POP, January 1978: Glorious premiere of ABBA film 'The Movie': this is the music film of the year!

In about two weeks it will finally be our turn as well: ABBA's latest hit, their 90-minute feature film 'The Movie', will be out in the cinemas in Germany and Switzerland. Last year in December, the movie had its world premiere in Stockholm. Apart from the four ABBA members, Pop was there as well...

Sweden's capital Stockholm presents itself to its visitors in sparkling radiance. A sugary white layer of snow that covers houses and streets, and a wonderful Christmas illumination make for a perfect scenery. Candlelight and cosy sofas make sure that there's a celebratory setting inside the cinema. Everyone who is important in the Swedish entertainment industry came to this venue, among them ABBA film director Lasse Hallström and ABBA's manager Stig Anderson. But the centre of attention are obviously Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus, Anni-Frid Lyngstad and above all Agnetha Fältskog who has just become a mother again. Together world famous as ABBA and with more than 50 million record sales in the past few years the most successful group in the world. Visibly excited for the big moment, the four Swedes are talking to the invited guests while sipping their champagne. In the cinema hall the tension is rising to boiling point. All of a sudden there's a stroke of the gong and the lights of the fluttery chandeliers are dimmed. There's a deadly silence, people can hear their own heart beating. A white, vivid flash of lightning, that reveals one of the sides of the stage. In the centre of the light beam there's Stig Anderson in front of a microphone. The ABBA mastermind greets the invited guests in a festive manner and explains the background of the movie. And then 'ABBA - The Movie' takes off!
Breathtaking scenes of the Australian landscape and kangaroos hopping around are the starting point of the movie on the big screen. What follows are 90 minutes of complete ABBA. Hunted by an interview-hungry reporter, Agnetha, Anni-Frid, Benny and Björn are playing and singing their way around the world, meanwhile performing all their big hits blow upon blow.
The lights have barely been turned on when a thunderous applause arises that makes the walls of the vintage theatre tremble. Moved and visibly relieved, the four headliners are taking in the standing ovations. Beaming Agnetha happily reveals to POP afterwards: "I am so happy that I was here tonight. At first, I didn't even want to come, because I was so nervous that I would rather have stayed at home. Now I would actually love to travel to Cannes to the International music fair Midem where 'The Movie' will be presented to the international music world. But the wellbeing of our little son takes precedence. That's why I'm staying at home and that's why there won't be any ABBA concert activities for the time being. By the way, our film will be released in your country in February. I'm curious if our fans in Germany and Switzerland will be just as impressed by 'The Movie' as the guests this evening."
Well, that should be beyond question.

Veronica, December 1982: Ten years with ABBA... and the story continues

Coming Sunday, Veronica will broadcast the third episode of 'The Story Of...". After The Beatles and Elvis Presley, it is now ABBA's turn to be honoured. A story that - contrary to the two previous ones - hasn't been ended yet and a story that's not going to end for the time being because the continuity of the group remains guaranteed by releasing one or two albums every year that will be promoted all over the world with promotional films. No exhausting tours for the quartet. ABBA is clearly a product of the seventies: they've become big with the help of the medium television, the world's best group in the middle of the road genre.

ABBA's home base is Stockholm. Polar Music is based in the city centre. The gigantic office from where manager Stig Anderson appears to have complete control over the financial household. He invests the money in oil, bicycles, real estate and art. Rumour has it that he has managed to make a deal with the Swedish tax collector. The group is also the owner of one of the world's best recording studios.

