Björn Ulvaeus Reveals the ABBA Hit He Wrote Whereas ‘Intoxicated’ on Whiskey

Alcohol played a role in the creation of a major ABBA hit.

In a new interview with The Timesmember Björn Ulvaeus revealed ABBA’s “The Winner Takes It All” was written under the influence of whiskey before he quit drinking in 2007.

“I wrote that song very quickly while drinking whisky during my drinking days,” the 79-year-old artist told the outlet. “I rarely wrote while intoxicated because you look at the words the next day and it’s garbage.”

Björn Ulvaeus in September 2023.

Joshua Sammer/Getty

“But most of ‘The Winner Takes It All’ is actually good,” added Ulvaeus. “It’s not a personal story, but I tried to find the detail of a real human pain.”

Released as the lead single off ABBA’s Super Trouper album, “The Winner Takes It All” reached No. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 and topped the charts in the U.K. The group sings on the track, “The winner takes it all / The loser has to fall / It’s simple and it’s plain / Why should I complain?”

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Ulvaeus, Benny Anderson, Anni-Frid “Frida” Lyngstad and Agnetha Fältskog Released The Latest Album as Abba, Voyage, in 2021.

The legendary band has since been immortalized with a hologram residency of the same name in London, which is currently slated to run through 2029 at the ABBA Arena.

Elsewhere in his interview with The Times, Ulvaeus spoke to the future of the ABBA Voyage residency — and whether it’d continue after one of the band members dies.

Abba in 1975.

ABBA in 1974.

ABBA in 1975.
PHOTO:

Hulton Archive/Getty

ABBA in 1974.
PHOTO:

Olle Lindeborg/AFP Via Getty

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“That remains to be seen. We are allowed to stay in our current venue till 2029, but ticket sales might drop, you never know,” he said. “But is it right to continue when someone is dead? That’s a big ethical question.”

However, Ulvaeus wouldn’t be personally bothered if the show continues after his own death. “Did Agatha Christie have a problem with The Mousetrap?” he asked, referencing the play that’s been running in London since 1952. “When you’re gone, you’re gone but… my kids might appreciate it.”

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