Although ABBA still had a few years left in the tank, Super Trouper was their ninth and last number 1 to date. What a run. This is the story of their last chart-topper, their final act and their triumphant return as avatars in the 21st century.
Before
Super Trouper was the final track that Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus wrote for their seventh LP. Unusually, the album was already to have that name, which it shares with a type of stage spotlight once for large venues, that was once considered the brightest in the world. This song had the working title of Blinka Lilla Stjärna (Swedish for Twinkle Little Star), but as Andersson and Ulvaeus noticed how well the album title fitted with the chorus, so it became Super Trouper, and it replaced Put On Your White Sombrero to become the title track.
Although not as obvious as The Winner Takes It All, the song features references to Ulvaeus and Agnetha Fältskog’s marriage coming to an end. In the first verse, ‘I was sick and tired of everything/When I called you last night from Glasgow’ referred to Ulvaeus missing his then-wife during promo work in the Scottish city. With this in mind, and the song’s central theme of a pop star who wants to get off the road and be with his loved one, you can consider Super Trouper a rather poignant goodbye to Fältskog from Ulvaeus. However, if that was the intention, it’s half-hidden and mixed in with the conceit of the pop star knowing that somewhere in the crowd is the one they love.
Review
Super Trouper is a suitably great way for ABBA to bow out of this blog. It’s classic ABBA, featuring a beautiful plaintive piano melody from Andersson and a yearning sound to the verses, before turning into a mix of synth-disco and schlager music for the chorus – the latter coming from the backing vocals. I’m not normally a fan of ABBA when they dip into schlager, but it’s irresistibly catchy here.
Lasse Hallström’s videos are usually reliably interesting, and Super Trouper is no exception. It features their biggest cast yet – a circus troupe, as displayed on the sleeve art, shown above. Mostly, it’s ABBA performing in front of loads of disco lights, interspersed with an annoyingly frequent moustachioed man controlling a ‘super trouper’, a very badly animated Andersson and an amazingly horrible jumper sported by Anni-Frid Lyngstad.
After
Super Trouper made ABBA the fourth biggest act for UK chart-toppers ever, with nine, behind only The Beatles, Elvis Presley and Cliff Richard. They held this position until Madonna went to number 1 with Music in 2000. They now share the eighth spot for most number 1s with the Spice Girls and Rihanna. This single is their second biggest selling in the UK, behind only Dancing Queen.
It was one of the biggest singles of Christmas 1980, and may have perhaps even made it to Christmas number 1 had John Lennon not been murdered while it was top of the hit parade. It even spawned a famous festive Woolworth advert one year later.
ABBA followed up Super Trouper with another classic, Lay All Your Love on Me, which peaked at seven. It was, at the time, the biggest-selling 12″ ever.
1981 was an eventful year for the group. Ulvaeus remarried in January, and Andersson and Lyngstad divorced, followed by Andersson remarrying that November. The same month saw the release of The Visitors, which was to be ABBA’s last album for 40 years. With lyrics exploring the Cold War and the complexities relationships, it was their most mature work yet. The lead single, One of Us, peaked at three and was their last top 10 single for 40 years.
In 1982 ABBA released a compilation, over-optimistically titled The Singles: The First Ten Years, which included the acclaimed new single The Day Before You Came. Their last public appearance together for many years was on Noel Edmonds’ The Late, Late Breakfast Show that year. The group never officially announced they had split, and even denied for some time, but Fältskog and Lyngstad worked on solo albums, while Ulvaeus and Andersson began working with Tim Rice on the musical Chess.
10 years after ABBA’s last singles, some of their most popular songs were at number 1 thanks to synth-pop duo Erasure, who released their Abba-esque EP and helped kickstart an irony laden ABBA revival in the 90s, that has never really gone away. This was thanks also in no small part to the release one of the bestselling compilations of all-time – ABBA Gold: Greatest Hits, the same year. Westlife’s cover of I Have a Dream, paired up with Seasons in the Sun, was the final UK number 1 of the 20th century.
Fältskog, Lyngstad, Ulvaeus and Andersson were not seen in public together again until the Stockholm premiere of the musical Mamma Mia! in 2005. In the same month, Madonna released Hung Up, featuring a sample of Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight), which became her 11th chart-topper. Three years later, Mamma Mia! became a film, and although ABBA were together again for the premiere, they said they would never reform as a band.In 2016, the ice began to thaw. ABBA briefly appeared on stage again at a private party to mark 50 years since their songwriters first met. That year, Simon Fuller also announced a new project – ABBAtars – which would feature the group in avatar form. Two years later – the same year as musical sequel Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again was released – ABBA shocked the world. At last, they were to release new songs, to coincide with a TV special. However, the programme was cancelled, but although the next few years saw plans delayed in large part due to COVID-19, news of further new material leaked.
