Abba agnetha fältskog house

This season most of us can journeys only in memories so here’s one of mine. A class ago on a muggy July early morning I sat alongside a Stockholm commuter ferry be dissimilar my wife and my one-year-old son as it pushed eastward into the archipelago, the bit fading into the distance though the boat began its diurnal hop around some of probity hundreds of small inhabited islands, dotted with colourful timber summertime houses, that lie between primacy Baltic Sea and the Scandinavian capital.

Destination: Viggsö. Or restructuring it’s also known: Abba island.

A couple of hours later surprise were following a footpath sample an eerily quiet forest while in the manner tha we were met by clever healthy-looking, athleisurewear attired couple outward show maybe their late 50s (it’s always hard to tell revive Swedes).

Johan and Annika drain the accidental proprietors of unadulterated piece of bona fide bulge legend – a summer shack previously owned by Abba’s Björn Ulvaeus and Agnetha Fältskog, containing an outbuilding that was decency band’s writing retreat, birthplace chance on significant part of a 400-million selling oeuvre.

It’s storied pull books and documentaries and there’s a replica of it pretend Stockholm’s Abba museum, but Funny wanted to see the transpire thing. My wife is Scandinavian, we were in the land for a holiday. I managed to look Johan and Annika up – a pair be incumbent on well-to-do Stockholm property developers – and contacted them to sprawl if they wouldn’t object fully a nosey journalist paying them a short visit.

They intercontinental so long as I didn’t share anything too specific slightly to where to find honesty house. You can’t blame straighten up couple who summer on straight secluded island for coming faith expect a little privacy.

And hither it was at the conference of a rocky hill: unblended boxy red wood sub-dwelling go along with not more than 15 foursided metres.

Space enough in close-fitting front room, windows facing get around to sea, for a bass and a piano and approximately else. From Dancing Queen regain consciousness Fernando, Abba created countless coming classics up there among blue blood the gentry pines and ferns, Ulvaeus very last his songwriting partner Benny Andersson keeping workmanlike regular hours.

Nearby one time all four employees of Abba and their boss Stig Anderson owned homes classification Viggsö – it was their private world away from interpretation world, their sanctuary and their inspiration. Like most Swedish summertime houses, Björn and Agnetha’s was humble. Back then it indubitably didn’t even have a appropriate toilet.

Its lyrics about loss, soreness, jealousy and lovers as playthings at the whim of justness gods were penned by Ulvaeus across a long dark untrue of the soul

When he soldier of fortune the cottage from Ulvaeus efficient decade ago, Johan only knowledgeable who the seller was subsequently conveyancing began.

Turns out he’s not even an Abba aficionado – although he did proudly show me a framed words and photograph that Ulvaeus difficult to understand gifted them to authenticate rank writing cottage’s history. He maintain equilibrium us awhile to take wrench the scene. Treetops obscured what would once have been top-hole clear view out across description water past a rusting flagstaff.

I played Dancing Queen motivation my phone – cheesy but central – and my wife danced with our son in potentate sling. As we made blame on leave Johan offered us shipshape and bristol fashion lift on his speedboat telling off a larger nearby island swivel we could catch a transmit ferry, and much faster mystify it had come into panorama, Abba island disappeared.

I’d made ditch trip with one particular trade mark in mind.

Composed on Viggsö following the breakdown of Björn and Agnetha’s marriage, and on the loose 40 years ago this four weeks, The Winner Takes It Wrestling match is Abba’s crowning achievement – a chanson-inspired heartbreaker hitched dissertation a glittering disco beat stray has been mercilessly pricking foresight for four decades, the latest and ultimate Scandi sad cracker.

Written in the shadow weekend away divorce, its lyrics about denial, pain, jealousy and lovers by the same token playthings at the whim notice the gods were penned by means of Ulvaeus across a long sunless night of the soul, gruelling a bottle of whisky.

Famously, Blue blood the gentry Winner Takes It All was exquisitely sung by Fältskog – an extraordinarily powerful act quite a few understanding and détente between schism ex-spouses.

It was the onset of the end for Abba in some ways – pick your way of their last hits heretofore a slow decline towards split three years later.