Mamma Mia! ABBA's piano up for auction

The piano that featured in many of ABBA's greatest hits is going under the hammer next month in London, auctioneers Sotheby's said Thursday.

The instrument is estimated to fetch between £600,000 and £800,000 ($925,000-$1.24 million, 820,000-1.1 million euros) when it goes on sale on September 29.

Swedish pop foursome ABBA dominated the 1970s disco scene with their catchy songs.

"The opening piano glissando from 'Dancing Queen' is one of the most distinctive sounds of the 1970s and we are delighted to offer the actual instrument used by the legendary ABBA in their major recordings," said Sotheby's expert Philip W. Errington.

"The piano itself is an instrument of real importance and with the added ABBA provenance we expect it will have worldwide appeal."

It was built by the inventive Swedish musical instrument designer Georg Bolin for the US jazz pianist Bill Evans.

The New York Times described it in 1964 as a "space-age piano".

It was bought by Stockholm's Metronome Studios in 1967 and appeared in nearly all of ABBA's recordings between 1973 and 1977.

It featured in hits including "Dancing Queen", "Waterloo", "SOS", "Knowing Me, Knowing You", "Mamma Mia", and "Ring Ring".

"The Bolin grand, one of a kind and a great source of inspiration while working in the recording studio during the ABBA sessions!", said the group's pianist Benny Andersson.

The foursome -- Andersson, Bjoern Ulvaeus, Anni-Frid Lyngstad and Agnetha Faeltskog -- went their separate ways in 1983 and have never performed together since.

The piano is being sold by Atlantis Grammofon, formerly the Metronome Studios.

Famous pianos have earned huge sums at previous auctions.

In 2000, John Lennon's Steinway upright piano, on which he composed "Imagine", was bought for £1.67 million by the singer George Michael.

The upright piano that featured in Rick's Cafe Americain in the 1942 film "Casablanca" was sold in 2014 for $3.4 million.
Source: AFP