Anni-Frid Lyngstad
Encyclopedia
Anni-Frid Prinzessin Reuss von Plauen (born Anni-Frid Synni Lyngstad, 15 November 1945 in Bjørkåsen, Ballangen
, Norway), is a Norwegian-born Swedish pop singer. She was one of the four members of Swedish group
ABBA
.
She is formally styled Her Serene Highness Princess Anni-Frid Synni Reuss of Plauen
following her marriage to a German prince of the former sovereign
House of Reuss in 1992.
near Narvik
, in northern Norway, as the result of an affair between 19-year-old Synni Lyngstad (19 June 1926 - 28 September 1947), and a married German soldier, Alfred Haase (1919 - January 2009), just before the end of the Second World War and the German occupation of Norway
. Lyngstad's father returned to Germany when his troops were evacuated.
In early 1947, Lyngstad, her mother, and her maternal grandmother Arntine Lyngstad ("Agny") left her birthplace, fearing reprisals against those who had dealings with the Germans during the occupation. This could entail not just insults, but also forced separation of infants from their parents and relatives (see War children
).
Lyngstad was taken by her grandmother across the border to Sweden, where they settled in the region of Härjedalen
and her grandmother took any job she could find. Her mother stayed behind in Norway and worked for a period in the south of the country but soon joined her mother and daughter in Sweden, and the three moved to a town named Malmköping
(45 miles from Stockholm). Shortly thereafter, her mother died of kidney failure, aged 21. Lyngstad was raised solely by her grandmother. In June 1949, they both relocated to the town of Torshälla
(just outside of Eskilstuna
), where Agny Lyngstad soon found work as a seamstress. Frida Lyngstad grew up in Torshälla and began attending school there in August 1952. Close contact with her family in Norway (notably her uncle and four aunts) continued, and Lyngstad recalls with warmth summer holidays spent with them at her birthplace. She was especially close to an aunt named Olive, who once stated that she saw how lonely and subdued Frida was and, as a result, always did her best to make her feel loved and welcomed during visits.
Lyngstad believed that her father, Alfred Haase, had died during the war on his way back to Germany as his ship was reported to have sunk. However, in 1977, the German teen magazine Bravo
published a poster and a complete biography with details of Lyngstad's background, including the names of her father and mother. It was seen by Lyngstad's German half-brother, Peter Haase, who went to his father and asked him if he had been in Ballangen during the war. A few months later, Lyngstad met Haase in Stockholm for the first time.
At the age of 13, she got her first job as a dance band
and schlager
singer in 1958, with The Evald Eks Orchestra. Evald Ek himself remembers: "It was hard to believe, such a young person could sing that well. She was so easy to rehearse with and she was never shy onstage. The only thing I taught her was to sing out. In those days, she had a tendency of holding back her voice a little". With the Evald Eks Orchestra, the 13-year-old Lyngstad, performed every weekend in front of a dancing audience. The sets often lasted up to five hours. The songs she liked most to sing were the evergreens; "All of Me", "Night and Day" and "Begin the Beguine". To advance and develop, she also started to take singing lessons. Later, she teamed up with a 15-piece 'big band', who performed a jazz
repertoire covering Glenn Miller
, Duke Ellington
and Count Basie
; her vocal idols being Ella Fitzgerald
and Peggy Lee
. In 1963, she formed her own band, the Anni-Frid Four.
On 26 September 1967, Frida won the Swedish national talent competition, "New Faces", arranged by record company EMI
and held at Skansen
, Stockholm. The song she chose to sing was "En Ledig Dag" ("A Day Off"). The first prize in this contest was a recording contract with EMI
Sweden. Unbeknownst to Lyngstad, the winner of the contest was also expected to appear the same evening in the country's most popular TV show at that time, Hylands Hörna. This happened on the same day Sweden switched
from driving on the left side of the road to the right side. Driving on that day was discouraged, so most of the nation was watching TV that night. Frida performed her winning song live. (The performance can be seen on Frida - The DVD
)
This first exposure to a wider television audience caused a sensation, and many record companies and producers contacted Frida immediately. EMI
executives, fearing they might lose their new singer, took the precaution of driving from Stockholm to Frida's home in Eskilstuna the next morning with a recording contract for her to sign. EMI producer Olle Bergman remembers: "We got so interested and fond of her and I thought she had everything a person needs to become something."
On 11 September 1967, Frida recorded the vocals for "En Ledig Dag", which was to become her first single for EMI Sweden. Professional and self-assured on this first day in the studio, she recorded the vocals in just one take. The early songs she recorded for EMI Sweden are included in the EMI compilation Frida 1967-1972, digitally remastered and released by EMI Sweden in 1997.
On 29 January 1968, she performed this song on national TV, and at this occasion briefly met future ABBA
member Agnetha Fältskog
, who also performed her first single in the same programme.
Lyngstad toured Sweden in 1968, and recorded several singles for EMI. She decided to move to Stockholm
to start working full time as a singer.
In 1969, she participated in Melodifestivalen
- the Swedish heats for the Eurovision Song Contest
- with the song "Härlig är vår jord" ("Our Earth Is Wonderful"), and finished fourth. Backstage she met her future spouse Benny Andersson
, who also participated in the contest as composer. They soon met again at another venue and then became a couple.
, produced by her then-fiancé Andersson, was released in 1971. The album received unanimously generous praise from the critics and the press, who especially noted the precision and versatility of Lyngstad's voice. For example Swedens biggest morningpaper "Dagens Nyheter" (Daily News) wrote: "Professional, sure and certain LP-debut...low-key but self-assured personality with sprinkles of temperament, humor and tenderness. And she sings in such a way that you understand that she´s got something between her ears - she sings, in other words, in a very intelligent way". She now scored her first Swedish No.1 hit with "Min Egen Stad" ("My Own Town"). All four future members of ABBA sang back-up vocals on this song. The album is now included in the EMI
compilation Frida 1967-1972.
Frida continued to play in cabarets, and tour and regularly perform on TV and radio. Subsequently, her relationship with Andersson, and friendship with Björn Ulvaeus
and Agnetha Fältskog
led to the formation of ABBA. In 1972, after five years at EMI Sweden, Lyngstad changed record companies and moved to the Polar Music
label. She recorded the single "Man vill ju leva lite dessemellan", which became her second No. 1 hit on the Swedish charts.
Her next solo album in Swedish, was Frida ensam
(Frida Alone), produced by Benny Andersson
. By now, she was already involved in ABBA. This album includes her successful Swedish version of "Fernando
", which stayed at the no. 1 spot in the Svensktoppen radio charts for 9 weeks, but was never released as a single. The album was recorded between sessions of the ABBA albums "Waterloo
" and "ABBA
". Due to the rising popularity of the group, the album took 18 months to record. It became an enormous commercial and critical success in Sweden, topping the Swedish album charts for six weeks and remaining in the charts for 38. The album was mostly a collection of covers of songs by artists like the Beach Boys, 10cc
and David Bowie
, receiving positive reviews from Melody Maker
: "The album portrays Frida as a very strong and emotive singer and shows the true value of the music, that if sung properly and with enough feeling it transcends all language barriers". This album was such a big success, it eventually went platinum.
, his best friend Björn Ulvaeus
and his girlfriend, Agnetha Fältskog
. Their first project together was the cabaret act Festfolk, which flopped in the winter of 1970–1971. The following year, 'Frida' toured on her own while the other three future ABBA members started performing together on a regular basis. Eventually, she rejoined them. Andersson and Ulvaeus were busy producing other artists, but soon discovered the qualities of Lyngstad's and Fältskog's voices combined: ABBA came to life. Frida contributed lead vocals to some of ABBA's biggest hits like "Fernando
", "Money, Money, Money
", "Super Trouper
", "I Have a Dream", "Knowing Me, Knowing You
" and shared lead vocals with Agnetha Fältskog on "Mamma Mia
", "Waterloo", "Dancing Queen
", "The Name of the Game
", "Voulez-Vous
", "Summer Night City
" and others.
Lyngstad clearly enjoyed the spotlight more than the other three members of ABBA. She truly liked to tour and to meet audience members one-on-one. She took an active part in co-designing the famed ABBA costumes for their tours and TV performances. Since the members of ABBA went their separate ways, Frida has been the only one who openly regrets there has never been a reunion to date.
-produced album was called Something's Going On
, and became a big success for Frida worldwide. A much rockier sound was found on many of the songs and Phil Collins' bombastic drum sound contributed a lot, especially on the lead single. The album sold 1.5 million copies and spawned the successful single "I Know There's Something Going On
", which topped the charts in Switzerland, Belgium, Costa Rica and France, where it stayed No 1 for five weeks. The song also reached the top five in Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, Norway and Australia amongst others. In the United States, the single reached #13 in March 1983 on the Billboard Hot 100
and #9 on Radio & Records
, and was the 20th biggest selling single in the US that year.
The song and its video were heavily promoted and played on MTV
. The album itself received good reviews, with Billboard writing: "ABBA's auburn-haired songstress makes a bold solo project a stunning success", while Mark Coleman described the album in the third edition of Rolling Stone Album Guide
as "a sharp, rock-oriented, delightfully eclectic album". William Cooper had a similar opinion in Allmusic: "Frida escapes the creative limitations of being a member of one of the world's most popular groups on this solid and often riveting album". Swedish Television SVT
documented this historical event by filming the whole recording process. The result became a one-hour TV documentary, including interviews with Frida and Phil, Björn and Benny, as well as all the musicians on the album. Due to the success of this album and its lead single, Frida was voted "Best Female Artist Of The Year" 1982, by the readers of Sweden's biggest evening paper Aftonbladet
, receiving the Swedish Music Award Price Rockbjörnen
.
