Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus
John Lennon and Paul McCartney
January 27, 2017
In 1966, nineteen year old Benny Andersson met twenty-one year old Björn Ulvaeus, and almost like magic, one of the most prolific songwriting partnerships in music history was born. A collaboration which produced an astounding eight consecutive number-one albums, seventy three singles and 18 number 1 hits for one of the most commercially successful bands of all time; the Swedish super group ABBA.
With sales of over 500 million, Anderson and Ulvaeus, wrote the songs that topped the charts worldwide from 1975 to 1982; including the pop anthems 'Dancing Queen', 'Take a Chance on Me' 'Knowing Me Knowing You’ and Mama Mia.
After ABBA, Andersson continued writing music with Ulvaeus. Their first project was the stage musical “Chess”, written with Tim Rice. The “Chess” concept album – with vocals by Elaine Paige, Barbara Dickson, Murray Head and Swedes Tommy Körberg and Björn Skifs – was released in October 1984, selling two million copies worldwide. The Paige/Dickson duet "I Know Him So Well" became a Number 1 hit in the UK, and Murray Head's "One Night in Bangkok" gave Andersson and Ulvaeus a number 3 hit in the U.S.
From their first hits as songwriters in the spring of 1969: "Ljuva Sextital" (a hit with Brita Borg) and "Speleman" which was a major hit for the Hep Stars to Swedish #1 hit with "Lassie" by Ainbusk, Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus songs have been recorded by artists such as Nils Landgren Funk Unit, Yngwie Malmsteen, Erasure, Culture Club, Mike Oldfield, Sarah Brightman, Sinéad O'Connor, Meryl Streep, Steps, B*Witched, Hazell Dean, Blancmange, Lush, Sweet Dreams, Chris De Burgh, Nana Mouskouri and Andre Rieu.
The Cast
- Lead Vocals | Backing Vocals | Keyboards | Percussion The passion that Wendy holds for music is undeniable, and she has devoted her entire life to making it her career as well as an outlet to express herself. A brilliant vocalist, Wendy has been performing professionally for 30 years throughout Canada, the United States and Europe. She has had the opportunity to record and perform with industry professionals such Dan Hill, Nick Blagona (Alexisonfire, Protest the Hero, Green Day), Matt Dusk, Russ Little and ‘La Jeunesse’ choir. She has done voice-over work for the video games ‘Sinbad’ and ‘The Wizard of Oz’, as well as musical theatre work including ‘The Adventures of Alice in Wonderland’, ‘The Sound of Music’, and ‘Annie’. Wendy has recorded numerous […]
- Guitars | Backing Vocals | Mike is a Toronto-based artist who finds himself involved in a wide palette of settings, both live and in the studio. His love for popular music forms has allowed him to enjoy the company of many wonderful artists and players. This has brought him all over North America and abroad performing with original artists and cover bands. Guitar is Mike’s main instrument but he continues to work professionally as a lead vocalist and bassist, running 3 of his own bands and playing in many others in the GTA. As a producer he continues to produce and write for artists that are attracted to Mike’s subtle but caring process. In 2013, Mike was fortunate to be hired to produce the award […]
- Lead Vocals | Backing Vocals | Guitars Mark is a singer/songwriter, who was born and raised in Montreal Canada. In 1985, he was signed by Epic Records and has become a prolific and powerful songwriter; writing a number of songs with famed Canadian lyricist, Pye Dubois, Rush, Max Webster, Kim Mitchell and most recently for Canadian Country Music Hall of Famer, the legendary Johnny Burke. A powerful vocalist and brilliant entertainer Mark has captivated audiences across the country. He currently lives in the paradise known as ‘cottage country’, north of Toronto Ontario.
- Dancer Madison Haste is a singer, dancer and actor from Toronto Ontario. A graduate from the Randolph Academy for the Performing Arts, her most recent roles include: the Fringe Festival as Pastor Pinch (A Glass Hive: AKA a Comedy of Errors) and Bird Girl (Seussical: the Musical). She also co-produced and performed in Serial Lovers which will debut at the Royal Theatre later this year.
- Backing Vocals | Violin Kristina Bijelic is a multilingual, multi-genre vocalist who made her professional singing debut at age 12. Born and raised in Toronto, Canada, she graduated with honours from the University of Toronto with a bachelor’s degree in musicology, and later a master’s degree in Contemporary Performance from Berklee College of Music, Valencia Campus. Trained in classical voice and violin since childhood, Kristina has performed on stages across North America and Europe.
- Drums | Percussion Kristian is a talented multi-instrumentalist with over 20 years of experience as a drummer / percussionist. He is a graduate of Metalworks Institute’s Music Performance & Technology program, where he expanded his knowledge of music production and now runs and operates the recording studio of Tisho’s Music Academy where he also teaches. He is the recording engineer, mixer and producer of Tisho’s and works with up and coming artists to write, arrange and produce albums and EP’s.
