ABBA - why did they split up?

The two divorces and the girls being put through the ordeal of singing songs about their marriage breakdowns certainly led to a lot of space between them. I am glad they are able to stand being in a room together. I expect nothing further from this, but would be pleasantly surprised if they ever perform as a group again. It's not as if they nobody anything more.

 

It seems to me they didn't have any reason to continue. Individually they'd been performing since their teens, and they'd been successful national stars before they even formed the group. Then they joined together and became one of the biggest acts in the world. Anything after that is a step down. When fashion changed and ABBA no longer made instant hits, what was their motivation? Hanging out with their exes? They probably all wanted to get their individual lives back on track, and by then, ABBA no longer held the same allure as it once had.

 

I can guess that the honest answer to this could only be "I awoke".

 

I've read that Agnetha didn't like flying. I saw them here in Vancouver in Sept. Of 1979. Outstanding show and man they sounded and looked good. Thank You For The Music.

 

I love watching the love performances of Agnetha and Frida. They may not have been the best of friends, but in no way did they not like each other.

It is clear in the live performances that there was an extremely high level of comfort they had with one another. They would almost always perform very close to each other (basically touching), yet they never checked or looked where they were (or looked bothered by it). That is not easy to do - especially when live and not lip synched.

I'm not even sure how you can perform live that close to another poerson without even checking where you are. They didn't even really acknowledge the other person was there - but that is extreme comfort. It was also all done without the normal "playing off each other". It was very natural to them.

Also, it was typically Frida invading Agnetha's "personal space". Frida would wander off (as she was the more natural love performer), but would find her way back to Agnetha.
Agnetha was clearly aware of it and didn't care or may have even liked it.

I just find their close proximity and comfort in their performances without really "playing off each other" fascinating - and it was fairly consistent that way for almost 10 years.

Here's an example.
Also, check out the wander off at 1:49 by Frida and then Agnetha acknowledge the return.

 

again, thats a video... thats show business and means nothing.

I am not saying they did not "like" each other.

I am saying, videos dont prove a thing in regards to this. Its all smiles for the camera.

 

And I didn't say "they were best of friends".

If they wanted to be separated by a few feet while performing, nobody would care.

But they chose to stand in that extreme close proximity while performing - which would be very difficult to do if you had animosity towards the other person.
There was never a check-down of personal space being invaded - which again, would be tough to do.

 

I've just finished reading this, and it really was exceptional - one of the best music biographies I've ever read.

 

resurrecting this zombie thread -

yeah its a good book, a great read.

The one thing Palm never really discusses - after the "break" the band took in 1982... the boys continued to work together as they had been since the 60s.

The girls however,,, did not - several things I've read indicated Frida and Agnetha went YEARS between seeing each other.

That doesnt exactly sound like they were pals.

My guess? Creative burnout... last recordings didnt top the charts as they had been... Benny especially wanting to do something else with his music instead of pop songs.. everybody divorced from each other, in particular Frida probably still angry and hurt by Benny... all those reasons why they needed to take a break and then decided to not ever get back together

but the one reason I suspect that never gets mentioned... the girls probably werent getting along all that great and that made things very difficult.

Just my speculation but the fact that they almost never saw each other for years afterwards... hmmmm.

In my opinion, Fridas very successful solo album, Somethings Going On, was a really BIG nail in the Abba coffin. She has a HUGE hit with ZERO input from the other band members, or close to zero. She then sells her stock in Polar, makes a financial killing, and then moves away to London.

She doesnt quit the band, they limp along for awhile after that... but if thats not the writing on the wall, then I dont know what is.

Yeah I'm on an Abba kick today, sorry.

 

It's called "being a pro." If you're an actor, you have to go out and make the audience believe that this person, who you loathe in real life and would sooner see chopped up and served as cat food, is the love of your life.

 

exactly. Abba super fans always use the videos as "proof" that Frida and Agnetha were close friends, even to the end.

