Mikory's ABBA-blog

SOS, Benny!

Aftonbladet reports that Benny beautiful new, luxurious yacht ran aground:

THE ABBA-STARS BOAT RAN AGROUND
Benny Andersson didn't get to enjoy his new yacht for long. The boat was destroyed during it's maiden voyage.
- He didn't see a reef, a source says.

When Benny Andersson last fall visited the Scandinavian Boat Show he was checking out the most expensive boat - the Apreamare 12 Comfort, which has a price tag of SEK 5.692.000.
Apparantly it was to his liking, because in Trosa you can now find Benny's new boat of the same brand. There's only one problem - the boat is wrecked. According to Aftonbladet's sources it ran aground two weeks ago.

MISSED A REEF
- He was using an electronic sea card which didn't show the reef, a person associated with the boatyard. How much damage was done to the boat is unknown. Görel Hanser, Benny Andersson's spokeswoman, doesn't want to comment on the boat accident, but she says that Benny is fine.

1977, Frida & Benny: It will be an oldfashioned wedding with a party that goes on all night

I've been very lazy with the translations lately, but I have a good reason - we are experiencing one of the hottest summers in years here in Sweden. And I have tried to be outside as much as possible. Anyway, I hope you forgive me. Here's an article from VeckoRevyn #26, 29 June 1977 about Frida's and Benny's wedding plans. Now we of course know that they didn't have a big wedding after all. Quite the opposite.

Anni-Frid's wedding dress has been hanging in her closet for five years. And now it finally looks as if she is going to use it. The rumours about Benny and Frida getting married this summer are getting more intense.
- And you can count on that it will be a party to remember, they say.

This summer it will happen! The rumours are more intense than ever. Not that either of them think that getting married is very important, more because it's a great excuse to have fun. And one thing is for sure: It's going to be a hell of a party. On that Anni-Frid and Benny totally agree and they have spoken about it to VeckoRevyn's reporter many times.
- The day we get married it will not go unnoticed, you can bet on that.
- The guests will not only gather for the ceremony and dinner. We don't want people to leave us alone on the wedding night. No, we shall be together. We will be dancing and singing and playing together the whole night. Wake up together the following morning, eat good food and then spend some more time together.
- Preferrably it will be an old fashioned wedding.

THE WEDDING DRESS IS READY
And already five years ago Anni-Frid sewed what she planned to be her wedding dress. It was a beautiful dress in champagne coloured crèpe material. A long dress, a high neck line and long, wide arms, exquisitely manufactured.
- I made it at Tillskärarakademien and it will hang in my closet until the day we get married, she told VeckoRevyn.
A marriage between her and Benny will mean a slight change in the in the internal ABBA-image. Björn and Agnetha has always been portrayed as the secure, petty bourgeois stay-at-home couple. They have a four year old daughter, Linda and a second child arriving in November. They spend most of their free time at home.
Frida and Benny on the other hand are both parents of two children from previous relationships. Both of them started families at a very early age. It's probably safe to assume that they both were "burned" by their previous relationships and that is why they have been hesitant to sign a marriage license again.
Benny and Frida has also been the part of ABBA that have embraced the "star roles", the celebrities that were always seen at the hip restaurants and the gala night openings.
They met briefly in Malmö. At that time they didn't connect. That happened a little later when they both were on the Flip or Flop panel judging newly released pop songs on Åke Strömmer's radio show on P3 "Midnight Hour" and after that they wanted to see more of each other.

GOT MARRIED AT THE AGE OF 16
At that time they had both been in serious relationships for a long time. Frida had children and got married at the age of 16. It happened in her home town Eskilstuna and her husband was the band leader of the dance orchestra in which Frida was the vocalist. He was a carpet dealer and his name was Ragnar Fredriksson. Her son Hans is now 15 and his sister, Lise-Lotte is 13.
Benny was already a star in his old band Hep Stars when he got engaged and had his children Peter, now 13 and Helene 11. He was only 19 when he left his children's mother Christina Grönwall.
- It was the success of Hep Stars that opened a completely new world for me, he has said. It was a huge world. I can't defend my actions, the only reason I can give is that I was so young.
An often spread "fact" in the matter has to be denied - it wasn't the attraction between Benny and Frida that broke up their respective relationships. They had both left their families before they even met. And they have the most agreeable relations to their ex-partners and children nowadays. Frida's son Hans lives with her and Benny in the castle like villa on Lidingö because he has a better opportunity to get the education he wants there. Their three other children each have their own rooms in the Lidingö villa and often come and stay with Frida and Benny. The main part of their school holidays during the summer they spend together with Frida and Benny at Viggsö, ABBA's secret secluded island in the Stockholm archipelago.

CHILDREN TOGETHER?
Any children of their own haven't Frida and Benny wanted to get.
- Well, we have thought about it, we have wanted to have children together, Benny said already five years ago.
- But we simply haven't been blessed with any, yet. And for the time being maybe it's for the best. A child doesn't solve any problems between a couple. On the contrary. And that wouldn't be fair on the child.
Frida has often testified how much Benny has meant to her, both as a woman and an artist.
- Benny is the best thing that has happened to me, better than ABBA, she has said.
For one thing it was Benny that made her appreciate pop music, something she earlier frowned upon. She just to be mainly a jazz singer before that. Competent and talented, but not very commercially successfull.
Once he had gotten her into pop music he persuaded her to - together with Agnetha Fältskog - to sing background vocals on his and Björn's album. And after that we know what happened...