Stig has also been called the fifth member. At the end of the sixties, he founded his own company, together with Björn and Benny. Björn was a member of the popular Swedish group 'The Hootenanny Singers' and Benny had been playing with the Scandinavian group 'The Hep Stars' ('Sunny Girl'). Stig Anderson wrote English-language songs for the twosome and one of them even sold half a million copies in Japan. Stig was one of the most well-known songwriters in Scandinavia. In Holland, we are familiar with his 'Rocking Billy', at the time recorded by Ria Valk. ABBA was formed between '69 and '70. Agnetha and Anni-Frid both had separate solo careers and they both appeared regularly on Swedish television. They were already living together with Björn and Benny respectively. In 1972, the first single on which all four of them appear is released: 'People Need Love'. The surefire hit was reason enough for the Swedish broadcasting company to invite Agnetha, Benny, Björn and Anni-Frid to take part in the Swedish selection for the Eurovision Song Contest.

Contrary to all expectations, their entry wasn't chosen by the so-called experts, to the major disappointment of the public and the group. ABBA, in the meantime their group name had been shortened, decided to give it another go the next year and this time they were chosen to represent Sweden with 'Waterloo' at the Eurovision Song Contest in Brighton, England.

Winning Eurovision, meanwhile beating Olivia Newton-John and Mouth and McNeal, was ABBA's big breakthrough. In the following years, ABBA would achieve enormous successes. Just a few of their hits: 'SOS', 'Fernando', 'Dancing Queen', 'Voulez-Vous', 'Chiquitita', 'The Winner Takes It All', 'Super Trouper' and 'One Of Us'. The success of their music can be attributed to the strong melody lines mainly courtesy of Benny (Björn generally writes the lyrics) and Agnetha and Frida's voices. Upon the release of 'Voulez-Vous', 'ABBA - The Movie' is released as well. A film that eventually was meant to be a simple documentary of the quartet's '77 world tour. However, the film features about 25 ABBA songs, alternated with scenes of a DJ trying to get an interview with the group. Reason enough for many critics to view the movie as one big promotional film.

'ABBA - The Movie' saved the foursome a lot of touring, because the fans were able to see their favourite group at the cinema. Björn and Benny concentrated on composing and Stig Anderson was making preparations for ABBA's definitive breakthrough in the USA. May 1978 was even declared ABBA month in the US, while the highlight of the campaign was a performance of the group on Olivia Newton John's television show, who had acquired superstar status by then. Indeed, 'The Album' climed the charts and 'Take A Chance On Me' became a top ten hit. But despite all Stig's attempts and despite their record sales, fact is that ABBA absolutely didn't conquer the USA. Björn: "Maybe we would have, if we had moved to America, but none of us was prepared to do that. We didn't like the atmosphere in America, after those few weeks we got tired of it."

In October '79, the group started their second world tour, on which they also performed in Rotterdam, and the rumours were circulating that Agnetha wanted to leave the group. Those rumours partly lead back to the fact that Agnetha is the only group member who hates to be away from home (and her children) for long periods of time. Meanwhile, their private problems started to become public too. Stig Anderson: "We never tried to keep the divorces a secret, we are relatively open. It's just that at the time when we share our problems with the general public, the internal problems have been solved already. The difficult thing is that the press then start to wonder whether the group will continue or not, while we have decided that already."

In the meantime, it has become almost one hundred percent certain that Björn and Benny are going to compose the music for a musical, while the lyrics are going to be written by Tim Rice ('Jesus Christ Superstar'). Frida is successful with her solo album 'Something's Going On'. Agnetha has been busy shooting scenes for a movie and she has declared that she would like to do more of this kind of work. She is starting recording sessions for her solo album in January, together with Mike Chapman. In conclusion, we ask Benny the question how long ABBA will continue: "As long as we enjoy recording music and as long as we still feel we have something to contribute to the music scene, ABBA will go on."

Bravo, 1979: A new love with ABBA

For the first time, Björn showed his new girlfriend Lena in public. And there were rumours about Agnetha that she has a new boyfriend and is expecting a baby...

