Manc Abba superfan spent £50,000 on collection that was too big for exhibition

An Abba superfan has spoken about his £50,000 merchandise collection that was deemed as ‘too big’ for an Abba exhibition.

Andrew Boardman, from Manchester, spent forty-four years of his life collecting Abba memorabilia including singles, albums, cassettes, videos, DVDs, posters, magazines, books, dolls, mugs, calendars, pendants, mugs, T-shirts, badges, posters, baubles, colouring books, games and dolls. 

Speaking to The Guardian in 2019, he acknowledged that his collection was ‘phenomenal’, saying: “It is amazing to see it out like it is … It’s forty-four years.”

Andrew Boardman / Facebook

Andrew’s passion for the Swedish pop ban began when he first heard the intro to ‘I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do’ on the radio as a twelve year old in 1975. He explained: “There was something… It’s stuck with me for the rest of my life, it just really clicked. There was a sound and from then on I was hooked.”

His passion quickly grew, with him spending every penny earned from his paper round on Abba – and he hasn’t stopped since. “It has been my life’s passion, you could pick any item and I could tell you where I got it, when I got it.”

So, with the news of Abba’s dazzling return to the stage yesterday, Andrew was invited onto ITV’s This Morning where he explained how his vast Abba collection was deemed as ‘too big’ for an official Abba exhibition at London’s O2 Arena – though a large proportion of his collection was featured in the exhibition from December 2019 to August 2020.

Speaking with Allison Hammond today, he revealed that over the years, he’s spent around £50,000 on the memorabilia, casually explaining: ”

Andrew Boardman / Facebook

That’s part of forty years collecting, it’s just amalgamated over the years.”

The superfan went on to recall that he’s been lucky enough to meet band members Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson, and has a personalised signed photo from Anni-Frid Lyngstad.

Andrew also addressed their new album, which was released yesterday, admitting that he had a ‘tingle down his spine’ and that his ‘eyes welled up’ for the first song. By the time the second new song played, he was ‘in pieces’.

Upon the release of their new album, ‘Voyage’, the band thanked fans for waiting almost four decades, adding: “To all of you who patiently have followed us in some way or another these past decades: Thank you for waiting – it’s time for a new journey to begin.”