ABBA : le b.a.ba de la pop (the ABC of pop)

here is a new interview of bjorn ulvaeus

in the french magazine "les inrockuptible"

-translation first part -

For a long time time Abba was the "band to hate" ,but the group knew how to dictate a songwriting blueprint and popular ,a band sophisticated as brian wilson's.

while the musical Mamma mia is a French triumph we had an interview with bjorn ulvaeus .

Mamma mia ,Abba is back!
after eleven years around the world (ten countries) the musical featuring Abba songs has settled in Paris and is already a success another triumph for a unique pop group in the hole history of pop. the sixties were the golden era for pop ,Beatles went separate ways in 1970 ,end of the feast .but in 1972 ,in Sweden abba (build of the acronym agnetha bjorn benny and annifrid) take up the glitter,study alchemic formulas of spector and

the beach boys and release first single people need love ,like an echo to the beatles all you need is love.


Abba gave love songs without limits .after eurovision in 74 ,first battle
victory with waterloo,till their separation in 82 ,abba was a irresistible
hit machine , a stream of hits that we couldn't enumerate here,and some for the trip back in time : SOS, Dancing Queen, Take a Chance on Me, Chiquitita, The Winner Takes It All, On and on and on…
the best antidote to the depression and morosity
.then and now
The two "A" of Agnetha and Anni-Frid,the singers (wifes of b& b) brought feminity to the band ,the erotic touch that lacked to beatles and beach boys.
two beautuiful couples in the 70ties hum fantasy.
the symetric name (acronoum, palindrome or anagram, would note linguists) and the band itself perfect .
we love abba for all this but first for the songs ,invention of a pop music universal its root in european folklore , carnival music propelled in the milky way.

double function songs , sophisticated and baroque in the details and simple to listen to ,emotion and dance ,intimacy and popularity. Ab(ba)solute pop quintessence.

so "Thank You for the Music", . at the head of top sellers , with
Elvis, Beatles and Michael Jackson, Abba sold 375 millions albums :
the secret Garden the most visited in the world, one of the creative
team Björn Ulvaeus opened the door for a rare interview.


interview
* what was your dream when you started Abba ?

B U :before Abba, i was in another group ,started in 1963.

At 18 , i wanted to have success, to be an idol. but ten years

after, with Abba, i had two dreams above all : music and go outside

Sweden . since the start with Benny Andersson in 1965, we wanted to

write pop songs that would have international impact.

* Beatles stopped in 1970, Abba formed in 1972.did you want to take
over ?
i don't believe so. Beatles are incomparable for me. Benny and i

started writing songs thanks to them. before the Beatles, songwriters were

behind the scene. nobody knew who composed for Elvis. but in 1962, a

band that compose its own songs was there .

like many young fellows, Benny and i thought we could do the same”

* did you have other influences ?

Benny and i used to listen to a large panel of styles :

French,Italian, Scandinavian folk music ,of course American rock and

roll, country.this mix build our background. my first band was a

folk group.

* in the 70s and 80s,you were considered commercial (hit machine),
a band with commercial pop music without real intrinsic quality.you
had the success but not the recognition. was it frustrating ?

yes sometimes it's hard. after the eurovision, waterloo was a huge

hit, we had a monster hit. but as soon as the single was leaving the

charts, everybody was sure we were one hit wonder.

eurovision winners were supposed to be like that . for one year long,before

the album featuring Mamma Mia & SOS, music critics dismissed us as a

bubble gum pop band,without future. it was hard sometimes. at the

same time, we sold more records than other bands that we respected

others colleagues, like Led Zeppelin, who understand what kind of

band we were, that our melodies and our records weren't crap !

Abba was not manufactured,the band magnified naturally.

it started with friendship between us two (Benny and me) ,we met the

two girls and felt in love.they were singers,but at the beginning we

didn't predict to make a band !

after the album "ABBA",lot of people noted that we were a true band.

they changed their attitude towards us except the journalists

* Abba was the band that pushed the limits to the pop dimension :your
songs were sophisticated ,ambitious but always made to dance ,never
pretentious ?

I'm proud to hear that .Abba's music is not arty,that's sure but is

honest ,it talks about feelings .it was the best you could have at

the time without any doubt.

* between 73 and 81,there was almost one album per year.was it
deliberate ?

after the eurovision victory nobody could tell us what to do,we had a

total freedom artistically and make our own decision


* did you have a magic formula ?

it was hard to generate a hit every time .there was no formula ,it's

obvious on the records ,just compare "the winner takes it all" and

"mamma mia" ?

* was it hard task to generate all those hits ?

that was our secret ,we took lot of time to compose compared to other

groups of the era .lot of them used to be roadies unlike us.

in ten years ,we toured three or four months ?

we spent the half of the year composing ,we recorded around fifteen songs by year ,

and throw away 95 % of them !

part 2

* how do you describe a good song?

it must be good from the start till the end,every part must be

fantastic and original.not only the chorus but every element .

every part must blend together with harmony ,when we listen to it the

first time : we must feel something special .a perfect song gives you

feeling and imagination.songs like the winner ,fernando ,knowing me

knowing you ,act on the feelings of the listener .that's the ultimate

goal for me .with happy songs like mamma mia ,it was difficult to

show deep feelings but every time we could ,it was my ambition :write

small stories ,where the listener could find something real .