This year, on the ABBA tour, Björn could almost constantly be seen with a girl by his side, who looks almost exactly like Agnetha. It's his new girlfriend Lena Källersjö. During ABBA's concerts, the 29-year-old Swede was sitting behind the amplifiers on stage or she waited for Björn in the dressing room. Whenever he had to give an interview or prepare for the concerts, she was patiently reading a book, until he had some time for her.
Björn knows Lena - who is working as a secretary at a record company - for almost a year now. It all started shortly after Christmas 1978, when Agnetha had moved out of their common residence permanently.

"Lena and I met each other by coincidence at a mutual friends' New Year's Eve party. It was love at first sight," says Björn. Soon after that, Lena already moved into Björn's home in Lidingö. Since then he barely wants to make a move without her.
Björn: "At first, I only wanted to bring Lena along on the American leg of our tour. At first I believed that I could get along without Lena for the rest of this giant tour. But when we performed in Munich, I craved so much for her that I begged her to come over immediately."
What is actually Agnetha's opinion about all this, that Björn is bringing along his new girlfriend on their tour? Isn't she just a little bit jealous?
Agnetha: "Why would I? Even when I have spend a wonderful time together with Björn, my marriage to him is history. Why wouldn't I grant him his happiness? Apart from that, Lena is a very nice girl. During our tour, I even went out to dinner together with her and Björn a couple of times. Our children Linda and Christian get along great with Lena as well."

Despite all this bliss and contrary to several rumours, Björn and Lena are not thinking about getting married yet. They want to take some time before that.
Lena, who has been married before too, says: "I'm happy with Björn, even without a marriage licence. Apart from that, we have to find out if we are compatible in everyday life too. Because ever since we met, Björn has been working like a madman. Actually we haven't had the time for a true private life just yet."
Agnetha gave rise to hot speculations on this tour as well. Several concert attendees believed to recognise that a bit of a tummy was developing underneath her skintight stage outfit. And that was all it took to assume that Agnetha was pregnant.
"Complete nonsense," Agnetha denies, "if I was having a baby, I would be the first to know. Apart from that, I couldn't imagine who should be the father."
But the premature speculators even have the answer to that question. On this tour there was a man with whom Agnetha was very affectionate. Often she could be seen backstage in the dressing room in an animated conversation with Mats Ronander, the guitarist in ABBA's backing band. A little smile during the soundcheck that was aimed at only him fuelled the rumours. And during the concert at the Olympic Hall in Munich, she stroked his hair tenderly, when she thought she was unobserved.

When asked if Mats is her new boyfriend, Agnetha however shakes her head. But her answer is less convincing: "We like each other and I get along great with Mats professionally. But there's no talk about a friendship, let alone love. I don't know how things will develop between us. Maybe I won't see Mats ever again."
Despite everything, the fans still haven't given up hope that Agnetha and Björn will get back together again one day. When you see them standing next to each other on stage peacefully, it's hard to believe that they don't have anything to say to each other privately anymore.
But Björn doesn't see any chance for that to happen: "We have drawn a line under our marriage. The only connection we still have are our two children Linda and Christian. Apart from that it's not necessary to hate each other when you have separated. We are still friends, just like we were before."

Hitkrant, 1979: Yvonne meets ABBA! Hitrkant fulfills dream wish

It was the last Hitkrant dream wish in a series of eight: attend the European opening concert of the ABBA tour. This meant: going to Sweden with Hitkrant, attending the concert in Göteborg and meeting ABBA afterwards. Can you imagine how many entries we received? Unfortunately there could only be one winner: Yvonne van der Meulen from Apeldoorn and judging from the enthusiastic thank you note that she wrote us later on, it was clear how much she appreciated her dream wish coming true!

Under the safe accompaniment from cousin Adri, a nervous Yvonne stepped on board of the magnificent Tor Brittania (complete with discotheque and casino!) to make a little trip to Sweden, together with Hitkrant photographer Aad Spanjaard.

