EXCLUSIVE ABBA icons and former couple Frida Lyngstad, 79, and Benny Andersson, 78, send fans wild as they make heartfelt speech during surprise appearance at band's Voyage show in London to celebrate third anniversary
ABBA icons Frida Lyngstad and Benny Andersson made a surprise appearance at the band's Voyage show in London on Tuesday evening.
The Swedish stars, who were married from 1978 to 1981, were showered with applause as they made impromptu speeches ahead of their avatar doppelgängers taking to the stage.
Frida, 79, stunned in a chic cream ensemble as she joined pianist Benny, 78, who opted for a snazzy printed blazer, in the balcony, former bandmates Agnetha Fältskog, 75, Björn Ulvaeus, 80, who were also previously married were not present.
Speaking to the audience she said: 'I love you very much, thank you for all your support over the years, it's hard to imagine it's nearly 50 years ago'.
Before declaring: 'I'm turning 80 this year' to wild cheers from the audience as she signed off: 'I love you thank you'.
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Taking the microphone Benny then pretended to tell a rude joke, quipping: 'Two men walk into a bar' as Frida collapsed into giggles.
Although they got together before ABBA officially formed staying together during the band's success was hard and eventually the band broke up due to divorce.
Frida and Benny first met in 1969 and were living together, before getting married in 1978 right at the heart of ABBA's international fame.
Two years later, in 1980, they broke up and divorced the following year.
An Expressen interview in 1981, Benny said: 'I don't know how other people deal with things like this.
'Frida and I are still friends and I'm still a member of ABBA. We are still good friends, but we are not married anymore.
'We discussed what was going to remain in the group in spite of all we have been through. We decided to stay together for the sake of the music.'
Frida said: 'Now that Benny and I have broken up, we are able to work much better together. Our relationship is not as intense as it was, but we are still in contact.
Speaking about their split Frida said: 'We have always been very honest about relationships and after long and hard talks we decided to go our separate ways' (pictured 1974)
Former bandmates Agnetha Fältskog (L) Björn Ulvaeus (Far left) who were also previously married were not present (ABBA pictured at the show's opening in 2022)
'We have chosen to be completely honest with each other. We have always been very honest about relationships and after long and hard talks we decided to go our separate ways.
'We simply grew out of each other. It came down to our different goals in life. We have always been honest and talked about everything. We talked and talked and finally, we agreed that a divorce would be the best solution.
'There was a lot of tears and a lot of discussions. But there was no way back. Breaking up became a necessity.'
And so it seemed the band had to break up too.
ABBA Voyage, launched in 2022, has holographic avatars of the band singing crowd favourites such as Dancing Queen and Waterloo.
And the recreation of music legends is likely to be a huge hit with fans and the economy.
The positive financial impact of the Swedish hit-makers' new venture in London has been revealed in a new report.
The four-piece band are represented as digital avatars in the popular attraction at Stratford's Queen Elizabeth Park in east London, previously home of the London 2012 Olympics.
And ABBA are evidently making 'money, money, money', to quote one of their hits, according to the new study.
ABBA's hologram showed ABBA Voyage has pumped £322million into the British economy - with more than a million tickets bought at up to £181.50 each.
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