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 ABBA ( , , formerly named Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Anni-Frid or Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Frida) are a Swedish supergroup formed in Stockholm in 1972 by Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. The group's ...

. Brunkert and bassist

Rutger Gunnarsson Johan Rutger Gunnarsson (12 February 1946 – 30 April 2015) was a Swedish musician, bass guitarist, guitarist, arranger and producer. He was closely associated with the pop group ABBA. Career Gunnarsson grew up in Ledberg parish. His career began ...

are the only two side musicians to appear on every ABBA album, not counting the album "

Voyage Voyage(s) or The Voyage may refer to: Literature *''Voyage : A Novel of 1896'', Sterling Hayden * ''Voyage'' (novel), a 1996 science fiction novel by Stephen Baxter *''The Voyage'', Murray Bail * "The Voyage" (short story), a 1921 story by ...

" of 2021. Born in

Örebro Örebro ( , ) is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, sixth-largest city in Sweden, the seat of Örebro Municipality, and capital of the Örebro County. It is situated by the Närke Plain, near the lake Hjälmaren, a few kilometers in ...

, Sweden, Brunkert played with Slim's Blues Gang, before joining the pop group Science Poption. He then formed the jazz-rock combo Opus III with the guitarist

Janne Schaffer Jan Erik Tage "Janne" Schaffer (born 24 September 1945) is a Swedish songwriter and guitarist. He is best known for his work as a session guitarist for ABBA but he has also recorded with artists such as Bob Marley, Johnny Nash, Art Farmer and To ...

and by 1970 had become one of the most sought after session drummers in

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

. 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 "People Need Love" is the debut single recorded in March 1972 by Swedish pop group ABBA, at the time known as 'Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Anni-Frid'. The song was on the group's first album, '' Ring Ring'', released in 1973. Track listing # A. "P ...

", their

Eurovision The Eurovision Song Contest (), sometimes abbreviated to ESC and often known simply as Eurovision, is an international songwriting competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), featuring participants representing pr ...

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". He appeared on stage with ABBA at the Eurovision Song Contest 1974 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 Artà is one of the 53 independent municipalities on the Spanish Balearic island of Majorca. The small town of the same name is the administrative seat of this municipality in the region (''Comarca'') of Llevant. Population In 2008 the munici ...

, 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. 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. 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.timesonline
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References

1946 births 2008 deaths People from Örebro Accidental deaths from falls Swedish drummers Male drummers Accidental deaths in Spain Swedish session musicians Swedish expatriates in Spain 20th-century Swedish male musicians {{drummer-stub