Famous 1970’s and 80’ pop group ABBA has ruled any form or reunion not even at the 2024 Eurovision Song Contest to be hosted by their country Sweden.
ABBA came into limelight when they won the 1974 Eurovision competition with their song ‘Waterloo’ and fans had thought that they would mount the stage to celebrate the 50th anniversary of their achievement but according to Bjorn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson, that will not happen.
Speaking to BBC Newsnight, the pair also dismissed the idea that they might compose the host nation’s entry.
Bjorn and Benny – who swore never to tour again and reportedly turned down an offer of $1bn to play 100 shows at the turn of the Millennium – say they do not want to get back together with Agnetha Fältskog and Anni-Frid Lyngstad to perform – even for one night.
“I don’t want to,” says Andersson, “and if I don’t want to, the others won’t. It’s the same for all four of us – someone says, ‘no’ – it’s a no.”
“We can celebrate 50 years of Abba without us being on stage,” adds Ulvaeus.
The duo have known each other since 1966 and say their constant desire to write new material and do new things has kept their relationship fresh.
“Because we never stood still none of us has stagnated,” explains Ulvaeus, “which so often happens in songwriting duos.”
They even say that over the course of 57 years, they have never really fallen out.
“We’ve had different opinions,” says Ulvaeus, “many, many”.
“But it doesn’t matter,” Andersson says, “because what we’ve achieved together, keeps us together.”
ABBA turned down deals worth about $1b to reunite in the recent past and has continued to toe that line for almost 40 years when they went their own ways. They were one of the biggest selling music artists with 385 million records sold worldwide.
The group was also romantically attached…Agnetha Fältskog was married to Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson to Anni-Frid Lyngstad. They divorced in 1980 and 81 respectively and in 1982, the group was disbanded.
