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World-famous band ABBA, known for classic songs such as “Mamma Mia” and “Dancing Queen,” just released its first album in 40 years — proof that age is but a number and some people just like to work.
Band members Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus, two members of the four-person band, told the BBC coming back wasn’t a risk. “We don’t need to prove anything here,” Andersson said. “I don’t think we are taking a risk because if people think that we were better 40 years ago, fine.” Andersson,74, was married to bandmember Anni-Frid Lyngstad, 75, and Ulvaeus, 76, was married to bandmember Agnetha Faltskog, 71.
ABBA was also the inspiration for the musical “Mamma Mia,” which eventually became a movie starring Meryl Streep and Amanda Seyfried. The film also had a sequel, “Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again.”
Andersson and Ulvaeus said in another BBC interview it was like “no time had passed” since they were last in the studio together four decades prior. The band announced it was also releasing a virtual concert opening next May in an arena specifically created for them in London. Digitally-altered versions of the band will play six nights a week with a live band, performing some of their greatest hits.
See: Here’s why you shouldn’t retire super early — even if you can
The band’s new album, The Voyage, is similar to their older albums and “worth the wait,” according to a Rolling Stones review.
ABBA is just the latest example of the evolution of retirement. Long gone are the days when people would hand in their retirement papers at age 65 and spend the next few years on a beach, golf course, or in solitude. Some workers delay retirement because they need their job to afford their lifestyle, or continue saving for their old age. Others do so simply because they like to work, even if it’s in a different field than their former careers.
Americans are told often to stay active in retirement, whether that be through another type of job, volunteering, taking on a class or staying social with friends and family. There are also six types of retirees, according to author and former counseling professor Nancy Schlossberg: the adventurer, continuer, easy glider, involved spectator, searcher or the retreater.
Also see: There are six types of retirees — which are you?
Steve Van Zandt, the 70-year-old musician and actor known for his role in The Sopranos, recently shared his thoughts on retiring — or his resistance to do so. The musician used his time off from tours during the pandemic to write a book.
“I am slowing down a bit, but that is just enough to be at a normal pace for most people,” Van Zandt said during an interview with Next Avenue. “The older I get, the more productive I am.”
