ABBA: 40 years since Eurovision

Forty years ago four badly-dressed Swedish musicians won the Eurovision Song Contest. Agnetha, Frida, Benny and Bjorn called themselves ABBA and became a music phenomenon.

For eight tumultuous years until they gave it away they were the biggest group in the world, and Sunday Night opened up their personal family photo albums.

The rare and unseen photos of the music legends with their children, friends and families reveal a remarkable glimpse into their crazy life on the road.

When ABBA split, eight years later, the band’s resident golden girl Agnetha Faltskog became one of the most intriguing members of the group.

The archived photographs provided a unique insight into her happy years married to fellow ABBA member Bjorn Ulvaeus, during which they made music together, had two children and found incredible fame.

“The guys in the band, swear that I fell in love just by hearing her voice,” Bjorn told Sunday Night.
“There was something so incredibly attractive in that voice, even before I knew the girl.”

Agnetha and Bjorn later divorced, agreeing not to let their failed marriage interfere with the band.

The failure of their marriage inspired Bjorn to write "The Winner Takes It All", one of ABBA's greatest hits.

But for decades after the band split the mysterious pop icon Agnetha was rarely seen and avoided interviews.

"All my childhood I was dreaming about this to be famous,” Faltskog told Sunday Night reporter Rahni Sadler.

"There were some years that I wanted to just be for myself and have a rest and build me up again and then it’s easily done that these rumours start."

Agnetha shunned the limelight, instead taking her two children to an island home outside of Stockholm, living a quiet life with only occasional forays back into the music industry.

Now a 63-year-old grandmother, she has released just four other English-language albums, the last almost a decade ago.
The new photographs of the band have been used in a limited edition book, titled “ABBA: The Official Photo Book”, to mark the 40-year anniversary of their Eurovision win this Sunday, April 6.

We're offering the chance to win a limited-edition ABBA photo book featuring unseen photos from the band's private archive.
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