Saturday 30 August 2008

Pop Foto, July 1983: Never again will ABBA go abroad for their holiday

How many people are planning to board a plane this month to enjoy their holiday in a warm and sunny country? Probably a lot, but ABBA won’t be among them. Agnetha tells us why...

“Actually, there’s only one disadvantage of being famous and that’s the constant intrusion on your private life.” Agnetha looks into the distance seriously and continues: “Really, I don’t mind at all doing interviews and having my photograph taken, as long as it’s related to my work. For instance, something that happened recently just went a bit too far. Pictures of me had been taken while I was walking around with a fat belly. Along with these pictures, something was written like: poor Agnetha, heavily pregnant and on top of that left by her man. Well, that was a pure lie, because at that time I was playing the part of a pregnant woman in the movie ‘Raskenstam’. Can you imagine how I felt? I was furious!”
Agnetha takes a deep breath. “I’m sorry,” she apologizes, “but when I think of that vicious gossip, I get angry all over again. I have extensive talks with my children Linda and Christian about things like this and I hope they can protect themselves against it just a little. Indeed, they have to stay away from my children more than anything!”

Can you still find the time to spend with your children, we ask, following her words.
“Oh yes, of course,” she answers convincingly. “You might think otherwise, but I have lots of spare time. When you’re working on a record, you’re working intensely only for a certain period. For instance, every day for three months. But when the record is finished, things get considerably quieter. And you can bet that I know how to enjoy myself! Firstly, I’m there for the children, but apart from that I can walk for hours with my dog. We have a Leonberger, that’s just as big (and just as beautiful) as a Saint Bernard dog and therefore needs lots of exercise. Furthermore, I love to read and go to the sauna. Wonderful! If there’s one place I can relax completely, it’s right there. Although I’m a very calm person myself. I’m not easily stressed.”

Agnetha takes a break and sips from her mineral water. “My, you get thirsty from all this chatting,” she smiles and then continues: “I always see to it that I’m free during the summer months and we spend that time at our summer house. We always did that with ABBA as well.”
Didn’t you ever go abroad for your holiday? “Oh no, that wasn’t possible,” the blonde singer reacts smilingly. “I’m scared to death of flying! And since we live all the way up north, the sunny south is rather far away. Oh well, we did have a wonderful summer house then where we enjoyed our holidays with the whole group. On top of that, Sweden is a wonderful country with beautiful summers, so it simply isn’t necessary to go abroad. For my career, I’ve had to spend enough scary hours on a plane. That’s why I travelled to Holland by bus and boat this time. It takes me two days to travel over here, but you get to see a lot more than on a plane. The landscape is beautiful. I can highly recommend it, haha. But a holiday abroad? No, we never did that and I guess it will never happen either...”

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