How did the fate of ABBA members turn out

ABBA became the epitome of what popular music has always been about. This Swedish quartet was as popular as the Beatles - the only difference being that they reigned supreme in their time and genre. They were loved in all corners of the globe, and in the USSR no disco was held without their rhythmic hits. Therefore, when the project broke up, many music lovers felt genuine sadness....

Of course, one can argue for a long time about how and why the team broke up: whether internal conflicts were to blame, or whether the participants simply got tired of the project and wanted to try themselves out in the solo career. And in general, fame tires you out - a long-known fact that many idols would agree with. As for ABBA, gradually the fans got used to the idea that their favourite band will never go on stage in its original line-up - or at least in the studio. But even nowadays the Swedes have managed to surprise the old listeners by presenting to the audience "Voyage." - their first album in 40 years! The musicians also performed a holographic concert, and gave an interview, in which they told about their life after the split...

So: how have our favourite Swedes from ABBA lived all these years, and what difficulties did they have to face? Let's find out...

Benny Andersson has struggled with addiction for years

By 1983, ABBA made it clear to their fans that there would be no more music, no more performing, and no more touring: Björn Ulvaeus has publicly stated that they have no desire or need to reunite.

"We'd like people to remember us as we were: young, energetic, full of inspiration and ambition."

All four of them split up and there was a lull... It wasn't until 2011. Benny Andersson gave an interview in which it was revealed that his years after leaving ABBA were marred by... addiction.

"When it comes to the difficult battle with addiction, it doesn't matter who you are. I realised I had a problem with alcohol when I found that I didn't feel like myself when I wasn't drinking..."

At the time of the interview, Benny had been sober for what felt like nine years after seeking treatment for alcohol addiction. When asked what has finally convinced him in need of professional help, Andersson said:

"I knew that if I kept drinking, there was a risk I'd lose everything. If you drink long enough, you lose yourself, your loved ones... Your whole life."

Agneta Fältskog was restoring mental health

"The blonde from ABBA." - After the split, Agneta Fältskog concentrated on her solo career, however: according to the artist's own words, she was much happier devoting her time to her children and later her grandchildren than to the stage and fame....

"Home life brings me much more happiness..."

In her 2013 interview, the singer admitted that after ABBA, she became a secretive, reclusive and struggling with depression.. Her reticence and refusal to appear in public was partly due to a paralysing fear of flying, but also to an incident when a not quite sane fan moved in next door to her, exposing Agneta to real espionage! According to Fältskog, fame and its consequences caused her many phobias. And when the participants decided to "freeze" the project, she was glad, because:

"By then I was having nightmares... I was afraid of flying, afraid of the stage, afraid of open spaces and even of fans! I realised it was time to stop, and going into the shadows was a kind of forced escape for me..."

It took Agneta decades to regain her mental health, but some fears from the past still haunt her....

Bjorn Ulvaeus doesn't remember who he is.

In a 2008 interview at the Bjorn Ulvaeus was asked why he had never shown any interest in writing or endorsing an official biography. And his answer stunned many: simply because he doesn't remember much of his early life, including his time with ABBA and their to win the Eurovision Song Contest! Ulvaeus has admitted that he suffers from long-term memory loss, and huge chunks of his creative past - including even childhood memories - have simply disappeared.

"I watched the Eurovision performance of 'Waterloo' and I didn't remember standing on stage. It was like I wasn't even there!"

Ulvaeus said he has tried to recover his lost memories through hypnosis, as well as looking at photos with loved ones. However, all of these methods do not trigger anything in his mind, and this makes him second-guess:

"Honestly, I don't know if all these memories and footage are true, or if it was someone who told me about it. I'm confused..."

Anni-Frid Lyngstad has experienced great losses

Some people experience such a great personal tragedy that they begin to believe in curses, as happened to Anni-Frid Lyngstad. In addition to the loss of her mother when she was a child and the divorce that was one of the reasons for ABBA's split, Lyngstad also experienced the loss of her daughter from her first marriage.

The beautiful Annie-Frida married a musician. Ragnar Fredrikssonwhen she was 17 years old. This union produced two children, but the couple divorced in 1970, just as Lingstad began her journey to Olympus. Fast forward a little further: in 1992, Lingstad married again. This time to a prince Heinrich Ruzzo Reiss von Plauen.. Since then, Frida has been officially known as Her Serene Highness Princess Anni-Fried Reiss von Plauen, and her daughter and son have become Prince and Princess. But the happiness was short-lived: Heinrich died of cancer in 1999, and a year earlier her daughter died after a serious car accident....

Nevertheless, Frida is doing her best cheer up: today she has a very warm and close relationship with British peer Henry Smith!