De Telegraaf, 1979: ABBA's Björn shows his new love

ABBA star Björn Ulvaeus, who recently divorced his wife Agnetha, introduced the new love of his life yesterday.

He spoke enthusiastically about his feelings for the blonde Lena Källersjö who is now inseparable from him. Björn said in his London hotel room, while his ex-wife Agnetha was alone in her room a couple of doors further: "I had only been single for a week after I divorced Agnetha, when I met Lena. We started living together right away. I discovered that love comes easier when you have already lived with somebody. When Agnetha and I separated, I knew immediately that I would fall in love again. I realised that I wasn't cut out for a bachelor's life."
Björn thinks that the divorce from Agnetha has been easier on him than he had expected: "There were a lot of tensions," he said. "When it got much worse we tried to distance ourselves from the tensions but the situation became intolerable. Now we have a good understanding in our work and we've remained friends."

While Björn has found happiness again with a new girlfriend, friends are saying that Agnetha has far more difficulties. She only has loose and temporary relationships. Björn says: "I believe Agnetha likes being single. She has had a lot of relationships but I thought she was having a hard time with them."

Björn says: "Despite all our problems we have done the right thing by getting divorced. We were both very selfish and this caused numerous arguments. Agnetha isn't jealous of my new girlfriend either. We often go out to dinner together. Lena and Agnetha get along great with each other."

Das Freizeit-Magazin, 1978: Björn: this is my life

Just like his other three ABBA colleagues, Björn grew up with music. And he had already tasted success in show business as well, before he started his triumph with the Swedish group. "When I was only eleven years old, I started a skiffle group at school," Björn is remembering from the start of his musical career. When he was seventeen - Björn was born on 25 April 1945 in Göteborg - he launched The Hootenanny Singers, a Swedish folk group. Today he has achieved with ABBA what he had always dreamed about as a child. But his private happiness with his family means even more to him than these enormous successes. With his pretty wife Agnetha, little daughter Linda and son Christian.

Because the school wouldn't spend any money on a band for a party, Björn - only 17 years old - took the initiative and founded a folk group, together with three friends. The school party turned out so well that The Hootenanny Singers - that's how the four named themselves - decided to keep playing together in the future. When he was only eleven years old, Björn had already started a very strong skiffle group at school.

Do you recognise the boys from Göteborg on the bottom left? At the beginning of the sixties, Björn achieved the big breakthrough with his group. Here you can see the Singers in a 1964 TV show.

Björn had just started walking when his parents moved from his home town Göteborg an the Swedish southeast coast to Västervik. Björn: "Here I was going to school and I am standing on our old market."

Björn could rarely rest on his laurels in his adolescence. After he had finished highschool he dived headfirst in  a study of law and economics, although he was already very busy as the leading man of The Hootenanny Singers.

Even before his ABBA days, Björn was a popular target for Swedish autograph hunters. "Here I am signing our first record as a Hootenanny Singer for a girl. It was a big hit."

When Björn took this picture of The Hep Stars in 1966, he couldn't imagine that this meeting would actually determine his future. Indeed, that's when he met Benny, his ABBA colleague.

ABBA started with Björn and Benny's friendship. Björn: "We had noticed that we were on the same wavelength musically and tried our luck as a duo in 1970." Later on the two girls joined them.

With 'Waterloo' and ABBA's win at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1974, their string of successes took off. Numerous awards followed, like the Golden Gong that the quartet received at the premiere of the ABBA movie.

And yet another award: the royal couple of Monaco presents the four stars with a music award. In the meantime, ABBA is considered the most successful group of all time.

While both ABBA girls keep themselves fit with daily gymnastics, Björn prefers to swim a few rounds in the water. He was already a great swimmer as a child.

In the 'Waterloo' year 1974, ABBA's headquarter in Stockholm was still a bit modest. Björn and Agnetha's little daughter Linda - only one year old - looks at the camera in wonderment. The little girl doesn't understand anything about success yet.