FIGHT SOMETIMES
Benny and Frida have made no secret of the fact that their relationship has been far from free of conflicts, even though the conflicts don't happen as often nowadays. They are both persons with very strong wills. But their friends think that their strength as a couple is thanks to their strong personalities.
- Yes, sometimes we have a lot of difficulties together, Benny said when they had been a couple for two years.
- Our dilemma is that we love each other and want to be together, but we don't really work very well as a couple. Maybe it's because we are so different, that it sometimes felt like we spoke different languages.
- But when we are good together - it's like Heaven. And we wouldn't be that happy if we didn't experience the opposite sometimes.
And Frida felt that Benny gave her a sense of security that she never had experienced before. Also as an artist - in the 1972 interview she told us that she seriously had thought of not ever going back on stage again.
Now it seems that they have decided that their "test period" is over. When the wedding bells will chime for them, it's up to finding the time - ABBA's busy schedule mustn't be disturbed.
And one thing is for sure - they can afford to have a BIG, sensational wedding party.

Benny gives the Eurovision schlager a thumbs down

On 3 June, 2006 Benny talked to Aftonbladet about his feelings about the music in the Eurovision Song Contest.

Benny Andersson: There are too many bad songs in the Song Contest of today.

Why does the winners of today last so much shorter? Is more advertising and more tours the answer? No, not if you ask Benny Andersson.

     - The songs are to bad. To well adjusted. To plain. To shallow.

Benny Andersson and ABBA found their way out in the big world after they won the Eurovision Song Contest with "Waterloo". Noone has managed to achieve the same result after winning.

     - I read somewhere that they are concerned about the fact that there is no longevity in the songs from the Song Contest, Benny Andersson says. They are talking about the winner should go on tour to make the song last longer. The simple explanation is that the songs aren't good enough. There hasn't been any good songs in the Eurovision Song Contest for years.

Couldn't you write one yourself to make them better?

     - I think that ship has sailed. Tommy Körberg and I have been joking about the fact that he has competed every 19th year. I said "of course we will write a song for you Tommy the next time (which is next year). I don't know.

So you're not totally against it?

     - No, nothing's impossible. But it has to be something worth competing with. Together with Benny Anderssons Orkester (BAO) he has had some longrunners on Svensktoppen, but Benny will not take all the credit for that.

     - It's unbelieveable. "Du Är Min Man" is a fun and direct song that you might be able to stand for a few weeks, he says. The reason it stayed so long on the chart is because of Helen's (Sjöholms) voice and Björn's lyrics. The lyrics are original but still simple, from a woman's point of view. The willingness she expresses to ignore his little faults. "Du Är Min Man" is also on the new concert record with BAO, which was recorded during last year's summer tour.

BAO did three ABBA-songs on the tour. You didn't think of including them on the CD?

     - No, I didn't. You have to draw the line. It's a lot of fun when we are out there playing. Like a little surprise. But on a CD - no. I don't want to make the claim that these songs are as good as the originals.

Now it's time for Björn and Benny to start working with the ABBA-music again. The veterans are recording the music when a movie is made out of "Mamma Mia!" the musical together with Tom Hanks.

     - Björn and I will be responsible for the music. We will have to begin from scratch. I'm going to ask our old band if they will play on the backgrounds. It's difficult to know how it should sound. Should it be 1970's or 2007?

The musical takes place on a Greek island, and the movie will be filmed in that kind of environment.

     - I have just received the third version of the script. We will have to sit down and adjust the music to the reality of the movie. The music must be ready before they start shooting it.

Are you interested in movies?

     - Yes and no. I don't see enough movies in the movie theatres. I am interested in the media. It would be fantastic if the next project would be a movie.

"Mamma Mia!" has been produced in 130 cities and made 10 billion kronor. That is a lot of money to handle. Recently Skattemyndigheten (tax office) wanted Björn to pay tax for money he has in foreign companies.

     - Well, I'd rather not talk about that, because Björn is my friend. It hasn't been decided if Björn has done anything wrong yet, Benny says. I myself am not involved in that kind of business. I'm a member of the small club who agrees with Mona Sahlin (Swedish minister): It feels good to pay taxes.

So you don't have any plans to move to Monaco then?

     - No I don't. The thing is if you pay a lot of tax it means that you have a lot of money left. I have never understood (rich) people who say that they can't stay in Sweden because they can't afford it. I'm a living example of that's it's very possible.

Benny in 1971: Music is my life!

From the Swedish magazine "Alexandra" in 1971 comes this little article about Benny:

At one time he thought he was going to be a construction engineer. He had had some workplace experience and went to school studying the subject. But then some guys, who called themselves Hep Stars, called him up. Benny left his studies. And that is something he has never regretted.

