The ABBA-girls: We tolerate each others faults

This interview was published in Hant i Veckan on June 5, 1975.

Half of ABBA are sitting opposite me with their hands in their laps. Agnetha Fältskog has a blue denim outfit with flowers dancing over the bellbottoms. Her blond, long hair falls down on her shoulders. With her healthy skin and her clear, blue eyes she is the typical Swedish girl. Anni-Frid Lyngstad, in white pants and a white blouse, has a more dangerous look. Her eyes sparkles, sometimes they look happy, sometimes melancholy. Her red-brown hair curles around her forehead. We are sitting and discussing the other half of ABBA ­ Bjorn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson. Bjorn is married to Agnetha and Benny lives with Frida. How can they live and work together?

Frida: ­ Sometimes you¹re not in the mood or even angry, but it¹s OK to be that. Just like in a family. And we¹re always in a good mood when we are performing. You have so many other things to concentrate
on then. You don¹t have the time to be angry.

Agnetha: ­ Bjorn and I fought much more before, but that was probably because we didn¹t know each other too well. I think it¹s the same with the group. We learn to accept and tolerate each others differences. Both Frida and I have a lot of temperament, with very big mood-swings. But we are seldom angry for long. We may get depressed sometimes and it¹s a funny thing ­ it usually happens at the same time for me and Frida.

Frida: ­ It¹s strange, but I¹m more often depressed now than I was before the Eurovision Song Contest [when they won with Waterloo]. Now the pressure is bigger. We have to work much harder ­ both in Sweden and abroad.

Agnetha: Yes, we have to work even when we¹re ill. During the long European tour last summer, we only cancelled once. It was when Frida got a very bad throat infection and couldn¹t sing at all.

Frida: ­ Wait, we¹re not miserable all the time. We have a lot of good times in between. And we don¹t feel that the success has come too soon or too easy. We have, all four of us, worked very hard in the music business for many years. But of course, you get tired of yourself sometimes. I mean in this job you look at yourself in the mirror all the time. You have to look your best. And on top of that you see your face in almost all the papers almost all the time. Sometimes I really want to change my looks ­ create a new Frida.

Agnetha: ­ Yes, it¹s not very vigorating to be on tour. You get nervous, your skin, your hair everything looks terrible. Mostly
because of the lack of sleep I think. It¹s really hard being on the road. Sometimes I think it cost a lot more than it¹s worth.

Frida: ­ In these situations it¹s important that we stay together and keep our spirits up. The sense of security in the group is essential ­ it has to become your home. But this summer will be different. The folkpark tour is carefully planned. We start on Midsummers Day (june 21th) in Skelleftea [in the northern part of Sweden] and then we work our way down to the southern parts. During 17 days we do 14 concerts. That means we will have three days off. I¹m really looking forward to meet the folkpark audiences again. We haven¹t met them since we became ABBA.

Agnetha: ­ Now with all the success and attention we¹re getting the demands on you get¹s a lot bigger. Bjorn and I have been married since 1971 and we usually spend our summers with our daughter Linda (she¹s two and half years old now) on the island in the archipelago of Stockholm. Frida and Benny has a house too on the same island, not far from us. I always feel very guilty when I¹m away from Linda. I have an au-pair who stays with her when we are away. And I always promise myself that when I come home I will spend all my time with her. But that never happens, I have so many other engagements even when we are home. But sometimes I just sit with Linda at the piano and we sing and play together.

Frida: ­ When it comes to the children, I¹ve had it a little easier than Agnetha, I think. When I divorced my husband I had nowhere to go so he got the custody of the children. Hans is 12 now and Lise-Lott is 8. The hardest time of my life was when I had to leave my children. But they have always been very happy with their dad. And now they visit me as often as possible.

Benny has two children from an earlier marriage, Peter 11 and Helene 9. His children visits us regularly too so we are quite a big family occasionally.

Agnetha: ­ Benny¹s and Frida¹s kids come over to our house on the island and they take really good care of Linda.

Frida: ­ They sing a lot together. Hans has a marvellous voice. Lotta is more of a listener I think. At the moment she is writing a little
book.

Agnetha: ­ Frida and I are quite different on stage. I¹m more shy, something I¹ve work very hard with. But I think it¹s easier in a group like ABBA, where we know each other so well. And we are always very well received whereever we performe, and that helps a lot when you are shy.

Frida: ­ I love the stage. It¹s the happiest moment of my life when I go on. On the stage I¹m completely open and willing to give all. It¹s so wonderful to meet the audience. But in my private life it¹s quite different. I don¹t liketo be recognized in the street.

Agnetha: ­ I think it¹s something you have to learn to live with. I hate it when I¹m standing in line buying groceries and I see how
everyone around me watches exactly what I¹m buying.

Frida: ­ I have realized that since we have become a success even some of the people you thought were your friends start treating you strangely. I really hate it when people are smiling with their mouths but their ice are very, very cold.


Translation of this article posted on the alt.music.abba newsgroup on 26 April 1996 by Mikael A. from Sweden