The very nice man who wrote down the English translation of the Frida-interview has let me publish i. It reads as follows:
Frida
Interview »Vivement Dimanche« French TV March 24, 2008
25 years
after ABBA stopped the songs are more popular than ever. What is in your
opinion the reason for this?
– The
fact that the success has continued is of course incredible and fantastic. First
of all I think it is because of the music. I have understood throughout the
years that our music is very efficient music. Second I think it is also because
of a lot of great artists who have performed our songs after us they have
brought our songs back to the charts after many years. And of course the »Mamma
Mia!« musical.
Talking
about »Mamma Mia!«, what do you think about this musical that had had tremendous
success for about 10 years now all over the world?
– You
know I am not personally involved in the creative process as far as »Mamma Mia!«
is concerned; I have merely invested in it.
But what
did you think the first time you saw it?
– I
was completely blown away, I was a bit anxious though at first because I didn't
know what to expect. To hear our songs in such a different setting. But I
needn't have worried, it was so well done.
A couple
of years ago you were in London with Björn and Benny. It seems to have been a
very moving event?
– Yes,
it was. It was a big shame that Agnetha was not able to attend. She still is
very afraid of flying, so she chose not to attend. But it was a very wonderful
evening nevertheless. We could really feel how much our music is still
appreciated. The atmosphere was incredible. And we were presented with a lot of
gold discs. All three of us were very proud and very happy.
When
ABBA was formed, I heard that Björn & Benny were both already a part of a
famous group in Sweden?
– Yes
we met on the road. All four of us were popular artists in Sweden. I remember
meeting Benny &Björn in Malmö. I think Björn and Agnetha met around the
same time. They both participated in the same television show. A show about old
folklore music. They became a couple. the same thing happened to Benny and me. And
because Benny and Björn were friends, we all began to work together. That's how
it all started.
Alain
Boublil, you were the distributor for ABBA in France, and even before they
became stars. How did you become connected?
– It
was around 1973. I was very close to their manager Stig Anderson. One day he
happened to like a few of my songs and he asked me if he could write Swedish
lyrics and release them in Sweden. I agreed and those songs, as I remember,
became popular in Sweden. One day he told me about this group he was working
with and who were recording songs in English. their first song would be called
»Ring Ring«. This song was presented in a festival in Sweden, but was not chosen
for the Eurovision Song Contest. Stig made me listen to that song in Paris and
asked me what I thought of it. I said I liked it very much. I released the song
in France on the VOGUE label. The song became a small success in France, even a
bit more successful than we had anticipated. So when they released »Waterloo« and
were selected to represent Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest, I was the
first person Stig called. It was a friendly deal. there was only a handshake,
not even a contract. It was normal that I would represent them for this second song
too.
Is it
true that you listened to ABBA's songs over the telephone?
– We
became friends very quickly. Not just with Stig, but also with Björn &
Benn, and with Frida too, of course. So it happened for instance that Stig
would call me, play me »Money, Money, Money« and asked me "do you think this
would be a good choice for the next single?".
Frida,
when I hear what Alain has to say, it appears that France was an important
country in the start of ABBA's career?
– Absolutely. It is really wonderful that this friendship with Alain happened. And
now, even if we have not had so much contact as back then, it is wonderful that
this friendship is still so intact.
The
whole of Europe got to know ABBA through the Eurovision SongContest and »Waterloo«. What memories do
you have of the weeks preceding this big event? What happened afterwards
backstage?
– It was of course totally exciting. We arrived
there, four people from Sweden, and we had no idea what was gonna happen. I also
remember that particular year being one with a very strong field of
contestants. The competition was of course very hard. I remember us really
giving everything we had in us. And of course we had very extravagant
stage-outfits. In only a few hours our lives had completely changed. After that
the future was wide open. I think one could easily say that »Waterloo« had
conquered the whole world.
One of
the biggest hits was »Fernando«. I have read somewhere that you said from the
first moment you heard it, you fell in love with it? And you recorded the song in Swedish first?
– Björn & Benny had written this song for my Swedish solo album, that was a
big success in Sweden and elsewhere. At the same time we were also busy
preparing a new album for ABBA. We simply decided to translate the song into
English and record it with ABBA.
Is
»Fernando« one of your favourites?
– Yes,
among my favourites. We have recorded so many beautiful songs. But it's true that
»Fernando« is of course a special song for me
Agnetha
has very often stated that she loved the studio work, that she almost preferred
it to the live performances. Is it the same for you?
– No,
I love both. The creative process in the studio was fantastic. We would
sometimes spend hours in the studio creating something. We spent much time on
the harmonies, the backing vocals, and so on. Almost everything was born in the
studio. We were very productive in the studio. But I also loved being on stage,
the contact with the audience. I have really really loved that.
Can you
tell me how it was back then on the island where each couple had a house and
where the first ABBA-hits were created?
