Month Article

Agnetha Fältksog


Agnetha Åse Fältskog was born on April 5, 1950 in the town of Jönköping in Sweden. Music came to Agnetha early in life: at the age of six she wrote her first song, ’Två små troll’ ("Two Little Trolls").
Agnetha was 16 when she started singing in a dance band called Bernt Enghardts. A song she wrote for the band, ’Jag var så kär’ (”I Was So In Love”), became her first single. This 1967 debut record became a number one hit on the Swedish charts. The following few years were followed by several singles, albums and even a number of German-language recordings released in West Germany.
In 1969 Agnetha became romantically involved with Björn Ulvaeus and they got engaged in April 1970. In November the pair staged a cabaret show together with Björn’s songwriter partner, Benny Andersson, and his fiancée, Anni-Frid Lyngstad. On July 6, 1971, Björn and Agnetha got married.
In early 1972, Agnetha auditioned for the part of Mary Magdalene in the Swedish stage version of the musical ’Jesus Christ Superstar’. She got the part, although two other girls alternated with her during the course of the show’s duration.
After that, and for a decade onwards, Agnetha was mainly occupied by her work with ABBA. During this period she also released her Swedish-language solo album Elva kvinnor i ett hus (”Eleven Women In One House”). All music had been written and produced by Agnetha herself (except her Swedish version of ABBA’s ’SOS’), with lyrics by Bosse Carlgren.
As ABBA began to slowly dissolve during 1982, Agnetha made her debut as actress in the Swedish movie Raskenstam. In January 1983 she started recording her first English language solo album, Wrap Your Arms Around Me, produced by Mike Chapman. Her second international solo album, Eyes Of A Woman, was released in 1985. The producer was Eric Stewart.
Agnetha’s third and final English-language solo album to date was the 1987 release I Stand Alone, produced by Peter Cetera. The album entered the Swedish charts at number one. After that, Agnetha withdrew from public life.
1996 saw the release of the compilation album ’My Love, My Life’, with tracks selected by Agnetha herself. At the same time her authorised biography ’As I Am’ was published. 2000 was a terrible yaer for her, 'cause her stalker Gert van der Graaft bothered her. Until she went to the judge. In 2004 Agnetha makes a comeback as a recording artist with a brand new CD, My Colouring Book. In 2005 Agnetha reunites with Björn, Benny, and Anni-Frid in the Mamma Mia! Swedish première.