After having arrived on Thursday morning, there was a whole day left to have a look around Göteborg and do some shopping. Obviously, this opportunity was made use of eagerly but the major event would be taking place the next day.
That Friday morning, we got permission to attend the soundcheck of the ABBA concert at the Scandinavium in Göteborg and that was already an unexpected surprise for Yvonne!
The surprise got even bigger when she was invited afterwards for a meet and greet with Agnetha, Björn, Frida and Benny. Yvonne wrote in her letter: "Oh my, I was so nervous! I was just shaking with nerves, but they quickly faded away."

Agnetha put her at ease right away and the two lovely dolls that Yvonne had made for Agnetha's children Linda and Christian and the knitwork for Frida had promptly broken the ice!

And then, that same evening: the concert. Yvonne just sat there listening without taking a breath and loved it. The highlight of the evening came when she was invited after the concert to tag along to a cosy fish restaurant for an intimate party. It was very crowded, the fresh shrimps were delicious and Yvonne made use of the opportunity to have the scrapbooks she had brought along signed by the ABBA members!

And although the ABBA happening was done with at this point, there were still three whole days left that were filled with excursions in the surroundings and lots of shopping. In short: for ABBA fan Yvonne (special interest: Agnetha and Björn) this was a trip to never forget!

Das Freizeit-Magazin, 1978: Stig Anderson - the grey eminence

"He is one of the best people that I know. He is incredibly intelligent. I get angry when people are unfair to him," says ABBA's Anni-Frid about Stig Anderson, the dynamic manager of Polar Records and the man behind ABBA's worldwide success.
Anni-Frid has enough reasons to be angry. There probably isn't anyone in the Swedish music business who is exposed more to offenses than Stig Anderson. Roger Wallis from the left-wing record company MVV phrased it like this: "To him, music is a consumer product, like bread or butter. Sometimes like old bread."
Stig's biggest flaw is: he says what he thinks. While others carefully contemplate their words, Stig is so honest that it hurts sometimes. It's not surprising that he has made some enemies with that kind of attitude. But even his biggest opponents must admit: Stig knows the record business like no one else. He has a gut feeling for hits. He is the typical example of a self-made man. From scratch, Stig has worked his way up to one of the most powerful men in the Swedish and international music business.
Stig Erik Leopold Anderson was born on 25 January 1931. He grew up in the Swedish town Hova. His mother worked as a hairdresser, laundrywoman and a kiosk vendor. He never knew his father.
Stig was 13 years old when he left school. But there wasn't any time to enjoy his childhood. The Anderson household was on short commons. That's why Stig worked as a help in a grocery store and apart from that he took a second job with the Hova soccer team. "I patched up the players' shoes and kept the playing field in order. My mother washed their shirts. And I ran the kiosk at the stadium. When the main team played an important match, I made 30 to 35 Swedish kronor. I had to work seven weeks at the grocery store for that kind of money."
From his savings, young Anderson bought himself a guitar and took some lessons. In the following years Stig hired himself out to different bands as an amateur musician. "I was sixteen when I wrote my first song. It was called 'Tiveds Hambo' and it became a classic in dance music." During the next years, Stig started to concentrate more and more on composing and writing lyrics. In 1951, Stig went to education school in Karlstad, he completed his military service and went back to Karlstad. His studies didn't prevent him from composing more songs and writing lyrics.