– Well,
you know outside of Stockholm there is this fantastic archipelago with many
islands. Stig Anderson had bought a small cottage for his family on one of
those islands. Björn, Agnetha, Benny and I we did the same, and bought small
summer houses. It is a very common thing to do in Sweden, to buy a little house
and spend the summer over there. Benny and Björn spent a lot of time there
writing the songs for our albums. Björn had this small chalet where there was
nothing but a piano, and Benny and him would be sitting there for hours playing
the guitar and the piano and coming up with new songs.
Is there
a song that was a clear hit single to you from the beginning? Maybe »Dancing
Queen«?
– The
first time I heard it, when Benny brought the demo home, I started to cry
because it was so gorgeous. I knew it would become a very big hit single.
The
success came very fast. You had hit singles all over the globe. And then there
was this first big live tour. You played among otber places in Australia. That is a very
special memory, isn't it?
– Yes,
and even to this day, I still don't know how we got so massive in Australia. It
was pure hysteria. before that tour we had done some promo and some TV shows
over there. Before we went on tour, we had decided together with Lasse
Hallström that maybe it would be a good idea to do a documentary. And gradually
we decided to turn it into a full feature film. Australia is a fond memory for
many many reasons. It was very hard for us, because we had really become
massive superstars there and we were not able to walk on the streets. So we had
to move around with cars all the time. Only once were we able to escape for a
little while and we went to some park. And we also went on a little cruise. But
it was all amazing and those are wonderful memories. I remember that prior to
our concert it had rained for weeks and that when we came on stage and everyone
in the audience had umbrellas. During our concert the rain stopped as by
miracle. But the stage had become very slippery and at one point I even fell.
Those are really memories that I will never forget, because it was all just
unique.
Let's
talk about the outfits, the very eccentric outfits. Who had the idea for those?
– Many
people were busy with the outfits. But I must say that the outfits were an
integral part of our success in the beginning. It all started when we
participated with »Ring Ring« in the preselection for the Eurovision Song Contest
in 1973. Agnetha was highly pregnant, and I was very good at making clothes. We
decided that I would do the clothes and I designed the outfits for Agnetha and
me. Not the ones for Björn & Benny. They had their own designer. I was very
fond of creating costumes. I had some extravagant ideas about how we needed to
dress. In the end we found a designer who created our clothes, but I kept very
much a part of the creative process.
What
happened to all those outfits? I have heard that maybe there will be an ABBA
museum in Stockholm
– Yes,
we kept all the outfits. They are now going to be exposed in a big ABBA Museum
in Stockholm, which will open in June 2009. But it's not just the outfits, it
will also be a lot of memorabilia and I think it will be very interesting for
the people, for the fans...
Frida,
tell me about the personalities, the temperaments of Björn & Benny!
– They will kill me (Frida laughs).
You
probably know more about Benny because you were married to him?
– I
don't know, because I have known Björn for a very long time too. Especially
after ABBA split, I have had more contact with Björn than with the other two.
They are both very kind people, I can't say anything else about them really.
They are both creators, but in a different way. Björn started to write the
lyrics for the ABBA songs of course, but he has developed this talent and has
become a wonderful lyricist, also for the musicals. He is a very intelligent
person. And I must say that I admire Benny a great deal too. He really is a
genius. The way he composes is amazing. I have lost contact with him after
our separation, because I left Sweden. We only meet very rarely nowadays. It's
the same thing with Agnetha, I don't meet her very often. So it really is Björn
that I know best.
You were two married couples, living and working together. Was there never any stress
because of that?
– No,
not really. Of course we would have differences of opinion like any other
couples, but most of the time we all got along really well.
Did you
sometimes have moments of tension with Agnetha?
– That
probably happened. There was a sort of competition between us. We were both
women and we both wanted to present ourselves the best way possible. But there
was always diplomacy and respect between us and we got along well. Also because
we all always wanted the best for the group. So, we all found a way to work
together well. I think that most of the time we really liked each other. Many
times it was written that we hated each other. That was absolutely not true. We
may not have had so much contact outside of ABBA, even when we were on the
island, but the collaboration between us has always been very much in harmony.
At a
certain point, when the group was splitting up, Agnetha said that she did not
want to tour anymore, that she wanted to be with her children. How did all that
happen? Was it a sudden decision or was it all carefully considered?
– No,
there was a very long period of reflection. Benny and Björn had probably given
all they had as far as ABBA was concerned. They had not as much energy to give
to ABBA anymore. And then so many things had changed for us privately, Björn
and Agnetha had separated. Benny and I, after 13 years we got married and only
3 years later we divorced, because Benny had met another woman. Of course all
that had had a tremendous effect on us and at a certain point we noticed it was
time to move on, to make a change, to find new directions in our lives. Benny
and Björn had already been very keen with the idea of writing a musical. It was
a natural thing to do at that point to put an end to ABBA.
