. “I don’t know if I’m giving them the upbringing they’re entitled to,” she says, silently gazing into the distance. “When I was a little girl, I felt terrible when my mother and father were away from home for a few days. When I’m travelling, like I did recently to promote ‘Can´t Shake Loose’, I can’t stop thinking about them. I try to enter into their world. The very idea of them missing me makes me sick with desperation. Of course I still love this business and music will always fascinate me, but first and foremost I want to be a good mother for my two dearest. Forced by circumstances, I sometimes fall short of that aim.”
The Swedish gossip press seldom or never leaves Agnetha alone. Only recently, it was claimed that she and her former husband Björn are having fights about the children on a regular basis. “Absolute nonsense,” Agnetha emphasizes. “In all honesty, we’ve made a suitable arrangement. Linda and Christian are just as often at my place as at Björn’s. If the ABBA fairytale ever ends, my children’s future will be the only cause. Not the personal frictions that the public likes to fantasize about.”
Agnetha’s boyfriend Torbjörn Brander gets along pretty well with her children. “Torbjörn is an ideal father to them. He takes care of my son and daughter as if they were his own children. When our first child will be born in a little while, we’ll start a new future together. A future that’s definitely more important than a wall full of gold ABBA-records.”

Hitkrant, February 1981: ABBA is finding new ways

There, ‘Super Trouper’ is all finished, every single is becoming a hit yet again, and when it comes to that, ABBA can take it easy for a while. Or rather, as far as you’re able to take it easy as the most successful pop-group of the last, say, ten years. New plans are being prepared already. Björn and Benny are keeping themselves busy with writing new songs. Will ABBA concentrate only on recording music?

Benny: “Look, making records is obviously our main aim. But we’re certainly thinking in other directions as well.”
How about the old idea of writing a musical? The ABBA-masterminds look a bit uneased.
“Actually, we’ve already realized that idea before, during our world-tour, when we staged ‘The Girl With The Golden Hair’. You could actually call that a mini-musical.”
Yes, but at the time there were plans to write a full-length musical. Is that idea still current?
“Who knows,” says Björn and that will have to do for us.

In any case, the ABBA hit factory is not standing still. A new ABBA-album is already hesitantly in the making and this time it should be something completely different. Is ABBA finding new ways?
“We’re constantly finding new ways,” says Benny. “If you don’t do that as an artist, you don’t develop.” And we know: standing still means falling behind. That won’t happen to ABBA.

Dagblad voor Noord-Limburg, July 1988: ABBA, one more time?

The rumour has surfaced once again: ABBA will reunite! Although it seems to be a one-off occasion, it will not dampen the joy of the still many admirers of this group.

The only downside is that we can’t obtain any official confirmation. Not at the Dutch record company. Not at the Swedish one. Not even at the studio where the recordings should take place.
The rumour is based on a remark that ex-ABBA-singer Agnetha Fältskog has made. Not too long ago, her third solo-album was released and on that occasion she stated that the four ABBA-members will get together this summer. All four of them would enter the recording studio. The end result would have to be ABBA’s definitive farewell-album.

Whether that album will see the light of day or not, in the meantime ABBA can be placed among the classic pop-groups. The album ‘Abbaphonic’ is proof of that, on which several top-hits by the foursome are performed by The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra from London. And that’s a tribute that’s not being paid to any musician representing popular music. The editors of Oor’s Pop Encyclopedia wrote: “The ‘ABBA-sound’, often praised, seldom abused, is often compared to the sound that The Beatles produced in the sixties. With ABBA, the limits of creativity are explored continuously as well. Unlike The Beatles, ABBA is in no way a subcultural phenomenon, though. But the group knows how to combine quality and commercial instinct in a mostly exquisite manner.”

For ABBA, the big success started with ‘Waterloo’, that gave them the victory in the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest in Brighton. The Dutch duo Mouth & MacNeal (Willem Duyn and Maggie MacNeal) finished second. Still, it wouldn’t be until 1975 that the real breakthrough in the charts was achieved. That happened with the single ‘SOS’.

After that, the hits kept on coming faster than the speed of light. Some of them as a reminder: ‘Fernando’, ‘Dancing Queen’, ‘Money, Money, Money’, ‘Knowing Me, Knowing You’, ‘Name Of The Game’, ‘Thank You For The Music’, ‘Chiquitita’, ‘Does Your Mother Know’, ‘The Winner Takes It All’, ‘Super Trouper’ and ‘The Day Before You Came’. Things couldn’t get any better for the Swedes, because this list is just a selection.
In a time span of two years, ABBA sold more records than any other group, excluding The Beatles. Even in the Soviet Union, all ABBA-albums were released. ABBA conquered the cinemas with the feature film ‘ABBA – The Movie’ and the group could be admired on television screens regularly. Notable was a special programme in 1979 for Unicef, to commemorate the Year of the Child.

