Men of Abba trust each other 100%
Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus, who worked on Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, still meet every week to collaborate
If you are of a certain age, you must have boogied to Dancing Queen, SOS, Voulez-Vous and Waterloo from the mega successful Swedish pop group Abba.
Benny Andersson, Bjorn Ulvaeus, Agnetha Faltskog and Anni-Frid Lyngstad sold more than 370 million singles and albums worldwide before they split up in 1982. The men later collaborated on stage musicals - Chess in the 80s and Mamma Mia! in the 90s.
Ten years ago, a huge resurgence in the popularity of Abba songs was brought about by the hit musical film Mamma Mia!, based on the musical.
With the sequel Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again opening here on Aug 9, tons of journalists made the trek to Abba's home country to interview creative forces Andersson, 71, and Ulvaeus, 73.
The duo could be mistaken for two grandfatherly gentlemen, a far cry from the 70s pop stars in their outrageous costumes.
Their involvement in both movies includes choosing and rearranging the songs for the new voices in the films and writing a couple of original ones for the sequel, as well as cameo appearances.
But Andersson said at the Grand Hotel in Stockholm that they were both initially hesitant about working on Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, which sees Sophie (Amanda Seyfried) learning about her mother Donna's (Meryl Streep, with Lily James playing the younger version) past through flashbacks while pregnant.
"(Film studio) Universal Pictures, immediately after the first one, was keen on doing another one. It did not give up, did it? And when (English writer-director) Ol Parker came with the script, we said, 'Yeah, well, maybe it will be fun. It has been 10 years, why not?' So we finally threw in the towel," he said.
On why the female half of Abba - also their ex-wives - were not part of the publicity tour for the movie, Andersson said: "It is based on the music and lyrics and not on them as artists, so that is the reason why they are not here. They were the faces in Abba, definitely."
Ulvaeus added with a laugh: "They still are. And this is what you get when you can't get them."
There are no plans to get back together as Abba, even though there were rumours of a billion-dollar offer to reunite.
But according to Ulvaeus, "it is not out of the question that we would write a couple of new songs to record with Agnetha and Anni-Frid".
After 35 years, the foursome are collaborating on an international hologram tour where digital avatars of each will perform, and a TV version is set to air next year.
Said Andersson: "We spent two days with the girls in the studio. We meet occasionally, but we have not worked together for such a long time and we all felt good about it. And they can still sing."
Ulvaeus added: "It was a great experience. You could feel that in that room, the four of us, that there are special bonds, having gone through what we have."
The conversation turns to Abba's legacy and Ulvaeus turned thoughtful.
"Almost every day, someone comes up saying, 'Oh, you cannot imagine what your music has meant in some way or other.'
"Intellectually, of course you can look at numbers of sold records and stuff like that, but to emotionally understand what that means is difficult, but it is humbling as well. And I am grateful every time," he said.
In terms of their personal relationship, the men meet every week due to their string of projects.
Andersson said: "It feels good actually to have someone who is exactly on the same track, who knows the history that we have shared for 50 years.
"It is like having a brother, you know? It is good to have someone you can trust 100 per cent."
Ulvaeus agreed: "There are no doubts about that."
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