Frida at 80

From tragedies to huge success & a £220m fortune, life's had many twists for Abba star

- BY MARK JEFFERIES Showbiz Editor

Swedish pop legends Abba are the powerhouse behind some of the world's most loved songs with one of them, Mamma Mia!, even spawning its own musical.

But according to the group's Bjorn Ulvaeus, the one band member whose life story is incredible enough to be turned into a stage show in its own right is Frida Lyngstad.

He reveals: "Out of all four of us, Frida has had the most dramatic life.

"Her life is the classic rags to riches story. I can just picture the scenes and the cliffhangers."

Frida who turns 80 today and recently delighted fans with a surprise appearance at the popular Abba Voyage avatar showhas certainly faced huge twists and turns.

Born Anni-Frid Synni Lyngstad in Bjorkasen, Norway, on November 15, 1945, she was raised by her grandma, Arntine, a cleaner and seamstress, in Sweden, after her mum Synni died of kidney failure when she was a tot.