In 1983, Lyngstad assisted with Abbacadabra
, and recorded one of the tracks with two different male vocalists in different languages, including Frenchman Daniel Balavoine
on the track "Belle" and on the English version "Time" with B. A. Robertson
. This track was a cover of "Arrival
", an instrumental track from the ABBA album of the same name.
Lyngstad's next album was the experimental Shine
(1984). This album was recorded at Studios De La Grande Armée in Paris, France and produced by Steve Lillywhite
, known for his work with artists like Peter Gabriel
, U2
, Rolling Stones and Morrissey
amongst others. The young producer Lillywhite was only 25 when this album was recorded and he gave Frida a very experimental sound and managed to create a relaxed atmosphere in the studio. The album had much less success than hoped though it reached the Top 20 in many European countries, #6 in Sweden being its highest position. One of the songwriters and backing vocalist for this album was Kirsty MacColl
, who was killed in a boating accident in Mexico in December 2000. Lyngstad dedicated a song on her most recent compilation album to MacColl, "Chemistry Tonight", which MacColl had co-written.
called and said he had a song suitable for a duet. After hearing it, Lyngstad accepted immediately. The song was and still is, a big success in Sweden. The song was also recorded in English under the title of "As long as I have you". An English language video of the song was produced and an Australian release of this song which was scheduled with Festival Records and notified to record shops in January 1998 was eventually shelved.
In 1990, Lyngstad became a member of the committee of the Swedish environmental organization Det Naturliga Steget (The Natural Step). The organization wanted a "famous face" to help them reach the public, and in 1991 she became chairwoman for the organization Artister För Miljön (Artists For The Environment). In 1992, Lyngstad performed live at the Stockholm
Water Festival at the Kings Castle and released the environmental charity single with her cover of Julian Lennon
's song "Saltwater". All the money from this single went to charity. In 1993, on Queen Silvia's 50th birthday, Frida was asked to perform "Dancing Queen
" on stage, as performed by ABBA when the king and queen got married. Frida contacted The Real Group
and together they performed the song (lip-synching, not live as previously stated) at the Stockholm Opera House in front of the king and queen. The Swedish prime minister at the time, Ingvar Carlsson, also present that night, said it was an ingenious step to do "Dancing Queen" a cappella. This performance was filmed by Swedish TV and can be seen in Frida - The DVD
.
In 1996, Lyngstad recorded her Swedish language album Djupa andetag
(Deep Breaths). It was a long-awaited album as 12 years had passed since Shine
was released. The album attracted overall positive reviews and was a big success in Sweden where it became #1 on the album chart. Frida did many TV appearances in Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland to promote the album. Djupa andetag was one of the very first Swedish albums to be released as a combined audio–video CD-ROM
, including interviews with Lyngstad, footage from the making of the album, as well as promotional videos. Despite the fact that Djupa andetag was officially only released in Scandinavia and the songs were entirely sung in Swedish, a remix album of the single tracks "Även En Blomma", "Alla Mina Bästa År" (a duet with Roxette
's Marie Fredriksson
) and "Ögonen" was released in Germany in 1998, entitled Frida - The Mixes
. A one-hour documentary about the making of this album, both in the studio and from Frida's home in Mallorca, Spain, can be seen in Frida - The DVD
. A follow-up album with producer Anders Glenmark
was reportedly in the works, but was shelved due to the death of Frida's daughter in 1998.
Several one-off recordings followed, including a 2002 duet with opera singer Filippa Giordano
of the "Barcarolle
" from Jacques Offenbach
's Les contes d'Hoffman as well as the song "The Sun Will Shine Again", written especially for Lyngstad by former Deep Purple
member Jon Lord
, and recorded in 2004. Neither of these were however released as singles: "Barcarolle" is only available on the Japanese edition of Giordano's album Rosso Amore, and "The Sun Will Shine Again" can be found on Jon Lord's album Beyond The Notes (although a limited-promotional single had been made available). Lord and Lyngstad made several TV appearances in Germany performing the song, on shows like The Sunday Night Classics and The Golden Henne Gala. Lyngstad also joined Lord on stage singing the song during his European autumn tour in 2004. During this tour, she also performed "In The Deep Midwinter". A performance of which can be found on YouTube, although it appears not to have been released as a finished track.
For the 2004 semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest
, staged in Istanbul thirty years after ABBA
had won the contest in Brighton, Lyngstad appeared in a special comedy video made for the interval act, entitled Our Last Video. Each of the four members of the group appeared briefly in cameo roles, as did, amongst others, Cher
and British comedian Rik Mayall
. The video was not included in the official DVD release of the Eurovision Contest, but was issued as a separate DVD release on the Universal Music label. It was billed as the first time the four had worked together since the group split in 1982 – a partial truth. In fact, they each filmed their appearances separately. Also in 2004, Lyngstad appeared with former band mates Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus at London's fifth anniversary performance of Mamma Mia!
, the musical based on ABBA songs. In 2005, she joined all three of her former ABBA colleagues at the Swedish premiere of Mamma Mia! at the arena Cirkus in Stockholm.
On 15 November 2005, to celebrate Lyngstad's 60th birthday, Universal Records
released the box set Frida, consisting of all the solo albums she recorded for Polar Music
, all digitally remastered and including a set of bonus tracks. Also included is Frida - The DVD
. On this 3½ hour DVD Lyngstad talks about her entire career in the music business. Filmed in the Swiss Alps, she talks about her singing technique and about her career both before and after Abba and explains how songs were performed and recorded. In collaboration with Swedish TV, SVT
, the DVD includes many rare TV clips from her early performances, like her first TV performance with "En Ledig Dag", ("A Day Off"). Also included are TV-documentaries about the making and recordings of Something's Going On
and Djupa andetag
(Deep Breaths).
In September 2010, a new album by musician Georg Wadenius
titled "Reconnection" was released. Frida and George had discussed working together for many years, as they had long been good friends. The album opens with her rendition of the traditional tune Morning Has Broken
popularized by Cat Stevens
. This song by Cat Stevens, is a favourite for Frida and the song was also on the playlist in the church for Frida and Prince Ruzzo's wedding on August 26, 1992.
On 16 February 2011 BBC Radio 4 broadcast a 45 minute play featuring Frida and the play's writer, longterm fan and performer Christopher Green. The play, Like An Angel Passing Through My Room, was billed as 'a story about love. The unconditional love of a devoted fan...about a real and an imagined intimacy.' It was a project several years in the making; what started as an upbeat reflection on fame and the notion of being a fan, developed into a meditation on the communication between two people and coping with the blows life deals. In an interview with Frida she and Green talked about her long recovery from the death of her husband in 1999. The play is deeply personal and reflective but with a firmly comic sensibility.
In February 1969, Lyngstad met Benny Andersson
, and the couple were engaged in August. By 1971 they were living together, but did not marry until 6 October 1978, during the height of ABBA's success. However, after only three years of marriage, they separated in February 1981 and were divorced in November of the same year. In 1982, Lyngstad left Sweden and moved to London. In 1986, she relocated to Switzerland. In 1988, Lyngstad became a grandmother when her daughter, Ann Lise-Lotte, gave birth to a son named Jonathan.
On 26 August 1992, Lyngstad married a German nobleman who was five years her junior - the late architect Prince Heinrich Ruzzo Reuss of Plauen (24 May 1950 – 29 October 1999). By this marriage, she has two stepdaughters, the twins Princess Henriette Reuss and Princess Pauline Reuss (both born 2 June 1977, Oslo, Norway). The prince died of lymphoma
in 1999; a year earlier, on 13 January 1998, Lyngstad's daughter, Ann Lise-Lotte Casper (born Fredriksson), died of injuries sustained in a car accident in Livonia, Michigan
- a western suburb of Detroit - in the United States of America. Through Lyngstad's marriage to Heinrich Ruzzo, who was a student at the same boarding school
as the reigning King of Sweden, she became acquainted with the Swedish royal family
and eventually became close friends with Sweden's Queen Silvia.
Today, Lyngstad still engages in charity work - environmental protection in particular. In 2005, she stated in an interview that she had no interest in ever returning to a music career. She currently lives in Zermatt
, Switzerland.
for the Best Female Artist.
Frida was the subject of a BBC Radio 4
project, Like An Angel Passing Through My Room, broadcast on 16 February 2011. Written by and featuring the writer and performer Chris Green
, it tells the story of his lifelong admiration for the singer, and how they met in 2006. It features a rare audio interview with Frida talking frankly and openly about her life and work.
On 15 March 2010, Frida appeared onstage in New York with former husband Benny Andersson to accept ABBA's award of induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. During her acceptance speech she recognized that the success of the band had begun with their personal partnerships. She also recognized her grandson, Jonathan, then 21, a guitarist for the Rochester NY-based heavy metal band The Dream Anatomy.
Ballangen
Ballangen is a municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is part of the Ofoten region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Ballangen. Ballangen was separated from Evenes on 1 July 1925...
, Norway), is a Norwegian-born Swedish pop singer. She was one of the four members of Swedish group
Musical ensemble
A musical ensemble is a group of people who perform instrumental or vocal music. In classical music, trios or quartets either blend the sounds of musical instrument families or group together instruments from the same instrument family, such as string ensembles or wind ensembles...
