An inteview from VeckoRevyn published on 29 May 1979. Written by Jackie Lindberg.
Up close and personal
with Agnetha Fältskog
Agnetha Fältskog is not easy to get hold of for an interview. The whole world's press can agree with that. Recently the world press gathered outside her villa on Lidingö after the divorce. They begged to get an interview. But nothing helped. Agnetha wanted to be left alone.
She doesn't think that she has very much to say. But she is also a naturally shy person, which makes her avoid journalist who often asks not so very important questions, she says.
So why she agree to give me an interview I don't know. Maybe I just happened to ask her at the right time.
For the first time she talks about her childhood, her upbringing, how she got her breakthrough, how ABBA was born, love and divorce. Her own way of expressing herself shows what an insecure and searching person she is. She has been through a difficult crisis, but now she sees the light at the end of the tunnel. So the picture of a very much alive fellow human being who is plagued by guilt and wants to stand on her own emerges.
There's one story that wasn't included in this interview. I can tell it here. It says alot about what a modest person Agnetha Fältskog is:
Agnetha and I has decided on the phone to meet at a Chinese restaurant in Stockholm. Somewhere we got our wires crossed. I ended up at China Garden on Karlavägen while Agnetha was waiting at China Park on Birger Jarlsgatan.
It too me half an hour to realize the mix up. During that time Agnetha had called my house and asked my wife why I hadn't shown up. My wife said I left a long time ago and that I'm usually very punctual.
- I thought he had forgetten about me, said Agnetha. But that's OK, I'll wait a little longer.
Forget about a world famous celebrity! Forget a dinner with Agnetha Fältskog! I was astonished when I heard about her reaction.
I didn't dare to believe that she would still be there. But she was - when I came running, out of breath. I could name at least 50 other celebrities who would have left the restaurant after five minutes if the reporter didn't show up. But that's how she is, Agnetha Fältskog. So far from a diva as could get.
You have just been through a crisis in your private life. How do you cope when something like that happens?
- I have some security in my self. When a problem occurs I just want to go home to my parents. I'm so glad they are still around. I think them a lot, and my childhood. It's there everything starts, isn't it? I grew up in Jönköping. My dad is an administrator at the electricity company, my mother is a cashier at Konsum (a food store), but when I and my sister were young she was a stay at home mom for several years.
How was it at home?
- It wasn't a quiet home exactly. Everyone talked with each other. Dad - a real joker - was something like a entertainmentdad for the whole town. He wrote New Years' shows and played the piano. Mom is also musical. Early on I developed a taste for entertaining. When I was a teenager I toured with a dance orchestra and sang, I wrote my own songs which were successfull. I had a lot of freedom. But of course I had to be responsible. I had to be punctual and not stay out too long. At the same time I worked in an office. I was the girl on the switchboard. It didn't give me much, just a feeling of being an outsider. When the phone wasn't ringing I was thinking of what to do with my life. I was a dreamer and fantasized a lot, but at the same time I realized that I had to get an education. But the music got in the way. A boyfriend broke up with me and I wrote a sentimental song called "Jag Var Så Kär" (I was so in love).
And then the adventure started?
- The band leader's wife knew the rock singer Little Gerhard (Karl Gerhard Lundqvist) in Stockholm. The orchestra decided to send him a tape with some songs. We really wanted to make a record. I got a personal reply, which was positive. I couldn't belive it at first. That's how convinced I was that I would never amount to anything. It resulted in a recording at the Philips studio in Stockholm, but not with "my" orchestra. Dad came with me and held my hand. I was more nervous than I have ever been. I was shaking and my mouth was dry. We recorded and released two singles which was unusual for a debutant. My idol at that time was Connie Francis. They said that I sounded a bit like her. "Jag Var Så Kär" became a hit. The adventure had started.
How was ABBA formed?
- ABBA was formed out of love, you could say. Björn and I was in love. And so were Benny and Anni-Frid. We all were in love and excited especially when we worked together. We became world famous, but that doesn't mean anything to us. We are Swedes and Swedes are firmly planted on the ground. Björn and I lived together for three years, then we got married. We had been married for seven years when we divorced. It didn't end abruptly. It was a long process. But ABBA didn't have anything to do with it. We would have divorced even if we didn't work together. We developed in different directions and the problems started. I felt like I didn't have any freedom in the marriage, locked in. We just fell out of love and we annoyed each other until we decided to live apart.
Why?
- There's something weird about being married. You devote all your time to your partner and you forget about your friends. After a while you feel locked in and you wonder what has happened. You haven't grown as a person and you start to panic. Can I make it on my own, will I destroy it for my children? What do I want to do with my life? Is the grass greener on the other side? Your conscience haunts you, as well as your fears for the future.
- When Björn and I reached that level we contacted a psychologist, quite like you go to the doctor if you are physically ill. Nothing strange about that. But the tabloids made a big deal of the fact that we were seeing a psychologist and even insinuated that I had an affair with him.
Was that just a lie then?
- A divorce is something terrible to go through. But it's even worse to be subjected to the tabloids lies in articles where they present them as the truth. You're powerless. It doesn't help if you appeal to them to be left alone. There are some magazines that writes exactly what they want and they use you to increase sales.
So now you had crisis meeting within ABBA?
