Gustav Sandberg, Sweden  -  Kelly Jardine, Sydney, Australia  -  Steve Jasper, Sydney, Australia  - Bhajarangi Hanuman, U.S.A.  -  Janet L Strayer, U.S.A.  -  Maria Nicholas  -  Danny  -  Bhaj  -  Kevin E., U.S.A  -  Ian Cole, Sydney, Australia  -  Gustav Sanderg, Sweden  -   Sean Dwyer, Bloomington, Indiana, U.S.A.  -  Luke Rogers, Melbourne, Australia - Bob Eber, U.S.A -   Neil Barber, Singapore

1997 will always be remembered by me with mixed emotions, I have made some very good friends, I have never had better friends than them actually...but with Stig dying it goes over the top, even more death....and 1997 will always be a sad year...

Although I am only 17 years old I have grown to respect Stikkan a great deal, he has given me most of the music I listen to...he gave us ABBA and Tina Stenberg directly, indirectly he has given us One More Time and Cecilia Vennersten, those are five of the 6 main artists I listen to...

Right now I'm filled with grief and tears are running down my cheeks, on the TV the news all show reports about Stikkan...

Stig lived a special life...his life was very special, and he gave us so much....I am very amazed when I think of what he did...

I remember in 7th or 8th grade when everyone in my class were to hold an oral speech about something in Swedish class...I wanted to talk about Stikkan, my teacher didn't...my friend Peter was already doing one on ABBA...finally she let me do it, after I had promised only to mention ABBA once in the whole speech...I thought I might have stumbled into mission: impossible because I didn't really think he had done THAT much....but then I started doing the research and read about his truly extraordinary life, however he at 16 years age wrote what has grown to be an all-time classic, Tivedshambo...and how, when he was younger, worked as much as he could, earning money...going to school several hours early to put wood in the burner, to make more money, so his family could live...I was very amazed of what he had done and very impressed...it was with a shock I received the news of his death, on the radio on my way home....

And I have never felt as thankful towards him before, wanting to thank him for everything he has given us...he gave so much...we wouldn't even have this mailing list if it wasn't for him...

I know I'm not the only one who feels very sad knowing this master of music has past away...I don't think I need to explain my grief of his death any further because most of you probably feel the same...

TV4 just showed filmclips of him whilst playing an instrumental version of Thank You For The Music, even more tears are falling now and I don't feel I can write more...

Gustav Sandberg, Täby, Sweden

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At a time like this, all I can do is thank the Lord above that he gave us a talented man named Stikkan Anderson.

He will live forever through Abba, the music, and all the other artists he helped.

When I heard about this last night, I immediately played Eagle as a tribute. Now this afternoon, I have been watching The Movie.

Rest In Peace Stig, and thankyou for what you have given us.

Kelly Jardine, Sydney, Australia

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There's been very sad news today with the death of Stig Anderson, the former manager of ABBA, at the age of 66.

Stig was a man of vision and a man of drive, and he applied those qualities with a passion with ABBA. He *believed* in ABBA long before the rest of the world, and his sheer enthusiasm ensured that they reached the top so spectacularly. It's thanks to his determination and zeal that ABBA enjoyed the success that they so richly deserved, and that we listen to their music today.

He was not only the manager for ABBA, but he was also a songwriter and collaborated with Benny & Björn in writing a lot of their early material, including Ring Ring, Waterloo, Mamma Mia, Fernando and Dancing Queen. He also wrote many other songs, and managed a number of other artists as well.

This is truly a sad day for all ABBA fans, and the world is very much the poorer for his loss.

Rest in peace, Stig Anderson.

Steve Jasper, Sydney, Australia

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His contribution to the world's music scene will be remembered for many years to come.

The gift he gave to ABBA fans, can never be re-paid.

Rest in peace, Stig.

Namste,

Bhajarangi Hanuman, USA

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I cannot believe it!! What do Frida, Benny, Agnetha and Bjorn say????

I cannot believe it!!