ABBA
ABBA
ABBA was a Swedish pop group formed in Stockholm in 1970 which consisted of Anni-Frid Lyngstad, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson and Agnetha Fältskog...
.
She is formally styled Her Serene Highness Princess Anni-Frid Synni Reuss of Plauen
Plauen
Plauen is a town in the Free State of Saxony, east-central Germany.It is the capital of the Vogtlandkreis. The town is situated near the border of Bavaria and the Czech Republic.Plauen's slogan is Plauen - echt Spitze.-History:...
following her marriage to a German prince of the former sovereign
Sovereign
A sovereign is the supreme lawmaking authority within its jurisdiction.Sovereign may also refer to:*Monarch, the sovereign of a monarchy*Sovereign Bank, banking institution in the United States*Sovereign...
House of Reuss in 1992.
Early life
Anni-Frid Synni "Frida" Lyngstad was born in Bjørkåsen, a small village in BallangenBallangen
Ballangen is a municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is part of the Ofoten region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Ballangen. Ballangen was separated from Evenes on 1 July 1925...
near Narvik
Narvik
is the third largest city and municipality in Nordland county, Norway by population. Narvik is located on the shores of the Narvik Fjord . The municipality is part of the Ofoten traditional region of North Norway, inside the arctic circle...
, in northern Norway, as the result of an affair between 19-year-old Synni Lyngstad (19 June 1926 - 28 September 1947), and a married German soldier, Alfred Haase (1919 - January 2009), just before the end of the Second World War and the German occupation of Norway
Occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany
The occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany started with the German invasion of Norway on April 9, 1940, and ended on May 8, 1945, after the capitulation of German forces in Europe. Throughout this period, Norway was continuously occupied by the Wehrmacht...
. Lyngstad's father returned to Germany when his troops were evacuated.
In early 1947, Lyngstad, her mother, and her maternal grandmother Arntine Lyngstad ("Agny") left her birthplace, fearing reprisals against those who had dealings with the Germans during the occupation. This could entail not just insults, but also forced separation of infants from their parents and relatives (see War children
War children
A war child refers to a child born to a native parent and a parent belonging to a foreign military force . It also refers to children of parents collaborating with an occupying force...
).
Lyngstad was taken by her grandmother across the border to Sweden, where they settled in the region of Härjedalen
Härjedalen
' is a historical province or landskap in the centre of Sweden. It borders the country of Norway as well as the provinces of Dalarna, Hälsingland, Medelpad, and Jämtland...
and her grandmother took any job she could find. Her mother stayed behind in Norway and worked for a period in the south of the country but soon joined her mother and daughter in Sweden, and the three moved to a town named Malmköping
Malmköping
Malmköping is a locality situated in Flen Municipality, Södermanland County, Sweden with 2,000 inhabitants in 2005.Malmköping is located about 15 kilometers north of the municipal seat Flen . It is a tourism attraction due to its two annual markets...
(45 miles from Stockholm). Shortly thereafter, her mother died of kidney failure, aged 21. Lyngstad was raised solely by her grandmother. In June 1949, they both relocated to the town of Torshälla
Torshälla
Torshälla is a locality situated in Eskilstuna Municipality, Södermanland County, Sweden with 7,614 inhabitants in 2005.Torshälla is for historical reasons normally referred to as a stad even though it does not have a population of 10,000 which is the limit defined by Statistics Sweden.Before the...
(just outside of Eskilstuna
Eskilstuna
Eskilstuna is a city and the seat of Eskilstuna Municipality, Södermanland County, Sweden with 60,185 inhabitants in 2005. Eskilstuna has a large Sweden Finn population....
), where Agny Lyngstad soon found work as a seamstress. Frida Lyngstad grew up in Torshälla and began attending school there in August 1952. Close contact with her family in Norway (notably her uncle and four aunts) continued, and Lyngstad recalls with warmth summer holidays spent with them at her birthplace. She was especially close to an aunt named Olive, who once stated that she saw how lonely and subdued Frida was and, as a result, always did her best to make her feel loved and welcomed during visits.
Lyngstad believed that her father, Alfred Haase, had died during the war on his way back to Germany as his ship was reported to have sunk. However, in 1977, the German teen magazine Bravo
Bravo (magazine)
Bravo is the largest teen magazine within the German-language sphere. The first issue was published in 1956, subtitled as "the magazine for film and television" . Marilyn Monroe's portrait graced the first published issue, the never-published dummy issue cover displayed Elvis Presley.-History:The...
published a poster and a complete biography with details of Lyngstad's background, including the names of her father and mother. It was seen by Lyngstad's German half-brother, Peter Haase, who went to his father and asked him if he had been in Ballangen during the war. A few months later, Lyngstad met Haase in Stockholm for the first time.
1958–1969: Early work
Lyngstad stated in several interviews that her grandmother frequently sang songs to her (notably old Norwegian songs), which resulted in her love for music. She soon showed musical talent at a very early age, beginning in her first years at school. On Fridays, she was often asked by her teacher to sing in front of the class and soon became known in school and in the neighborhood for her beautiful voice. Although her grandmother encouraged her to sing (according to Lyngstad herself), she never attended any of her performances. Her grandmother died shortly before ABBA formed and therefore never experienced the success of the group.At the age of 13, she got her first job as a dance band
Dance band
Dance band can be one of several kinds of musical ensemble:* British dance band* Dansband, a Swedish pop genre* A Eurodance band...
and schlager
Schlager
Schlager music is a style of popular music prevalent in Central and Northern Europe and the Balkans and also in France and Poland. In Portugal, it was adapted and became pimba music...
singer in 1958, with The Evald Eks Orchestra. Evald Ek himself remembers: "It was hard to believe, such a young person could sing that well. She was so easy to rehearse with and she was never shy onstage. The only thing I taught her was to sing out. In those days, she had a tendency of holding back her voice a little". With the Evald Eks Orchestra, the 13-year-old Lyngstad, performed every weekend in front of a dancing audience. The sets often lasted up to five hours. The songs she liked most to sing were the evergreens; "All of Me", "Night and Day" and "Begin the Beguine". To advance and develop, she also started to take singing lessons. Later, she teamed up with a 15-piece 'big band', who performed a jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
repertoire covering Glenn Miller
Glenn Miller
Alton Glenn Miller was an American jazz musician , arranger, composer, and bandleader in the swing era. He was one of the best-selling recording artists from 1939 to 1943, leading one of the best known "Big Bands"...
, Duke Ellington
Duke Ellington
Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington was an American composer, pianist, and big band leader. Ellington wrote over 1,000 compositions...
and Count Basie
Count Basie
William "Count" Basie was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. Basie led his jazz orchestra almost continuously for nearly 50 years...
; her vocal idols being Ella Fitzgerald
Ella Fitzgerald
Ella Jane Fitzgerald , also known as the "First Lady of Song" and "Lady Ella," was an American jazz and song vocalist...
and Peggy Lee
Peggy Lee
Peggy Lee was an American jazz and popular music singer, songwriter, composer, and actress in a career spanning six decades. From her beginning as a vocalist on local radio to singing with Benny Goodman's big band, she forged a sophisticated persona, evolving into a multi-faceted artist and...
. In 1963, she formed her own band, the Anni-Frid Four.
On 26 September 1967, Frida won the Swedish national talent competition, "New Faces", arranged by record company EMI
EMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
and held at Skansen
Skansen
Skansen is the first open air museum and zoo in Sweden and is located on the island Djurgården in Stockholm, Sweden. It was founded in 1891 by Artur Hazelius to show the way of life in the different parts of Sweden before the industrial era....
, Stockholm. The song she chose to sing was "En Ledig Dag" ("A Day Off"). The first prize in this contest was a recording contract with EMI
EMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
Sweden. Unbeknownst to Lyngstad, the winner of the contest was also expected to appear the same evening in the country's most popular TV show at that time, Hylands Hörna. This happened on the same day Sweden switched
Dagen H
Dagen H , today mostly called "Högertrafikomläggningen" , was the day, 3 September 1967, on which traffic in Sweden switched from driving on the left-hand side of the road to the right...
from driving on the left side of the road to the right side. Driving on that day was discouraged, so most of the nation was watching TV that night. Frida performed her winning song live. (The performance can be seen on Frida - The DVD
Frida - The DVD
See also: Frida 1967–1972, Frida ensam, Something's Going On, Shine and Djupa andetag.Frida – The DVD is a 3½ hour documentary DVD, that covers the singing career of Anni-Frid Lyngstad, also known as Frida, one of the four members of Swedish pop group ABBA...
)
This first exposure to a wider television audience caused a sensation, and many record companies and producers contacted Frida immediately. EMI
EMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
executives, fearing they might lose their new singer, took the precaution of driving from Stockholm to Frida's home in Eskilstuna the next morning with a recording contract for her to sign. EMI producer Olle Bergman remembers: "We got so interested and fond of her and I thought she had everything a person needs to become something."
On 11 September 1967, Frida recorded the vocals for "En Ledig Dag", which was to become her first single for EMI Sweden. Professional and self-assured on this first day in the studio, she recorded the vocals in just one take. The early songs she recorded for EMI Sweden are included in the EMI compilation Frida 1967-1972, digitally remastered and released by EMI Sweden in 1997.
