ABBA single by single thread

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Haristar, Apr 7, 2018.

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  1. Joel1963

    Joel1963 Senior Member

    Location:
    Montreal
    I'm sure it was influenced by Blue Mink's Melting Pot.
     
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  2. bob60

    bob60 Forum Resident

    Location:
    London UK
    That is my thoughts exactly, there were just so many good singles around at that time.
    Having said that, I would have expected it to chart higher given that it was a stand alone single and not say the third single of an album....
     
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  3. Grant

    Grant Life is a rock, but the radio rolled me!

    If there is a problem with "Summer Night City", it's in the vocal performance. It's not exciting. It sounds like Frida and Agnetha didn't want to be there.
     
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  4. gja586

    gja586 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Gogledd Cymru
    I loved Summer Night City from the first time I heard it and still do. It's probably one of my Top 2 or 3 ABBA tracks. The video's fun too. :agree:
     
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  5. cut to the chase

    cut to the chase Forum Resident

    Location:
    Germany
    My top 20 so far:

    01 (01) Knowing Me, Knowing You
    02 (02) SOS
    03 (03) Dancing Queen
    04 (04) Money, Money, Money
    05 (05) The Name of the Game
    06 (06) Eagle
    07 (07) Thank You for the Music
    08 (08) Fernando
    09 (09) Mamma Mia
    10 (10) Take a Chance on Me

    11 (NEW) Summer Night City
    12 (11) Hasta Mañana
    13 (12) Another Town, Another Train
    14 (13) I Do x5
    15 (14) Ring Ring
    16 (15) I'm a Marionette
    17 (16) So Long
    18 (17) I've Been Waiting for You
    19 (18) Dance (While The Music Still Goes On)
    20 (19) Love Isn't Easy (But It Sure Is Hard Enough)
     
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  6. bjr

    bjr Senior Member

    Location:
    Stockholm, Sweden
    There is, and it certainly seemed to be a suitable image for this thread... if anyone is unaware, the green building on the left is "Sportpalatset" which housed the Polar studio until it was (sadly) dismantled in 2004.
     
    Last edited: Jun 13, 2018
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  7. steelvelvet20

    steelvelvet20 Forum Resident

    Location:
    United Kingdom
    Summer night city is the weak link in Abba's hit parade. I can see why Bjorn wasn't keen on it. In the UK, after Take a chance on me had left the chart, I would have extracted Thank you for the music from The album. That would have topped the UK survey. 'The album' would have a big sales boost, also. The next Abba single, in spring 1979 would be Chiquitita. The B side, Summer night city.
     
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  8. bob60

    bob60 Forum Resident

    Location:
    London UK
    Well plenty of us on here love this single.
     
  9. B. Bu Po

    B. Bu Po Senior Member

    Seeing the girls in close-up recording that song is quite a turn-on for me, to see them as themselves seriously creating and not prancing and posing. It looks as if Frida is chewing gum? Shades of John Lennon!
     
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  10. B. Bu Po

    B. Bu Po Senior Member

    P.S.: I love "Summer Night City"!
     
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  11. bob60

    bob60 Forum Resident

    Location:
    London UK
    By now Abba were also well known for the ‘short films’/videos that they made for their singles.
    The original plan was for Summer Night City to have two videos instead of just the usual one. I can only remember seeing the video posted on here so not sure if the second video was ever made.
     
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  12. John Adam

    John Adam An Introvert In Paradise

    Location:
    Hawaii
    I appreciate this! A good song than be translated to any genre! :) I made an ABBA Gold covers CD by various artists doing ABBA songs. I might be the only one who likes it. My favorite is "Angel Eyes" by the Czars.
    Have fun discussing the next single which I will be late for again...........:D
     
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  13. grimble

    grimble Forum Resident

    Location:
    Metroland, UK
    It’s always been as plain as anything to me. They use the f word once in the song and it’s right at the end of the fade.
     
  14. HGN2001

    HGN2001 Mystery picture member

    It has been explained time and again by Björn and is understandable to those with a knowledge of the Germanic languages. "W" is pronounced like a "v" in those languages, and in those instances where people think they hear the 'f' word, it is simply the tendency of the Swedes to want to make a "v" sound for the "w" in "walking in the moonlight." The "v", meanwhile, in the busy recording, especially as things are getting quieter during a fade, can sound like an "f".

    But those who love salty language and want to hear the band use it, will propagate the story in the other direction.
     
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  15. Haristar

    Haristar Apollo C. Vermouth Thread Starter

    Location:
    Hampshire, UK
    Chiquitita (1979)

    [​IMG]
    B-side: Lovelight
    Released: January 16, 1979
    Charts: #2 (United Kingdom), #29 (United States), #2 (Sweden), #4 (Australia)
     
  16. Haristar

    Haristar Apollo C. Vermouth Thread Starter

    Location:
    Hampshire, UK
    Really nice song. I've always sort of heard it as a more mature version of "Fernando". Beautiful lyrics and singing.

    It's not really one of my favourites though. I'm quite the fan of the "Voulez-Vous" album but this song is a bit of an outlier there.
     
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  17. Bobby Morrow

    Bobby Morrow Senior Member

    Oh Gawd, it’s Chiquitita.:D

    This is one I’ve just never liked, as I’ve said before. It’s too long and plodding, and as soon as I hear the strings on the intro I feel my spirits plummet.:D Fernando was beautiful and sweeping. This is just a drag.

    Don’t get me wrong, I can appreciate the work that went into it and can see that there’s nothing wrong with the song structurally, but whenever I hear it I just want to skip it.

    Lovelight is a pretty good song that I didn’t hear until the 2000s when the remasters Of ABBA’s albums came out...

    Because obviously I didn’t buy the single.:D
     
  18. Bobby Morrow

    Bobby Morrow Senior Member

    This is the UK charts for the week Chiquitita (miraculously) peaked at #2. 10th February 1979.

    [​IMG]

    Heart Of Glass is a lot better.
     
  19. Haristar

    Haristar Apollo C. Vermouth Thread Starter

    Location:
    Hampshire, UK
    I would have released "As Good As New" as the first single instead :)
     
  20. HGN2001

    HGN2001 Mystery picture member

    Somehow "Chiquitita" sounds better to me with Spanish lyrics.

     
  21. Bobby Morrow

    Bobby Morrow Senior Member

    Yes, it was a mistake not to put that out as a single.

    I thinking ABBA (well, Bjorn and Benny) temporarily lost it with the Voulez-Vous era... They didn’t really know what they were doing and weren’t happy with a lot of the songs that were on the album.
     
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  22. AudioEnz

    AudioEnz Senior Member

    My least favourite Abba hit single. Easily. I've always seen it as a poor rewrite of Fernando. Dreary, maudlin, boring. Still, it was a huge hit so many must like it!

    Chiquitita was the last Abba single to hit #1 in New Zealand (for one week) before it was knocked back to #2 by Blondie's Heart Of Glass. It was also the last Abba single to reach the top ten. Abba's days as a reliable hit maker in New Zealand finished with this song.
     
  23. Haristar

    Haristar Apollo C. Vermouth Thread Starter

    Location:
    Hampshire, UK
    Maybe it's an unpopular opinion but I'm a fan of "Voulez-Vous". However I could have lived without the three biggest singles (Chiquitita, the title track and I Have a Dream), and I'm much more interested in As Good As New, The King Has Lost His Crown, Angeleyes, and Does Your Mother Know.
     
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  24. cut to the chase

    cut to the chase Forum Resident

    Location:
    Germany
    The Spanish version of 'Chiquitita' was a huge number one hit all over Latin America. It stayed at number one in Mexico for 32 (!) weeks.
     
  25. cut to the chase

    cut to the chase Forum Resident

    Location:
    Germany
    Chiquitita' entered the UK charts at number 8 the week ending 3 February 1979, the highest new entry ever for an ABBA single in the UK.

    It jumped to #2 the following week but couldn't dethrone Blondie's 'Heart of Glass' (as can be seen on the chart above posted by Bobby).

    After another week at number 2, it was replaced at that position by the Bee Gees' 'Tragedy', falling to number 3.

    The week ending 3 March 1979, the Bee Gees replaced Blondie at the top, with 'Chiquitita' dropping to number 5.

    The entire top 5 for that week:

    01 (02) Bee Gees - TRAGEDY
    02 (01) Blondie - HEART OF GLASS
    03 (05) Elvis Costello And The Attractions - OLIVER'S ARMY
    04 (07) Gloria Gaynor - I WILL SURVIVE
    05 (03) Abba - CHIQUITITA


    Quite a strong competition in early 1979.
     
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