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

[MyThought]

I really don't think someone losing their memory is anything to joke about - bad taste, childish remarks.

[bostongreen]

yes oh huffingpost's official standard bearer of taste and maturity.

[mabinog]

LOL, can't be any worse than the taste and maturity of the tinfoil undies in their picture.

[guajiro]

Don't fall for it. They're just trying to get attention for the movie. You fell for it HUH! ? MAMA MIA ! !

[filo]

Ya know what they say....If you remember the 70's you really didn't live through them.

[Theda]

No, I think that was said about the 1960's!

[mabinog]

Theda is right, it is if you lived through the 70's you were lucky not to suffer friction burns from the polyester.

[NoSillyName]

Didn't one of those people die recently?

[whizkid]

That was the drummer from their band.

[NoSillyName]

Thanks, whizkid. I thought for sure I'd heard something about someone in ABBA dying. But I guess the drummer wasn't part of the group, Just ask "Spinal Tap".

[Eric8869]

If I wore white jumpsuits with bell bottoms I might try to forget too.

[Robespierre]

You mean like Pete Townsend of The Who? He had a collection of white jumpsuits with bell bottoms. Maybe you never saw Tommy!

[JaneaneTheAcerbicGoblin]

It is possible that the whirlwind of being on tour, in the studio, being massively famous, appearing on TV shows, doing promotional videos, etc,. etc. just overwhelmed Bjorn so much that he doesn't actually remember anything. Jimmy Page had said something similar when he was in Led Zeppelin during their heyday (but Page was a heroin addict for some of those years). It's all kind of a blur, because a lot of it happens so fast and it's so overwhelming.

As for people who think Bjorn did drugs, I doubt any of the members were into drugs.

I love ABBA, for the record.

[AurigaRa]

too bad
they brought a lot of joy to people even if they are corny songs.
Love them.

[impatient]

So what are they saying this is? Dementia? Amnesia?

[loudspeaker]

Drugs.

[Helzapoppin]

Not necessarily. I'm only 40, never did drugs, but my memories even of high school - a mere 22 yrs ago - are getting a bit sketchy. Not anywhere near as bad as Bjorn is describing (so far - knock on wood) and at this point it's only an occasional annoyance. But I would hate to start losing memories of major events in life.

Ironically, music is a great associative memory tool. Hearing a particular song can often stir up memories of things you haven't thought of in forever or had seemed to have forgotten completely. When I hear "Dancing Queen" I automatically think of being at a roller skating rink in the mid 70s as a kid, and start remembering all sorts of things. Scents are good for that too.

[SharonB]

Kids, this is your brain on drugs.

[Dannydel]

Drugs? I doubt it. These 4 people were never part of that scene. They got together and composed the brightest, happiest, most uplifting songs ever. Here it is 40 years later and those songs are STILL making people sing and dance along. You wanna talk drugs? Take a listen to the tuneless,
filth laden, misogynistic rubbish that 'rappers' try and pass off as music. Great messages there.

[philinburb]

Any chance you righteous guys get to take a shot you do. Fight on brave little drug warrior.

[YellowDogInRedCounty]

Don't be so righteous. And it was 30 years ago, not 40.

[swift goat pet for truth]

OR even the Rolling Stones.

[RTIII]

Sad.
.

[birchwood]

Enjoy life while we can. Look to the future.

ABBA was great.