By Jem Aswad'Of course we competed, but to good effect,' singer Anni-Frid Lyngstad says.
Swedish pop group ABBA, have denied longstanding rumors that they are enemies, according to The Associated Press.
In a rare joint interview published Friday (January 23), Agnetha Faltskog, 58, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad, 63, set the record straight.
"A lot has been written about how Agnetha and I fought and quarreled with each other. There is absolutely no truth in that," Lyngstad was quoted as saying by Swedish tabloid Aftonbladet, according to the AP. "Of course we competed, but to good effect."
"No, we didn't fight. But we have to live [through] a whole lot of such misinterpretations," Faltskog said.
Lyngstad and Faltskog formed ABBA in 1970 together with male members — and their now-ex-husbands — Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus. The women's versatile, soaring voices lofted Andersson's nimble melodies to create some of the most memorable pop singles of the 1970s, including "Waterloo," "Dancing Queen," "Mamma Mia," "Money, Money, Money." The group has sold an estimated 370 million records and have long dismissed lucrative offers for them to re-form.
"Mamma Mia!," the musical and film based on their music, has been a long-running hit. (Dominic Cooper, who stars in the film, recently told us that a sequel is not in the works.)
Abba split in 1982 after the inter-group marriages (Lynstad to Andersson, Faltskog to Ulvaeus) dissolved in divorce.
The two women came together Thursday to accept Aftonbladet's lifetime achievement award.
The four former group members are rarely seen together in public but reunited in 2008 for the Swedish premiere of the "Mamma Mia!" film.
