Who Was Michael Tretow? All About Legendary Music Producer Behind ABBA's Greatest Hits Amid His Death At 80

Michael Tretow, ABBA’s iconic music producer, has passed away at the age of 80, his family confirmed.

Written by Ipshita Chakraborty , Entertainment Journalist

Published on May 21, 2025 | 04:28 PM IST | 39K

CC: Getty Images

Trigger Warning: This article contains mention of an individual's death.

Michael Tretow, the man behind many of ABBA's greatest hits, has passed away at the age of 80, as confirmed by his family. ABBA's trailblazing sound engineer was the mastermind of the legendary band's unique studio sound.

Tretow's family informed the news of his demise to Swedish publication Aftonbladet, who asked for respect of their privacy and will not report the circumstances of his death.

Born in Sweden, Bo Michael Tretow started making music and recording experiments during his teenage years. His career took off when he became a sound engineer at Metronome Studio in Stockholm. There, he met Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus, a chance encounter that would go on to influence the course of pop history.

Tretow became a crucial element in the ascension of ABBA to international stardom. Dubbed by fans and colleagues as the "fifth member" of the band, he was responsible for developing the group's iconic Wall of Sound aesthetic, with dense layering and melodic complexity. His engineering skills were involved in all of ABBA's albums, aside from their 2021 album, Voyage.

Benny Andersson paid Tretow the ultimate compliment by describing him as "a fantastic inspirer and joy-maker," while Anni-Frid Lyngstad highlighted that he would always be a part of the ABBA sound. Agnetha Fältskog remembered last visiting Tretow before his death, commenting that even in sickness, his sense of humor and spirit were still intact.

Aside from his contributions to ABBA, Michael Tretow had a successful solo career as a musician and contributed his skills to numerous film and advertisement soundtracks. He is survived by his wife and son.

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