Former Abba songwriters release new tracks
Benny Andersson, Bjorn Ulvaeus collaborating more than 15 years after Abba fame
Last Updated: Friday, May 8, 2009 | 5:55 PM ET
CBC News
Bjorn Ulvaeus, left, and Benny Andersson are seen at a screening of the movie Mamma Mia at the American Film Festival in Deauville, France, last September. (Michel Spingler/Associated Press)Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus, the writing talent behind the 1970s supergroup Abba, are a pop partnership again — producing the first new tracks they've written together in more than 15 years.
Second Best to None, which has been released as a single in Sweden, was written for the staff at the Hotel Rival, the Stockholm hotel that Andersson owns. It is performed by the hotel staff, many of whom sing in amateur choirs in Stockholm.
Story of a Heart will be released as the title track of an upcoming album by the Benny Andersson Band, which features songs inspired by Swedish folk music. Ulvaeus wrote the song's Swedish lyrics and translated them into English for the album's release in Britain on July 6. Helen Sjoholm, one of the group's vocalists, sings the song.
"It's a nice prospect to be able to release music I've been doing for the last 10 years, which is folk-oriented," Andersson told BBC News.
Andersson and Ulvaeus's first names represent the two Bs in the middle of ABBA. They formed the group with Agnetha Faltskog and Anni-Frid Lyngstad, whose first names represent the two As.
Abba sold more than 370 million records worldwide. Famous for hits such as Waterloo and Dancing Queen, the group's music has enjoyed a resurgence in popularity thanks to the hit movie Mamma Mia last year.
Share Tools
FILM REVIEW: Men in Black 3 by Eli Glasner May. 25, 2012 11:30 AM Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones are back in the action sequel Men in Black 3, a third instalment of a series now 15 years old. Though new addition Josh Brolin manages some amazing mimicry as a younger version of Jones, the story doesn't measure up to the weird and wonderful charms of the original, says film reviewer Eli Glasner.
Top News Headlines
- Quebec students to challenge Bill 78 in court
- A collective of student associations, unions and environmental groups is holding a news conference Friday morning to announce their plans to mount a legal challenge against Bill 78. more »
- Teens share bullying tales in confession booth
- Raw stories about bullying emerged when a video booth was set up inside a Quebec high school. more »
- Reclaiming the dead on Mt. Everest

- The difficulty, danger and expense of removing the bodies of climbers who died in Mount Everest's "death zone" mean most of the dead remain on the mountain as a stark reminder to other climbers of the risks. more »
- Foreign investment review threshold rising to $1 billion
- The federal government is raising to $1 billion the amount of foreign money that can go into a Canadian company before the investment is reviewed. more »
Latest Arts & Entertainment News Headlines
- Shakespeare's Winter's Tale gets African reboot
- A Nigerian theatre company is performing an African reboot of The Winter's Tale, one of the lesser known tragicomedies written by the Bard, in London as part of the London Cultural Olympiad. more »
- Elton John cancels Las Vegas concerts over illness
- Elton John is suffering from a serious respiratory infection and has cancelled three Las Vegas performances on doctors' orders. more »
- Double-lung recipient dances on Ellen show
- Organ donation advocate Hèlène Campbell of Ottawa made her second appearance on the Ellen DeGeneres Show, but her first since undergoing a double-lung transplant. more »
- Vancouver Bieber fans in disbelief over tour snub
- Justin Bieber announced yesterday morning the dates of his world tour in support his latest album Believe, but fans in Vancouver were disappointed to see that their city didn't make the list. more »
Q Blog
Toni Morrison on her two selves May. 25, 2012 11:24 AM Jian speaks with the celebrated African American author and academic about her two conflicting selves, and her new novel, Home.
CBC Books
Talking about war May. 25, 2012 11:29 AM The public conversation around war has always been complex and thorny. How does Canada's military approach differ from that of other countries? Are we a society of peacekeepers or warriors? These are some of the questions that Noah Richler explores in his new book What We Talk About When We Talk About War.
- Reclaiming the dead on Mt. Everest
- New mom among dead in Aylmer triple stabbing
- Workers' EI history to affect claim under new rules
- Employment Insurance review boards to be scrapped
- Conservatives move again to have robocalls suits tossed
- Teens share bullying tales in confession booth
- Gatineau police to question man in multiple homicides
- Quebec faces mounting pressure amid student crisis
- SpaceX capsule captured by Canadarm2