On 29 January 1968, she performed this song on national TV, and at this occasion briefly met future ABBA
ABBA
ABBA was a Swedish pop group formed in Stockholm in 1970 which consisted of Anni-Frid Lyngstad, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson and Agnetha Fältskog...
member Agnetha Fältskog
Agnetha Fältskog
Agnetha Åse Fältskog is a Swedish recording artist. She achieved success in Sweden after the release of her début album Agnetha Fältskog in 1968, and reached international stardom as a member of the pop group ABBA, which to date has sold over 375 million records worldwide, making it the fourth...
, who also performed her first single in the same programme.
Lyngstad toured Sweden in 1968, and recorded several singles for EMI. She decided to move to Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
to start working full time as a singer.
In 1969, she participated in Melodifestivalen
Melodifestivalen
Melodifestivalen is an annual music competition organised by Swedish public broadcasters Sveriges Television and Sveriges Radio . It determines the country's representative for the Eurovision Song Contest, and has been staged almost every year since 1959...
- the Swedish heats for the Eurovision Song Contest
Eurovision Song Contest
The Eurovision Song Contest is an annual competition held among active member countries of the European Broadcasting Union .Each member country submits a song to be performed on live television and then casts votes for the other countries' songs to determine the most popular song in the competition...
- with the song "Härlig är vår jord" ("Our Earth Is Wonderful"), and finished fourth. Backstage she met her future spouse Benny Andersson
Benny Andersson
Göran Bror "Benny" Andersson is a Swedish musician, composer, a former member of the Swedish musical group ABBA , and co-composer of the musicals Chess, Kristina från Duvemåla, and Mamma Mia!...
, who also participated in the contest as composer. They soon met again at another venue and then became a couple.
1970–1971: Pre-ABBA
Her first album, FridaFrida (album)
Frida is the 1971 debut album by Anni-Frid Lyngstad, consisting of Lyngstad's very personal and "jazzy" cover versions of English or American songs. By the time of the album's release Lyngstad had been signed to EMI/Columbia for four years...
, produced by her then-fiancé Andersson, was released in 1971. The album received unanimously generous praise from the critics and the press, who especially noted the precision and versatility of Lyngstad's voice. For example Swedens biggest morningpaper "Dagens Nyheter" (Daily News) wrote: "Professional, sure and certain LP-debut...low-key but self-assured personality with sprinkles of temperament, humor and tenderness. And she sings in such a way that you understand that she´s got something between her ears - she sings, in other words, in a very intelligent way". She now scored her first Swedish No.1 hit with "Min Egen Stad" ("My Own Town"). All four future members of ABBA sang back-up vocals on this song. The album is now included in the EMI
EMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
compilation Frida 1967-1972.
Frida continued to play in cabarets, and tour and regularly perform on TV and radio. Subsequently, her relationship with Andersson, and friendship with Björn Ulvaeus
Björn Ulvaeus
Björn Kristian Ulvaeus is a Swedish songwriter, composer, musician, writer, producer, a former member of the Swedish musical group ABBA , and co-composer of the musicals Chess, Kristina från Duvemåla, and Mamma Mia!...
and Agnetha Fältskog
Agnetha Fältskog
Agnetha Åse Fältskog is a Swedish recording artist. She achieved success in Sweden after the release of her début album Agnetha Fältskog in 1968, and reached international stardom as a member of the pop group ABBA, which to date has sold over 375 million records worldwide, making it the fourth...
led to the formation of ABBA. In 1972, after five years at EMI Sweden, Lyngstad changed record companies and moved to the Polar Music
Polar Music
Polar Music is a Swedish record company founded in 1963 by Stig Anderson and his friend Bengt Bernhag. The first act that it signed was the Hootenanny Singers featuring Björn Ulvaeus. Polar eventually gained prosperity producing Ulvæus' next group, international superstars ABBA...
label. She recorded the single "Man vill ju leva lite dessemellan", which became her second No. 1 hit on the Swedish charts.
Her next solo album in Swedish, was Frida ensam
Frida ensam
Frida ensam is a solo album by ABBA singer Anni-Frid Lyngstad. The album was produced by her fiancé, ABBA member Benny Andersson and was first released by Polar Music in 1975. It has since been re-released several times, most significantly in remastered form in 2005 with bonus tracks...
(Frida Alone), produced by Benny Andersson
Benny Andersson
Göran Bror "Benny" Andersson is a Swedish musician, composer, a former member of the Swedish musical group ABBA , and co-composer of the musicals Chess, Kristina från Duvemåla, and Mamma Mia!...
. By now, she was already involved in ABBA. This album includes her successful Swedish version of "Fernando
Fernando (song)
"Fernando" is a song by the Swedish pop group ABBA. It was the group's first non-album single and was released in November 1975 through Polar Music. Lead vocals were sung by Anni-Frid Lyngstad...
", which stayed at the no. 1 spot in the Svensktoppen radio charts for 9 weeks, but was never released as a single. The album was recorded between sessions of the ABBA albums "Waterloo
Waterloo (album)
* 1974 Polar Music International AB, Stockholm, Sweden.* The original album release of Waterloo in 1974 with Polar.-CD re-issues, bonus tracks:...
" and "ABBA
ABBA (album)
1975 Polar Music international AB, Stockholm, Sweden.Stig Anderson helped us with the lyrics on "Mamma Mia", "Tropical Loveland", "SOS", "Bang-A-Boomerang", "I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do" and "I've Been Waiting for You".-CD re-issues, bonus tracks:...
". Due to the rising popularity of the group, the album took 18 months to record. It became an enormous commercial and critical success in Sweden, topping the Swedish album charts for six weeks and remaining in the charts for 38. The album was mostly a collection of covers of songs by artists like the Beach Boys, 10cc
10cc
10cc are an English art rock band who achieved their greatest commercial success in the 1970s. The band initially consisted of four musicians -- Graham Gouldman, Eric Stewart, Kevin Godley, and Lol Creme -- who had written and recorded together for some three years, before assuming the "10cc" name...
and David Bowie
David Bowie
David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...
, receiving positive reviews from Melody Maker
Melody Maker
Melody Maker, published in the United Kingdom, was, according to its publisher IPC Media, the world's oldest weekly music newspaper. It was founded in 1926 as a magazine targeted at musicians; in 2000 it was merged into "long-standing rival" New Musical Express.-1950s–1960s:Originally the Melody...
: "The album portrays Frida as a very strong and emotive singer and shows the true value of the music, that if sung properly and with enough feeling it transcends all language barriers". This album was such a big success, it eventually went platinum.
1972–1982: The ABBA years
At first, Lyngstad was hesitant to perform with her boyfriend Benny AnderssonBenny Andersson
Göran Bror "Benny" Andersson is a Swedish musician, composer, a former member of the Swedish musical group ABBA , and co-composer of the musicals Chess, Kristina från Duvemåla, and Mamma Mia!...
, his best friend Björn Ulvaeus
Björn Ulvaeus
Björn Kristian Ulvaeus is a Swedish songwriter, composer, musician, writer, producer, a former member of the Swedish musical group ABBA , and co-composer of the musicals Chess, Kristina från Duvemåla, and Mamma Mia!...
and his girlfriend, Agnetha Fältskog
Agnetha Fältskog
Agnetha Åse Fältskog is a Swedish recording artist. She achieved success in Sweden after the release of her début album Agnetha Fältskog in 1968, and reached international stardom as a member of the pop group ABBA, which to date has sold over 375 million records worldwide, making it the fourth...
. Their first project together was the cabaret act Festfolk, which flopped in the winter of 1970–1971. The following year, 'Frida' toured on her own while the other three future ABBA members started performing together on a regular basis. Eventually, she rejoined them. Andersson and Ulvaeus were busy producing other artists, but soon discovered the qualities of Lyngstad's and Fältskog's voices combined: ABBA came to life. Frida contributed lead vocals to some of ABBA's biggest hits like "Fernando
Fernando (song)
"Fernando" is a song by the Swedish pop group ABBA. It was the group's first non-album single and was released in November 1975 through Polar Music. Lead vocals were sung by Anni-Frid Lyngstad...
", "Money, Money, Money
Money, Money, Money
"Money, Money, Money", originally "Gypsy Girl", is a song recorded by Swedish pop group ABBA. The song, like most ABBA songs, was written by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus. It was released as a single on November 1, 1976, as the follow-up single to "Dancing Queen, both from the album Arrival...
", "Super Trouper
Super Trouper (song)
-A-Teens version:"Super Trouper" was A-Teens' second single from their 1st album The ABBA Generation, a cover of ABBA's song. When the single came out in the fall of 1999, it became a hit around the globe, just as its predecessor "Mamma Mia", also an ABBA cover...
", "I Have a Dream", "Knowing Me, Knowing You
Knowing Me, Knowing You
"Knowing Me, Knowing You" is a hit single recorded by Swedish pop group ABBA. The song was written by Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus and Stig Anderson, with the lead vocal sung by Anni-Frid Lyngstad. During recording sessions, it had the working titles of "Ring It In" and "Number 1, Number 1"...
" and shared lead vocals with Agnetha Fältskog on "Mamma Mia
Mamma Mia (song)
"Mamma Mia" is a song from ABBA's 3rd album, ABBA, written by Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus & Stig Anderson, with the lead vocals shared by Agnetha Fältskog and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. The song "Mamma Mia" is a common song used in bands or orchestras...