I was coming to write that I got an autographed picture from Frida and

here- I see this- bittersweet day- a tragedy.

goodbye Stig-----R.I.P.

Janet L Strayer, U.S.A.

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This is a major blow. This is too much, too close and too soon. For me, Stig's death is the worst thing that could have happened to ABBA (apart of course from something happening to the four, God forbid) - worse than the dissolving of the group, worse than Ted Gardestad's death (and I say that very respectfully). It's true what someone said, that without Stig there would be no ABBA. I cannot possibly imagine how they must feel right now.

Diana's death hit me much harder than I thought it would; I got up to watch the funeral, I mourned her with the rest of the world, and I thought that had been a kind of closure for me. In reality, I still can't believe she's dead. And with Mother Teresa's passing, I found myself thinking about death a lot these past few weeks . . . and to have it hit again, now, and so very close to home is almost too much to bear. Every song seems sad to me now, as I listen to the box set. My God, I think I'll never be able to listen to the music the same way again. I am filled with grief, and the tears are falling onto my keyboard as I type.

May God bless Stig and give strength to his children, Gudrun, Agnetha, Björn, Benny and FRIDA so that they may deal with this terrible loss.

Thanks for indulging me.

Maria Nicholas

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God be with you...

And as I am a lyricist and a songwriter I really looked up to his talents. He will live in me forever.

Once born, you never die...

Danny

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I will never forget Stig telling the interviewer, "It could be BABA, it could be something else... but I thought that ABBA sounded alright!" For some reason this quote burned into my brain. I even went around imitating Stig saying it. I really perfected his accent and even the musical inflections in his voice as he said it.

Years later when I first met my guru, Ma Jaya Bhagavati, she spoke with such love for her guru, the great Hindu saint, Neem Karoli Baba. BABA! I couldn't believe my ears. I thought immediately of Stig and almost laughed. Full circle, I thought. Funny how life sometimes comes full circle.

BABA in Hindi means "Father" and as we all know from watching ABBA THE MOVIE 14 billion, trillion times, ABBA means "Father" in Hebrew. And I suppose that for many of us, ABBA is both father and mother in some deep, profound way.

If ABBA had had a guru, I'm certain it would have been Stig. I will be forever grateful to Stig for the Baba-esque act of bringing ABBA forth into the world. The joy that man is responsible for he will never know. And how about the suicides he prevented by setting ABBA on the path to worldwide stardom? I'm not kidding on this one. When someone tells you ABBA's music saved their life, believe them. They're probably serious.

In the end, it was Stig who was our real friend in ABBA. It was Stig that fought for Frida's "Something's Going On" LP to have a Bjorn/Benny composition on it. Unfortunately, Phil Collins made damn sure that didn't happen so Stig lost that battle. And it was Stig that tried so desperately to keep ABBA together after "The First Ten Years." I remember Stig saying in an interview years later, "I told

them, just one more... a proper farewell to the fans..." But by this time ABBA no longer cared to make music together. Stig said in the interview, "They just threw it all away... After all we had worked so hard to accomplish... all those years... and they just threw it away..."

In more recent TV interviews, Stig looked like a tired man. Even a broken man. I've heard it said that after ABBA accused him of stealing from them, he was never quite the same. And I suppose we'll never know what really happened with all of that mess. All I know is I have a hard enough time balancing MY checkbook, let alone ABBA's!!!

I'm sure in the end, Stig stopped caring whether ABBA ever would, in fact, give us just "one more... a proper farewell to the fans..." And I have to admit, as I grow older, and like Stig, a little tired, I'm beginning not to care all that much, either.

Namaste, ("peace")

Bhaj

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I see the loss of this man as a vital link in the whole ABBA story. Chances are, we might never have known the heavenly harmonies and soaring sounds of ABBA were it not for Stig, his vision, talent and business savvy. When you look at old stories, he really is the one responsible. He birthed, cared for, nurtured and loved ABBA, the group, the people, the individual and the business.

For me, this is truly shocking and sad news. I ,for one, miss knowing there is someone on this earth who can take credit for so much happiness...if only my own happiness. It's difficult to communicate just how important the music of ABBA has been in my life and how much joy it brings to me still today!

