Benny Andersson
16th December 1946
Show History:
Current Role
Benny Andersson shot to fame with hit Swedish band ABBA and went on to work with former bandmate Björn Ulvaeus on Mamma Mia! The Musical, one of the most successful jukebox musicals ever written.Early Life
Andersson was born in 1946 on the outskirts of Stockholm, Sweden to a very musical family. A talented and passionate musician he formed a band called The Hep Stars, who became popular throughout Sweden.Career Highlights
ABBA's international fame was achieved through winning the Eurovision Song Contest with the song Waterloo. The group were competing for Sweden and were hailed as national heroes.Andersson's most recent success is no doubt the popularity of Mamma Mia! The Musical. The smash-hit show is based around 24 ABBA songs which were written by Andersson and Ulvaeus, the musical has become a raging success.
Interesting Facts
- Benny Andersson has a reputation for picking up almost any instrument and playing it with ease.
- ABBA won the Eurovision song contest with the song Waterloo co-written by Benny Andersson
- The name ABBA is comprised of the first letter from each of the members names (Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad)
Awards
- Touring Broadway Award for the musical Mama Mia (best score)
- Four Swedish Grammis awards
- Special International Ivor Novello award from The British Academy of Composers and Songwriters
- The Music Export Prize twice from the Swedish Ministry of Industry and Trade
- Lifetime achievement award from the Swedish Music Publishers Association
- Benny received the title Professor in 2002, this was given by the Swedish government
- Elected as a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Music(2007)
- Honorary Doctorate from the Stockholm University Faculty of Humanities