How hard Stig worked as a lyricist is proven by these statistics: in the sixties he was Sweden's most productive lyricist. He wrote almost 2.000 songs within eleven years.
Stig's big breakthrough came in 1963 when he founded the record company Polar, together with his old friend Bengt Bernhag. Right in the beginning, Stig and Bengt had their big break. A song by The Hootenanny Singers became a big hit and the same thing happened with 'Letkiss'. Stig was in business.
But it would still take a couple of years before ABBA - with the help of Stig Anderson - arrived like a comet on the international pop scene. There will probably never be a prospect of how big Stig's share was and is in this success story. Either way, he is a man who has more than one string to his bow. He is a president, manager, publisher, composer and lyricist, all in one person. He says: "I am the fortunate combination of a bon vivant and an organiser. I listen to the music with the ears of an artist. I am a lyricist, a composer and an amateur musician. Viewed in this light, I have the complete creative background."
That Stig Anderson became a force to be reckoned with not only in Sweden but internationally as well, was proven in 1974. Billboard - America's biggest trade magazine - pronounced him as 'trendsetter of the year'. He received this extraordinary honour for his creativity as a music publisher and producer, that led ABBA to a long string of hits.
On the other hand, to some people Stig became a detested symbol of the commercial music industry. Why exactly Stig was the one to take the blame was understandable. He is successful and he makes a lot of money. And above all, he doesn't mind to lead a flamboyant lifestyle with this money. With his wife Gudrun and his children Marie, Lasse and Anders he has moved to a fantastic nine-room mansion that's within a stone's throw of his office.
Stig: "It often happens that I wake up in the middle of the night and can't get back to sleep. Then I want to get to the office. Now it's just a short walk to get there." Stig also owns a summer house on the ABBA island. He doesn't have a bad conscience because of that. Why would he. He knows that he had to work hard for every penny.
Stig, who often comes across as being aggressive and irrational in televised discussions, has another completely different side. Björn, Benny, Agnetha and Anni-Frid, who all know him better than most other people, know that very well. They have been working together with Stig for years and up till now their close and harmonious partnership hasn't been tarnished by dark clouds.

Hitkrant, 1977: ABBA's film début

Good news for the ABBA fans! Anni-Frid, Agnetha, Benny and Björn are going to play the leading parts in a feature film!

This news reached us this week through a telephone conversation with Stig Anderson, their manager. He told us that it's going to be an acted documentary with - among other things - scenes from the recent world tour, the tour that paid a visit to Amsterdam as well. The music in this film will be composed and performed by ABBA and the soundtrack will be available in the shops in the middle of October. By doing this, ABBA is completely following the Beatles' example who also made a movie like this in 1964, called 'A Hard Day's Night'.

There are also plans in the direction of a musical. The spectators at the Jaap Eden concert have already been able to get a preview of this modern day fairytale. If this music is going to be put on record too, there will be plenty of new stuff to enjoy in the near future. Long live ABBA!

Das Freizeit-Magazin, May 1978: That's how ABBA and The Rubettes became friends!

ABBA and The Rubettes have a lot of things in common: many hits, a lot of gold records and millions of fans. Especially in Germany. Still, they had never met each other personally. In France, both European top groups met each other for the first time.

It's funny: here we have two groups, who are with the same record company, who have both sold millions of hits already, who have the biggest fanbase here in Germany and who still hadn't met each other yet. Until now! We are talking about The Rubettes and ABBA. The superstars from England and Sweden met each other for the first time a couple of weeks ago. At the French Riviera in Cannes. Where The Rubettes were distinguished for their successes by the French station Europe 1 and where ABBA was promoting their feature film 'ABBA - The Movie' at the same time. And since they were all staying at the same hotel, it didn't take long for them to run into each other. Rubettes singer Alan Williams was flabbergasted: "When I found myself facing Anni-Frid for the first time, I was getting heart palpitations." But since Benny was there as well, the otherwise so outspoken Englishman had to make do with some polite conversation. Joker John Richardson was very sad that Agnetha hadn't come along. She had to stay at home to take care of baby Christian. "Too bad, I think she is so sweet," he sighed with a whimsical look. But then they quickly started to talk shop. And Mick even fetched the audio tapes from the brand new Rubettes album 'Some Time In Old Church' from his hotel room to play them to the Swedes. And he beamed like a honey cake when Björn made a copy of the soft Rubettes ballads to listen to them again back in Sweden in all peace and quiet. "Perhaps you could write something for us at some point," John said full of hope, "after all the name ABBA means a guaranteed hit. And that's exactly what we need at the moment!"