Abba star makes record comeback

Former ABBA singer Agnetha Faeltskog – the blonde one – is recording her first album in 16 years and plans to release it early next year.

“It’s far from ready, but we’re counting on releasing it in March,” said Staffan Linde, the head of her production company.

Linde declined to give details about the album and said Faeltskog, 53, would not comment on her comeback until the album is finished.

“She thinks the project has been fun,” Linde said. ”She’ll talk about it when the album is released.”

A founding member of ABBA, the 1970s pop phenomenon and Sweden’s most popular music export, Faeltskog withdrew from the public eye after releasing her last solo album I Stand Alone in 1987.

Her last single, 1988’s I Wasn’t the Only One (Who Said Goodbye), reached number 19 in the US charts.

Faeltskog lives on her island hideaway outside the Swedish capital, Stockholm.

She started work on the album three years ago but temporarily halted the project when her friend and sound engineer Michael Tretow suffered a stroke, Linde said.

ABBA, founded by Bjorn Ulvaeus, Faeltskog, Anna-Frid Lyngstad and Benny Anderssen, disbanded in 1982 but has gone on to sell more than 350 million albums.