", "Waterloo", "Dancing Queen
Dancing Queen
"Dancing Queen" is a pop song recorded by Swedish pop group ABBA. It was released in August 1976, but was first performed two months earlier, on 18 June 1976, during a Royal Variety Show in Stockholm the evening before the Swedish royal wedding. It was the follow-up single to the hit "Fernando"...
", "The Name of the Game
The Name of the Game
"The Name of the Game" is a 1977 song by Swedish pop group ABBA, and was released as the first single from the group's fifth studio album, The Album...
", "Voulez-Vous
Voulez-Vous (song)
"Voulez-Vous" is a eurodisco track by Swedish pop group ABBA, written by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus . Agnetha Fältskog and Anni-Frid Lyngstad shared the lead vocals....
", "Summer Night City
Summer Night City
"Summer Night City", written by Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson, is ABBA's 2nd non-album single, released on September 6, 1978. It was originally intended as the lead single from the group's upcoming Voulez-Vous album, but was eventually not included...
" and others.
Lyngstad clearly enjoyed the spotlight more than the other three members of ABBA. She truly liked to tour and to meet audience members one-on-one. She took an active part in co-designing the famed ABBA costumes for their tours and TV performances. Since the members of ABBA went their separate ways, Frida has been the only one who openly regrets there has never been a reunion to date.
1982–1984: International solo career
In 1982, during ABBA's last year as a working band, Frida recorded and released her first post-Abba solo album. This was also her first solo album in English. The Phil CollinsPhil Collins
Philip David Charles "Phil" Collins, LVO is an English singer-songwriter, drummer, pianist and actor best known as a drummer and vocalist for British progressive rock group Genesis and as a solo artist....
-produced album was called Something's Going On
Something's Going On
Something's Going On was the first solo-album in English for ABBA singer Anni-Frid Lyngstad . Her previous albums had all been recorded in Swedish...
, and became a big success for Frida worldwide. A much rockier sound was found on many of the songs and Phil Collins' bombastic drum sound contributed a lot, especially on the lead single. The album sold 1.5 million copies and spawned the successful single "I Know There's Something Going On
I Know There's Something Going On
"I Know There's Something Going On" is a song recorded in 1982 by ABBA singer Anni-Frid Lyngstad . It was the lead single from her solo album Something's Going On. The song was a huge hit around the world during 1982 and 1983.-Song history:...
", which topped the charts in Switzerland, Belgium, Costa Rica and France, where it stayed No 1 for five weeks. The song also reached the top five in Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, Norway and Australia amongst others. In the United States, the single reached #13 in March 1983 on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
and #9 on Radio & Records
Radio & Records
Radio & Records was a trade publication providing news and airplay information for the radio and music industries. It originally started out as an independent trade from 1973 to 2006 until VNU Media took over in 2006, up until its final issue in 2009.-History:The company was founded in 1973 and...
, and was the 20th biggest selling single in the US that year.
The song and its video were heavily promoted and played on MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
. The album itself received good reviews, with Billboard writing: "ABBA's auburn-haired songstress makes a bold solo project a stunning success", while Mark Coleman described the album in the third edition of Rolling Stone Album Guide
Rolling Stone Album Guide
The Rolling Stone Album Guide, previously known as The Rolling Stone Record Guide, is a book that, along with its sister publication Rolling Stone magazine, contains professional reviews of popular music...
as "a sharp, rock-oriented, delightfully eclectic album". William Cooper had a similar opinion in Allmusic: "Frida escapes the creative limitations of being a member of one of the world's most popular groups on this solid and often riveting album". Swedish Television SVT
Sveriges Television
Sveriges Television AB , Sweden's Television, is a national television broadcaster based in Sweden, funded by a compulsory fee to be paid by all television owners...
documented this historical event by filming the whole recording process. The result became a one-hour TV documentary, including interviews with Frida and Phil, Björn and Benny, as well as all the musicians on the album. Due to the success of this album and its lead single, Frida was voted "Best Female Artist Of The Year" 1982, by the readers of Sweden's biggest evening paper Aftonbladet
Aftonbladet
Aftonbladet is a Swedish tabloid founded by Lars Johan Hierta in 1830 during the modernization of Sweden. It is one of the larger daily newspapers in the Nordic countries. Aftonbladet is owned by the Swedish Trade Union Confederation and Norwegian media group Schibsted, and its editorial page...
, receiving the Swedish Music Award Price Rockbjörnen
Rockbjörnen
Rockbjörnen is a Swedish popular music award established by the Stockholm evening newspaper Aftonbladet in 1979. The award, which is awarded annually, is divided into several categories and is mostly concentrated around the genres Pop and Rock. The first award was however given to the Swedish...
.
In 1983, Lyngstad assisted with Abbacadabra
Abbacadabra
Abbacadabra is the name of a French children's musical based on songs from the pop group ABBA, originally produced for French television in 1983 by Alain and Daniel Boublil, but which was later also transferred to an English stage version and two other television programs.-French television...
, and recorded one of the tracks with two different male vocalists in different languages, including Frenchman Daniel Balavoine
Daniel Balavoine
Daniel Balavoine was a French singer and songwriter. He was hugely popular in the French-speaking world, and inspired many singers in the 1980s, such as Jean-Jacques Goldman, and Michel Berger, his closest friend...
on the track "Belle" and on the English version "Time" with B. A. Robertson
B. A. Robertson
B. A. Robertson is a Scottish musician, actor, composer and songwriter.-Career:...
. This track was a cover of "Arrival
Arrival (song)
"Arrival" is a 1976 song by ABBA featured on their album of the same name. It is an instrumental piece, mainly the brainchild of member Benny Andersson and had the working titles of "Fiol", "Ode to Dalecarlia" & "Arrival in Dalecarlia".- Background :...
", an instrumental track from the ABBA album of the same name.
Lyngstad's next album was the experimental Shine
Shine (Frida album)
Shine is the name of Anni-Frid Lyngstad's second post-ABBA solo album. It was first released in September 1984 and has since been re-released several times, mainly in the digitally remastered form in 2005 with bonus tracks. Shine is included in The Frida Boxset.The promotion videos and clips from...
(1984). This album was recorded at Studios De La Grande Armée in Paris, France and produced by Steve Lillywhite
Steve Lillywhite
Steve Lillywhite is an English Grammy Award winning record producer. Since he began his career in 1977, Lillywhite has been credited for working on over 500 records and has collaborated with a variety of musicians including XTC, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Dave Matthews Band, U2, Peter Gabriel,...
, known for his work with artists like Peter Gabriel
Peter Gabriel
Peter Brian Gabriel is an English singer, musician, and songwriter who rose to fame as the lead vocalist and flautist of the progressive rock group Genesis. After leaving Genesis, Gabriel went on to a successful solo career...
, U2
U2
U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin. Formed in 1976, the group consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton , and Larry Mullen, Jr. . U2's early sound was rooted in post-punk but eventually grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music...
, Rolling Stones and Morrissey
Morrissey
Steven Patrick Morrissey , known as Morrissey, is an English singer and lyricist. He rose to prominence in the 1980s as the lyricist and vocalist of the alternative rock band The Smiths. The band was highly successful in the United Kingdom but broke up in 1987, and Morrissey began a solo career,...
amongst others. The young producer Lillywhite was only 25 when this album was recorded and he gave Frida a very experimental sound and managed to create a relaxed atmosphere in the studio. The album had much less success than hoped though it reached the Top 20 in many European countries, #6 in Sweden being its highest position. One of the songwriters and backing vocalist for this album was Kirsty MacColl
Kirsty MacColl
Kirsty Anna MacColl was an English singer-songwriter.MacColl scored several pop hits from the early 1980s to the early 1990s...
, who was killed in a boating accident in Mexico in December 2000. Lyngstad dedicated a song on her most recent compilation album to MacColl, "Chemistry Tonight", which MacColl had co-written.
1985-present: Later career
In 1986 Frida was in the choir for the recording of her former husband Benny Andersson's song "Klinga Mina Klockor". Also in 1987, Lyngstad recorded the single "Så Länge Vi Har Varann" ("As Long As We Have Each Other") with the Swedish pop group Ratata, one of Lyngstad's favourites. One day singer Mauro ScoccoMauro Scocco
Mauro Scocco is a Swedish pop artist of Italian descent. He was the singer for the pop group Ratata in the 1980s and has been a solo artist since. He has been described as "one of the sharpest songwriters in Sweden"....
called and said he had a song suitable for a duet. After hearing it, Lyngstad accepted immediately. The song was and still is, a big success in Sweden. The song was also recorded in English under the title of "As long as I have you". An English language video of the song was produced and an Australian release of this song which was scheduled with Festival Records and notified to record shops in January 1998 was eventually shelved.
In 1990, Lyngstad became a member of the committee of the Swedish environmental organization Det Naturliga Steget (The Natural Step). The organization wanted a "famous face" to help them reach the public, and in 1991 she became chairwoman for the organization Artister För Miljön (Artists For The Environment). In 1992, Lyngstad performed live at the Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
Water Festival at the Kings Castle and released the environmental charity single with her cover of Julian Lennon
Julian Lennon
John Charles Julian Lennon is an English musician, songwriter, actor, and photographer. He is the son of John Lennon and Lennon's first wife, Cynthia Powell. Beatles manager Brian Epstein was his godfather. He has a younger half-brother, Sean Lennon. Lennon was named after his paternal...