Björn met blonde Agnetha at a 1969 TV show. The couple got married two years later. This picture was taken in 1977 while shooting the feature film 'ABBA - The Movie'.

Björn and Benny in the studio: when it comes to the music, the both of them won't let anyone butt in. Benny makes sure that the sound is right. Björn is taking care of the lyrics and ABBA's day-to-day business.

Although the four Swedes are not considering to rest on their laurels, live performances like this will become less frequent in the future. Björn: "We need time for our private lives too."

1983: Frida - singer is breaking free from ABBA

ABBA splitting up, ABBA not splitting up: when both singers of the Swedish group started concentrating on their own solo projects, the fans were holding their breath. The rumours were immediately denied from Stockholm, but especially because of the solo sidestep of the red-haired Frida Lyngstad, it seemed that ABBA's days had been counted. Together with Genesis drummer Phil Collins, Frida recorded a solo album - titled 'Something's Going On' - that was received exceptionally well, and she announced that she had no intentions to stop at that one album.
The next shock for the fans came when Frida moved, and not just somewhere inside Sweden: she left her home country to move abroad to London. When on top of that it became known that she had sold all of her shares in the ABBA company, it seemed pretty clear that the singer would only work with ABBA on specific projects from now on, but that she would mainly focus her attention on her individual career as a singer. Frida herself claims that she is still a member of ABBA, but for the group it would be very unwise - especially on a business level - to admit that they in fact don't exist anymore. It is obvious: a new future has started for Frida.

Hitkrant, 1984: Abbacadabra, a fairy-tale in videoland

In this festive new year's time, the first real ABBA musical 'Abbacadabra' had its premiere at the Lyric Theatre Hammersmith in London. This fairy-like spectacle is part one of Björn and Benny's double project that won't be completed until the spring of 1985. We were in first row.

Björn and Benny are calling 'Abbacadabra' a musical adventure. It's a story about a couple of children playing a video game, in which they have to take a number of characters to the castle of the good fairy, while all of a sudden meeting these fairy-tale figures in reality. To stage this big spectacle, Björn and Benny made an appeal to a number of well-known employees. A familiar face was recruited for the female lead: Elaine Paige, the British girl that was about to give up her singing and acting career for a job as a nurse. When she suddenly succeeded in getting the leading role of Evita in Andrew Lloyd-Webber and Tim Rice's musical, she realised that her future actually was in show business.

Apart from Elaine, B.A. Robertson is playing an important part in 'Abbacadabra' too. Things had been very quiet around this Scottish singer since his 1979 hit record 'Bang Bang'. And except for his striking nose, he actually seemed to be completely forgotten. So he was over the moon when he found out that Björn and Benny were looking for the leading male part in 'Abbacadabra' and they actually had him in mind for the job. I'm sure we won't have to introduce the third eye-catcher in 'Abbacadabra'. Indeed, Finola Hughes is the fantastic dancer John Travolta falls in love with in 'Staying Alive'.
The music for 'Abbacadabra' was composed completely by the magic ABBA composers duo. The repertoire not only consists of well-known ABBA songs but a number of songs have been composed especially for the occasion. Mike Batt was hired for the orchestration of the project. You might recognise his name from Art Garfunkel's beautiful ballad 'Bright Eyes'. The interest for the first few performances of the show in London was overwhelming. That's undoubtedly an encouraging sign for Björn and Benny who now are very busy with their next musical 'Chess' of which a double album is planned to be released in the autumn of 1984. For the live performance of 'Chess' we will have to be patient until early '85. But there's no doubt about it, 'Abbacadabra' and 'Chess' will probably turn out to be extremely successful, just like ABBA's previous projects.

Elaine Paige/'Like An Image Passing By'/Polydor 817 2887
This song was released under the title 'My Love, My Life' on the ABBA album 'Arrival'. Now it is featured in 'Abbacadabra' with adapted lyrics and performed by Elaine Paige. I think it completely falls flat. It's almost a violation of the original version. I wonder what Agnetha - who sings the original version - thinks of this bad cover version.

