Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! ABBA’s Florida mansion hits the market
A mansion built specifically for ABBA is up for sale, and its new owners will also walk away with a collection of memorabilia, recording equipment, cassettes, and even a stereo that once belonged to the iconic Swedish pop band - as long as they can afford the $US 3.9 million ($AUD 5.59 million) price tag.
The sprawling home was designed by the stars themselves in the style of a Swedish longhouse and built in 1982 - just before the band officially broke up.
Bandmates Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson and Anni-Frid Lyngstad were believed to have lived in the house until 1986, when it was purchased by an unnamed couple who lived there until they passed away earlier this year.
Even after all these years, the band’s recording equipment and tapes remain completely untouched inside the home.
Lisa Farmer, the listing agent with Premier Sotheby’s International Realty, revealed that the architect who worked with the band to design their home had no idea that the two Swedish couples were actually the people behind Waterloo and Dancing Queen.
“We found the architect and spoke to him on the phone. He said he was in a trailer on the site before the home was built with both couples, all four members of the band, face to face, designing the home,” Farmer said.
“At the time, he didn't realise it was ABBA until a few days later when he got a call from a reporter in London who apparently got wind of it.
“He said he met with two Swedish couples and that's how he found out it was ABBA.”
Farmer added that it was “super cool” that there were things left behind from the band that were never even used.
“There's some stereo equipment that the people who bought the house never even used,” she said.
“It's in this one area where [ABBA] might have done some recording. There's an actual ABBA cassette that was left inside the cassette player.”
The six-bedroom home on the island of Tierra Verde features a “community space with two-storey vaulted ceilings” according to the listing, as well as two identical wings on each side, complete with a master suite, loft area, and two bedrooms with jack-and-jill bathrooms.
Recent upgrades include a new roof with skylights, battery-ready solar panels, renovated guest baths, and a fresh coat of paint.
'[The band] specifically requested a Swedish longhouse design. It's got a really neat central, common living area that's big and open with a really nice stone fireplace,” Farmer said.
“What's kind of unique is that the two wings on both sides of the house are exactly identical and symmetrical.
“The layout of the home is pretty special and just makes for a great house for somebody who would like to entertain or has a big family.”
Images: Getty Images / Sotheby’s International Realty