I dont buy it. Videos mean nothing.

But thats my utter speculation, with no evidence except for the apparent reality that once Abba took a break, it was years until they even saw each other again.

That could be all wrong too.

 

I'm a sort of lesser ABBA fan who loves the group, most of the hit songs, and I've collected the great bulk of their recorded output. I rarely listen to any of their albums straight through, so I'm not as familiar with their "filler" songs.

But my impression - correct me if I'm wrong - is that as the latter years approached, more and more songs had lead vocals by either Frida or Agnetha but not usually both. That's the way it seemed to me, anyway - almost as if the ladies didn't even want to share the studio.

 

they did Chess, they did that weird folk opera, they have other stuff do to - you can't do the same thing forever. that having been said, when they did that hotel commercial it really made me miss Bjorn and Benny writing together!

 

That was Björn's decision to a certain extent. His reasoning was that the lyrics were becoming increasingly personal and it seemed unnatural to have two voices singing them while Benny thought that the sound became more ordinary (his words) once Agnetha and Frida were not singing together. By 1982 they seemed to revert back to joint lead vocals with I Am The City and You Owe Me One.

 

Both Frida and Björn sold their rights AFAIR. It's very speculative to say that the girls didn't get along. Frida has said a few times that she and Agnetha were very different persons. But if you look at the Rockbjörnen Gala a few years back they seem to like each other a lot and make lots of jokes.

 

Don't be too sure of that. Sweden's top income tax rate was terrifying.

 

I was always a Frida man, myself.

Those high notes make me wonder about the ending of "Tiger", where the ladies are screeching off-key on a much less challenging note than those. (Still love the song though.)

Had Frida lost too much range from years of constant work? Was she being held back to keep in step with Agnetha? Or was it deliberate in keeping with the "edginess" of the song?

 

I saw them in Edmonton on that same tour. It was magical.

 

ABBAFAB.

 

Agnetha and Frida were friends. I think since Swedish culture values moderation (they have a word for it "Lagom") that had an influence how they acted in public. However, they did have some fun not so reserved moments... seen starting at 4:09 below.

 

Late this month we'll finally see the release of the two disc 45rpm half speed master of The Album. Can't wait! Will be about the tenth version I've bought!

I need to say as a long time fan since they first hit in the US, and someone that has read up a lot about them, I'm seeing an awful lot of very speculative comments in this thread the last few days that don't ring true at all. At least some are admitting to that....nothing wrong with it if we know that's what it is. But if anyone who is speculating seriously is interested in this group, there has been a lot written in the past, including some very good bios from people that worked directly with them. No need to speculate when a bit of research will put you in the know. There are fabulous threads right here from people that have done much research. A great read! Glad to see fans around here to this day, and I don't mean to be critical, just sayin' there is a lot of good truthful info around so we don't have to make assumptions about Agnetha and Frida based on body language in videos...lol!

 

Absolutely. Their mgr tried very hard to mitigate that via various investments, but that didn't always go well and they eventually cooled their relationship with Stig. Sad really, as he had believed and championed them from the beginning. Money just doesn't seem to mix well in relationships.

 

Agreed! I know there are fans of their last few songs. I like Under Attack very much. That aside, and I respect those that like Elaine, The Day Before You Came, etc...to me those sounded like songs from a band running out of steam, plus their sales were slowing. Their sales were not that good in the US to begin with, which may surprise tge younger people here! They had a few decent selling singles here, but spotty album sales. They were not really respected or well regarded here until the 2000's, long after they broke up. The film and live show Mama Mia really drove them up in the US big time, and they were long gone by then. Their sales were softening in other countries as well. I am the first to say their official breakup was very disappointing to me, but imo, based on the changing music market in the early 80's, and on those last few songs, they got out at the right time, before they started making some bad albums. Chess wasn't my thing, but both the girls had one more great album in them.

 

Great read here.

 

I hate it when people pit the women against each other, its just such an obvious thing to do, especially by men.