Benny Andersson(I)

Benny Andersson was born in 1946 outside of Stockholm, Sweden. His father and grandfather both being musicians, Benny was introduced to the accordion at an early age. With little patience for conventional music lessons, Benny is known to pick up just about any instrument and play it with ease. After he left high school, he was invited to become a part of the popular Swedish beat group The Hep Stars, with whom he played for several successful years until the band disbanded in the late 1960s. While touring with the band, he met another young songwriter named Björn Ulvaeus, and the two released their own LP after the breakup of The Hep Stars. They were soon joined by their girlfriends, Anni-Frid Lyngstad and Agnetha Fältskog, in a touring act "Festfolket", which was not much of a success. This foursome would, however, find international stardom and astounding success under the moniker ABBA. During his years with ABBA, Benny co-wrote and co-produced the band's entire output as well as touring the world. After the band split he, along with Björn, wrote the music for Tim Rice's "Chess", which was a huge success. In recent years, Benny has divided his time between producing (for such successful Swedish performers as Josefin Nilsson) and his love for birds. More success followed with the premiere of he and Björn's latest musical, "Kristina från Duvemåla". Several concerts celebrating the contribution he and Bjorn have made to the music industry in Sweden have been staged in 1998.