Agnetha Faltskog

It's strange that the newspapers don't see a connection between their false revelations about my private life and my need for seclusion and security.

When I'm living in the world of luxury and celebrity, which is where I found myself for a large part of my life, it's a walk-on part. Not a vital necessity, like it is for so many people. I enjoy it but I can see right through it!

When I record, it feels like I'm in a bubble. There's nothing else in my head right then. It's just that song, and I'm trying to really sound like what the song is about.

I just want to live in peace and quiet.

I was so tired once 'Abba' was over and just wanted to be calm and with my children. I married, was in 'Abba,' had my children, divorced, all in ten years. I wonder how I managed it, but I was young.

I used to suffer from stage fright, which at times was an ordeal. I won't perform live again. I'm going to do some TV shows and videos but nothing else... I don't like to travel too much or do concerts. I'm more of a studio and home girl.

When I was 15 I became a full-time singer in a band. At 18 I made my first record.

There was a time when the music fell silent. Both within me and around me.

No one who has experienced facing a screaming, boiling, hysterical audience can avoid feeling shivers in the spine. It's a thin line between celebration and menace.