Benny Andersson biography

Its two greatest hits collections, both issued in 1976, were hugely successful, while singles such as "Dancing Queen" and "Take a Chance on Me" sparked a wave of popularity for the band in the United States.

Over the course of its run, the band achieved unrivaled success. Between 1975 and 1982, ABBA released 17 consecutive singles that occupied a spot in the UK Top Five. From 1975 to 1980 the group sat atop the UK album charts for 35 weeks,

the only band ever to do so. Overall, ABBA would go on to sell more than 350 million records, with a good portion of the success attributed to Andersson, who with Ulvaeus, wrote and produced all of the group's work.

Break-ups

With the onset of the 1980s, however, cracks in ABBA's foundation began to show. In 1979 Ulvaeus and Agnetha divorced; two years later Andersson and Frida followed suit, ruining the group's image of two happy couples making music together. There was interest, too, from Andersson and Ulvaeus in creating projects outside of ABBA. Finally, in 1982, the group took what its members called a temporary break.

In the years since, ABBA has still not reformed, despite heavy interest from fans. For a time, there were even reports the group had been offered $1 billion to reunite. Andersson, for one, dismissed the rumor and also squashed any hopes ABBA fans might have of seeing the band take the stage one more time.

"We all feel the same," he told Rolling Stone in 2010, after it was announced that the group would be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. "It's been too long. It's been almost 30 years. There is no reason. I can't understand the bands that reunite, because there will always be a reason, whether it be economic reasons or the fun of it ... being on the stage again. We don't have that."

That's not to suggest Andersson hasn't been making music. Since ABBA's end, he's had his hand in a number of different projects, a portion of it harkening back to his early interest in Swedish folk music. Here and there Andersson, now a grandfather five and the proud recipient of an honorary doctorate from the University of Stockholm, has worked with his old friend, Björn Ulvaeus. A good portion of Andersson's post-ABBA work, however, has revolved around his group The Benny Andersson Band, which released its most recent album, Story of a Heart, in 2009.

© 2013 A+E Networks. All rights reserved.