Earlier this year music fans rejoiced when one of the biggest pop groups of the last century announced they’d be releasing their first new studio album in over 40 years.
ABBA – comprised of lead songwriter and keys player Benny Andersson, guitarist Björn Ulvaeus, and vocalists Agnetha Fältskog and Anni-Frid Lyngstad – delighted music lovers in September when they revealed that a ten-song album, Voyage, would be dropping in November, with an accompanying virtual tour (more on that later).
But as we all get ready ABBAmania 2.0, who are the men (and women) behind the magic?
READ MORE
Who is Benny Andersson?
Benny was one of the founding members of ABBA and, along with guitarist Björn, was the song-writing powerhouse behind the group’s success. Despite coming up with most of the lyrics, he only sang lead on one of ABBAs songs – Suzy-Hang-Around, from their second studio album (and the one that made them global superstars) Waterloo.
How old is Benny Andersson?
Benny was born on the 16th of December 1946, making him currently 74 years old.
What is Benny Andersson’s net worth?
While it’s difficult to pinpoint a specific figure, most estimates put Benny’s net worth at around $230m – which, despite being an eye-watering amount, isn’t as much as modern day lyrical genius Ed Sheeran, who’s net worth is estimated to be $236.5m (with a career spanning a fraction of Benny’s five decades – bummer).
Who is Benny Andersson’s wife?
Benny married his current wife, Swedish TV presenter Mona Nörklit in 1981. The couple have a son, Ludvig, who was born in 1982 and is also a successful musician.
Was Benny Andersson married to his ABBA bandmate?
Yep, Benny famously married ABBA vocalist Anni-Frid in 1978 after being engaged for around nine years. They separated two years later and finalised their divorce in 1981 – the same year he married Mona, who he’d began seeing during his first marriage.
"We discussed what was going to remain in the group in spite of all we have been through. We decided to stay together for the sake of the music," said Benny at the time.
"Now that Benny and I have broken up, we are able to work much better together. Our relationship is not as intense as it was, but we are still in contact," agreed Frida. "We have chosen to be completely honest with each other. We have always been very honest about relationships and after long and hard talks we decided to go our separate ways.
"We simply grew out of each other. It came down to our different goals in life. We have always been honest and talked about everything. We talked and talked and finally, we agreed that a divorce would be the best solution.
"There was a lot of tears and a lot of discussions. But there was no way back. Breaking up became a necessity."
The other two members of ABBA – Björn and Agnetha – were also in a relationship. They married in 1971 and had two children, Linda and Christian, before filing for divorce in 1979.
CHECK OUT ABBA: then and now
ABBA: then and now
1 of 4Agnetha Fältskog
Singer Agnetha continued to have success as a solo artist after Abba split and had three hit albums. However, she has hit headlines over the years as she's been married and divorced twice and was involved in a horrific road traffic accident in 1983. She retreated from fame in 2004 and went to live outside Stockholm on a farm.
2 of 4Björn Ulvaeus
Benny and Bjorn continued to work together after ABBA and have remained good friends. They famously penned Mamma Mia (the musical film famously included Abba's greatest hits) which appeared on the West End in 1999. Bjorn lives in Sweden with Lena, his wife of 35 years
3 of 4Benny Andersson
As well as his work with Bjorn, Benny is the richest member of the group and is reportedly worth £100 million. Abba has continued to have international success since they split with ABBA Gold, released in 1992, selling almost 30million copies worldwide, and musical Mamma Mia! grossing some $2billion. It's still one of the most popular musicals ever.
4 of 4Anni-Frid Lyngstad
Also known as Frida, her first album since Abba sold more than 1.5 million copies. She married Prince Heinrich Ruzzo Reuss von Plauen in 1992, but he tragically died of lymphoma in 1999 at just 49 – a year after she tragically lost her daughter Lise-Lotte in a car crash. She currently lives in Switzerland with her husband Henry Smith, 5th Viscount Hambleden. In 2004, Frida appeared with former bandmates Benny and Björn at London's fifth-anniversary performance of Mamma Mia! the musical.
Despite each former couple vowing not to let their break-ups affect the group, ABBA called it a day in 1983 – just two years after both divorces were finalised.
But it wasn’t all doom and gloom, as Björn wrote the song The Winner Takes It All about the breakdown of the relationships.
Was Benny Andersson in Mamma Mia?
Neither Benny or Björn star in Mamma Mia! despite the musical being based on 24 of ABBA’s most famous hits. It premiered on the West End in 1999 and is still running today, making it the seventh longest running West End musical. They might not star in it but the duo were heavily involved in the production from the start.
Benny Andersson piano CD
It may surprise you to know that, despite ABBA’s stratospheric success and a massive EIGHT platinum selling albums, they were only releasing music together for ten years, between 1973 and 1981 (until, of course, they announced Voyage in 2021).
But he had loads of success with music outside of the band, releasing separate albums with both Björn and Agnetha and loads of his own as a solo artist. He was also in a number of other bands including Benny Andersson Orkester (BAO), which translates to The Benny Andersson Band and Orsa Spelmän.
In 2017, he wrote, produced and performed on an instrumental album titled Piano, where he re-interpreted hits from his time in ABBA as well as his solo career and others on his trusted grand piano.
Benny and Björn – the song-writing duo of dreams
Benny and Björn first met and began writing music together in 1966 while both their groups at the time were touring the same venues. Benny was a member of the pop group Hep Stars and Björn was part of The Hootenanny Singers.
It was the start of a beautiful friendship and a gift for music lovers the world over as Benny and Björn soon began writing together, creating music for each other’s groups before meeting their Agnetha and Anni-Frid and forming ABBA in 1972.
Despite achieving plenty of success in those early years, it wasn’t until they won the Eurovision Song Contest in 1974 with Waterloo that ABBA became a global sensation and changed the face of music forever.
Why don’t ABBA perform live anymore?
Despite announcing their first tour in 40 years in 2021, ticket buyers for Voyage won’t actually get to see the group in person. Instead, Benny, Björn, Anni-Frid and Agnetha will appear as holograms dubbed ABBAtars (get it?) to perform a pre-recorded set with a live band.
WATCH: Demi Sims opens up about Megan Barton Hanson 'joining TOWIE' | Celeb Ex In The City Secrets
After the band disbanded in the 80s, they never performed live again, with Agnetha saying in 2013 that she "tried to leave ABBA in the past". The blonde singer didn’t take well to fame and developed severe stage fright and anxiety, retreating from the limelight for many years after moving to a remote Swedish Island.
Speaking of their reunion in the studio after so long, Agnetha said, "Benny's recording studio is such a friendly and safe environment, and before I knew it I was really enjoying myself!"
However, neither singer attended the press launch in London's Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.
"They should have been here," said Bjorn, half-joking, "But they don't enjoy this [publicity] as much as Benny does."