Bjorn from Abba loses his memory

Bjorn Ulvaeus (pictured), one part of the group Abba, has revealed that he is suffering from long-term memory loss and cannot remember anything about the band’s first brush with fame, not even their breakthrough triumph at the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest with the song Waterloo. Ulvaeus, 58, says that he has tried everything to cure his condition, including hypnosis, but nothing has helped.

His short-term memory is fine. He composed the music for the Mamma Mia! stage musical, as well as the recently released film version which has spawned a massive revival of interest in the band. But as for his long-term memory, he says: "It is like I was not even there."

The singer, who divorced his fellow bandmate Agnetha Faltskog (the blonde one) in 1980 and is now married to Swedish music journalist Lena Kallersjo, says he devotes hours to studying old photographs and video of the band in its pomp, trying to piece his old life back together, but all to no avail.