Swedish singer-songwriter Benny Andersson is a legendary pop star whose songs with Björn Ulvaeus for their group ABBA with singers Agnetha Fältskog and Anni-Frid Lyngstad have resonated around the world since the early 1970s with best-selling records and the stage show and film based on their music titled 'Mamma Mia!'. Born in a suburb of Stockholm, he learned folk music as a child and played the piano from the age of ten. Inspired by American rock and roll, he began to write songs and contributed many to the group The Hep Stars in the 1960s.
ABBA became a worldwide sensation in the early 1970a and afterwards, in 1983, he continued to write songs with Ulvaeus including songs for the concept album 'Chess' with English lyricist Tim Rice. The album, which featured Elaine Paige, Barbara Dickson, Murray Head, Tommy Körbeg and Björn Skifs, was an international hit in 1984. A theatrical version ran in London's West End for almost three years and on Broadway for two months. Andersson made his solo recording debut in 1987 with 'Klinga Mina Klockor' and created a musical based on Swedish author Vilhelm Moberg's 'The Emigrants' novels.
He has written songs for several other artists and his own Benny Andersson Orkester, now known as the Benny Andersson Band, and contributed songs for Swedish feature films. In September 2017, he released an album titled 'Piano' that features just the artist singing and playing some of his well-known songs. Asked by the Daily Telegraph if ABBA were ever tempted to team up again, he said, "Why? We didn't need the money. I realised long ago that I didn't ever have to think about paying the rent."