In 1981, when ABBA had existed for ten years, the first rumours started circulating that the group would split up. The cause was the divorce of Benny Andersson and Frida Lyngstad. Those rumours became even stronger when the singer recorded her first solo-album produced by Phil Collins, shortly after that. Agnetha followed in her footsteps and chose another big name as her producer: Mike Chapman.
In late 1983, the time had come. The ABBA-empire was officially dissolved. The four ABBA-members didn’t sit still since then. Both singers have build a solo-career, the men Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson worked together with Tim Rice on the musical ‘Chess’, that produced hits for Elaine Paige (‘I Know Him So Well’) and Murray Head (‘One Night In Bangkok’).

A number of the biggest ABBA-successes is obviously included on the album ‘Abbaphonic’, that starts with a genuine overture, named ‘Abbature’. That’s how it goes with a classical work. In an overture, a taster is being given for the most important themes that will follow. The highlights, if you will, and in this case there are plenty of them. The arrangements emphasize once again how exceptionally beautiful the ABBA-melodies are. Like in ‘Does Your Mother Know’, that in this case has a running time of almost seven minutes, three minutes longer than the original version. ‘Money, Money, Money’ lasts much longer as well, but with ‘Chiquitita’ it’s the other way around. It now has a running time of less than three minutes, and that’s more than two minutes shorter than the original, where the piano is being used as a solo-instrument.

The album closes with a finale, just like the overture a specially composed ‘medley’ in which snippets of ABBA-hits are used that are otherwise not a part of ‘Abbaphonic’.

Dagblad De Limburger, 1996: ABBA's Frida is working on a comeback

Good news for all thirty-somethings who still get tears in their eyes on hearing ‘Hear The Drums, Fernando’ and keep dreaming about satin hotpants. One of ABBA’s two singers, the pop-group that’s synonymous for Sweden, wants to try her hands on a comeback.

The dark-haired Anni-Frid Lyngstad, Frida for the successful company’s friends, has just finished recording an album that should be released in Sweden late September. The Swedish-language offering ‘Deep Breath’ is produced by Anders Glenmark, who also wrote the songs.
The almost 51-year-old Lyngstad didn’t record any album for twelve years. The close friend of the Swedish queen Silvia was being an active campaigner for animal’s rights from her home near Swiss Bern.
After ABBA had separated officially late 1983, Anni-Frid threw two English-language solo albums on the market under the name Frida. ‘Something’s Going On’ was good for a hit-record with ‘I Know There’s Something Going On’. But after the second album ‘Shine’, the singer faded from view.
The question is whether Frida will be able to step out of the shadow of her former colleagues Björn Ulvaeus, his blonde wife Agnetha Fältskog and Benny Andersson, her second husband. The record company claims that many youngsters of today don’t even know ABBA, let alone Frida. Nevertheless, it has only been a few years ago that ABBA’s glory days were brought to the surface again. The new disco fever created a string of ABBA-impersonators who listened to the original songs and copied their versions in a series of languages up to Hindi.

Pop Foto, November 1984: Doesn't Frida have any dreams left?

When all your wishes in your life have become true, what’s left to wish for? “Simply lead a quiet life,” is what Frida thinks. “And every now and then go into the recording studio to record an album.” But when you look into the bottom of her heart, the ABBA-singer still has one big wish.

Frida clears her throat when we ask her what’s in store for ABBA. Can we expect another album, are there any plans for a farewell tour? “I can only speak for myself,” she starts. “When it comes to Björn, Benny and Agnetha, I really don’t know. We rarely see each other nowadays. I would love to record another album with them, but now Agnetha has left the group, that’s really out of the question. It’s a shame. That’s why I’m concentrating completely on my solo career. I’m really very proud of my new album ‘Shine’. It turned out exactly the way I expected. At first, I was very disappointed that Phil Collins didn’t have the time to produce the album, but when I met Steve Lillywhite, I knew he was the right man for the job. I think it’s very important to work with young people, they’re still very unrestrained and they’re not stuck to old ideas. ‘Shine’ has really become an album of the eighties.”

Frida takes a sip from her champagne and continues: “When I received the first copy, I immediately went to my home in London to listen to it and it really gave me goosebumps. I hope that other people will get that same feeling when they play my album. For me, recording an album is much like giving a piece of yourself. The music is a part of me, and with this album that feeling is stronger than ever. I’m also thinking about performing with a band. But something like that is a difficult decision. It has been a long time since I performed on stage, and the more time passes, the bigger the step gets to tour again.”
Frida gazes into the distance for a while. “I will have to give it some serious thought,” she says. “A small series of performances would be okay, but I wouldn’t be able to do it at the same level that we used to do with ABBA. Those days are gone. Everything I used to dream of, has become reality. The success, money, travelling, really everything! These days I’m concentrating more and more on the things I never had the time for. Simply lead my own, quiet life, just like any other, because I’m in desperate need of that after the hectic existence with ABBA!”

