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Agnetha Fältskog: The Girl With the Golden Hair
Her iconic blonde looks, stunning voice and songs of loneliness and melancholy have endeared her to millions, yet Agnetha Fältskog remains an enigmatic and distant figure. From her success as a teenage singer and songwriter in Sweden in the late 1960's to her years of global superstardom with pop giants ABBA and beyond, Agnetha has fascinated generations of fans. Her beaming smile graced record sleeves, television screens and magazine covers around the world yet never quite managed to conceal her natural shyness and vulnerability.
Agnetha Fältskog The Girl With The Golden Hair is the first full-length biography dedicated to the life and career of the one of the most beloved and successful performers in music history. Charting Agnetha s journey from her early days fronting a local dance band in the small industrial city of Jonkoping, through her decade as one of the most famous and popular singers in the world, and the years of self-imposed exile that followed until her surprising and successful comeback in 2013, Agnetha Fältskog The Girl With The Golden Hair will delight her many legions of fans and any readers with an interest in the history of popular music.
Agnetha Fältskog The Girl With The Golden Hair is the first full-length biography dedicated to the life and career of the one of the most beloved and successful performers in music history. Charting Agnetha s journey from her early days fronting a local dance band in the small industrial city of Jonkoping, through her decade as one of the most famous and popular singers in the world, and the years of self-imposed exile that followed until her surprising and successful comeback in 2013, Agnetha Fältskog The Girl With The Golden Hair will delight her many legions of fans and any readers with an interest in the history of popular music.
206 pages, Paperback
Published May 24, 2016
About the author
Daniel Ward
4 booksDaniel Ward was born and raised in Essex, England. The music of the 1970s and 1980s has provided the soundtrack to his life and he has had a passion for creative writing since childhood. Daniel's previous works include such diverse genres as crime fiction, quiz books, and articles and biographies for medical publications. He lives in Essex and works as a doctor in a large hospital.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
November 2, 2017
Paperback, 192 pages. Includes bibliography, discography and 16 pages of photographs. The book covers her entire life. It was quite difficult for her growing up. It covers her first singing appearances on through her own albums, her time with ABBA and her time after ABBA. It also discusses her marriages and her children
The book seems quite complete to me. It's readable and gives a good view of the various psychological things she had to deal with. I enjoyed it.
The book seems quite complete to me. It's readable and gives a good view of the various psychological things she had to deal with. I enjoyed it.
September 6, 2018
This is a good, easy-to-read, factual account of Agnetha's life so far, though I would have liked more detail at times. It is respectful in tone and content, not trashy or sensational. I liked the inclusion of actual quotes (or translations of) from Agnetha, and, as a big Agnetha fan, I did learn some things I didn't know before.
April 20, 2020
The true story of Agnetha Faltskog
The most extensive insight into the incredible life of one of the most beloved women on earth. Agnetha Faltskog lived a partial storybook, celebrities dream life and a partial saddest story imaginable life. This book shares it all. Honestly and with no added fluff. If you are a Agnetha fan you will come away with such a feeling in your heart and soul for this wonderful sweet woman you never though possible. I have read it now 4 times and undoubtedly will again. Enjoy.
The most extensive insight into the incredible life of one of the most beloved women on earth. Agnetha Faltskog lived a partial storybook, celebrities dream life and a partial saddest story imaginable life. This book shares it all. Honestly and with no added fluff. If you are a Agnetha fan you will come away with such a feeling in your heart and soul for this wonderful sweet woman you never though possible. I have read it now 4 times and undoubtedly will again. Enjoy.
May 16, 2025
More Than Meets The Eye
When I first heard ABBA, being an American rock devotee and garage band player myself, ABBA struck me as the ultimate fizzy European pop band - lots of “show” but little substance. The gorgeous blond singer Agnetha Faltskog and her partner seemed like so much “eye candy.”
I guess youthful, inexperienced judgment goes with the territory and is usually unfair.
This book reveals the huge amount of work and commitment that went into that sound, and ABBA and that beautiful blond women remained true to but also grew that intention. Their work dropped some of the pop and added substance over the years. And besides, what is wrong with a little light-weight joy in this troubled world?
