NATURE'S GREAT PRACTICAL JOKE

We gave this page to Harry because he was complaining that nothing had been said about the sort of music that Red liked or indeed, what she was like. With the passing of so many years he thought it only right that Red be remembered for who she was, not for being a Frida Lyngstad lookalike.
Angela

I guess it's quite ironic that to talk about Red (Anna Minet in the book) I have used an old picture of Frida. The reson is quite simple, as those that have read the book will know, no photos survived the fire in my apartment.
This photo is the one that is most like Red, in fact, in it I can't tell them apart... that's quite daunting and a bit weird.
Actually there should be no surprise that Red and Frida looked alike, both had faces that are almost the mold for all redheads around that time, I guess, if you were very brave, you would say that they had a 'standard pattern' face. Please believe me when I say I am not being rude or a smart arse when saying that, just stating something that, to me, is an obvious fact. Naturally Frida Lyngstad has a lot of people around her making sure that she always looked good to the public eye, Red had no such assistance so often looked very freckly and sometimes had that 'dragged through a hedge backwards' look.
I have naturally heard both women speak and now, in much later years, I can detect the difference in accents but you have to remember that 30 plus years ago, in the South Pacific, nobody could tell a Danish from a Norwegian accent. Red had been with me for two years when ABBA made their Australian tour in 77. If I could go back in time I would have taken Red to one of their concerts, the result could have been quite ... entertaining. Still it would have taken a very brave man to chance the experiment and my life was dangerous enough without looking for additionall trouble

To my mind this is really a bit of a double up as I gave my opinion regarding Red and Frida in another section. However, Barry and Angela want it expanded so here we go but remember these are only my thoughts and opinions and I am often wrong about things.
Red was a person who I believe was driven to see what was round the next corner, plus she was a sort of female crusader, always looking for something to put right. Don't get me wrong, she was no saint, there was something very 'dangerous' about Red and I think she was capable of just about any deed to get the job done. She always took it as a great insult that she had the same face as Frida Lyngstad and was often mistaken for that woman. Red was simply too strong a personality to play second fiddle to anybody, the likeness to someone else must have been most infuriating to her, I know it gave me and my cohorts a lot of grief.
The burning question will always be "What the hell was she doing in the South Pacific, so far from home"? To this day I have no answer to that and now never will & yet, when you think about it, all the Ducks were far from home, even those born on the doorstep. I still think that it was pure serendipity that she joined the ducks, without her I think that during the early years we would have surely failed, it was as if that was her role in life, to act as our keystone.
Frida I can only judge by listening, reading and watching. However, I survived as a Master Mariner not through having smarts but because I usually have the ability to sum a person up quickly and correctly, although this has, from time to time, failed.

You don't need the words, the music says it all without the need for them

I love Frida's music but the woman herself leaves me a bit wary. To further a career she walked away from a husband and kids, this in itself reveals something of what lies beneath the facade. Remember, I am not judging, merely stating, with my background I have no right to make any judgments. Quite simply I believe that she could be quite scary. In conflict with this is that, at times, when watching Frida, she, to me, appears extremely uncertain, almost to the point of fear.
One thing I feel when I see Frida is that, inside and well hidden, she has retained the ability to think and feel like a child - that is a great gift to have, in fact, probably the greatest gift of them all. Unfortunately I think both Red and I had this ability literally knocked out of us by our work - the years took their toll on souls as well as bodies.
Strangely, with ABBA, I get the funny feeling that the couples are all wrong, for some strange reason I believe that it should have been Frida and Bjorn - don't ask, I have no idea why. Anyway it never happened that way so it's a mute point.
Angela asked me only yesterday which of the Frida, 'non ABBA' songs I must liked, actually there aren't many that I do like but if I had to name one it would be 'Aven en Blomma', this is probably an age thing we are both on the downward side of the hill.
I will now put my head further into the noose by stating that you often can tell a lot about people by the company they keep. With the pop group (or whatever you call them) this is, to me, very obvious.
Bjorn I quite like, I believe he was actually the soul and driving force that made the whole thing tick. No doubt, when he became wealthy, he got a bit distant to the plebs but this is to be expected and I am sure it would have mellowed with the years.
Agnetha I find difficult to fathom. The closest I can get is that it was a case of getting all that she wished for and then finding the wish hollow. Life easily mucked her about and I don't think it followed the right path for her happiness.
Benny I confess to not really liking in any way. There seems an inner arrogance lurking there that is quite cold and merciless. Humour of a recognizable type just doesn't exist, only a powerful feeling of 'self' and too much of that is very dangerous.
So, that's the group, not the brightest lights on the tree but you have to confess that they got the job done and didn't fall into the trap of trying to fit into the industry mold. This saved them and gave the rest of us some wonderful music

Harry