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The long-time manager and cherished friend of iconic Swedish pop group ABBA has died at the age of 76.
Görel Hanser spent decades at the heart of ABBA’s world, guiding the group’s affairs and becoming a trusted friend to all four members.
While no official cause of death has been disclosed, the band released a joint statement across their social media platforms expressing their grief.
The statement read: ‘It is with deepest sorrow we announce the passing of Görel Hanser. We have lost our most loved friend and closest colleague.
‘The loss is immeasurable. We ask that you respect our privacy in this time of grief.’
The message also bore the signatures of all four band members: Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson and Frida Lyngstad.
Born on June 21, 1949, near Skövde in Sweden, Hanser began what would become a lifelong career in the music industry in September 1969 after she joined Stig Anderson’s publishing company Sweden Music and his record label Polar Music.
During ABBA’s meteoric rise, she became central to the group’s story by managing the group’s relationships with the several different record labels releasing their music around the globe.
As well as serving as their personal manager, she handled the press and accompanied them on tours and promotional trips across the world.
In the process, she grew close to Agnetha, Björn, Benny, and Anni-Frid, becoming not just their manager but a genuine friend.
That affection was immortalised in ABBA lore after the group, together with Anderson, wrote and recorded Sång Till Görel in 1979 as a gift for her 30th birthday.
The song was a humorous and loving ode to how everyone in the office needed Hanser.
With only a handful of copies ever made and never permitted to be played on radio, the record has become one of the most sought-after ABBA collectibles in existence, fetching thousands of dollars at auction.
Following ABBA’s breakup, Hanser continued working with Sweden Music and Polar before founding her own company, Music & Artist Service Görel Hanser, in 1987.
From there she managed much of Benny Andersson’s work, including the celebrated Andersson and Ulvaeus musicals, and oversaw ABBA-related business on behalf of Andersson and Ulvaeus.
Throughout her life she remained a beloved ambassador for the group, representing ABBA at fan club anniversaries.
In 2018, she was then awarded a Swedish Grammis Award for lifetime contributions to Swedish music.
She is survived by her two children and her husband, journalist and photographer Anders Hanser, whom she married in 1980 after meeting him while he covered ABBA.
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