Ola Brunkert

Pop
rock
schlager

Occupation(s)Drummer, session musicianInstrument(s)DrumsYears active1960s–2008Labels

Polar
Polydor
Atlantic
Epic
RCA

Musical artist

Ola Brunkert (15 September 1946 – 16 March 2008) was a Swedish drummer who was one of the main session drummers for the pop group ABBA.^[1] Brunkert and bassist Rutger Gunnarsson are the only two side musicians to appear on every ABBA album prior to Voyage (2021).

Born in Örebro, Sweden, Brunkert began playing the drums in 1958 and cited jazz drummer Gene Krupa as a significant early influence.^[2] He played with Slim's Blues Gang, before joining the pop group Science Poption. He then formed the jazz-rock combo Opus III [sv] with the guitarist Janne Schaffer, and by 1970 had become one of the most sought-after session drummers in Stockholm.^[3]

He was not among the four members of ABBA whose faces adorned the album covers, but was a key supporting musician for the group as it achieved stardom. Brunkert played on the group's first single "People Need Love", their Eurovision hit "Waterloo", and consistently on a great many of their recordings throughout the 1970s. ABBA promised that "one day we’re gonna let you hear him sing" in the liner notes for the album Arrival in 1976. His last recording session with the group was in October 1981, recording their hit single "One of Us".

Brunkert and Gunnarsson appeared on stage with ABBA at the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest final in Brighton,^[4] and played with them on their concert tours of Europe and Australia in 1977, North America and Europe in 1979, and Japan in 1980.

As reported in The Times of 18 March 2008, he bought a property in the Betlem housing complex in Artà, Majorca, Spain, in the 1980s and lived there for the remainder of his life. It was at his home that he died, less than a year after the death of his wife, Inger, in 2007.^[5]

Brunkert died after an accidental fall at the age of 61. He was found with cuts on his neck, causing initial suspicion as to his death.^[6]^[7] Brunkert had hit his head against a glass door in his dining room, shattering the glass and cutting himself in the neck. He had managed to wrap a towel around his neck and leave the house to seek help, but collapsed in the garden.^[8]

References

^ "Ola Brunkert: Unsung drummer who provided the beat for Abba". The Times. No. 69274. London. 18 March 2008. p. 75.
^ "The Stars Behind the Stars". ABBA Annual 1982. Knutsford: Stafford Pemberton Publishing. 1981. pp. 36–38. ISBN 0860303098.
^ Petterson, Tobias (2007). Henningsson, Ulf (ed.). The Encyclopedia of Swedish Progressive Music 1967–1979: From Psychedelic Experiments to Political Propaganda. Stockholm: Premium Forlag. p. 134. ISBN 978-9189136229.
^ Anderson, Benny; Ulvaeus, Björn; Craymer, Judy & Dodd, Philip (2006). Mamma Mia! How Can I Resist You?: The Inside Story of Mamma Mia! and the Songs of ABBA. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson. p. 15. ISBN 9780297844211.
^ Elkin, Mike (18 March 2008). "Abba drummer bleeds to death in glass accident". The Times. No. 69274. London. p. 47.
^ "Abba drummer found dead in Spain". BBC News. 2008-03-17.
^ Ola Brunkert at Discogs
^ CNN Report