- Aerialist Haley has been a performer for 12 years. She’s been honored to have worked as an aerialist for companies such asCreativiva, Zero Gravity Circus, La Rouge Entertainment, Hit and Run Productions Inc, Les Coquettes Cabaret, Femmes Du Feu, The Harbourfront Center, The Sanderson Center, Dance Migration, Cirque Du Boudoir and Disney. Haley has been featured as an actress and vocalist at events such as The Toronto International Film Festival, SXSW (Austin, TX), Canadian Music Week (Toronto ON), The Joe Carter Charity Golf Tournament (Toronto ON), Embrace Productions (Montreal, QC) and NXNE (Toronto, ON) As an actress Haley has been a guest star on television shows such as Blue Mountain State (Spike TV&Netflix), Degrassi-The Next Generation (Epitome Pictures Netflix), Skins (MTV&Netflix) and Queer as Folk […]
- Choreographer Debbie Wilson is an independent artist who has worked in Canada since 1980. She began her professional career at the age of 12 with the Cincinnati Ballet Company, where she became a soloist performer and rehearsal assistant. She was the rehearsal mistress/dancer for The American Dance Machine, Les Ballets Jazz de Montréal, Howard Richard & Dancers, and Ballet Jörgen. She also worked for the Judith Marcuse Repertory Dance Company, the Randy Glynn Dance Project and many independent choreographers across Canada and the United States. As a choreographer, she created a repertoire of critically acclaimed productions including Aphrodite Unveiled, Raphael is whispering, and Homo Office Sapiensis, which in 2002 received a Dora Mavor Moore nomination for Outstanding New Choreography. Through her international collaborative works like […]
- Piano | Keyboards | Guitar | Bass | Harp | Accordion | Backing Vocals While still a student at the University of Music Arts (Saints Kiril & Metodij University, Skopje) in his native Macedonia, Davor was already the featured keyboard player with Macedonian National TV’s Big Band Orchestra, composing, arranging, and producing for some of the biggest and best known musical acts in the country. Davor’s beginnings were traditional: classical music, and later pop and jazz; until he broadened his experience and branched out into film, mood, jazz fusion, ambient, dance, groove, symphonic, contemporary jazz and R&B. In his 25 year-long career, Davor can safely say “he has done it all.” His performance and production credits include: Shania Twain, MTV Top 5 – World Chart […]
- Drums | Percussion As an in-demand drummer and percussionist, Dave has had the good fortune to record and perform with some wonderful musicians and people over the years including Juno award winning and internationally acclaimed artists to great Independent artists such as; A Special Ed and the Musically Challenged, Molasses Run, The Great Tony Monaco, Mint Band, Bass is Base, One, Jamie Bonk, Nick “Brownman” Ali Chiva, Mike Freedman, Michael Keith, Emily 13, Madagascar Slim, Donne’ Roeberts, Ndidi Onwukulu, Katherine Filippeos, Lance Bennett, Wendy Irvine, Ian Crieghton H3O, Gary Diggins, Don Thompson, Simon Wilcox, JukeJoint, Shelly Hamilton, R.C.Johnson, Robi Botos, Planet Earth, Guido Basso, Sass Jordan, Liberty Silver, Donna Grantis, Moe Koffman, Justin Hynes and Buffy Ste. Marie. He has also lent his talents to […]
- Bass Guitar | Guitars | Backing Vocals Curtis is a busy ‘first call’ bassist/singer from Toronto Canada. Originally from the small town of Espanola Ontario, he has travelled and performed in over forty countries, working with manty notable award winning pop, rock, country and jazz musicians including; Canadian rockers Treble Charger, 80’s rap icon and Grammy nominee Tone Lōc and Grammy winners Paul Brown (Luther Vandross), Liberty Silver, singer/songwriter Dan Hill, award winning guitarist Pavlo and The Tenors. Between 2010 and 2012, Curtis performed as a Paul McCartney, touring the world with Canada’s busiest Beatles export, The Beatlemaniacs.
- Piano | Keyboards | Guitars | Percussion | Backing Vocals A native of Toronto Canada, Craig is an accomplished musician, film & television composer, music editor, producer, programmer and entertainment industry educator with over 30 years of experience. In addition to his extraordinary abilities as a mutli-instrumentalist he is a sought after composer and music editor with over twenty years’ experience in the film and television industry. Craig has worked on numerous award-winning projects for clients including CBC, BBC, TVa, MTV, Discovery, Endemol, Buena Vista, YTV, PBS, Resolution, Disney, Twenty-Twenty, CBS, Paramount and Alliance Atlantis. Some of his many credits include Regeneration, Mythic Warriors, Mysterious Island, Striking Poses, Knock Off, The Cellar, Street Noise, She Pays the Rent, Tiger Claws, Silent Movie, The Undertaker’s Wedding, […]