When I reach my darkest hours, I can always count on an ABBA song. And not always one in particular. It seems that sometimes I can listen to a song and almost be hearing it for the first time all over again. I never quite know when a song might do that to me and there have been some unusual songs that have done that to me. Heck, if the mood is right, Dancing Queen can stir emotions and sensations, theretofore unknown.

The issue here is really the music. And we have lost someone responsible for our favourite music. Let's try to support one another, listen to one another and encourage each other at this time. My thoughts go out to those closest to Stig; family friends and associates. I only hope he knew at least a little bit, how much joy he brought to so many lives.

thanks for listening to my ramblings.

Kevin E., U.S.A

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As has been said several times already here, without Stig there would neve have been an ABBA. He was the one that encouraged Bjorn & Benny to make music together, even allowing them to release records on his label with the girls prominent vocals when it went against his better judgement (and aren't we glad that he did?)

I personally thank Stig for having the foresight and the faith in these four individuals that we know as ABBA, for without him we would have nothing. His loss was a shock, and when I first heard (with a phone call from Graeme at 12.47 am Saturday morning) I was shocked and unsure of how to react. Having had time to think about it I am sad that Stig is no longer with us, but happy for the gifts of music that he gave to us.

Those that were not fans back in the 70s (or indeed weren't even born then) probably don't realise what an important part of the ABBA story that Stig played. There was seldom an article about them that failed to mention him, and in books about ABBA (such as Christer Borg's excellent ABBA by ABBA) whole chapters would be devoted to Stig just as chapters would be devoted to Bjorn, Benny, Agnetha and Frida separately.

Though he's no longer with us, what he gave to the world will always be, and for that we should be thankful.

Ian Cole, Sydney, Australia

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Before this I had (at least I thought) a good idea of his life...but reading this all over again, and not only reading but translating it, made it really hit home how important this man was...

We say he was important for the Swedish music industry and that there would be no Swedish music out in the world if it wasn't for him...but we really need to go deeper than that. I don't think it's an exaggeration to say Stikkan is one of the biggest influences on the world's music industry as it is today...

In the biography he said he understood very early that records were the future...

I remember reading in a book about Cher where she had said that they did not know the money how money was potentially being generated by what they did...they didn't know it as artists, the producers didn't know it and the record companies did not know it.

Stig knew this...he was a pioneer in his field...Stikkan should not only be remembered as being called "the business" he should be partly be remembered AS "The business"...his strategies to licence material through different record companies in different territories etc. shows that he knew exactly what he was doing...

And as Graeme have already pointed out, Stig needs to be respected as the important person he was...even if you don't know anything about him, you still know that there would be no ABBA, there would be no ABBAMAIL without him, we would not be discussing the things we are discussing if it wasn't for him...doesn't that deserve at least some respect?

Personally I have never been as upset about anyone else’s death, whom I did not know personally, as I have been about Stikkan's death I have, every day, when I have thought of him being gone, passed away, dead, shed a tear or more....if this makes me into a over sentimental person than so be it.

Now I'm not asking people to start crying, have they not yet done so they will probably not do it now either...but mails like the one asking if we have forgotten that ABBA sued him makes me upset, those things can be left unsaid at this time. As a person who is upset about his death I do not want to read that...and what lies behind that statement? Should we not care about this tragedy just because there was a dispute between them? ABBA seems to care although they were directly involved in this dispute; Björn made a statement, Frida's husband made a statement...so if they can be sad about this, how come we aren't? Please, let’s leave those e-mails unsent...

As I've said, the more that I have learnt about Stig, the more I came to

admire, respect and feel for him. Stig was a truly unique person, a one of a kind person, the world will never see a man like him again...

Please rest in peace Stikkan, you'll be forever in our hearts and minds...and you will forever live in the music you have given us...