Hitkrant, 1983: Benny Andersson: "This music will be around forever"

Although ABBA is laying low for a while when it comes to recording music, due to Frida and Agnetha’s solo activities, Benny Andersson is still busy composing. Meanwhile, he was still able to spare a little time to write down his favourite records and give his reaction on our handwriting analysis.

“This is a perfectionist, but also someone who’s very modest,” says the handwriting expert.
“This has to be a decent and precise person. A very balanced human being. With the attitude of a perfectionist. I have a feeling that this is someone who doesn’t like to be the centre of attention, in spite of it all. He or she is very modest and has a somewhat homely nature.”

“Most of all, I like music that will last for five hundred years,” according to Benny Andersson.
“When you look at my list at first glance, it may be a bit old fashioned. But I don’t believe in old fashioned and contemporary music. I only believe in music with a kind of significance for all eternity. In a manner of speaking, it must be able to last for five hundred years. The songs and albums from my list will never bore me. I learn from them, they are my biggest sources of inspiration.
What I think of that character analysis? To be honest, I think it’s all rather flattering. I’m homely indeed, and certainly a perfectionist. But that can be a flaw as well, because I’m never satisfied...”

Studio, 1999: Agnetha's cautious comeback

In the meantime she’s 49-years-old, Agnetha Fältskog, ABBA’s blonde. For years, she lived a secluded life on her estate near Stockholm. But, for the first time in many years, she speaks about ABBA and the life after the success in the documentary The Winner Takes It All.

This year, it’s 25 years ago that ABBA won the Eurovision Song Contest with ‘Waterloo’. To commemorate that event, the BBC has made a documentary about the group in which all group-members get their say. So, Agnetha as well. She explains how difficult it has been for her. “For ten years, I didn’t play, make or listen to music. I didn’t even have a decent stereo-system. The silence has been necessary. It enabled me to catch my breath, process and recover.”

The recovery was necessary after ABBA’s overwhelming success. The band that sold hundreds of millions of records, was working at a maddening pace. It was especially difficult for Agnetha. “Sometimes it was awful. There was hysteria, obsessed fans that gave me the feeling they would never let go of me.” Apart from that, at the height of ABBA’s fame, the blonde singer had two small children with her former husband Björn. “I was torn in two. There was one part that wanted to be as successful as possible in my career, the other part just wanted to be a mother and take care of the children at home.” Due to lack of motivation with all group-members, but especially Agnetha, ABBA called it a day in 1982. The meanwhile immensely rich singer tried her hands on a solo career in the following years. Except for Sweden, that attempt wasn’t very successful.

In 1987, she radically retired from show-business to devote herself completely to her children. Since then, Agnetha turned out to be a popular victim to the Swedish media. “They write a lot of bad things about me. Some papers are saying that I’m hiding in my house like a Greta Garbo. That’s not true. I’m very normal. I simply don’t want people to know everything about me. But I have nothing to hide.” Exactly because Agnetha avoids publicity consequently, everything she does is still news. Agnetha spotted in the supermarket? The next day it can be read in the newspapers. Agnetha getting sushi from a Japanese take-out restaurant? All of Sweden knows about it. Apart from that, the strangest rumours were circulating. Agnetha wouldn’t dare to leave her house, would be severely depressed and unsociable. But she herself claimed to be an ordinary housewife, who took care of her children, took long walks with her dogs and just wanted some peace and quiet for a while. “I’m very happy,” she says in one of the rare interviews from that time. “I have new friends, I feel great.”

In 1990, she – secretly – married a Swedish surgeon. But that marriage wouldn’t last for long. Already eighteen months later, the singer filed for divorce. Now the children have left home. 25-year-old Linda played a small part in one of her dad’s musicals and debuted in a Swedish movie. Her 23-year-old son graduated from the art academy. The time seems to be right for Agnetha to go out in public again. She released a biography and a Best Of-CD and seems to have made recordings in a recording studio, but those are rumours yet again. And now the ABBA-documentary. She still didn’t want to appear on screen talking. The only images are those of her walking on her estate. Surprisingly, her appearance didn’t change much. And for the first time in many years, she thinks about her career again. “Sometimes I feel the urge to do something. A couple of years ago that would have been unthinkable. But I’m aware that I have a special voice and the door is still open for new ideas, possibilities and my music.”