He was a manager, songwriter and producer born Stikkan “Stig” Eric Leopold Andersson in Hova, Sweden, who studied at the Ingesunds high school. When he was still young he learned the guitar and would entertain people at parties and local functions. He left school when he was fifteen and later studied to become a teacher of maths and chemistry.
He started a trio with Borje Crona and his future partner, Bengt Bernhag, but as a songwriter the first recording of his “The Icing on the Cake” (Grada pa Moset) in 1950, was not a success for the artist Harry Brandelius. Moving to Stockholm and taking on a position as a teacher he would soon tire of this as a career and started his own publishing company, Sweden Music.
He also became a manager and producer after he saw success with his “Are You in Love With Me, Klaus Goran?” performed by the singer Lil-Babs, and one of the first artists he looked after were the group The Hootenanny Singers.
Before he was 30 years old he had founded the record label Polar Music and within the next decade had became the manager of the Bjorn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, Anna-Frid Lyngstad and Agnetha Faltskog, who would become the internationally successful group ABBA. Initially co-writing some of their songs, he would also arrange their international record deals and commercial and financial interests, as well as those of Polar Music.
Discovered by the members of ABBA to have made serious errors in their investments and tax payments, taken a percentage of their profits, and other instances of mis-management, this resulted in a financial nightmare for the artists. Although the members entered a complaint to the court there was no action taken.
In 1989 he was a founder of the Polar Music Prize but in 1990 he sold the company, ABBA copyright and licensing rights to Polygram. His daughter, Marie, started her own company, Andersson Records, which was the company that Frida released the album Djupa Andetagwith in 1996.
He died in 1997 of a heart attack when he was 66 years old.
Debby Boone recordings
Hasta Manana (Benny Andersson/Bjorn Ulvaeus/Stig Andersson)
Sources:
- http://koti.mbnet.fi/~abba/stig.htm
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stikkan_Anderson
- http://www.abba-world.net/facts/stig.htm