Gustav Sanderg, Täby, Sweden

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I was 14 when Waterloo hit the charts. I bought the red/black-labelled Atlantic 45 of this amazing song, and the writing credits went to B. Andersson, S. Anderson, B. Ulvaeus. I was intrigued enough to seek out the LP, which told me that these people were Benny, Stig and Bjorn. Stig did not seem to have a musician's role, but he contributed to these wonderful songs, and that was good enough for me.

When the LP ABBA was released, I was becoming more mobile (I had friends with cars). As my attention became more focused on this band than on any other musical act, I started to research them. I found back issues of Billboard at the library, and I reconstructed the whole ABBA process, from well-placed press releases in 1973 to major photo ops with prominently displayed Polar-issued gold records. Few other entirely foreign acts or labels were getting space in Billboard, and I knew whose persistence and determination to succeed were getting ABBA this exposure. Soon, despite what radio programmers would tell you, the primary audience of Billboard came to accept that the ABBA industry was a significant international entity. There were no more explanations that ABBA were a "Swedish foursome"; the acronym was sufficient as an allusion to success. Certainly the product that this company was selling was superior to its imitators, but without the tireless networking and the global vision of the masterful office personnel, there would have been no market share anywhere outside of Sweden.

On a personal level, I finally got to see ABBA when they started doing the Don Kirshner and Midnight Special gigs on a regular basis. It was a painful experience to watch them, because I delivered weekend newspapers at 5 a.m. for five years. I never saw Saturday Night Live, but I never missed an ABBA performance on DK or MS. I usually delivered my newspapers at 2 a.m. when the show ended rather than bother getting 2 hours' sleep.

Once I almost got shot by a customer who didn't expect her paper at 2:30. Who got this band onto DK and MS? Stig. Everyone who is excited about the VH1 replays owes him.

My friends Tom and Jim knew how freaky I was getting over ABBA, and they couldn't help but listen when I was around. They grew to appreciate the band. Jim christened me Bjorn because of a similar hairstyle; he called himself Benny because they had similar bellies; Tom was Stig to round out the trio. It never occurred to us to think of Stig as a person apart from ABBA. In fact, the most tenuous member seemed to be this Anna person, who was on loan from CBS for the Waterloo LP. Then, Agnetha was on loan from CBS for the ABBA LP. We had to sort out that problem of nomenclature. But Stig was ALWAYS writing the good lyrics.

I started teaching myself Benny's synthesizer parts, beginning with "Honey Honey" and moving on. When I took on the more portable and much cheaper guitar as a primary instrument, I started as a Bjorn-like strummer. What I did not know too well, as I started to assimilate the structure of the Perfect Pop Song, was that much of the character of the tunes I could chord in my sleep came from Stig's formula for success. In one song from the bootlegs, I don't know which, Bjorn and Benny rib Stig about his insistence on having a key change, etc. in a truly marketable song. The fact is that the lessons they learned from him in regard to the rules of songwriting produced millions of kronor for them, out of thin air. The magic of songwriting is that one can, in twenty minutes, write an unforgettable song that creates money, or pleasure, or both, in a segment of society. To do so on a regular basis takes brains as well as talent, and Stig's ability to channel the talent of these two boys shows as much genius as their melodies do. We went from "I Saw It in the Mirror" to "Waterloo" in just over a year. Thank Stig for that. Every lesson I learned from ABBA about music, they learned from him.

So, I appreciate Stig. I can understand how revenues can be borrowed from one account to cover another, so that the next month's revenues may replace those borrowed, before a fiscal quarter ends and royalty payments must be made. If this happened at Polar in the mid-'80s when money began to dry up, that is typical of music-industry accounting practices. If there was actual fraud or theft at some point, that is a shame. There was, however, a long period during which ABBA got better deals and more honest accounting than nearly anyone else in music. Also, the money they thought they were missing never would have accrued without Stig's extraordinary efforts. Here's a perspective: if the members had not distanced themselves from Polar by that time, they would have been likely to forgo a quarter's royalties as an investment in the company in which their interests lay, as speculation against a bigger return later. Once the relationship became strictly a business deal, they would be far more likely to feel cheated.

