He notices Borg's girlfriend Helena Anliot in the audience, and his concentration is disrupted by a sudden inspiration for a song about her.

Ted is further inspired by meeting a girl in his school library, who is studying a book about the universe; this leads to Ted and his brother Kenneth writing and recording the songs "Universum" and "Snurra du min värld" and bringing them to the record company Sweden Music in Stockholm.

Here they meet Benny Andersson and Stikkan Anderson; Ted pretends that he has left the taped recording at home and starts to play "Jag vill ha en egen måne", catching the interest of the two Anderssons and leading to a contract.

In 1972, the 16-year-old has a performance at Liseberg where he is mobbed by the enthusiastic audience, finally having to escape through a window with the help of two police officers.

Following this ordeal, Ted starts to experience symptoms of schizophrenia, in the form of hallucinations of an intimidating figure dressed in black who tells him not to trust anybody.

He is involved with a number of girls, but after meeting Lotta Ramel at a party and discussing music with her father Povel he starts a longer-term relationship with her, and they eventually get married.

Ted continues to struggle with his mental health problems, making Kenneth increasingly worried.

Kenneth writes the Swedish lyrics for "Blue Virgin Isles", and at an outdoor concert in Stockholm, Ted publicly acknowledges Kenneth's support, and performs the song in front of an audience where Ann Zacharias and his two children can be seen, together with Ted's parents and other people who have been important to him.