ABBA's Benny Andersson has always credited the group's inspirations for playing a major role in their success. ABBA's reunion album, 2021's Voyage, has snagged the band three 2022 Grammy nominations — including Record Of The Year and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance for “Don’t Shut Me Down” and Album Of The Year for Voyage.
Andersson, who wrote the band's material with bandmate and collaborator Björn Ulvaeus (pronounced: B'yorn Yool-VAY-uss), spoke to Record Collector about the music that connected with the ABBA creators: “We were inspired by the Bee Gees, because suddenly they became another band. They were good, they did 'Massachusetts' and all those songs in the '60s, then all of a sudden, they were back with a totally different approach. . . It’s nice when what we do is inspiring other people. Like Brian Wilson inspired us, or Paul McCartney. . . (Pete Townshend) I like his music, too.”
When pressed about director Peter Jackson's The Beatles: Get Back documentary, Andersson said, “Oh, yes, the best documentary ever made. It’s fantastic. Like a fly on the wall, y'know? Wonderful. I’ve seen it twice. . . . I recognized a part of myself in Paul: he never gave up, constantly wanting to move things forward. Sometimes, nothing happens, but he keeps on feeding the band with stuff. I like that. I’m not saying I’m the same, but I recognized the method.”