Benny Andersson (b. 1946)

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Biography

Göran Bror Benny Andersson is a Swedish musician, composer and producer best known as a member of the pop group ABBA and co-composer of the musicals Chess, Kristina från Duvemåla, and Mamma Mia! For the 2008 film version of Mamma Mia! and its 2018 sequel, Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, he also worked as an executive producer. Since 2001, he has been active with his own band Benny Anderssons orkester.

In Their Own Words (2)

I'd hate the sound of thirty thousand people booing.

After being asked if he ever gets stage fright , 1977

I don't get it... did we look like transvestites or something?

Regarding: Drag queens often performing ABBA songs

Timeline

The story of Benny Andersson, told in moments.

1966 Event

Joined the Hep Stars, Sweden's biggest pop band. They were called "the Swedish Beatles." Andersson wrote most of their later hits, teaching himself composition as he went.

Were the Hep Stars really 'the Swedish Beatles'? Did teaching yourself composition work better than school?

1974 Event

ABBA won Eurovision with "Waterloo," a song he co-wrote with Bjorn Ulvaeus. The group went on to sell over 380 million records. Andersson composed the melodies. Ulvaeus wrote most of the lyrics.

Was writing melodies while Bjorn wrote lyrics the perfect division? Did 380 million records make Eurovision feel like the beginning?

1986 Event

Co-composed the musical Chess with Ulvaeus and Tim Rice. The concept album hit number one in the UK. "One Night in Bangkok" reached number three on the Billboard Hot 100. The stage version had a troubled production history.

Was Chess a musical you needed to write or an experiment? Did the troubled production history diminish it?