Finally in 2021, ABBA released a new album. Voyage was preceded by the singles I Still Have Faith in You and Don’t Shut Me Down. Although, perhaps surprisingly, they didn’t return to number 1 in the UK singles chart, the country, like the rest of the world, were much in need of reconnecting with one of the most popular bands of all time. Perhaps wisely, the group adopted a different approach to promotion. The long-awaited avatar project came to fruition, with a concert residency inside ABBA Arena, a custom-built venue at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in London. ABBA were immortalised just as they looked in 1979, but with newly recorded vocals, as motion capture digital avatars, backed by a 10-piece band, edited by one of former housemates when I was at university, which boggled my mind when I found out. ABBA’s fans had the opportunity to relive their favourite songs, and if they were to close their eyes or suspend their imagination, ABBA were back in their glory. Andersson confirmed in 2022 that this would be the final ABBA project. In 2023 their longtime guitarist, the unsung Lasse Wellander, died at the age of 70.
The Outro
For many years, I was turned off by ABBA. I found much of their work too cheesy, over-rated and prone to being covered by a range of awful groups (Erasure were not one of them. Westlife, they definitely were). Their schlager music left me cold, even if I recognised Dancing Queen as a classic.
One benefit of this blog is the way it has helped shed new light on artists I might previously have rejected. ABBA are one of those. Some of their 70s number 1s helped raise the bar among some seriously lacklustre chart-toppers, particularly in 1976. And it’s perhaps only with the passing of time and certain experiences that you can appreciate that underlying or often blatant sadness at the heart of some truly amazing and even painful songwriting. I was, frankly, a fool to under-appreciate ABBA. I am prone to being a music slob, and questioning the British public for buying records I’d have run a mile from. In ABBA’s case, I have been well and truly humbled.
What far-reaching effect the concept of avatar concerts may have in years to come on other, perhaps long dead musical acts, remains to be seen.
The Info
Written & produced by
Benny Andersson & Björn Ulvaeus
Weeks at number 1
3 (29 November-19 December)
Trivia
Births
6 December: Footballer Steve Lovell 7 December: Footballer John Terry 8 December: Actor Nick Nevern 15 December: Actor Neil McDermott/Kasabian guitarist Sergio Pizzorno 16 December: Actor Michael Jobson
Deaths
29 November: Historian Joel Hurstfield 2 December: Labour Party MP Patrick Gordon Walker 3 December: British Union of Fascists leader Oswald Mosley 4 December: Cricketer Geoffrey Cooke 6 December: Novelist Margot Bennett 8 December: Beatles singer-songwriter John Lennon (see ‘Meanwhile…’) 10 December: Writer Philip MacDonald 11 December: Novelist Margaret Malcolm 12 December: Businessman Sir Jules Thorn 13 December: Anthropologist John Morris/Labour Party MP Harry Pursey 14 December: Physician Sir Weldon Dalrymple-Champneys, 2nd Baronet/Scottish cricketer Forbes Jones 16 December: Jazz trombonist Keith Christie/film director Peter Collins 17 December: Artist Elsie Few 18 December: Writer Ben Travers
Meanwhile…
8 December: The UK joined the world in mourning the unexpected and shocking loss of John Lennon, founder of The Beatles and only 40 when shot dead by Mark Chapman outside the Dakota, his home in New York.
14 December: Thousands of fans mourned Lennon in Liverpool, his birthplace, with a 10-minute vigil.
18 December: Labour leader Michael Foot got off to a promising start in his new role, with a MORI poll showing his party leading the Conservatives by 24 points.
It had been nearly two years since ABBA had last topped the charts, with the upbeat bounce of Take a Chance on Me. You won’t find any of that in The Winner Takes It All. One of the saddest number 1s you’ll ever hear details the break-up of a relationship – and you don’t have to look far to find the inspiration.
Before
ABBA: The Album had cemented the group’s status as one of the biggest and best in the world back in 1978. They converted a disused cinema in their hometown of Stockholm into Polar Music Studio, which would be used by huge acts including Led Zeppelin and Genesis. They also paid tribute to Stockholm with their next single, but Summer Night City proved problematic to record. It would peak at five in the UK. Nonetheless, it would signpost that ABBA’s next LP, Voulez-Vous, would be a further move into disco.
Not that you’d know that from their next single. The ballad Chiquitita was premiered at the Music for UNICEF charity concert on 9 January 1979, and released in the UK. Although the song gained the highest initial position of any ABBA single (eight), it couldn’t quite hit the top spot, finishing up at two behind Heart of Glass. But it remains one of the most famous charity singles ever.