's song "Saltwater". All the money from this single went to charity. In 1993, on Queen Silvia's 50th birthday, Frida was asked to perform "Dancing Queen
Dancing Queen
"Dancing Queen" is a pop song recorded by Swedish pop group ABBA. It was released in August 1976, but was first performed two months earlier, on 18 June 1976, during a Royal Variety Show in Stockholm the evening before the Swedish royal wedding. It was the follow-up single to the hit "Fernando"...
" on stage, as performed by ABBA when the king and queen got married. Frida contacted The Real Group
The Real Group
The Real Group is a professional a cappella group from Sweden, consisting of five members: Emma Nilsdotter, Katarina Henryson, Anders Edenroth, Morten Vinther Sørensen, and Anders Jalkéus....
and together they performed the song (lip-synching, not live as previously stated) at the Stockholm Opera House in front of the king and queen. The Swedish prime minister at the time, Ingvar Carlsson, also present that night, said it was an ingenious step to do "Dancing Queen" a cappella. This performance was filmed by Swedish TV and can be seen in Frida - The DVD
Frida - The DVD
See also: Frida 1967–1972, Frida ensam, Something's Going On, Shine and Djupa andetag.Frida – The DVD is a 3½ hour documentary DVD, that covers the singing career of Anni-Frid Lyngstad, also known as Frida, one of the four members of Swedish pop group ABBA...
.
In 1996, Lyngstad recorded her Swedish language album Djupa andetag
Djupa andetag
Djupa andetag is an album by Frida , released in 1996. Recorded in the Polar Music Studio, Stockholm. Lyrics are in Swedish. The album went to #1 in Sweden. Lead single from the album was "Även En Blomma" . "Djupa Andetag" is included in the Frida Box Set...
(Deep Breaths). It was a long-awaited album as 12 years had passed since Shine
Shine (Frida album)
Shine is the name of Anni-Frid Lyngstad's second post-ABBA solo album. It was first released in September 1984 and has since been re-released several times, mainly in the digitally remastered form in 2005 with bonus tracks. Shine is included in The Frida Boxset.The promotion videos and clips from...
was released. The album attracted overall positive reviews and was a big success in Sweden where it became #1 on the album chart. Frida did many TV appearances in Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland to promote the album. Djupa andetag was one of the very first Swedish albums to be released as a combined audio–video CD-ROM
CD-ROM
A CD-ROM is a pre-pressed compact disc that contains data accessible to, but not writable by, a computer for data storage and music playback. The 1985 “Yellow Book” standard developed by Sony and Philips adapted the format to hold any form of binary data....
, including interviews with Lyngstad, footage from the making of the album, as well as promotional videos. Despite the fact that Djupa andetag was officially only released in Scandinavia and the songs were entirely sung in Swedish, a remix album of the single tracks "Även En Blomma", "Alla Mina Bästa År" (a duet with Roxette
Roxette
Roxette are a Swedish pop music duo, consisting of Marie Fredriksson and Per Gessle . Formed in 1986, the duo became an international act from the late 1980s, when they released their breakthrough album Look Sharp!...
's Marie Fredriksson
Marie Fredriksson
is a Swedish pop singer-songwriter and pianist, best known for forming one half of the pop duo Roxette, which she created together with Per Gessle in 1986...
) and "Ögonen" was released in Germany in 1998, entitled Frida - The Mixes
Frida - The Mixes
Frida – The Mixes is a German compilation album, released in 1998 containing remixes of tracks by Anni-Frid Lyngstad from her 1996 album Djupa andetag...
. A one-hour documentary about the making of this album, both in the studio and from Frida's home in Mallorca, Spain, can be seen in Frida - The DVD
Frida - The DVD
See also: Frida 1967–1972, Frida ensam, Something's Going On, Shine and Djupa andetag.Frida – The DVD is a 3½ hour documentary DVD, that covers the singing career of Anni-Frid Lyngstad, also known as Frida, one of the four members of Swedish pop group ABBA...
. A follow-up album with producer Anders Glenmark
Anders Glenmark
Anders Glenmark is a Swedish pop and rock singer, as well as one of Sweden's most successful music producers and song writers. He is the brother of singer Karin Glenmark and nephew of band leader Bruno Glenmark. Among the artists he's written and produced for are Eva Dahlgren, Orup, Ted Gärdestad...
was reportedly in the works, but was shelved due to the death of Frida's daughter in 1998.
Several one-off recordings followed, including a 2002 duet with opera singer Filippa Giordano
Filippa Giordano
Filippa Giordano is an Italian crossover singer.-Biography:Filippa was born in Palermo and she is the youngest of a whole generation of musicians. At the age of nine, she started ballet at the National Academy of Rome...
of the "Barcarolle
Barcarolle
A barcarole is a folk song sung by Venetian gondoliers, or a piece of music composed in that style...
" from Jacques Offenbach
Jacques Offenbach
Jacques Offenbach was a Prussian-born French composer, cellist and impresario. He is remembered for his nearly 100 operettas of the 1850s–1870s and his uncompleted opera The Tales of Hoffmann. He was a powerful influence on later composers of the operetta genre, particularly Johann Strauss, Jr....
's Les contes d'Hoffman as well as the song "The Sun Will Shine Again", written especially for Lyngstad by former Deep Purple
Deep Purple
Deep Purple are an English rock band formed in Hertford in 1968. Along with Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, they are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal and modern hard rock, although some band members believe that their music cannot be categorised as belonging to any one genre...
member Jon Lord
Jon Lord
Jonathan Douglas "Jon" Lord is an English composer, pianist and Hammond organ player.Jon Lord, also known as 'Hammond Lord', is a classically trained piano player. He is recognised for his Hammond organ blues-rock sound and for his pioneering work in fusing rock and classical or baroque forms...
, and recorded in 2004. Neither of these were however released as singles: "Barcarolle" is only available on the Japanese edition of Giordano's album Rosso Amore, and "The Sun Will Shine Again" can be found on Jon Lord's album Beyond The Notes (although a limited-promotional single had been made available). Lord and Lyngstad made several TV appearances in Germany performing the song, on shows like The Sunday Night Classics and The Golden Henne Gala. Lyngstad also joined Lord on stage singing the song during his European autumn tour in 2004. During this tour, she also performed "In The Deep Midwinter". A performance of which can be found on YouTube, although it appears not to have been released as a finished track.
For the 2004 semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest
Eurovision Song Contest
The Eurovision Song Contest is an annual competition held among active member countries of the European Broadcasting Union .Each member country submits a song to be performed on live television and then casts votes for the other countries' songs to determine the most popular song in the competition...
, staged in Istanbul thirty years after ABBA
ABBA
ABBA was a Swedish pop group formed in Stockholm in 1970 which consisted of Anni-Frid Lyngstad, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson and Agnetha Fältskog...
had won the contest in Brighton, Lyngstad appeared in a special comedy video made for the interval act, entitled Our Last Video. Each of the four members of the group appeared briefly in cameo roles, as did, amongst others, Cher
Cher
Cher is an American recording artist, television personality, actress, director, record producer and philanthropist. Referred to as the Goddess of Pop, she has won an Academy Award, a Grammy Award, an Emmy Award, three Golden Globes and a Cannes Film Festival Award among others for her work in...
and British comedian Rik Mayall
Rik Mayall
Richard Michael "Rik" Mayall is an English comedian, writer, and actor. He is known for his comedy partnership with Ade Edmondson, his over-the-top, energetic portrayal of characters, and as a pioneer of alternative comedy in the early 1980s...
. The video was not included in the official DVD release of the Eurovision Contest, but was issued as a separate DVD release on the Universal Music label. It was billed as the first time the four had worked together since the group split in 1982 – a partial truth. In fact, they each filmed their appearances separately. Also in 2004, Lyngstad appeared with former band mates Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus at London's fifth anniversary performance of Mamma Mia!
Mamma Mia!
Mamma Mia! is a stage musical written by British playwright Catherine Johnson, based on the songs of ABBA, composed by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus, former members of the band. Although the title of the musical is taken from the group's 1975 chart-topper "Mamma Mia", the plot is fictional, not...
, the musical based on ABBA songs. In 2005, she joined all three of her former ABBA colleagues at the Swedish premiere of Mamma Mia! at the arena Cirkus in Stockholm.
On 15 November 2005, to celebrate Lyngstad's 60th birthday, Universal Records
Universal Records
Universal Records was a record label owned by Universal Music Group, and it is now owned by Manny Patino and Michael Jackson, and operated as part of the Universal Motown Republic Group.-History:...
released the box set Frida, consisting of all the solo albums she recorded for Polar Music
Polar Music
Polar Music is a Swedish record company founded in 1963 by Stig Anderson and his friend Bengt Bernhag. The first act that it signed was the Hootenanny Singers featuring Björn Ulvaeus. Polar eventually gained prosperity producing Ulvæus' next group, international superstars ABBA...
, all digitally remastered and including a set of bonus tracks. Also included is Frida - The DVD
Frida - The DVD
See also: Frida 1967–1972, Frida ensam, Something's Going On, Shine and Djupa andetag.Frida – The DVD is a 3½ hour documentary DVD, that covers the singing career of Anni-Frid Lyngstad, also known as Frida, one of the four members of Swedish pop group ABBA...
. On this 3½ hour DVD Lyngstad talks about her entire career in the music business. Filmed in the Swiss Alps, she talks about her singing technique and about her career both before and after Abba and explains how songs were performed and recorded. In collaboration with Swedish TV, SVT
Sveriges Television
Sveriges Television AB , Sweden's Television, is a national television broadcaster based in Sweden, funded by a compulsory fee to be paid by all television owners...
