Bjorn Ulvaeus

If that doomsday scenario happens, will it help if you have heaps of paper money? I don't think so.

In my career the push has always been to take another step, to try something new.

There are still many places I haven't seen that I'd like to travel to. I've never seen the Pyramids, and I'd love to explore the culture in North India. I think walking in the Andes would also be awesome.

The UN declaration on human rights must always be first in line before religion or other cultural habits, in case of any conflict between them.

Before the Beatles, songwriters were very anonymous people and nobody paid any attention to them.

Im so incredibly tired of giving respect to a lot of delusions and crazy ideas just because they are regarded as religions.

Cultural variety is always worth striving for, but must never precede the declaration of human rights.

In the beginning of my career, I wanted to be chased by girls more than anything - that's why I got the guitar. By the time we were in ABBA, the music was the only important thing.

There are days when I walk through the center of Stockholm when I get this sudden feeling of happiness - a sense of belonging and at the same time gratitude that I'm so privileged that I can live my life in my city.

I'm so incredibly tired of giving respect to a lot of delusions and crazy ideas just because they are regarded as religions.

There is a very vibrant cultural scene in Stockholm. There are lots of places where there are concerts, and there are loads of museums and theaters.

The music of ABBA is not that happy. It might sound happy, in some strange way, but deep within, it's not happy music. It has that Nordic melancholic feeling to it. What fools you is the girls' voices. You know, I do think that is one of the secrets about ABBA. Even when we were really quite sad, we always sounded jubilant.

Critics used to say that ABBA were formulaic or that our songs were rubbish. We never had time for those comments, though. We were sincere and devoted to what we did.

Stockholm is unique in that it's built on islands and surrounded by water, so you get this enormous sense of freedom. It's got everything you could possibly need - everything New York or London has but without all the people and traffic. It's also become a very creative city, not only for music but also for fashion and computer games.

I believe that religion should be totally separated from the state. That's not the way it is today, not even in Sweden.

And also a lot of Muslims are no more religious then the average Swede. For them it's natural that human rights come first.

In a way, I'm kind of a bystander looking at this phenomenon that is ABBA, which is still around, and that I thought would be finished in 1981 and forgotten. I'm amazed how this could happen, and I don't know why it happened. I'm just grateful and humble. I just sit back and enjoy.

I believe that religious faith schools are highly dubious.

I hear a really good pop song every now and then. 'ROAR' by Katy Perry, I love that! 'Poker Face'... Oh! What a song! And 'Rolling in the Deep'... Oh!

Of course, we wore silly outfits, the pictures were corny, and some people still focus on that. But ABBA wasn't a big intellectual thing. We were a pop group.

Everyone should pursue whatever is original in oneself. That's the way for a long life in music.

Some values must be universal, like human rights and the equal worth of every human being.

Every time I sit in the audience and watch a show that I have been involved with, it is such an amazing feeling to see all those people around me, knowing they are actually watching and enjoying something I have written.

Well mostly in song writing my experience is that there isn't so much inspiration as hard work. You sit there for hours, days and weeks with a guitar and piano until something good comes.

I want people to remember ABBA as we were. I don't think that four geriatrics wheeled on stage is what we should leave as our legacy.

The story of Jesus is very fascinating. It still has such a tremendous power, even after 2,000 years! We don't really know if he existed as a historical figure.

Some values must be universal like human rights and the equal worth of every human being.

All these years later, I have almost no memory of the shows themselves. It's a blur. I remember my jogging runs better - that was my way of getting my energy together. I used to try to get to the arena as late as possible; otherwise, I'd just be pacing around, waiting to go on.