Was it
not painful for you to leave the scene, to leave all that success behind? Also
considering ABBA did not have such a long career, merely 10 years.
– Yes, Michel, it was a very hard time. I can
not speak for the other three, only for myself. I had started out in the music
business when I was 13 and I had given a lot to reach that amount of success.
And then, all of a sudden, everything stopped. It was hard. because we had
worked so hard, tours, recording, living the life of a star, a celebrity...
and then suddenly complete silence. I am not saying that I was depressed, but
it took me 3 to 4 years to give my life a positive direction again, to create
my world without ABBA in it. So yes, it was all ready hard.
Alain
Boublil, you have been tremendously successful with »LES MISERABLES«, »MISS
SAIGON«.... Tell me about the musical »ABBACADABRA«.
– I just heard the word ABBA in my head and I
suddenly heard the word »ABBACADABRA«, and I could not believe that I hadn't come
up with this earlier. So I decided to attempt and write a fairytale about a
princess who was asleep in a castle. Of course the beautiful princes could only
be one person, Frida. (Frida laughs) Frida accepted, in fact Stig and ABBA
allowed me to rewrite the lyrics for some ABBA songs, so that they would tell a
story for children.
Frida,
so you played »La belle« (the
beautiful one) and sang a duet with Daniel Balavoine. How do you remember him?
– I remember it very well because it was such a
different and funny thing; I was dressed up as a princess, a sleeping beauty.
Daniel was dressed as a prince. But what I remember most about Daniel was that
he was such an adorable and lovely person. We had a lot of fun together doing
this project.
When you
had separated, Benny and Björn, and also Agnetha and you, you all did your own
projects. You made solo albums?
– Yes, I did a couple of solo albums. For the
first one I had Phil Collins as a producer. And then I did another one with
Steve Lillywhite. I even recorded that album in Paris. I don't remember the
name of the studio. The wonderful Daniel Balavoine had written a song for it
too, that was then translated into English. I listened to that song again
yesterday. On the first album there was a big hit single called »I Know There's
Something Going On«. I remember that it also became a big success in France. And
then eventually I gave up my career.
Tell me,
what happened in the following years?
– I can not really talk about that period in
a very happy way. I lost my daughter in an accident, and then I also lost my
husband and it all took a very long time to find a new direction. Earlier we
talked about my life after the split of ABBA, and here once again I had to
start from scratch after the death of two people I had loved so much. I
remained very quiet for a while, apart from the celebration of 30 years of
ABBA, and the 5 year MAMMA MIA! celebrations in London maybe. But apart from
that I have lived a very, very quiet life, trying to find a good way of living
again. And that takes time. It has to take time actually, because it is not easy
finding a way out.
You have
a grandson?
– Yes and I am very happy and proud about that.
In fact my first grandchild is now 19 years old, he is the son of my daughter.
And then I have little Elsa, who is the daughter of my son. And she is only 16
months old.
When we
look back on your life it seems you have not only known happiness. You have
found your father again when you were 30. There was a reunion under the
weirdest of circumstances?
– Yes, when you have lived your entire life believing
that you had no father and that there were secrets that your family just did
not talk about. I had only known that he had been a German soldier and that he
had met my mother during the war in Narvik. And that he had returned to Germany
and had died during the trip back to Germany. And then suddenly we got a phone
call from someone who said that he knew my father. And then a meeting was
arranged in Stockholm. I met him together with Benny and the children. It was
very difficult, because he only spoke German and we needed translators. It was
very strange to suddenly meet a father.
* * * * * * * * * * *
Just to let you all know and to give a big THANK YOU to Philippe I'd like to inform you all that PhD has published the new French interview on his great site:
http://www.abbainter.net/ Goto Television today and then
Click on the Interview pic of Frida - and there it is the almost hour long interview with her from last Sunday.
Amazing!
Torshälla in the beginning of the 50's was still an idyllic place. The old houses leaned on each other and was every architect's dream to do something with. The town gossip had the proportions of a small town. You knew people, by age and careers.
Unfortunately I don't have much time to actually translate the article (I'll do it a bit later if you want) but I understand that the information is hot so here it is summarized:
First of all, they remind us some well known facts about ABBA such as when they started/finished, when Frida and Benny got married/divorced, how many disks they have sold, where Frida lives etc.
But the essential is that this Sunday (March 23) Michel Drucker, famous French TV personality, is presenting his 'Vivement Dimanche' dedicated completely to ABBA. It is going to be aired in the afternoon on Canal 2. While preparing the show he went to le Valais and - with a little help from Alain Boubil - managed to get an interview with our beloved Frida. The interview is huge - 45 minutes - and they promise us a lot of confessions.
Wow and wow and wow! I only hope this gem will find its way to YouTube...
Love,
Kate a.k.a. olblackcat