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Benny:
Benny is the only musically active of the four today. Benny released a few solo albums after ABBA, but now concentrates mainly on his band Benny Anderssons orkester (Benny Andersson’s Orchestra), also known as BAO. They have toured Sweden with brief but successful tours.They even played in London as The Benny Andersson Band to promote the release of their first English language album “Story of a heart” in 2009
Benny's Musical story AFTER
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| BAO has released four studio albums and one Live of Benny’s compositions since the first CD in 2001 Members BAO includes some of Sweden's most experienced contemporary and folk musicians: Benny Andersson - accordion, piano, synclavier, etc. Helen Sjöholm - vocals, Tommy Körberg - vocals, guitar Göran Arnberg - pipe organ, spinet Janne Bengtson - flute, piccolo, crumhorn, baritone saxophone Pär Grebacken - saxophones, clarinet, recorder, piccolo Leif Göras - violin, cello, mandolin Nicke (Nils-Erik) Göthe - violin, mandolin Jogga (Jan-Anders) Ernlund - contrabass Calle Jakobsson - tuba, bassoon Leffe Lindvall - trumpet, cornet Kalle Moraeus - violin, zither, guitar, banjo, etc. Olle Moraeus - violin, viola, mandolin Perra (Per-Erik) Moraeus - violin, mandolin, saxophone Lars Rudolfsson - accordion Jörgen Stenberg - drums, percussion instruments
All members of the band are occupied in external capacities during the majority of the year, some in the theater orchestras in Stockholm. The brothers Moraeus, Leif Göras and Nicke Göthe play together in Orsa Spelmän. During the summers the members of BAO meet up and rehearse, and then go out on mini-tours, to which tickets are highly sought after. The concept of these tours are “A concert with dance,” so a dance floor is brought along. Tommy Körberg and Helen Sjöholm together perform the vocals for the non-instrumental songs.
Their live repertoire includes original music, Swedish folk, American evergreens and the occasional ABBA song.. |
He also appeared at the November 2007 premiere of Mamma Mia! the musical in Barcelona, Spain. On top of all this, Benny has been quite vocal in a campaign to reform European copyright laws. Film music Benny Andersson has written music to several films for screen and television; the first attempt in the early 1970s for the obscure Swedish movie The Seduction Of Inga: the film flopped, but the 'Björn & Benny' single "She's My Kind Of Girl" surprised the composers by being released in Japan and becoming a Top 10 hit (the song re-named in Japan as "The Little Girl Of The Cold Wind"). In 1987, Benny wrote music and co-produced the soundtrack with Anders Eljas for the film Mio in the Land of Faraway, based on Swedish author Astrid Lindgrens Mio, my Mio. The title song became a huge hit in Sweden for Gemini. In 2000, Benny wrote the music for Roy Andersson's film "Songs from the Second Floor "(the music later re-recorded, featuring new lyrics, with BAO! with vocals by Helen Sjöholm). He also wrote the theme for Roy Andersson's next film, "You, the Living", from 2007. In 2007 Benny also worked on the film adaptation of Mamma Mia!. Benny produced the music for the film version of the stage musical also playing piano alongside many of ABBA’s original studio musicians. He also had a small cameo part in the film during Dancing Queen!
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Carl Magnus Palm
Stockholm: Premium Publishing, 2004 ISBN 91-89136-14-4 316 pages
A detailed history of Benny's career before ABBA, written in English with a huge discography. It covers the time from Benny's childhood through the Hep Stars era up to the very first ABBA recording.
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Awards Together with Björn Ulvaeus, Benny was nominated for a Drama Desk Award in a category "Outstanding Music" (for the musical Chess), and for a Tony Award in a category "Best Orchestrations" (for musical Mamma Mia!). Original cast recordings of both musicals were nominated for a Grammy Award. Andersson/Ulvaeus also won a Touring Broadway Award for the musical "Mamma Mia" (best score). During his post-ABBA career Benny won four Swedish Grammis awards, and together with Björn received the "Special International" Ivor Novello award from 'The British Academy of Composers and Songwriters', twice "The Music Export Prize" from the Swedish Ministry of Industry and Trade (2008), as well as the "Lifetime Achievement" award from the Swedish Music Publishers Association (SMFF). |
In 2002, Benny Andersson was given an honorary professorship by the Swedish Government for his "ability to create high-class music reaching people around the world".
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| In 2007, he was elected a member of Royal Swedish Academy of Music, and in 2008 received an Honorary Doctorate from theStockholm University Faculty of Humanities for contributing importantly both to the preservation and the growth of the Swedish folk music tradition. |
2009. Introducing "Benny Andersson Band"
BAB In London BAO changed name to BAB (Benny Andersson Band) and on 4 July 2009 they gave a concert in London. The concert promoted BAB's internationl album "Story Of A Heart"
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| Benny contributed to the Swedish Royal Wedding between Princess Victoria and Daniel Westerling with a new composition "Vilar glad. I din famn". The song was performed live on June 19, 2010. |
On 15 March 2010, Benny appeared on stage in New York with former wife, and band member, Anni-Frid Lyngstad to accept ABBA's award of induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
During his acceptance speech he reflected on the important influence of traditional European music and the melancholy of the Swedish soul on ABBA's brand of pop music. "If you live in a country like Sweden, with five, six months of snow, and the sun disappears totally for like two months, that would be reflected in the work of artists," he said. "It's definitely in the Swedish folk music, you can hear it in the Russian folk songs, you can hear in in the music from Jean Sibelius or Edvard Grieg from Norway, you can see it in the eyes of Greta Garbo and you can hear it in the voice of Jussi Björling. And you can hear in in the sound of Frida and Agnetha on some of our songs too."
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Benny in 2011. |
2012 Kristina the musical Opened in Finland.
Benny's musical story continues...............
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Benny's Road To ABBA
