When singer and songwriter Björn Ulvaeus (80) won the Eurovision Song Contest with ABBA in 1974 with "Waterloo", a pop fairytale began that wrote music history. World hits, sold-out tours, later the success of the musical and film "Mamma Mia!" - the life of the Swede is characterized by moments that millions of people have never forgotten.
Incurable: Björn Ulvaeus speaks openly about memory loss
This makes it all the more astonishing that he, of all people, can barely recall large parts of this time and is now laboriously trying to reconstruct his own past. Back in 2008, the father of four said that he could no longer remember many key scenes from his career. "I have extremely few memories," said Ulvaeus, according to 'standard.co.uk'.
Even the legendary performance at the Eurovision final was as if erased for him: "It is unbelievable but I do not remember standing on the stage. It is like I was not even there." He describes how he often doesn't know whether certain anecdotes really happened or not. To gain clarity, he even sought medical help.
Björn Ulvaeus: Eurovision victory with "Waterloo" is simply gone
The triumph of Brighton 1974 made ABBA famous worldwide but for Ulvaeus, this evening is barely tangible today. Many fans remember exactly where they saw the performance - he himself does not. "Many remember the moment, where they were and what they felt. But I don't," he explained.
He even questions details that he likes to tell in interviews, such as that his trousers were so tight that he could hardly sit on the bus: "But I honestly do not know if that is true or if it is someone who told me about it," 'express.co.uk' quotes him saying. The gap affects not just individual scenes, but entire phases of his career.
Photos, videos and hypnosis are Ulvaeus' last anchor
To organize his story, Ulvaeus spends a lot of time with old photos and video recordings. He studies stage sets, outfits and faces in order to evoke feelings and situations. In 1980, the ABBA star divorced singer Agnetha Fältskog. His second marriage to music journalist Lena Källersjö also failed.
Since then, he has also been trying to rescue private memories with photo and video recordings. He has even used hypnosis in the hope of bringing back buried images. Nevertheless, Ulvaeus says he can't write a classic memoir book because he simply doesn't have the memories.
Björn Ulvaeus: When pop history disappears into the fog
Doctors explain that although memory problems are common in old age, in some cases, they can go deeper. Long-term memory actually stores names, life events and biographical stories - which is precisely where Ulvaeus has the biggest gaps, as 'express.co.uk' reports. Experts say possible causes include forms of dementia.
In severe cases, those affected can lose their way in familiar surroundings or no longer be able to cope with everyday tasks. Ulvaeus' open approach to his condition adds an extra emotional layer to his role in projects such as the ABBA avatar spectacle "Voyage": while the digital version of himself is perfectly preserved, his own memory of many of these moments remains fragmented.