Hitkrant, 1979: Poster magazine

Joepie, 1979: "The day that we become big-headed, ABBA will be through!"

ABBA's visit to our country was a festive occasion for Joepie as well. We - the people from the editorial staff - met some of our best friends in the business. And the winners of our ABBA competition could finally see a unique dream wish come true. Our reader Willy van Bogaert from Brussels was given the honour to greet the ABBA quartet on behalf of our magazine. He had brought a surprise as well. He gave Agnetha and Anni-Frid a beautiful bouquet of flowers and a statue of... Manneken Pis (Little Man Pee), symbol of Europe's capital. The ice was broken immediately. Martine Cant from Kruibeke was able to watch the ABBA concert before and behind the scenes. She must have been struck by the nervous atmosphere surrounding such a superstar performance. And by the rather vigorous way wherein the 'Gods of Pop' are being protected from the outer world. She followed the concert from first row. And young Sam Jaspers could have his picture taken with his idol Björn. Obviously, the pictures have taken a first-rate spot in their living- and/or bedrooms already.

After their overwhelming concert, there was a happy reunion with Agnetha, Anni-Frid, Björn and Benny. The girls were still soaking wet and visibly tired and understandably wanted to go to bed straight away. On the other hand, it has become customary on tours that Björn and Benny stick around for a while to talk to the press about the concert and the group, while enjoying a drink and a bite to eat. They looked strikingly fresh after their marathon concert of more than two hours, during which they spend all their energy. As if they had just enjoyed a relaxed night out, simple as that.
"Simple? Well yes, because we love the music and our audience that much," Björn explained. "If you do something with love, it's actually never a difficult assignment. It's a question of mentality. Which doesn't mean that we are not doing a hard job during a concert, but you couldn't tell by looking at us."
Benny, with a neverending smile on his face, adds: "When we started, the music was our hobby and despite the success and numerous obligations, it still is. And as long as this remains this way, I can't see any problems."
So quitting tours and splitting up the group are not things to expect in the near future? They both laugh. "Why would we?" Björn asks again. "It's going really well and we love our job and our fans. Apart from that, you mustn't forget that we are never obligated to do anything. We don't have to record, we don't have to tour, we don't have to do promotion. But of course it also happens that we tell ourselves 'isn't it time to go on tour now or to invite a couple of friends from the press' and that's what we do then. And all decisions are being made unanimously by the five of us, our manager, the girls and ourselves. Of course, we are in the fortunate position that we are able to work under these unique circumstances."

So, there will be more ABBA tours, even giant world tours like this one? "I wouldn't rule it out, although I have to add that we won't question any decisions that we have made together," according to Björn. "We have decided that we don't want to perform during the summer months anymore because we want to spend time at home and be with our families. That's why we refused to perform during the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games '80 in Moskow. Perhaps we won't go on long and exhausting tours anymore either. Not only for family reasons but also because tours are in fact very unproductive artistically and we would much rather work on new compositions and other projects, like guiding and producing other artists. But concerts are certainly not ruled out. For instance, next year in March we will be on tour in Japan for three weeks."
When we asked them about the reasons for ABBA's gigantic success, they admitted honestly that they actually don't really know themselves. "There's not an exact formula to be successful in the music business," says Björn. "You create compositions that you believe in and then you hope that the audience will like them as well. A couple of reasons for our success? Obviously our sound. Our two good-looking singers as well. And for the rest I wouldn't know. Either way, we hope that this enormous success won't go to our heads, because the day that we become big-headed, ABBA will be through."

