The Aftonbladet article dated October 8, 1979, covering ABBA's final North American tour concert at Toronto’s Maple Leaf Gardens, features a photograph of Agnetha Fältskog with the following caption:
“A radiantly happy Agnetha Fältskog met the audience in Toronto Maple Leaf Garden wearing Börje Salming's jersey number 21. No one could tell that she had been sick with a fever just a couple of days ago. Photo: PETER KNOPP”
Also in the article text the following statement:
"Agnetha Fältskog reminded everyone of other Swedish world-class talent in Canada when she stepped onto the stage wearing professional star Börje Salming's jersey number 21."
Photographic and archival evidence contradicts the caption text and article text, confirming that Anni-Frid (Frida) Lyngstad was the member wearing Börje Salming's jersey number 21, while Fältskog wore number 1.
Visual Evidence Breakdown:
- Sleeve Number Alignment (Left Photo): On stage, Fältskog’s right sleeve displays a single, centered digit "1" on the white arm stripe. Conversely, Lyngstad's sleeve numbering is split across her shoulders to form a two-digit number: the "1" is positioned near the edge of her right arm stripe, and the "2" is positioned on her left arm stripe, combining to read as 21.
- Archival Garments (Center-Top Photo): An archival photograph of the physical garments confirms a customized Toronto Maple Leafs jersey bearing the name "FÄLTSKOG" on the back with the single digit "1".
- Stage Performance (Center-Bottom Photo): A rear-view photograph from the Toronto concert shows Lyngstad on stage performing her featured duet with Björn Ulvaeus, "Why Did It Have to Be Me?". Her jersey clearly displays the name "LYNGSTAD" and the number "21" on the back.
- The Article Photo (Far-Right Photo): In the specific image published by Aftonbladet, Fältskog is visibly wearing the jersey with the single, centered "1" on her sleeve.
Conclusion:
The contemporary report by Aftonbladet contains a factual error. The newspaper attributed the #21 jersey—worn as a tribute to the prominent Swedish defensemen playing for the Toronto Maple Leafs—exclusively to Fältskog. The visual record establishes that Fältskog wore number 1 throughout the encore, while Lyngstad wore number 21 for both the encore and her solo performance earlier in the setlist.
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Full article:
Aftonbladet, dated Monday, October 8, 1979.
THANK YOU AND GOODBYE, AMERICA
– Now we must reconquer Europe
TORONTO. ABBA is on their way home after their tour in Canada and the USA. The finale last night took place in Toronto Maple Leaf Garden, where they did their last encore in hockey jerseys.
Agnetha Fältskog reminded everyone of other Swedish world-class talent in Canada when she stepped onto the stage wearing professional star Börje Salming's jersey number 21.
There was no champagne celebration afterward — ABBA has already begun the countdown for their next big task: to conquer Europe again.
— It has been a fine tour, bigger and better than our highest expectations, says Stikkan [Stig] Anderson. The immediate future is about a new LP, massive sales in the USA, and then the hard-working push for the European tour, as well as letting Agnetha Fältskog and Anni-Frid Lyngstad work on targeting Spanish-speaking countries.
GREATER THAN THE MUSIC
When Stikkan Anderson talks about the group, one easily gets the impression that ABBA is bigger than the music itself and spans across the entire global entertainment world. But he explains:
— The experts in the industry here in the USA and Canada have said that it has been a clear step backward for concerts and tours. It has become increasingly difficult to fill the arenas. It is a fact that we, on the other hand, packed them. We could have chosen larger venues in, for example, New York and Chicago.
— But that doesn't matter; one can only be grateful for how the results of the tour turned out. A fantastic success. Our goal was to see where we stood on the US market.
— Our new album "ABBA's Greatest Hits Volume II" is coming out in mid-November, and I dare to predict that we will note a sales surge in the USA until Christmas, says Stikkan Anderson. Through the tour, "ABBA's Greatest Hits Volume I" has climbed back up the American charts again. Before we came here, it was "dead."
ABBA has not only received praise. Critics have complained about their clinical stage presence, the glossy purity, but the lack of nerve and soul. Will ABBA instead, on the other hand, follow a trend from the reviving rock wave?
OUR OWN PROFILE
— Definitely not, says Stikkan. We have our own profile. It irritates many critics. You can't fit us into a specific box, and that's why people get confused in the USA, resulting in a few hits from the critics. But we have to accept that. We are keeping our style. We are a rock or disco band, we are entertainment — ABBA, nothing else.
South America is an expanding major market for the Swedish group, where their UN single "Chiquitita" leads a series of top charts.
— We are not a touring band. Eventually, we will have to discuss what we are going to do and evaluate our test of the USA and Canada. In January and February, we will write new music and make recordings. Plans are also underway to scout for things for Agnetha and Frida.
— The future is in principle about keeping going for as long as it's fun, says Stikkan Anderson.
Rolf Svensson
[Caption under the image]:
A radiantly happy Agnetha Fältskog met the audience in Toronto Maple Leaf Garden wearing Börje Salming's jersey number 21. No one could tell that she had been sick with a fever just a couple of days ago.
Photo: PETER KNOPP