, the DVD includes many rare TV clips from her early performances, like her first TV performance with "En Ledig Dag", ("A Day Off"). Also included are TV-documentaries about the making and recordings of Something's Going On
Something's Going On
Something's Going On was the first solo-album in English for ABBA singer Anni-Frid Lyngstad . Her previous albums had all been recorded in Swedish...
and Djupa andetag
Djupa andetag
Djupa andetag is an album by Frida , released in 1996. Recorded in the Polar Music Studio, Stockholm. Lyrics are in Swedish. The album went to #1 in Sweden. Lead single from the album was "Även En Blomma" . "Djupa Andetag" is included in the Frida Box Set...
(Deep Breaths).
In September 2010, a new album by musician Georg Wadenius
Georg Wadenius
Georg "Jojje" Wadenius, born May 4, 1945, in Stockholm, Sweden, is a guitarist, bassist, singer and composer who made a name for himself during the 1970s and 80s as a studio and session guitarist/bassist, as well as releasing a popular series of albums of children's songs in Sweden.After appearing...
titled "Reconnection" was released. Frida and George had discussed working together for many years, as they had long been good friends. The album opens with her rendition of the traditional tune Morning Has Broken
Morning Has Broken
"Morning Has Broken" is a popular and well-known Christian hymn first published in 1931. It has words by English author Eleanor Farjeon and is set to a traditional Gaelic tune known as "Bunessan" . It is often sung in children's services...
popularized by Cat Stevens
Cat Stevens
Yusuf Islam , commonly known by his former stage name Cat Stevens, is an English singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, educator, philanthropist, and prominent convert to Islam....
. This song by Cat Stevens, is a favourite for Frida and the song was also on the playlist in the church for Frida and Prince Ruzzo's wedding on August 26, 1992.
On 16 February 2011 BBC Radio 4 broadcast a 45 minute play featuring Frida and the play's writer, longterm fan and performer Christopher Green. The play, Like An Angel Passing Through My Room, was billed as 'a story about love. The unconditional love of a devoted fan...about a real and an imagined intimacy.' It was a project several years in the making; what started as an upbeat reflection on fame and the notion of being a fan, developed into a meditation on the communication between two people and coping with the blows life deals. In an interview with Frida she and Green talked about her long recovery from the death of her husband in 1999. The play is deeply personal and reflective but with a firmly comic sensibility.
Personal life
On 3 April 1963, at age 17, Frida married salesman and fellow musician Ragnar Fredriksson. They had two children: Hans Ragnar (born 26 January 1963) and Ann Lise-Lotte (25 February 1967 - 13 January 1998). They separated early in 1969 and were officially divorced on 19 May 1970. On the very same day, Lyngstad's grandmother, Arntine, died, aged 71.In February 1969, Lyngstad met Benny Andersson
Benny Andersson
Göran Bror "Benny" Andersson is a Swedish musician, composer, a former member of the Swedish musical group ABBA , and co-composer of the musicals Chess, Kristina från Duvemåla, and Mamma Mia!...
, and the couple were engaged in August. By 1971 they were living together, but did not marry until 6 October 1978, during the height of ABBA's success. However, after only three years of marriage, they separated in February 1981 and were divorced in November of the same year. In 1982, Lyngstad left Sweden and moved to London. In 1986, she relocated to Switzerland. In 1988, Lyngstad became a grandmother when her daughter, Ann Lise-Lotte, gave birth to a son named Jonathan.
On 26 August 1992, Lyngstad married a German nobleman who was five years her junior - the late architect Prince Heinrich Ruzzo Reuss of Plauen (24 May 1950 – 29 October 1999). By this marriage, she has two stepdaughters, the twins Princess Henriette Reuss and Princess Pauline Reuss (both born 2 June 1977, Oslo, Norway). The prince died of lymphoma
Lymphoma
Lymphoma is a cancer in the lymphatic cells of the immune system. Typically, lymphomas present as a solid tumor of lymphoid cells. Treatment might involve chemotherapy and in some cases radiotherapy and/or bone marrow transplantation, and can be curable depending on the histology, type, and stage...
in 1999; a year earlier, on 13 January 1998, Lyngstad's daughter, Ann Lise-Lotte Casper (born Fredriksson), died of injuries sustained in a car accident in Livonia, Michigan
Livonia, Michigan
Livonia is a city in the northwest part of Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. Livonia is a very large suburb with an array of traditional neighborhoods connected to the metropolitan area by freeways. The population was 96,942 at the 2010 census, making it Michigan's 9th largest...
- a western suburb of Detroit - in the United States of America. Through Lyngstad's marriage to Heinrich Ruzzo, who was a student at the same boarding school
Boarding school
A boarding school is a school where some or all pupils study and live during the school year with their fellow students and possibly teachers and/or administrators. The word 'boarding' is used in the sense of "bed and board," i.e., lodging and meals...
as the reigning King of Sweden, she became acquainted with the Swedish royal family
Swedish Royal Family
The Swedish Royal Family since 1818 consists of a number of persons in the Swedish Royal House of Bernadotte, closely related to the King of Sweden. They are entitled to royal titles and style , and some perform official engagements and ceremonial duties of state...
and eventually became close friends with Sweden's Queen Silvia.
Today, Lyngstad still engages in charity work - environmental protection in particular. In 2005, she stated in an interview that she had no interest in ever returning to a music career. She currently lives in Zermatt
Zermatt
Zermatt is a municipality in the district of Visp in the German-speaking section of the canton of Valais in Switzerland. It has a population of about 5,800 inhabitants....
, Switzerland.
Style, titles and names
- Ms. Anni-Frid Synni Lyngstad (1945–1963, 1970–1978, 1981–1992)
- Mrs. Anni-Frid Synni Fredriksson (1963–1970)
- Mrs. Anni-Frid Synni Andersson (1978–1981)
- Her Serene Highness Princess Anni-Frid Synni Reuss, Countess of PlauenPlauenPlauen is a town in the Free State of Saxony, east-central Germany.It is the capital of the Vogtlandkreis. The town is situated near the border of Bavaria and the Czech Republic.Plauen's slogan is Plauen - echt Spitze.-History:...
(1992–present)
Awards and recognition
In 1982, Lyngstad won the Swedish music prize RockbjörnenRockbjörnen
Rockbjörnen is a Swedish popular music award established by the Stockholm evening newspaper Aftonbladet in 1979. The award, which is awarded annually, is divided into several categories and is mostly concentrated around the genres Pop and Rock. The first award was however given to the Swedish...
for the Best Female Artist.
Frida was the subject of a BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
project, Like An Angel Passing Through My Room, broadcast on 16 February 2011. Written by and featuring the writer and performer Chris Green
Chris Green (writer/performer)
Christopher Green is a writer and performer whose work covers comedy, cabaret, theatre and live art. Green was born in Matlock, Derbyshire, grew up in Darley Dale and lives and works in London, England.-Background:...
, it tells the story of his lifelong admiration for the singer, and how they met in 2006. It features a rare audio interview with Frida talking frankly and openly about her life and work.
On 15 March 2010, Frida appeared onstage in New York with former husband Benny Andersson to accept ABBA's award of induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. During her acceptance speech she recognized that the success of the band had begun with their personal partnerships. She also recognized her grandson, Jonathan, then 21, a guitarist for the Rochester NY-based heavy metal band The Dream Anatomy.
