SHARE
COPY LINK

AUCTION

Mamma Mia! Final Abba auction tally disappoints

An online auction of a wide-ranging collection of Abba memorabilia failed to live up to expectations, the Swedish auction house that organized the sale said on Monday.

Mamma Mia! Final Abba auction tally disappoints

Thomas Nordin, a collector of all things related to the group famous for hits including Dancing Queen, Fernando and Mamma Mia, had put some 25,000 items up for sale.

Auction house Stockholms Auktionsverk estimated the two-day sale of the collection — the largest dedicated to the iconic disco group to be sold at auction — could fetch up to $125,000.

But deputy head Christian Minnhagen said the final tally was lower than hoped, at just 560,000 kronor ($86,000).

SEE ALSO: Watch a video clip from when The Local got Stockholmers to sing Mamma Mia

“We shouldn’t forget this is the first time such a sale has taken place,” he told AFP, saying some lots had surpassed expectations.

A purple jacket bearing the name of the group went for 31,500 kronor, more than seven times the list price.

And a limited edition maxi single produced in 1981 by the group for their manager Stig Anderson’s 50th birthday was sold for 42,000 kronor almost twice the list price of 25,000 kronor. Only 200 copies of the single had been produced.

The collection comprised objects collected by Nordin since 1974 when Abba burst onto the international scene winning the Eurovision contest with their song Waterloo.

Nordin, an Abba fan who was nine at the time, has since then picked up rare items and unusual merchandise from around the world, such as Abba clogs made exclusively for the American market, rare Abba soaps and dolls, a large collection of clippings and books, and original posters.

Nordin, now 48, planned to keep just three souvenirs “which do not take up much space”, including a postcard signed by all four members of the group: Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Anni-Frid Lyngstad and Benny Andersson.

On Sunday, he said he was happy with the results of the sale.

“Obviously there are certain things that did not sell. It’s very varied, but I’m very very happy,” he said.

Items which did not find buyers will be sold at an auction in the autumn, with lower list prices.

IN PICTURES: Abba throughout the years

Abba dominated the 1970s disco scene with their glitzy costumes, kitsch dance routines and catchy tunes such as Winner takes it all, Money, Money, Money, and Take a Chance on Me.

They split in 1983 and have vowed they will never reunite to sing together again.

AFP/The Local/dl

Follow The Local on Twitter

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.

ABBA

ABBA’s first album in 40 years shoots to the top of the UK charts

ABBA's first studio album in nearly 40 years has made it to the top of the UK charts, becoming the fastest seller of the year so far, the Official Charts Company said on Friday.

ABBA's first album in 40 years shoots to the top of the UK charts
ABBA's new album, 'Voyage' for sale in Stockholm at the start of this month. Photo: Jonatan Nackstrand/AFP

“Voyage” by the Swedish quartet of Agnetha, Bjorn, Benny and Anni-Frid racked up 204,000 chart sales in the seven days since it was launched last Friday.

Sales gave the supergroup the biggest opening week on the UK album chart in four years since Ed Sheeran’s “Divide”, and fastest-selling album by a group in eight years.

The last fastest-seller was One Direction’s “Midnight Memories” in November 2013.

READ ALSO: Abba’s new album has arrived – tell us, what do you think?

ABBA, propelled to global fame by their 1974 Eurovision Song Contest win with “Waterloo”, split in 1982, a year after their last album, “The Visitors”.

“Voyage” is their 10th number one album in the UK: only seven other acts — The Beatles, Elvis Presley, the Rolling Stones, Robbie Williams, Madonna, Bruce Springsteen and David Bowie — have had more.

The group said in a statement: “We are so happy that our fans seem to have enjoyed our new album as much as we enjoyed making it.

“We are absolutely over the moon to have an album at the top of the charts again.”

The 204,000 sales comprise 90 percent physical copies, including 29,900 on vinyl, making it the fastest-selling vinyl release of the 21st century.

The previous record holder was the Arctic Monkeys’ “Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino”, which sold 24,500 vinyl copies in 2018.

SHOW COMMENTS