But this book is about that beautiful, blond, shy, insecure, sometime troubled woman with the big heart and voice who loved the music but craved privacy and peace to be a good person and parent, who also craved pop-star fame. As the saying goes, be careful what you wish for.
I enjoyed this book.
When I first heard ABBA, being an American rock devotee and garage band player myself, ABBA struck me as the ultimate fizzy European pop band - lots of “show” but little substance. The gorgeous blond singer Agnetha Faltskog and her partner seemed like so much “eye candy.”
I guess youthful, inexperienced judgment goes with the territory and is usually unfair.
This book reveals the huge amount of work and commitment that went into that sound, and ABBA and that beautiful blond women remained true to but also grew that intention. Their work dropped some of the pop and added substance over the years. And besides, what is wrong with a little light-weight joy in this troubled world?
But this book is about that beautiful, blond, shy, insecure, sometime troubled woman with the big heart and voice who loved the music but craved privacy and peace to be a good person and parent, who also craved pop-star fame. As the saying goes, be careful what you wish for.
I enjoyed this book.
December 31, 2023
This is the most honest book about Agnetha that I have ever read. After reading it. I always used to think fame a d the up and down life she has led turned her into some kind of foreclose. But that's what the press turned her into. She is very humon
I was told by a friend it was a good to the point read. ? And well written. And it is. I highly recommend this book.
I was told by a friend it was a good to the point read. ? And well written. And it is. I highly recommend this book.
January 2, 2024
Agent ha Faltskog: The Girl with the Golden Hair by Daniel Ward
This was an excellent book to read. It described Agnetha's life with the band ABBA, her own life, and the books also talks about the other members of ABBA. It also discussed what the members of ABBA did once they broke up. I highly recommend this book if your a fan.
This was an excellent book to read. It described Agnetha's life with the band ABBA, her own life, and the books also talks about the other members of ABBA. It also discussed what the members of ABBA did once they broke up. I highly recommend this book if your a fan.
November 9, 2025
Nothing really "wrong" with this book, it was just okay.
I was a super huge seven-year-old ABBA fan when ABBA-Mania hit Australia in the late seventies; so, I am familiar with ABBA and Agnetha's role.
I just found this book's pacing was very slow, and you seemed to grind through each thing that happened at a snails pace.
I was a super huge seven-year-old ABBA fan when ABBA-Mania hit Australia in the late seventies; so, I am familiar with ABBA and Agnetha's role.
I just found this book's pacing was very slow, and you seemed to grind through each thing that happened at a snails pace.
January 21, 2018
Well worth the read
Well written biography of one of my favorite singers. I especially liked the reflections from Agnetha herself. Interesting read about an interesting person.
Well written biography of one of my favorite singers. I especially liked the reflections from Agnetha herself. Interesting read about an interesting person.
November 6, 2020
Bland. Nothing new.
August 31, 2016
As a big Abba and Agnetha fan, I looked forward to the publication of this book. Agnetha is an elusive figure who has led a fascinating life, and it was great to finally see her story on the shelves. Although there have been many books detailing Abba's phenomenal career, up until now there has been no commercially released biography focusing purely on Agnetha's life. This amazing woman deserves more attention and recognition!
Fairly soon into the book it was clear that the author, Daniel Ward, has carried out an extraordinary amount of research, and for that he should be commended. Something Agnetha has managed to do remarkably well over the last 30 years is stay out of the international press, only making headlines when one of the Abba members makes a casual remark hinting vaguely at an Abba reunion. Due to her being hounded by the Swedish media, she cut off all ties to the music business in the late Eighties, and even managed to get married in secret in the early Nineties. Her divorce from fellow Abba member Bjorn Ulvaeus in 1978 was widely reported at the time, but what were the reasons behind it? The two of them insisted at the time that it was a 'happy divorce,' but Agnetha later admitted in her 1996 autobiography As I Am, that this was untrue. Some further insights into this topic and others, were revealed in the book, which I was surprised to read. The author did not simply rely on previously published Abba books for information, but had an independent array of sources.
I had expected that there couldn't possibly be any more information left undiscovered after the re-publication of the extensive Abba biography Bright Lights Dark Shadows in 2014, which contains an exhaustive amount of research, but of course focuses on all four members, rather than really going into depth about the most fascinating member. Whilst I was impressed with the amount of research, I was disappointed with a number of basic grammatical and punctuation errors, which gave the impression that the book hadn't even been proofread. Full stops were missing at the end of sentences and Swedish words were spelled wrongly. An annoying habit the author also had was to list the entire tracklist of each and every album Agnetha has released, including those with Abba. The majority of readers are fans, we know the tracklists! Even if we didn't, a quick entry into Google is all it takes. At times, it seems the author became bogged down with listing Agnetha's achievements, rather than attempting to gain a glimpse into her heart and soul. Although the book was written sensitively and did not stray into sensationalism, I expected more of a focus on the aspect of fame, the pressures of which had a profound effect on Agnetha, and her unwillingness to leave her children at the height of Abba's fame. Perhaps, due to being a big fan of hers and already knowing a lot of the information in the book, made it a less enjoyable read. For someone who knows little about her and is interested to find out, this book is a definite must-read. The author clearly has an immense respect for his subject, and the story of one of the world's most accomplished singer/songwriters is finally out there for all to enjoy.
Fairly soon into the book it was clear that the author, Daniel Ward, has carried out an extraordinary amount of research, and for that he should be commended. Something Agnetha has managed to do remarkably well over the last 30 years is stay out of the international press, only making headlines when one of the Abba members makes a casual remark hinting vaguely at an Abba reunion. Due to her being hounded by the Swedish media, she cut off all ties to the music business in the late Eighties, and even managed to get married in secret in the early Nineties. Her divorce from fellow Abba member Bjorn Ulvaeus in 1978 was widely reported at the time, but what were the reasons behind it? The two of them insisted at the time that it was a 'happy divorce,' but Agnetha later admitted in her 1996 autobiography As I Am, that this was untrue. Some further insights into this topic and others, were revealed in the book, which I was surprised to read. The author did not simply rely on previously published Abba books for information, but had an independent array of sources.
I had expected that there couldn't possibly be any more information left undiscovered after the re-publication of the extensive Abba biography Bright Lights Dark Shadows in 2014, which contains an exhaustive amount of research, but of course focuses on all four members, rather than really going into depth about the most fascinating member. Whilst I was impressed with the amount of research, I was disappointed with a number of basic grammatical and punctuation errors, which gave the impression that the book hadn't even been proofread. Full stops were missing at the end of sentences and Swedish words were spelled wrongly. An annoying habit the author also had was to list the entire tracklist of each and every album Agnetha has released, including those with Abba. The majority of readers are fans, we know the tracklists! Even if we didn't, a quick entry into Google is all it takes. At times, it seems the author became bogged down with listing Agnetha's achievements, rather than attempting to gain a glimpse into her heart and soul. Although the book was written sensitively and did not stray into sensationalism, I expected more of a focus on the aspect of fame, the pressures of which had a profound effect on Agnetha, and her unwillingness to leave her children at the height of Abba's fame. Perhaps, due to being a big fan of hers and already knowing a lot of the information in the book, made it a less enjoyable read. For someone who knows little about her and is interested to find out, this book is a definite must-read. The author clearly has an immense respect for his subject, and the story of one of the world's most accomplished singer/songwriters is finally out there for all to enjoy.
October 6, 2016
This biography is well written and I especially like the old quotes from Agnetha herself throughout. Though there were a lot, I wanted more. Not quite enough information about her mother's 1994 suicide was given and just the bare minimum was given about her relationship with her stalker-turned-boyfriend-turned-stalker which was a real shame since this is the only biography about her and that should have been expanded on. That part of her life (late 90's) was certainly worth going into detail for. I'd have liked to have known more too about her relationship with her sister and more about her thoughts on her daughters past (?) battle with bulimia.
See my ABBA page here . Hear her pronounce her name here
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews