12 Mind-Blowing Music Facts You Never Knew

Pop supergroup, Eurovision winners and firm favourites of every over-50s ladies' night this side of Stockholm, ABBA spent the 1970s carving out their niche in the history of music.

It may come as some surprise then to discover that the Swedish four-piece used their costumes to minimise their tax bill. Known for bold whites and primary colours, glitter, flares and jumpsuits, ABBA's idiosyncratic style was a response to Sweden's law that allowed the cost of outfits to be tax deductible so long as they were so outlandish and outrageous that they could not be worn in everyday life.

The band took this exemption as a mission statement and inspired not only a generation of brightly spangled teens, but perhaps also the larger fashion choices of the 1970s disco scene all the way through to contemporary artists like Lady Gaga.