After all, we asked Björn if it wasn't a blunder to introduce Agnetha to the audience as 'my ex-wife but she is still as good as new'. Since every divorce is a painful occasion and a remark like that can come across as rather scornful? Björn appeared to be completely surprised. "On the contrary, because with that remark we only want to show the audience that it was an amicable split," he concluded. "It's normal that our fans wonder how things are between Agnetha and myself. We'd rather tell them ourselves than that they have to read false stories in the magazines. Well, I can assure you that our divorce has been handled on the best of terms, a divorce that was inevitable because neither one of us saw any future in our marriage. We've remained the best of friends and anyone can notice that. Indeed, if we had separated as enemies, we certainly wouldn't have shared the same stage ever again."
Because the financial interests have become too big? "Oh, not at all. Everyone is always talking about all the money we are making. Of course we know what happens to our bank accounts, but it stops there. Our music is our first and only important concern. We want to make the music that we love and we'd like to do that the rest of our lives!"

Privé, April 2013: Comeback for ABBA's Agnetha!

Agnetha Fältskog is back on the scene again, with none other than Take That singer Gary Barlow. The 62-year-old singer has surprised many people with her comeback. But the blonde ABBA star, who hadn't sung a single note in more than ten years, had one condition: "If my voice sounds old, I won't go through with it!"

To the joy of her fans Agnetha Fältskog has given up her solitary life for a comeback in the music business. In 2004, the blonde ABBA singer already took up her old profession once again with the album 'My Colouring Book', but now she is trying to score another hit, together with the twenty year younger Take That star Gary Barlow, with the duet 'I Should Have Followed You Home'. It's clear that the Swedish blonde takes her comeback very seriously this time, because she has asked Britney Spears' composer to write a couple of songs for her album (that will be released later this year), in the hopes of dusting off her image.
"I am always described as a mysterious woman, while I'm not mysterious at all." Agnetha's new musical adventure started two years ago when Swedish record producer Jörgen Elofsson was standing on her doorstep to present three songs to her. For the hit producer, who once wrote Britney Spears' 'Crazy', it was a lifelong dream to bring Agnetha back into the spotlights. The singer was honoured. "I thought all his songs were great, so I simply couldn't say no."
But before they actually started recording, Agnetha had one condition. "It was almost ten years ago since I had last sung and I didn't know if my voice was still there. So I told him right away that I wouldn't go through with the project if my voice sounded old."
The singer knows very well that her image took a severe blow after her relationship with the sixteen year younger Dutchman who had fallen in love with her as an eight year old. The man moved to Sweden for her where he bought a house close to Agnetha's home on the island Ekerö near Stockholm. They started a relationship that Agnetha broke off two years later. But the man kept seeking contact, he even attempted to break into her house, after which the singer contacted the police and her ex was eventually evicted from the country.
Her relationship with this disturbed man only confirmed the impression that many people had of Agnetha, the impression of a lonely and unhappy woman, although she firmly denied this herself.

After the ABBA members had gone their separate ways in 1982, Agnetha was the only one to practically disappear from the face of the earth. She tried to build a solo career for a while and even scored a modest hit with 'The Heat Is On', but after that she disappeared from view. But she cherishes the memories and recently she donated her clothes and other stuff to the ABBA museum that will open its doors in Sweden next month. "It is weird, but also an enormous honour when a museum is created in honour of your work. But it doesn't mean a reunion of the band."
Anni-Frid Lyngstad lives in Switzerland these days, where she is leading her life as Countess of Plauen, after her marriage to Prince Heinrich Ruzzo Reuss of Plauen. The 67-year-old only does charity work these days, often together with her close friend Queen Sylvia of Sweden. Björn Ulvaeus (67) and Benny Andersson (66), ABBA's musical masterminds, are still working together. They compose, write and produce. Apart from that, Benny has his own band called Benny Andersson Orkester and he is the owner of the exclusive Rival Hotel in Stockholm. Björn has become a media tycoon with numerous successful enterprises. Together with Benny he has made many millions by their cooperation with Hollywood producers for the screening of their musical Mamma Mia! ABBA has sold more than 380 million records worldwide and their music is still among the most popular on download sites such as iTunes and Spotify.
"It's all so long ago," says Agnetha. "We all have our own lives now." She is concentrating completely on her comeback and her new album now. Her last album, she assumes. "You have to be realistic, another album in the future is hard to imagine, but I am open to everything."