Björn Ulvaeus on the UK: “I don’t think you attract the right songwriters.”

ABBA’s Björn Ulvaeus has revealed why he believes the UK have struggled in The Eurovision.

Speaking to UK Radio Station Smooth Radio, Björn said: “Well… I think Eurovision has always been a bigger thing in Sweden than in the UK.”

As it was joked to Björn that the UK “tries its best”, Björn laughed and said:

“I don’t think you do. I don’t think you attract the right songwriters.

Björn continued:

“Now it’s different. Now there’s Max Martin and everyone else, you know? But we opened the doors, I think. But we took it really seriously. And I wonder, well, of course, some songwriters in the UK have taken it seriously as well, I suppose. But no, I can’t give you any tips.”

Aswell as discussing the UK, Björn spoke about when Abba chose a song to send to the Melodifestivalen in 1974, saying:

“We had two songs to choose from back then in 1974. We had one song called ‘Hasta Mañana’ which would have been much more in the typical Eurovision-style at that time, and then ‘Waterloo’ which was definitely not a Eurovision song.

“And we chose that one – only because it was more fun to perform. So I couldn’t give you any advice. I’m the last one.”

Björn also revealed what it was like when Abba first got together saying:

“We sent out tapes to various people around the world, and I swear to you, they threw it in the garbage bin directly without listening to it. That’s how bad it was.

Sweden was out of the question. And so for us, Benny and me, the only way to reach outside of Sweden was through Eurovision.”

Björn, 74, went on to explain the show is now a different competition entirely, but is still a huge platform to be seen around the world .

You can see the interview with Björn below, with Abba’s legendary performance in 1974 beneath it:

What do you think of Björn’s opinion of the UK at Eurovision? Should they get better songwriters? Let us know in the comments section below!

Leave A Reply

Your email address will not be published.


The reCAPTCHA verification period has expired. Please reload the page.

Support ESCBubble!

Like our Facebook page, and follow us on Twitter, to get all the Eurovision news as they happen!