ABBA drummer dies in apparent accident
A drummer for the Swedish pop group ABBA has died after an apparent accident at his home in Spain, a Civil Guard spokeswoman said Monday. Ola Brunkert was found dead late Sunday at his home in the town of Arta on Spain's Mediterranean island of Mallorca, the spokeswoman said. Police believe Brunkert may have fallen against a glass partition separating his home's kitchen from the garden, and the glass broke and fatally cut his throat, she said. He was found in the garden and is believed to have bled to death, she added. An official cause of death is pending until after an autopsy. Brunkert, born in 1946 in Sweden, played drums on ABBA's first single, "People Need Love," according to Abba's official Web site. He was not among the four best-known members of ABBA whose faces adorned the album covers -- Anni-Frid Lyngstad, Bjorn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson and Agnetha Faltskog -- but he was a key supporting musician for the group as it achieved stardom. The group's hits included "Dancing Queen," "Waterloo," "Take a Chance on Me" and "Knowing Me, Knowing You." "Ola toured with ABBA in 1977, 1979 and 1980," the official Web site said. "Together with bass player Rutger Gunnarsson, Ola is probably the only musician to appear on all ABBA albums -- he was one of the most frequently used Swedish session musicians during the 1970s." |