Benny Andersson, a friendly guy with a blond beard. A guy who only has one interest in life - music. And who can't imagine doing anything else for a living. But it's not likely he will be unemployed. He has established himself as both a talented performer and composer. He writes both music and lyrics.
     But once upon a time he though of becoming a construction engineer. He graduated school in 1962 and joined a work experience programme for a year and a half. But then some guys, who called themselves Hep Stars, called him up. Benny left his studies. Not long after that Hep Stars became hugely successfull with songs like "Cadillac", followed by the other successes like "Farmer John" and "Sunny Girl" and "Wedding".
     Benny and Svenne and Lotta left Hep Stars a couple of years ago. They had realised that their fans preferred to hear songs in Swedish. And soon they were a big hit in the Swedish Folkparks. The New Hep Stars continued with their Engish hardcore pop and aimed mainly at the foreign market.
     This winter, Benny and his fiancée Anni-Frid Lyngstad - known as Frida - and another engaged couple, Agnetha Fältskog and Björn Ulvaeus did open a restaurant show. But now Frida is touring with Lasse Berghagen while Benny, Björn and Agnetha are working together. Björn and Benny has had several hits, among them "Hej Gamle Man" which stayed at Svensktoppen for a long time.
     - It's about a Salvation Army soldier,just any of them. We wrote the music first and thought it sounded a little like a Salvation Army song. That is why we wrote about the soldier. We normally write the music together first. We work it out on guitar and piano. Afterwards we write the lyrics separately.
     This summer the three of them will only tour during weekends. The rest of the week all of them are in Stockholm where they write new songs and record new albums. A new LP has just been released.
     - You get so tired by travelling around all summer, says Benny when we meet him at his recording company Polar Music. It's much better to combine the workload like this. Then it becomes a kick to come out and play in the Folkparks when it's not too often.
     Björn started playing as early as 1961. He and three of his friends in Västervik's highschool started a group they called Partners - which later was changed to Hootenanny Singers. The group still exists, but nowadays they only make records and appear on TV-shows.
     Benny takes the opportunity to send a greeting to all the fans that have been writing to him. He is relly sorry, but he can't reply to all of them. It would take too much time. But he reads every single letter and he really enjoys hearing from his fans.

You can see the colour picture of Benny from the article in the Benny gallery!

Benny happy at Skansen

On Tuesday 2 August BAO (Benny Anderssons Orkester) did their annual visit at the popular TV-show "Allsång på Skansen". Benny, together with his huge band and the solo singers Tommy Körberg (Chess) and Helene Sjöholm (Kristina and Chess) were a big success. I think it's great to see Benny this happy when is performing his favourite kind of music. And it's amazing too see that he looked almost as happy 32 years ago not far from Skansen, at Gröna Lund, playing the banjo, when ABBA performed there. Just look at him in these pictures - he loves it! And the green jacket was a nice change after the blue one he has been wearing for the last 20 years or so! Only joking! :)
     After the TV-show was over, the band continued playing and even played the ABBA-song "Why Did It Have To Be Me"!
     More pics from this concert are available in the Benny photo album here on the right.

Benny honoured with award.

At the annual Spring meeting of SKAP (Swedish Composers of Popular Music) Benny Andersson was presented with the Thore Ehrling Award. Benny had no idea he was going to get it, he was invited to give out another award, to be a presenter. So he was more than happy. His sons and grandsons performed for him and played the old Hep Star's hit "Wedding".
     - It have never sounded better said Benny afterawards.

Helene Sjöholm also got an award, she was "tricked" the same way as Benny. She thought she was going there to present an award.

Frida was also attending this gala together with Lasse Berghagen, who she recorded "En Kväll Om Sommar'n/Vi Vet Allt Men Nästan Inget" with 33 (!) years ago. They also worked together in the variety show "Kardemummarevyn".
Good to see them in the same picture again!

"Kristina från Duvemåla" on its way to Broadway

"Kristina från Duvemåla" is on its way to Broadway. Auditions will be held in April to find the American cast. We have waited ten years for this. Now it's finally on its way, say director Lars Rudolfsson.

Kristina från Duvemåla" opened in Malmö in 1995. After years of sold out performances in Sweden there was early talk about an international release for the musical. Björn Ulvaeus started the work with the translations of his and Benny Andersson's musical. Since then nothing much have happened. Until now. Lars Rudolfsson, who is the director of the show, then and now, reveals that the musical is on its way to Broadway.
     - We are leaving for New York in April to arrange American auditions. After that we shall try and get the people we want for this fall. Then we will produce the whole show in rehearsal auditoriums on Broadway to see that it's working, says Lars Rudolfsson. During the following winter they are planning to open the American version "Kristina från Duvemåla" in a smaller theatre in New York. And also have a try-out in Minnessota, where a lot of people who have family connections with Sweden lives. When exactly the musical will open on Broadway Lars Rudolfsson, doesn't know. Probably some time next . Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson's "Chess" played on Broadway in 1988. And in later years their musical "Mamma Mia!" has had enormous success on that prestigeous New York street.

Read more about "Kristina from Duvemåla" in English here!