The name Björn Ulvaeus is probably known to fans of the cult Swedish band ABBA. This group lasted only eight years, but despite this, musical works ABBA sing all over the world, and longplays are sold in gigantic editions.
The unofficial leader of the band and its ideological inspirer, Bjorn Ulvaeus, wrote the lion's share of ABBA's hits. After the breakup of the group, each member continued his path in the world of music, but it is Ulvaeus who is in the spotlight today.
Childhood and youth of Bjorn Ulvaeus
The artist's date of birth is April 25, 1945. He was born in Gothenburg. He was a late child. At the time of the birth of the boy, the head of the family was 33 years old, and the mother was 36. Parents tried to give Bjorn all the best.
At the age of six, the boy, together with his parents, moved to the small provincial town of Vestervik. The fact is that the head of the family became bankrupt. The family simply ceased to have enough funds for existence. Father, in the truest sense of the word, took on any job.
Bjorn was interested in music from an early age. The boy was strongly influenced by his cousin, Jon Ulfseter. A relative owned several musical instruments. By the way, his amazing game excited the hearts of all household members.
The head of the family, who dreamed that his son would master a serious profession, eventually resigned himself to the choice of an offspring. As a teenager, Bjorn was given a mega-cool gift for his birthday - an acoustic guitar.
Since that time, the young man spent all his time playing the instrument. He played and rehearsed a lot. Bjorn's father, mother and sister even had to leave the house during rehearsals. Focusing on household chores when a talented young man was playing was simply impossible.
Soon he took up composing his own musical works. Around the same time period, Bjorn performs at local discos and parties. He unofficially became a star. With cousin Tony Ruth - he "put together" the first musical project.
In his youth, Bjorn served in the army, and then went to get an education at Lund University. A talented young man chose the direction "business and law" for himself.
The creative path of Björn Ulvaeus
He became part of Mackie's Skiffle Group. Later, the team began performing under the guise of Partners, and then West Bay Singers. In the 60s of the last century, the members of the presented group performed at a music competition organized by the radio town of Norrköpping.
Influential producer Stig Anderson and Bengt Bernhag saw the performance of young talents, seriously interested in the team. They recommended that the musicians change their name to Hootenanny Singers, and later they began to work hard to promote the group.
After some time, Bjorn was lucky to meet the musician Benny Andersson. The guys had quite a bit of time to understand that they equally feel the music. The musicians decided to "put together" a group. Beloved guys joined the newly-made team. The team was named ABBA.
Once Bjorn was asked a question about whether it was difficult for him to work after he broke up with his wife (member of the team). He replied the following:
“The thing is, our divorce was very amicable. We made the decision to leave. It was weighted. At the same time, we wanted to further develop the team. Therefore, even after the divorce, there were no problems between Agneta and me ... ”.
In a short period of time, the group became mega-popular. In the mid-70s of the last century, the team won the international song contest "Eurovision".
Bjorn and Benny, after the breakup of the group, took up musicals. Among the most popular works of the musicians are the musicals "Chess" and Mamma Mia!.
Björn Ulvaeus: details of the artist's personal life
Bjorn's acquaintance with the charming singer Agnetha Fältskog took place at the end of the 60s of the last century. By the way, by that time she already had a certain weight in society. Interestingly, a few weeks before Bjorn met Agneta, Andersson began a more than serious relationship with Anni-Frid Lingstad. The above artists became the "composition" of ABBA.
A few years after they met, Bjorn proposed to the girl, and they got married. Family life turned out to be completely different from what they imagined. Despite frequent scandals and contradictions, the couple had two children. At the end of the 70s, they announced to their fans that they were going to divorce.
After the divorce, Bjorn came to his senses for a long time. The emotions experienced resulted in the writing of the musical work The Winner Takes It All. After the divorce, the couple still continued to interact with each other.
He did not go single for long. In the early 80s, he married the charming Lena Calersio. In this marriage, two children were born.
Interesting facts about Bjorn Ulvaeus
- He calls himself a social liberal.
- Bjorn invested in the creation of the ABBA Museum.
- He considers stress resistance to be his main character trait.
Björn Ulvaeus: our days
In 2020, Bjorn Ulvaeus has been appointed President of the International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers. A year later, it became known that the members of the ABBA team, including Bjorn, registered an account on TikTok. In September, they announced the imminent release of new tracks.
“There will be new music this year. Definitely will. This is not the case when she “may come out”, but the case when she will come out,” commented Bjorn.
In April, the artist spoke about the band's upcoming tour, noting that it "sounds very 'Abb'." The tour will take place in 2022. The musicians themselves will not participate in them, they will be replaced by holographic images.
On September 3, 2021, the premiere of new compositions by ABBA took place. The compositions I Still Have Faith in You and Don't Shut Me Down gained several million views in just a day. Recall that the musicians have not pleased fans of their work with new products for more than 40 years.
“First we made one composition, then several more. And then we said: why don't we make a whole LP? - said 76-year-old ABBA member Bjorn Ulvaeus.
In addition, it became known that a new LP will be released at the end of November 2021. The musicians said that the record will be called Voyage and will be headed by 10 pieces of music.
