Abba outfits were a tax write-off says Bjorn Ulvaeus

ABBA has revealed that the flares, jumpsuits and platform heels that they donned in their heyday were not to stand out but worn as a tax write-off.

Pop music band ABBA says the reason they wore such outrageous outfits on stage was to ens

ABBA has revealed that the flares, jumpsuits and platform heels that they donned in their heyday were not to stand out but worn as a tax write-off.

In a new book, Björn Ulvaeus says that the band’s style came about in part because of Swedish tax laws that allowed the cost of costumes to be tax deductible but only if they were so outrageous that they couldn’t be worn on the street.

“In my honest opinion we looked like nuts in those years. Nobody can have been as badly dressed on stage as we were,” he writes.

The revelation comes in a new book, Abba: The Official Photo Book, published to mark 40 years since they won Eurovision with Waterloo.

In 2007 Ulvaeus was accused of failing to pay 85m kronor ($16m) in Swedish taxes between 1999 and 2005, but successfully appealed against the decision.

“I am of course very happy that I have been informed in writing that I have always done the right thing concerning my taxes,” he said after the court victory.