I do not defend thieves. I am saying that Stig does not seem to have been a shady dealer by nature, and this is not the time to judge his business decisions harshly. The good he did for ABBA, for music in general and for US in particular far outweighs any problems he caused in the empire's twilight years. Therefore we need to weep for him, for the increasing unlikelihood of a reunion that his absence causes, for the wonderful memories he caused to happen for us, for the music that we now hear on little aluminium discs. He was there, he was integral, he was the catalyst, the genius, the founder, the father, the benign emperor.

In the stodgy way he would understand, I am realising that I love him. I may cry now.

Love,

Sean Dwyer, Bloomington, Indiana, U.S.A.

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Personally, I have been highly disappointed by the lack of acknowledgment in the media of Stig's passing and of course his contributions to the world of popular music. Not only did he give the world ABBA, but he also opened the floodgates for the thousands of European artists who have achieved success since ABBA. I have read in articles many times, that before ABBA, bands from non-English speaking territories were simply not taken seriously. It was the 70's and record executives just weren't interested in anything that didn't come from the U.S. or the U.K. ABBA was a major watershed in that respect, and it was Stikkan who made that possible.

It disappoints me, a lot, that all of the above doesn't seem to have been acknowledged, on a global scale as it should have been, with the passing of this innovative man.

I told my Mother about Stig's passing and she instantly knew who I was talking about and went on to say, "yes, I remember him, I can picture his face". Of course, my Mother had a higher than usual exposure to ABBA, but I didn't make a point of talking about or showing her photo's of Stig on a regular basis !!! She knew of him purely because he was given a high profile during the Australian ABBA phenomenon, his contribution to the ABBA story was widely acknowledged. He was, quite rightfully, known as the "5^th member of ABBA". Given all of this, I expected Stig's passing to have been acknowledged to a far greater extent than what it has been, both here in Australia and seemingly in the U.K. and throughout Europe. The man deserves to have big, full page newspaper articles written about him with photos and to be given credit for breaking down locked doors and as a result bringing a vast wealth of joyous music to the world, both directly and indirectly. In my naivety I even watched the t.v. news all weekend in the hope that Stig would be acknowledged, but of course he wasn't.

He should have been.

I do a weekly radio program on one of Melbourne's highest profile community radio stations called "JOY Melbourne". I announced Stikkan's passing, and talked of his achievements last Saturday during my show, then played "Knowing Me Knowing You". The next day there was a big street festival in my area which I attended for a short time. Someone who I only know vaguely came up to me and said "Luke, did you hear that Stig Anderson died". I said I was aware of that and I asked how he knew. He told me that a friend of his was listening to "JOY" and phoned to tell him. I realised that it was because of what I had said on my program the day before that these people knew about Stig and I was heartened that my efforts had gone at least a little way in giving Stig some of the acknowledgment he deserves.

Luke Rogers, Melbourne, Australia

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No matter how things finally turned out, no matter what kind of relationship resulted between Stig and the others, it is certain that, even though Benny Bjorn, Frida, and Agnetha are individually and collectively tremendously talented, it was Stig's visions of world dominance of the music industry, his unrelenting determination to succeed, and his unyielding faith in his four young musical talents, that made the whole thing work.

And we are all much better off, much richer for his having been there.

Godspeed!

Bob Eber, U.S.A.

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I have read all the mails on Stig, and whilst this subject seems to have stirred some rather different emotions, I am sure that we all must feel at least grateful that God gave us Stig so he could create Abba. Without him Abba would not have been as we all remember them today. I am sure that there

are a lot of subscribers to Abbamail who became Abba fans after Abba went their separate ways. I can therefore understand that maybe you do not fully appreciate the special feeling all us 'oldies' have for this man. However, Stig should have a special place in all our hearts, because without him we wouldn't have had the magic of Abba that has filled our lives.

Stig's death is a sad event and proves to us once again how fragile life can be. Consequently I believe that this underlines the need to enjoy life while you can and to hold no grudges or bitterness towards others.

Rest well Stig and thanks for the music.

Neil

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