Studio albums
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | Certifications | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
BEL Ultratop Ultratop is an organization which generates and publishes the official record charts in Belgium, and it is also the name of most of those charts... |
FIN | NL MegaCharts MegaCharts is responsible for the composition and exploitation of a broad collection of official charts in the Netherlands, of which the Mega Top 50 and the Mega Album Top 100 are the most known ones. Mega Charts also provides information to the Stichting Nederlandse Top 40, of which the Dutch Top... |
NOR VG-lista VG-listen is a Norwegian record chart. It is weekly presented in the newspaper VG and the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation program Topp 20. It is considered the primary Norwegian record chart, charting albums and singles from countries and continent around the world. The data is collected by... |
SWE Sverigetopplistan Sverigetopplistan, earlier known as Topplistan and Hitlistan and other names, is since October 2007 the Swedish national record chart, based on sales data from Swedish Recording Industry Association .... |
SWI Swiss Music Charts The Swiss Music Charts are Switzerland's main music sales charts. The charts are a record of the highest-selling singles and albums in various genres in Switzerland.The Swiss Charts include:* Singles Top 75... |
UK UK Albums Chart The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart... |
|||
| Frida Frida (album) Frida is the 1971 debut album by Anni-Frid Lyngstad, consisting of Lyngstad's very personal and "jazzy" cover versions of English or American songs. By the time of the album's release Lyngstad had been signed to EMI/Columbia for four years... |
|
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| Frida ensam Frida ensam Frida ensam is a solo album by ABBA singer Anni-Frid Lyngstad. The album was produced by her fiancé, ABBA member Benny Andersson and was first released by Polar Music in 1975. It has since been re-released several times, most significantly in remastered form in 2005 with bonus tracks... |
Polar Music Polar Music is a Swedish record company founded in 1963 by Stig Anderson and his friend Bengt Bernhag. The first act that it signed was the Hootenanny Singers featuring Björn Ulvaeus. Polar eventually gained prosperity producing Ulvæus' next group, international superstars ABBA... |
— | — | — | — | — | 1 | — | — |
Swedish Recording Industry Association Grammofonleverantörernas förening , or the Swedish Recording Industry Association in English, is an organization representing the music recording industry of Sweden... : Platinum |
| Something's Going On Something's Going On Something's Going On was the first solo-album in English for ABBA singer Anni-Frid Lyngstad . Her previous albums had all been recorded in Swedish... |
Compact Cassette The Compact Cassette, often referred to as audio cassette, cassette tape, cassette, or simply tape, is a magnetic tape sound recording format. It was designed originally for dictation, but improvements in fidelity led the Compact Cassette to supplant the Stereo 8-track cartridge and reel-to-reel... , CD Compact Disc The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,... |
41 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 18 |
|
| Shine Shine (Frida album) Shine is the name of Anni-Frid Lyngstad's second post-ABBA solo album. It was first released in September 1984 and has since been re-released several times, mainly in the digitally remastered form in 2005 with bonus tracks. Shine is included in The Frida Boxset.The promotion videos and clips from... |
|
— | 10 | — | 19 | 10 | 6 | 29 | 67 | |
| Djupa andetag Djupa andetag Djupa andetag is an album by Frida , released in 1996. Recorded in the Polar Music Studio, Stockholm. Lyrics are in Swedish. The album went to #1 in Sweden. Lead single from the album was "Även En Blomma" . "Djupa Andetag" is included in the Frida Box Set... |
|
— | — | 32 | — | 17 | 1 | — | — |
|
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released. | ||||||||||
Compilation albums
| Title | Album details |
|---|---|
| Anni-Frid Lyngstad Anni-Frid Lyngstad (album) Anni-Frid Lyngstad was a compilation album released by EMI in 1972, after Lyngstad had had her first Svensktoppen number one, "Min Egen Stad", a Swedish language version of the Hep Stars track "It's Nice To Be Back Again"... |
|
| På egen hand På egen hand På Egen Hand is a compilation released in Sweden in 1991 by Anni-Frid Lyngstad, released on CD only.- Track listing :*Du Är Så Underbart Rar - 1967*Din - 1967*Tre Kvart Från Nu - 1971*Lycka - 1971*Min Egen Stad - 1971*Så Synd Du Måste Gå - 1969... |
|
| Tre kvart från nu Tre kvart från nu Tre kvart från nu was another compilation album released in Sweden in 1993 by Anni-Frid Lyngstad. Included is her first single for EMI, "En Ledig Dag" .-Track listing:#Tre kvart från nu - 1971#En ledig dag - 1967... |
|
| Frida 1967–1972 |
|
| Frida – The Mixes (remix album) |
|
| Frida (box set) |
DVD A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions.... |
English singles
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
AUS ARIA Charts The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June... |
BEL Ultratop Ultratop is an organization which generates and publishes the official record charts in Belgium, and it is also the name of most of those charts... |
CAN Canadian Hot 100 The Canadian Hot 100 is a music singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine which ranks songs in Canada. The chart debuted in the Billboard issue dated June 16, 2007 and was made available for the first time via their online services on June 7, 2007... |
FRA Syndicat National de l'Edition Phonographique The Syndicat national de l'édition phonographique is the inter-professional organization which protects the interests of the French record industry... |
GER | NL MegaCharts MegaCharts is responsible for the composition and exploitation of a broad collection of official charts in the Netherlands, of which the Mega Top 50 and the Mega Album Top 100 are the most known ones. Mega Charts also provides information to the Stichting Nederlandse Top 40, of which the Dutch Top... |
NOR VG-lista VG-listen is a Norwegian record chart. It is weekly presented in the newspaper VG and the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation program Topp 20. It is considered the primary Norwegian record chart, charting albums and singles from countries and continent around the world. The data is collected by... |
SWE Sverigetopplistan Sverigetopplistan, earlier known as Topplistan and Hitlistan and other names, is since October 2007 the Swedish national record chart, based on sales data from Swedish Recording Industry Association .... |
UK UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
||||
| "I Know There's Something Going On I Know There's Something Going On "I Know There's Something Going On" is a song recorded in 1982 by ABBA singer Anni-Frid Lyngstad . It was the lead single from her solo album Something's Going On. The song was a huge hit around the world during 1982 and 1983.-Song history:... " |
1982 | 13 | 5 | 1 | 11 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 43 |
|
Something's Going On |
| "To Turn the Stone" | — | — | 8 | — | — | 52 | 6 | — | — | — | |||
| "Here We'll Stay" | 1983 | 102 | — | — | — | — | — | 34 | — | — | — | ||
| "Belle" (with Daniel Balavoine Daniel Balavoine Daniel Balavoine was a French singer and songwriter. He was hugely popular in the French-speaking world, and inspired many singers in the 1980s, such as Jean-Jacques Goldman, and Michel Berger, his closest friend... ) [A] |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Abbacadabra Abbacadabra Abbacadabra is the name of a French children's musical based on songs from the pop group ABBA, originally produced for French television in 1983 by Alain and Daniel Boublil, but which was later also transferred to an English stage version and two other television programs.-French television... |
||
| "Time" (with B.A. Robertson) [B] | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 45 | |||
| "Shine" | 1984 | — | — | 7 | — | — | 51 | 19 | — | 6 | — | Shine | |
| "Twist in the Dark" [A] | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Heart of the Country" [B] | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Come to Me (I Am Woman)" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released. | |||||||||||||
- A^ Released only in FranceFranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
.
- B^ Released only in United KingdomUnited KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
.
Swedish singles
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| SWE Sverigetopplistan Sverigetopplistan, earlier known as Topplistan and Hitlistan and other names, is since October 2007 the Swedish national record chart, based on sales data from Swedish Recording Industry Association .... |
|||
| "En ledig dag" | 1967 | — | non-album song |
| "Din" | — | ||
| "Simsalabim" | 1968 | — | |
| "Mycket kär" | — | ||
| "Härlig är vår jord" | 1969 | 8 | |
| "Så synd du måste gå" | — | ||
| "Peter Pan" | — | ||
| "Där du går lämnar kärleken spår" | 1970 | 8 | |
| "En liten sång om kärlek" | 1971 | — | Frida |
| "En kväll om sommarn" (with Lasse Berghagen Lasse Berghagen Lars "Lasse" Nils Berghagen is a Swedish singer, songwriter, composer and actor.Berghagen is a well known singer-songwriter in Sweden. He released his first record in 1965, aged just 19. Four years later, in 1969, he released the single Teddybjörnen Fredriksson , which has become a classic... ) |
8 | non-album song | |
| "Min egen stad" | 1 | ||
| "Vi är alla barn i början" | 1972 | — | |
| "Vad gör jag med min kärlek" | — | Frida | |
| "Man vill ju leva lite dessemellan" | 1 | non-album song | |
| "Fernando Fernando (song) "Fernando" is a song by the Swedish pop group ABBA. It was the group's first non-album single and was released in November 1975 through Polar Music. Lead vocals were sung by Anni-Frid Lyngstad... " |
1975 | — | Frida ensam |
| "Även en blomma" | 1996 | 11 | Djupa andetag |
| "Ögonen" | 24 | ||
| "Alla mina bästa år" (with Marie Fredriksson Marie Fredriksson is a Swedish pop singer-songwriter and pianist, best known for forming one half of the pop duo Roxette, which she created together with Per Gessle in 1986... ) |
1997 | 54 | |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released. | |||
Guest singles
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| SWE Sverigetopplistan Sverigetopplistan, earlier known as Topplistan and Hitlistan and other names, is since October 2007 the Swedish national record chart, based on sales data from Swedish Recording Industry Association .... |
|||
| "Så länge vi har varann Så länge vi har varann "Så länge vi har varann" is a single released by Swedish band Ratata and Frida in 1987. It spent 21 weeks in the top ten of the Svensktoppen chart, reaching a highest position of number two on 7 June 1987. An English version, "As Long as I Have You", was also released.... " (with Ratata) |
1987 | 5 | Mellan dröm och verklighet |
| "Änglamark" (in Artister för miljö) | 1991 | — | Charity single |
| "Lieber Gott" (with Dan Daniel) | 2003 | — | |
| "The Sun Will Shine Again" (with Jon Lord Jon Lord Jonathan Douglas "Jon" Lord is an English composer, pianist and Hammond organ player.Jon Lord, also known as 'Hammond Lord', is a classically trained piano player. He is recognised for his Hammond organ blues-rock sound and for his pioneering work in fusing rock and classical or baroque forms... )(promotional single) |
2004 | — | Beyond the Notes Beyond the Notes Beyond The Notes is a studio album by former Deep Purple keyboard player Jon Lord, released in 2004. It features guest appearances from Frida Lyngstad, Sam Brown , Miller Anderson, Thys van Leer, Pete York, and Trondheim Soloists.-Track listing:... |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released. | |||
Videos
| Title | Video details |
|---|---|
| Frida - The DVD Frida - The DVD See also: Frida 1967–1972, Frida ensam, Something's Going On, Shine and Djupa andetag.Frida – The DVD is a 3½ hour documentary DVD, that covers the singing career of Anni-Frid Lyngstad, also known as Frida, one of the four members of Swedish pop group ABBA... |
|
Other sources
- Carl Magnus Palm: Bright Lights - Dark Shadows, Omnibus Press UK 2001, ISBN 0-7119-8389-5
- Carl Magnus Palm: ABBA - The Complete Recording Sessions, Century 22 Limited UK, 1994. ISBN 0-907938-10-8