Benny’s Road To ABBA
Carl Magnus Palm
From teen idol to ABBA superstar
In the 1970s, Benny Andersson reached worldwide fame as the geniun songwriter and keyboard player in ABBA, one of the all-time classic pop acts. However, his first taste of stardom came a decade earlier, when he was a member of The Hep Stars – Sweden’s biggest pop band of the 1960s. In a marked contrast to ABBA’s studio-based career, The Hep Stars swept through the country like a tidal wave, scoring hit after hit and playing hundreds of gigs each year in front of hoards of screaming teenagers.Benny’s Road To ABBA tells the amazing story of Benny’s life, from his first discovery of music as a young child, throught he whirlwind Hep Stars years, and up until the very first ABBA recording. Author Carl Magnus Palm describes how a fresh-faced teenager became one of Sweden’s most celbrated pop stars, the life-changing discovery of his songwriting talent, the chaotic Hep Stars tours, and the inevitable crash after mismanagement of the group’s finances. Along the way, Benny met up with Björn Ulvaeus, forging a partnership that continues to this day – the book vividly relates the events that led up to the formation of ABBA.
Benny’s story is told by the superstar himself, in an interview made especially for this project, and by eyewitnesses such as his fellow Hep Stars members and the group’s many associates. Benny’s Road To ABBA is richly illustrated with photographs from those early years, many of which are previously unpublished.The book comes with a detailed Hep Stars discography, telling the story behind each and every song the group recorded. There is also an overview of the records released byu the duo Björn & Benny. Benny’s Road To ABBA is a highly entertaining story of the ups and downs of a 1960s pop star – an essential read for anyone who wants to discover the life’s journey of one of the most successful songwriters and performers of the rock and pop era.
First published Sweden June 2004.
