Phil Collins’ opinion on ABBA

Alongside Michael Jackson and Paul McCartney, Phil Collins is one of the few musicians to have sold more than 100 million albums both as a member of a band and as a solo artist. He ranks among the best-selling artists of all time, alongside acts such as Swedish pop group ABBA, whose sold an estimated amount of nearly 400 million records worldwide. Throughout his career, the Genesis frontman and drummer has shared his opinion on many groups, including ABBA.

What is Phil Collins’ opinion on ABBA

Phil Collins likes ABBA’s music and even produced Anni-Frid Lyngstad’s first solo album in English. At the time, when discussing the record and Frida, Collins praised ABBA, saying they made fantastic Pop music. He was flattered that Frida had asked him to help her with the album. “I felt incredibly flattered, because ABBA simply makes fantastic pop music. And they asked me of all people…! For me, it was a valuable experience. The production, the selection of the material, the search for the musicians, monitoring the schedule and the budget. And I like her very much. She’s a very, very sweet lady. She really set the highest standards for herself,” he said in an interview with the German magazine Musik Express in 1982.

“Something’s Going On” was co-produced by Phil Collins and Hugh Padgham, with Collins playing drums and percussion and recording backing vocals. The album featured covers of songs by Rod Argent, Bryan Ferry and Russ Ballard, as well as Collins’ “You Know What I Mean”. The latter track appeared on “Face Value” (1981), the album that inspired Frida to reach out to Collins and ask him to help with her new solo record. As he recalled in his autobiography, Frida connected with his music because she had gone through a divorce from her ABBA bandmate Benny Andersson, while Collins’ album had also been influenced by his own divorce. He also recalled that he felt Björn Ulvaeus
and Benny were a bit “possessive” and stopped by the studio one day.”

Phil Collins continued:

“ABBA’s Anni-Frid Lyngstad, stunning in a huge fur coat, visits me at The Farm. She’s been going through a divorce too, from Benny Andersson. With her personal life splintering, and with ABBA’s future looking equally rocky, she wants to make a solo album. I get the impression she’s lived under the oppressive weight of the ABBA phenomenon, and of songwriters/producers Benny and Bjorn Ulvaeus, for so long that she wants to stretch and be her own woman.”

“She doesn’t reveal much of this during our meeting at The Farm, only that she has chosen me to help her realise her goal. She’s seemingly listened to ‘Face Value’ incessantly, so she believes I understand and can relate to what she’s going through. I tell her I can, and also how much I love her fur coat. Easily flattered by her enthusiasm for my work, I agree to return once more to Stockholm’s Polar Studios to produce her first ABBA-era solo album.”

He continues

“I’ve put together a crack team of musicians: Daryl on guitar, Mo Foster on bass, Peter Robinson on keyboards and The Phenix Horns from Earth, Wind & Fire. (…) Sitting together at the studio, Frida and I choose the songs. But she has certain pre-booked numbers that preclude any argument. ABBA’s management put out a worldwide call for compositions and, from the hundreds of responses, an eclectic selection has been assembled. (…) One day while recording at Polar, Benny and Bjorn come to visit. It’s a little awkward, to say the least. They’re naturally rather possessive.”

“Frida is somewhat fragile, the divorce is still reverberating, they’ve produced her all her adult career. Now, professionally speaking, she has a new man in her life. A man who’s producing, playing drums, singing with her and giving her a far rockier sound than ABBA ever had. And why is the album called Something’s Going On? No one knows at the time that ABBA won’t outlast the year, but the writing is on the wall. Maybe that’s why Stig Anderson, the band’s manager and owner of Polar Music, is such an arsehole. Once the album is finished, he invites us all to his house for dinner. When we arrive he’s completely drunk. We listen to Something’s Going On, and at the end he snorts, ‘Is that it?'”

After that, Collins recalled that Frida burst into tears. He and the entire Genesis road crew felt protective of her because they had all got along so well. However, ABBA’s manager was wrong, as the track became a hit in several countries and, as Phil said: “became a source of samples for Hip-Hop artists”.

Frida enjoyed working with Collins

The single “I Know There’s Something Going On” performed well, reaching number one in Switzerland and Belgium, ranking among the top 10 in most of Europe. It was also successful in the United States, peaking at number 13 on the Billboard Hot 100. The album itself reached number one in Sweden and peaked at number two in the Netherlands. It was less successful in the UK, where it reached number 18. In the United States, where it peaked at number 41 on the Billboard 200.

As Frida recalled, she really enjoyed working with Collins: “I had met Phil twice (before), and the others I hadn’t met at all. So I was very tense and nervous. But I felt that it was a group of very nice people. After a week, it was a really relaxed situation and nice atmosphere. I really loved to work together with those musicians. They have been so friendly and nice to me, and very good musicians.” Frida said

ABBA broke up in 1982 and wouldn’t release another album until 2021, when “Voyage” came out. That same year, they also announced ABBA Voyage, a concert experience in London featuring digital avatars of the four members performing alongside a live band. The show opened in 2022 at the purpose-built ABBA Arena in East London. Frida released only one more solo album, “Shine”, in 1984. This time, it was produced by Steve Lillywhite, but it was never released in the United States. The album performed best in Sweden, where it peaked at number six on the charts.