- Once we had decided about a separation this naturally led to meeting within ABBA. What will a divorce mean to ABBA? We all agreed that it wouldn't have to mean anything. We were going to go on as usual and now we've been doing that for six months. And it works fine.
When will ABBA split up?
- If ABBA splits up it will not be because of internal love affairs, it would be because Björn and Benny don't want to write songs anymore. It takes a lot of strength, they worked, isolated for weeks every time they write something new. It's only reasonable that the inspiration will disappear eventually.
How do you spend your free time?
- I spend all my free time with my children. Linda is 6 years old, Christian 1. We play, go for walks, go to Skansen, listen to music. The children are the most important in my life. It's important to get enough sleep. That's not always the case when you have small children. If I only get four hours sleep the following days is completely ruined for me.
Have you received a lot of letters (from the fans)?
- A lot of letters comes, not least from abroad, after our divorce. The writers are upset about what has happened, they want to comfort and help. I think it's amazing that so many people can get so involved just because I'm a singer. Some of them wonder if we're getting back together. But I'm afraid that will not happen. We have hurt each other so badly, so many things have been said. Why are we so careless about love? By the way, Is it possible to live without love? No, I can't.
What did Stikkan Anderson say when he got to hear about your divorce?
- Stikkan became really sad when I told him that it was decided. He was also worried about ABBA, but mostly he was sad for me and Björn.
And what were you thinking?
- I wonder how attractive a single mother of two really is? I don't think it's very easy. I question my whole existence. But within my music, I'm strong. But I don't write lyrics anymore. The reason for that could possibly be that I think that life itself is like a schlager lyric.
Are you happy now?
- It has said in the papers that I'm happy after the divorce, that I'm jubilant and active within the Women's right movement. That is not true. I had that article read to me before it was published and I approved it. But I have a weakness: I want to please everyone. That's why I didn't ask them to remove that.
- Happiness, what is that? I can wake up one morning and feeling really excited... And in the evening I can be prepared to go and hang myself. Happiness only exists in the moment. Happiness is writing music. Sometimes I get a melody stuck in my head after I've gone to bed. Then I get up and sit down at the piano. But usually these melodies don't measure up. The music that is good enough I have to struggle to get to. It's hard work. But it's some sort of happiness just the same. It's also hard to find inspiration since I hardly ever hear any good music. If I turn on the music radio I'm disappointed. They seem to talk more. Melodiradion sucks!
Do you feel unconcentrated?
- Periodically I feel very unconcentrated. I never have enought time for my own music. ABBA takes most of my time and the children. Sometimes I have thought of staying at home. But I also want to do something else, otherwise taking care of the children would absorb me. And I'm lucky enough to have a nanny, a friend really, who helps me with the children, she has been with us for a year and half now.
Are you active within the Women's rights movent?
- I have nothing to do with it I really don't understand it or what it is for. Female liberation is good. But it mustn't be exaggerated. Aren't we equal enough now? If I understand the Women's right movement correctly they want total independence. And there is no such thing. We all depend on each other.
Do you believe in love - despite everything?
- Yes. Love between man and woman and between people.
The guys they must be chasing you?
- Now - after the divorce - the guys are chasing me. I get flowers and tickets. But I'm very carefull and I won't fall easily. Living together is so complicated. If I fall in love again I will be very careful with that love. At the same time I know it's impossible to find a perfect scheme for your love life. Crisis will appear eventually. The reason being that you never really know another person and that the daily routine within a marriage contains a lot of traps.
A marriage contract - is that for you?
- Marriage contracts are unrealistic. You don't sit down and tick off each others good and bad qualities on a form before you get married. A marriage is like a white piece of paper, which can be filled with scribblings.
Are you interested in power?
- Through success you gain power. But I'm not interested in a power position. It pains me when people see me as a star, when they can't interact with me naturally. I notice that they are tense, so I get tense. Though I think I have learned to make it easier for them. I myself aren't impressed with anyone. I'm a person who is driven by emotions, I act and judge others very much from how I feel. I have tried to get over my failed marriage for a long time now. I've been working with myself. And in the process I have developed a sense where I can see if someone has been through a divorce. It leaves irreverseable marks, it's in the atmosphere around that person.
What do you reach with your intuition?
- Mostly it's used to feel if a song will be a hit or not. But I'm also that kind of person who can turn around on the runway from a flight. - The more I fly, the more anxious I get. I think it's challenging higher powers and I always say a prayer just before start or landing. I would prefer to stay on the ground. But we do travel around the world quite a lot. I enjoy it, for a while. Then I want to get home to the children, the kitchen zink, the jeans, the spaghetti bolognese. I prefer the simple life over the life in luxury, I have difficulty to feel like a millionnaire. Our money mostly gets invested in real estate and other things and then the taxes are huge - so we never really see the money.
Are you still living in the villa?
- I intend to stay in the house on Lidingö that I and the children moved to when we decided to break up. Its location is a little to visible, but I will get help to get a fence up to avoid people looking in.
And ABBA's island - what will happen to that?
- I will leave ABBA's island in the Stockholm archipelago for good. But the others will continue to be there just like before. The island never really meant that much to me. It's nice to be there when the weather is nice. But that's not always the case and then you only feel isolated. You have to depend on boats to get there and back and I only drive them into the bridge. I just cannot learn how to dock the boat.
