ABBA Star's Devastating Memory Loss: Remembers Little Of His Fame

As a new generation of fans discover Abba thanks to the phenomenal success of the hit film Mamma Mia, one of the foursome has revealed he is suffering from memory loss.

Bjorn Ulvaeus, who was married to his blonde co-star Agnetha Faltskog at the height of their fame, cannot even remember the highlights of Abba's fame.

The Swedish group rocketed into the British pop charts in 1974 when they won the Eurovision Song Contest in Brighton with their song Waterloo - a triumph Ulvaeus says he can no longer recall.
Bjorn

'It is like I was not even there,' the 58-year-old father of four said.

'People ask me if I am going to write my memoirs. But even if I wanted to, I would not be able. I have extremely few memories.'

Ulvaeus composed the music for the Mamma Mia! stage musical with Abba co-star Benny Andersson and makes a brief uncredited appearance as a Greek god in the film, which stars Oscar winner Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan and Colin Firth.

The movie has sparked an Abba revival and the four band mates were reunited for the first time in 22 years at the Stockholm premier earlier this month.
Bjorn

But despite the renewed adulation, Ulvaeus says he simply cannot remember great chunks of his life. He has met old school friends to see if they can help him piece together his childhood and even turned to hypnosis in an attempt to find a cure - so far, in vain.

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Ulvaeus, who divorced Agnetha in 1979 and is now married to Swedish music journalist Lena Kallersjo, the mother of his two youngest daughters, has studied old photographs and video to try and remember his life.

Explaining the immediate aftermath of Abba's Eurovision song contest, Ulvaeus said: 'Many remember that very moment, where they were, what they did and even how they felt. But not me.
ABBA

'It is unbelievable but I do not remember standing on the stage. It is like I was not even there.

'In interviews I said that my trousers were so tight I could not even sit in the bus on the way to the arena. But I honestly do not know if that is true or it is someone who told me about it.'

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Comments

[NoSillyName]

Very odd. He was on one of the morning infotainment shows this morning with the other guy to talk about how involved they were with the movie. He seemed totally fine and talked about the original music as well as working on the movie. He wasn't befuddled and easily answered the questions about the past and the present.

[Tommygun264]

How ironic. So many of us wish we could forget ABBA, but this is achieved by one of the few who doesn't want to forget.

[mexamerican]

i'd gladly get a lobotomy to forget those no-talent cupcakes. ABBA sux.

[alguien]

their music may not have pleased you but no talent can't be farther from the truth. benny & bjorn were expert songsmiths, benny was an incredibly gifted keyboardist and the ladies were quite accomplished singers.

[dennybop]

I'm not sure what people expect of this story. It's not supposed to be a deep investigation into memory loss or an expose of a retired pop star. It was enough for me to know about and sympathize with Bjorn Ulvaeus's condition. I'm more interested in his personal plight than it's cause. I'm sure we'll hear more of that later.
I only hope that Ulvaeus and the other members of ABBA always remember that they gave an immense amount of joy to an awful lot of people. It's nice to see that another generation are being turned on the to pure, simple, pop of ABBA. Don't feel guilty, just go with it.

[trebledamages]

Oooops! I forgot was I was going to write about. For some reason, I also cannot seem to remember who ABBA is. HELP!

[kellygrrrl]

ell, if he at least enjoyed every moment that got him to this point, then he has a lot more than many other people have -- even without the memories

you don't take your memories with you
you live this life

[mexamerican]

don't they have cameras in the land of blondes?

[Democrab]

Can't we just talk about Gisele's jeans, the ones with the lace up back, ieee caramba!

[watchingthings]

To my liking...t­heir concert was #1. I can't think of a concert I enjoyed more then theirs....­...but to each....hi­s/her own.

[All57States]

I remember their fame and it is not worth remembering.

[antiparanoid]

His memory probably skipped town the day he posed for that photo.

[SILVANUS]

I listen to everything and enjoy most of it -- Dvorak, Elvis Costello, radiohead, Mitchell, Zeppelin, Bloody valentine, bauhaus, David sylvian, regina Spektor, Mogwai... so much that is good and will test time. I turned my nose up at Abba when they first appeared, then the Goddess of Dancing Queen revealed her simple secrets: shut up your holier than thou, hip, post-modern ironic mind and sing a song of joy now and then. It'll do you good, and no one did it better than Abba in their hey day.

[JaneaneTheAcerbicGoblin]

Beautiful post.

I've always hated that hipper than thou, holier than thou, post modern "ironic" bulls**t myself.

I'd rather listen to ABBA over any postmodern "ironic" garbage anyday.

[easyrider1969]

These people look better w/ their clothes ON.

[imsixftsix]

I thought Benny was cute when I was young! Now, we are just a couple of middle aged guys...

[MagisterLudi]

Polyester pants.... urgh....

[MagisterLudi]

ABBA's music is utilitarian music like all disco and most ( not all) of hip hop.
It''s music for dancing.
Listening to ABBA music for sake of listening should be strictly prohibited by Geneva Convention.

[idabamaho]

I wish I couldn't remember ABBA...

[GuidedByEwoks]

Lovers live a little longer. So sorry you don't like ABBA.

[meanguy]

their albums were made for skeet shooting

[AC500]

What a dumb article. So the guy can't remember. You'd think the reason for that would be significant to the article and mentioned somewhere within it.

[TheBlackCat]

Both Alzheimers and Parkinsons runs in my mom's side of the family. Every relative she has that has lived over 70 has contracted and ultimately died from one of these diseases. As awful as Parkinson's is, it's the Alzheimer's that TERRIFIES me.

Most of my great aunts and uncles died within a few years but one great aunt lived with it for 20 years before she died, and it was just awful. We are a very close family and when she had to be put in a nursing home it was near several relatives and someone went to visit her every single day until she died. The saddest thing was when she was still mobile and could talk, and we would go and pick her up, take her out to spend time with her so she wouldn't be lonely and could get out of the home. When we'd bring her back to the home, she'd be at the doorway with her coat on and look to us, EVERY time, and say, "Oh, are we going somewhere?" She never remembered the hours we'd JUST spent with her. We still did it of course, but it all seemed so pointless. There are many horrible dieases in this world, but i think Alzheimers/dimentia is one of the worst, because it robs you of not just your present but your past as well.

[NoSillyName]

TheBlackCat, Alzheimer's on my mother's side. Scares the crap outta me. Grandfather lived 10 years with it, but was pretty old, late 80s.. My aunt died from it last Summer; she was only in her mid-70s. It takes 10 years to get that bad, so her's started early. I'm in my 50s and having trouble accessing words that I know well. Everybody says its "normal" to start having memory problems after 50, but that doesn't comfort me.

[TheBlackCat]

That's another thing about Alzheimers. If it runs in your family, you're obviously on alert for it, but how do you tell normal memory loss from the early stages of Alzheimers? My Mom is also in her 50s and I have noticed her memory slipping as well, and I don't know if I should be concerned or if it's just normal. I wish you well.