Benny blames Tim for Abba break-up

ABBA stalwart Benny Andersson says Sir Tim Rice is to blame for the band’s split.

Benny (left) made the surprise revelation about the renowned West End lyricist when asked what he thought was the final nail in the coffin for the Swedish quartet.

He said that when Abba called it a day in 1982, the break was only meant to be a temporary one. However, when Benny and bandmate Björn Ulvaeus were approached by Sir Tim to start writing music for theatre productions, it represented the beginning of the end.

“We [he and Björn] said we want to try this thing, writing for the theatre,” said Benny. “And Tim Rice came along so that gave us a big opportunity, so we just went along. We wrote the musical Chess, and after that we said, ‘What’s the point in going back?’ Because we like this.”

However the 70-year-old also admitted that personal strife in the band, with fellow members Anni-Frid Lyngstad and Agnetha Fältskog, was also a factor. “Things were happening in real life, not just in our working life,” he added. “Anni-Frid and I got divorced, Björn and Agnetha got divorced.”

Now, after 35 years, Abba are of course getting back together for a reunion tour – though it will be a virtual one where the band will be represented by holograms.

“If everything goes to plan we will be back in digital form at the beginning of 2019,” added Benny. “It will just be us four singers that are in digital form.”