* your songs are often used in films and musicals .did you compose them

as if it was an "imaginative OST" in your mind ?

you could say that. we used to begin with a melody and the

orchestration ,then i write the lyrics.i listened to the music

several time until it brings to me images ,like a "cerebral film"

i write then what i imagined .this is obvious in songs like Knowing Me, Knowing

You or Fernando.

* melancholy is striking in some of your songs ;you made the world

dance to your songs ,but songs that could make people cry ?

you're right ,songs are sad ,with maybe a Scandinavian melancholy

but the sound due to the voice of the girls ,made them exalting with

joy .when we hear an abba song ,in a shop for example ,we only hear

the joy.but there is something else deep inside .and that's the

secret of the longevity of songs like Dancing Queen or Gimme! Gimme!

Gimme!.

* how did the image of the band come from ?

at the glam rock era we were intrigued by the look of british bands

like The Sweet, Gary Glitter, the Faces.everybody was wearing the

most incredible costumes .we envied roxy music for their elegance and

thoughtful style.for the eurovision we opted for a special look

, outrageous ,the most memorable one .we also wanted to have fun we

didn't conceive our image seriously .sincerly we were ridiculous only

at the very start.gradually our taste became the more and more

refined !

* at the end of the seventies at the hight of your fame .punk and new

wave began.how did you perceive them et the time ?

i felt something was happening ,that music was changing .in the

eighties ,we were cataloged "out of date" .the eighties were a dark

period for us ,the darkest ages ...

then Abba gold went out ,people started to cover our songs ,things

were getting better .punk and heanvy metal were not for us .we stood

to our roots .we did follow disco music because we love it and we

could merge to it without losing our style .one of the engine of pop

music is emulation.

when we hear a new sound or a new song,we start ...everybody was

inspired by others

* when you went separate ways in 1982 what did you miss the most ?

that pop music matrix (abba) .we couldn't find better after all ,the

voices of the girls were fantastic instruments .i worked with other

singers but it was never the same .

i must correct we didn't break up ,it was just benny and i who wanted

to experiment new fields .for years we talked about doing musicals

."jesus christ superstar" did inspire us more than those broadway

musicals .we did that with chess ,it was just a break for abba .we

wanted to reunite after chess .but it never happened .now it's too

late !

* no reformation ?

no reformation !

* when you stopped with Abba did you feel the end of an era (the

decline artistically) ?

sure ,i felt it at the very end ,we lack something ,at the time i

couldn't tell what it was .but retrospectively i understood that it was

a general fact with all the bands .there was an edge of creativity

that never reached more then seven or ten years .

look at the beach boys ,beatles and many more : it take ten years

,then flamme start to fade away .we can restart but with another

configuration .

we felt it at the time without really understanding it .

we did well ,stopping at that time .

some bands that never stop ,goin on playing their old songs in never

ending concerts ,without renewing , that is quite pityful .

* who are Abba's offspring ,if there is ?

pop music revived in the nineties ,for a long time ,this time

.britney and backstreet boys composers were our fans .but how to cite

a song precisely that could be abba's influence ?

we made so much hits in the seventies that they sure had huge impact

and led people to compose songs ,like the beatles did for us .

* do you hum Abba songs ?

sometimes they stick to my mind .but i never listen to abba songs on

records (cds or internet) but when i drive i listen to the radio and

our songs are of course played .

i really think they stood the test of time .and it's due to our

perfectiveness ,we spent as much in the recording studio as at

composing .if there was a little mistake (bad note) we started all

over again .if we were not happy with some recordings ,we started

another ,and so on and go back to the first one when we felt we had

the solution.

* do you think Abba songs will be played in a hundred year ?

what will happen after my death don't bother me .but i'm still

surprised when i see all the people who listen to our songs today !

everywhere i go around the world they do.it's wonderful ,each time i

wonder why ,but it's a complete mystery .i'm just proud of it .

* what would it have been (your life ) without Abba ?

i sometimes ask myself .destiny is controlled by tiny

events.i was destined to be an engineer .mother did suscribe for our

folk band to a contest .we did participate and it all began.if she

didn't write this letter ,i would have been an engineer.

* what represents music in your life today ?

when i listen to music at home these days ,it's often classical

,mozart .in my car i liten to pop channels .benny and i write some

music together ,less then before .we made kristina,a show we're

gonna take on stage in helsinki next year .

today, i do whatever i want ,so nothing, i have a kind of half-

retirement .

* if there was one memorable event from Abba period what could it be ?

there was lot of memories but i think the moment benny and i

finished "the winner takes it all".we were on holliday at home ,cold

winter ,in the stokholm archipelago,sudenly that marvellous melody.we

spent the night playing it .that was so uplifting,after hard work

,to achieve such result .we worked with every song as if it could be

a potentiel single .i often felt that ,in the studio ,when i

played the latest mixes before release , there was lot of memories like

that.