Will Abba ever reunite? Watch the TV-program "Agnetha" and you'll get the
answer...

Agnetha Fältskog may be a media shy individual, but you really can't say the
same about the gang who has helped her with videos for the new album "My
Colouring Book" and the TV-program "Agnetha".

-I am very satisfied with the result and with the team. I work well with gay
people, you actually don't see a difference between homo and hetero, Agnetha
Fältskog says to QX.

Agnetha's own Fab 5 consists of Lotta Bromé, interviewer, Ola Johansson,
project leader and art director, Magnus Skogsberg Tear, director (you
haven't missed his "Village People-commercial" for Billy's pizzabitar, have
you?), Magnus Flobecker, stylist, Espen Bekkebråte, producer (together with
Ulla Fluur), Tony Lundström, hair stylist, who unfortunately wasn't there
when QX met the Agnetha-gang on an early morning in May in a photo studio on
Hammarby fabriksväg. It's a merry and close gang, and maybe that's not very
strange since all of them are "family" (=gay. Claes' note).

How come Agnetha chose to work with a group of homos?

Ola: It's probably mostly because of me. When I began to book people for
this project I chose people I knew are good at what they're doing but at the
same time work well in a team. It just happened to be all homos. But the
most important thing was that they were people that Agnetha would feel
comfortable with. Agnetha also said when we had begun working that she felt
secure with the team, that they weren't people who didn't wish her well.

Magnus F: Since all of us on the team are homos, we could in a way identify
with Agnetha's vulnerability. All of us have lived as outsiders and in
periods not wanted to or been able to reveal everything about us to the
world around us. We were all keen on treating Agnetha in a respectful way.

Is the purpose of this TV-program that Agnetha won't have to give any other
interviews?

Ola: From the beginning the purpose was to make a promotional program for
the new album, but during the work on it, it's turned into a more personal
program about Agnetha. At first only her voice was to be heard, but once she
began trusting us more she agreed to be shown on camera as long as we
promised to throw away what she didn't like. She hasn't thrown out one
single frame.

Lotta: But why be upset because Agnetha doesn't give any other interviews
instead of being grateful that she's agreed to make this program?

Magnus S: But the thought has also been to give Agnetha a format that suits
her. Just because you're an actor, singer or famous for something else, it's
not obvious that you have to enjoy sitting on an interview sofa on a program
with a host whose ego is bigger than the artist’s - so that you in the end
don't know whose show it is. Personally I'm so tired of those formats even
as a part of the audience and it was an inspiring starting point for me in
the structuring of the program in the beginning. To allow Agnetha as an
artist to be the absolute center of the program.

What was your first reaction, Lotta, when you were offered to interview
Agnetha?

Lotta: I was overjoyed. Agnetha has for a long time been on my wish list, I
called her manager last fall to try to get her on Söndagsöppet. When Ola
called me and asked me, I had just watched the fake satellite interview in
"Sen kväll med Luuk", and I thought I could have done it so much better.
Agnetha has also said that she didn't recognize herself at all on there,
that it felt as if somebody else was standing there talking.

Ola: When we suggested Lotta to Agnetha, her spontaneous comment was "Lotta
is so nice". After that I called Lotta who at first got all quiet, then she
just said "cool"... The following week Magnus and I brought Lotta with us
out to Agnetha to have lunch. Lotta stayed until the evening, they really
connected.

Tell us about the filming itself.

Ola: The filming lasted for three days spread out through April. Day one we
filmed three videos in the studio, day two we filmed two videos plus a short
film with Agnetha and the actor Magnus Krepper, and day three we filmed
Lotta's interview with Agnetha. Good planning by good producers and director
made it possible for us to accomplish a lot during a short period of time,
without it being stressful in any way.

Magnus S: Agnetha is really super professional. And she also appreciates
professional people - you can tell. She has a very special relationship with
the camera and the camera loves her and I felt we really could use that. And
when it comes to lip-synch, she easily beats everyone. We could have played
Lennart Nilsson if we had wanted to! Then it means a lot to me that I
haven't had to edit or cut out anything in the program, instead she has
accepted it the way it is. That's wonderful considering we had such free
hands!

What is your first memory of Agnetha and Abba?

Magnus S: I liked Agnetha already before Abba, I walked around lipsyncing to
"Jag skulle äga miljoner om tårar var guld".

Ola: My sister had all of Abba's records, and I thought it was very dorky. I
didn't begin to like Abba until I came out as gay and moved to Stockholm.
Wherever I went, Abba was played, so I was a bit brainwashed...

Espen: My first memory of Abba is Waterloo, just like for so many others.

Lotta: I discovered Abba in 1973 when they didn't win with "Ring ring", but
instead that silly "Dina bröst är som svalor som häckar" won. In 1974 I saw
Abba live on Gröna Lund, and a few years later in Skandinavium. A great
memory! When I played Abba with my friends, I was always Björn - because it
was cool to have a guitar!

Magnus F: Of course I also liked Abba as a child, and I adored Björn's
silvery platform shoes. I asked for a pair of those for my sixth birthday,
but of course I didn't get any. I am still looking for the perfect pair of
shoes...

None of you had met Agnetha before this project - what image did you have of
her? And how did it fit wit what she's like in reality?

Ola: I didn't really have the image that the media is trying to give of her,
instead I thought, "leave her alone!".

Magnus F: Agnetha is despite everything a cautious person, she says so
herself, and I have all the respect for that.

Lotta: I didn't have an image of her since I take pains to not have
preconceived notions about people I've never met. But now that I know
Agnetha a bit, I view her as an unusually direct person, with lots of humor.
A beautiful person.

Magnus S: Agnetha has an enormous integrity and that's only cool. But she is
also surprising and unexpected with some great black (dark) humor and an
infectious laughter.

If Agnetha decides to do something more in the future - will she hire this
production team again?

Magnus S: You never know. She can say things such as "Now there won't be
anything more..." and at the same time have a mischievous gleam in her eye.

Ola: If she'll do something more, I'm quite sure she'll contact us since we
worked together so incredibly well. But we like to work together so well
that we'll work with other artists.

Have you gotten to know Agnetha so well that you will spend time with her
privately now?

(silence)

Lotta: If the answer to that question had been "yes", I still wouldn't have
answered it...

By Pär Jonasson