The Abba piano.
The “ABBA Piano”, the first major piece of ABBA material to be offered at auction, comes up at Sotheby’s in London on September 29. No other single instrument has featured more prominently in pop music since the 1970’s. From the opening refrain of ‘Mamma Mia’, to ‘Waterloo’, ‘Dancing Queen’ and ‘Money, Money, Money’, the sound of this piano has resonated throughout countless bedrooms, headphones and dancefloors across the world. The instrument on which ABBA recorded their best-loved songs is from the collection of Atlantis Grammofon (formerly known as Metronome Studios), where ABBA recorded their greatest hits. Estimated at £600,000-800,000, it is accompanied by a certificate of authentication signed by Benny Andersson in 2015.
“The Bolin Grand, one of a kind and a great source of inspiration while working in the recording studio during the ABBA sessions!” Benny Andersson said this year. It was originally built for American composer and jazz pianist Bill Evans (1929-1980) by the Swedish designer George Bolin (1912-1993). It was purchased by the Metronome Studios in Stockholm in 1967 and featured on virtually all ABBA recordings from 1973-77.
In 2000 John Lennon’s Steinway upright piano, on which he composed Imagine, sold for £1.67 million. The upright piano which featured in Rick’s Cafe Americain in the film Casablanca sold for $3.4 million last year.
UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD
