Major media outlets and magazines have reported that the legendary group ABBA is together again for a new album after 40 years. And as we are all looking forward to new pieces of music, let’s see what one of the group members, Frida Lyngstad, was doing ever since the group split. Anni-Frid “Frida” Lyngstad was born in Norway, but she moved to Sweden when she was just 18 months old.
Her father disappeared during the World War II and her mother died when Frida was just 2 years old. She only learned her dad didn’t die years later, when the two reunited. Her first public performance was for a Red Cross Charity Event when she was 11. It was a moment of revelation for young Frida who knew that music and singing were her calling. “I never had any other plans.
As a 7-year-old I knew that it was a singer I was going to be,” she said in a 1973 interview. She was part of several bands throughout her young years and even signed for EMI records, but didn’t really achieve major commercial success at the time. Frida married her first husband, Ragnar Fredriksson, in 1964. The two had two children together but called it quits after only six years together.
In 1969, Frida met Benny Andersson, a very talented musician who was working together with Björn Ulvaeus, who was at the time dating Agnetha Faltskog. Frida fell for Benny and the two started dating. The idea behind forming a group started after Frida and Agneta featured as background singers on the 1970 Bjorn and Benny album Lycka [Happiness].
The group first started performing under the name Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Anni-Frid. ABBA was only born after the four members experienced huge success in Melodifestivalen, the Swedish qualification competition for the Eurovision Song Contest. Their song Waterloo took the world by storm and helped their careers skyrocket. Well, the rest is history. Other hits followed and soon after, the ABBA mania spread all over the world.
Fernando, Dancing Queen, Money, Money, Money, Knowing Me, Knowing You, Chiquitita, The Winner Takes It All, Super Trouper, Take A Chance On Me, and Lay All Your Love On Me, are just some of the evergreens this group has under their belts. Frida and Benny got married in 1978. It was the year the group experienced troubles. They divorced in 1981, and continued working together for some time, but they all felt they should pursue careers on their own.
Frida attempted to reinvent herself after her divorce. “I completely altered my appearance. I cut my hair very short and spiky, and in a way, I became another woman. So it mostly manifested itself like that,” she told The Guardian. “We felt like we had something so valuable in the group that we didn’t want to break that up, even though it was difficult,” Benny Andersson explained. “And to back it up, we did some of our best work after that.”
Frida released solo albums after ABBA, including Something’s Going On, Shine, and Deep Breaths, before deciding to step away from the spotlight. In 2016, the members reunited to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Benny and Björn’s first meeting. Fans went wild when Frida and Agneta performed together after so many years. Their performance brought back memories of the group stealing the hearts of people from all over the world.
It evoked nostalgia, and many people felt as if magic was taking place on that stage. Frida married her third husband, Prince Heinrich Ruzzo Reuss, Count of Plauen, in 1992. Unfortunately, he died in 1999. Frida suffered another heartbreak in addition to the loss of her husband. Ann died tragically at the age of 30 in a car accident in New York.
“It was indescribable sadness,” she said. “You feel like you’re barely surviving. When my daughter and husband died, I felt compelled to believe in something else. Otherwise, it would have been extremely difficult to get through it.” It took many years of indescribable pain. I haven’t talked about it in a long time; it was a difficult journey.”
Frida currently resides in Switzerland with her British boyfriend Henry Smith. “Henry is my cheerleader, friend, and love. “I hope it stays that way,” the singer says. She’s writing at the moment, in addition to working with her ABBA coworkers. “I don’t know if it’ll be a book, a musical, or a movie,” she told Swedish news outlet Damernas Varld. “I’ve written a lot in my life, but never a book.” It was simple at first, but I’m now at a standstill.” Frida will be remembered as one of the greatest female singers in music history.