Abba’s Frida recorded a Swedish language version of David Bowie’s Life On Mars on her second solo album Ensam (Alone) released in 1975. The album was recorded whilst a member of Abba between Waterloo (1974) and Abba (1975) and also includes a Swedish language version of Fernando that stayed at No.1 on the Swedish charts for 9 weeks. Interestingly Fernando was a non-album single for Abba (except in Australasia where it was added to the Arrival album). The song wasn’t released by Abba as a single in Sweden but was included on their Greatest hits album. Ensam produced by Benny Andersson and using the same team that worked on the Abba records, topped the Swedish chart for 6 weeks.

An album of all covers bar Fernando, it includes one of  David Bowie’s most loved songs, Life On Mars. It was translated into Swedish by Owe Junsjö he also translated a Swedish version of 10cc’s The Wall Street Shuffle as, Guld och gröna ängar –  Gold And Green Meadows. The Beach Boys’ Wouldn’t It Ne Nice was also covered as Skulle de’ va’ skönt, (close enough) and Gary Puckett and The Union Gap’s Young Girl as Jag är mig själv Nu (I Am Myself Now), both  translated by Marie Bergman from Swedish group, Family Four.

In Sweden the other three members of Abba had already been successful separately, Benny in Hep Stars, Björn in Hootenanny Singers and Agnetha was a successful singer and songwriter in her own right, unfortunately Benny and Björn took the wind out of her sails in the songwriting department. Frida was born in Norway moving to Sweden at an early age due to the fact that her mother had been together with a German soldier during the German occupation of Norway and fearing reprisals Frida’s grandmother took the baby Anni-Frid to Sweden, her mother Synni followed soon after but died of kidney failure at the age of 21. With her first professional engagement at the age of 13 a music career beckoned for Anni-Frid Synni Lyngstad and in the sixties she was signed to EMI after winning the Swedish talent show, New Faces but it was her relationship with Benny Andersson that led to the formation of Abba with Björn and his wife Agnetha.

That’s the very short version of how Frida came to be, you can read all about it on the internet but in the meantime enjoy Liv På Mars by Anni-Frid Synni, Princess Reuss of Plauen as she is now known. She lives in Switzerland with Henry Smith, 5th Viscount Hambleden, her boyfriend since the death of her husband Heinrich Ruzzo Prince Reuss of Plauen who died of lymphoma in 1999.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anni-Frid_Lyngstad

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ABBA

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frida_ensam

Liv På Mars

Det är grått, det är sent och tyst
För en flicka som ingen kysst
Sen en gryning för länge sen
Ingen vet när det händer igen
Nu går hon genom stan, stannar så
Och hon köper biljett, en blå
Till det landet där drömmar väcks
Ljuset på biografen släcks
Men den filmen är seg och trist
Som den var när hon såg den sist
Hon kan varje scen utantill
Ser hjältinnan som kysser sin hjälte

Tårarna som rinner
Stelnar i en stumps sista bild
En sån fruktansvärd film
Hon går genom staden
Tittar upp mot rymden
Raden utav bleka stjärnors ljus
Som står högt över mörka hus
Finns det liv på mars?

Och från ett glömskans kalejdoskop
Helt utan saknad och enslig gråt
Går hon sakta, så sakta hem
Till sin vardag, nio till fem
Som en skepnad bland många fler
Men blir det aldrig nånting mer
Någonting riktigt rart och snällt
Som i den dröm som gavs i kväll
Men den filmen är seg och trist
Som den var när hon såg den sist
Hon kan varje scen utantill
Ser hjältinnan som kysser sin hjälte

Tårarna som rinner
Stelnar i en stumps sista bild
En sån fruktansvärd film
Hon går genom staden
Tittar upp mot rymden
Raden utav bleka stjärnors ljus
Som står högt över mörka hus
Finns det liv på mars?