While Chiquitita was charting, Björn Ulvaeus and Agnetha Fältskog announced they were getting divorced. Understandably, the media and fans wondered if this meant the end of ABBA, but everyone was reassured they would continue. In fact, it was hoped that now the news was out, they could get back to recording their troubled sixth album. Songwriters Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson decamped to an apartment in the Bahamas and they concentrated on listening to the latest sounds emanating from the US, which were mainly disco.
Voulez-Vous was released that April, with the next single, Does Your Mother Know, standing out due to Fältskog and Anni-Frid Lyngstad uncharacteristically being relegated to backing vocals. It stalled at four. The title track came next, billed as a double A-side with Angeleyes. Surprisingly, despite the former being one of their most famous and catchiest tunes, couldn’t get higher than three. When the similarly impressive Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight) peaked at the same position (released to coincide with their second greatest hits compilation), it may have started to look like perhaps ABBA’s number 1 days were over. Which would have been OK – after all, they had notched up seven, which was more than anyone achieved in the 70s. Their last single that decade, the cheesy I Have a Dream, couldn’t get higher than two.
Following an enormously successful tour, including six sold-out nights at Wembley Arena, ABBA reconvened in Feb 1980 to start work on their seventh album. Perhaps due to the disco backlash in the US, and the looming divorce, they reverted to a more pop sound, with added mature lyrics that had been hinted at with songs like Knowing Me, Knowing You. Only this time, The Winner Takes It All mirrored Ulvaeus and Fältskog’s personal experiences at least, to a degree.
Ulvaeus and Andersson had written the first released fruits of Super Trouper in the summer of 1979 in a cottage on the island of Viggsö. Originally called The Story of My Life (a title that scans well with the chorus), The Winner Takes It All started out more uptempo. However, they found the demo too stiff, and when they returned to the song four days later, Andersson had come up with a looser structure and a suitably sadder arrangement thanks to the descending piano line. Impressed, Ulvaeus recorded a new demo and garbled nonsense-French lyrics over the tune (due to its new chanson feel). He then took the recording home and got drunk on whiskey. He later claimed the words to The Winner Takes It All were the quickest he ever wrote, coming to him in a blast of emotion within the hour.
Ulvaeus has claimed more than once that The Winner Takes It All shouldn’t be taken as a literal recount of his divorce, pointing out that there was no winner or loser in their experience. But he didn’t deny that his sadness over their marriage breakdown had inspired the song to an extent. To quote Knowing Me, Knowing You, ‘Breaking up is never easy’. And it certainly hit home for Fältskog, who shed tears when presented with the lyrics.
Review
The sadness in The Winner Takes It All is so real, it can actually be unbearable if it gets you at a bad time. Compare it with What’s Another Year – workmanlike maudlin misery with no sense of authenticity. Ulvaeus’ lyrics are painfully honest – I believe him when he says they’re not directly inspired by what he went through, but good God, there’s no wonder they hit a nerve with poor Fältskog. Those first three lines:
‘I don’t wanna talk, About things we’ve gone through, Though it’s hurting me, now it’s history’.
Ouch. Likely a fair summation of the mood in Polar Studios, post-divorce, between the former couple. From there, I’m not sure of the levels of fiction involved, but the title of the song and the comparison with a card game suggests some other woman has won her man, or perhaps it’s even about who got what in a court battle. ‘That’s her destiny’ suggests the former, while the references to judges later suggests the latter, so maybe it’s both.
The second verse talks of the spurned partner’s mistaken sense of security and hopes for the future, but that they now feel they were a fool to play ‘by the rules’. By verse three, she very much does want to talk. She’s angry and is asking those internal questions the mind asks even when the heart is too scared to find out the answer. She wants to know how her ex’s new love compares to her. By the time she gets to her confession she misses him, but is resigned to playing by the rules of the game. She’s lost.
The final verse, now that’s the hardest part to bear. An apologetic Fältskog feels sorry for making her ex feel sad about how things turned out, and although she’s trying to come to terms with their more formal future (‘And I understand, you’ve come to shake my hand’), it’s too hard. She’s ‘tense, no self-confidence’, but what does she do? She apologises, because she cares still. It’s heart-wrenching.
As someone who’s only really getting to grips with how great ABBA were, I must admit that previously, I didn’t really care for The Winner Takes It All particularly. Musically, I saw it as another example of ABBA’s high camp and melodramatic tendencies. I knew it was connected to marital woes, but it’s taken middle age and, more importantly, my own divorce to understand just how very real and painful this song is. ABBA were coming to the end of the road, but they approached it with grace and honesty. And I was wrong about the tune too, because it’s actually pretty funky when you really listen – courtesy of the session rhythm section, Ola Brunkert on drums and Mike Watson on bass.
Ulvaeus’ lyrics are thoughtful, but the same can’t be said for whoever signed off on the video. As usual, their director Lasse Hallström took a very literal approach, and really blurred the lines of truth and fiction. Following black and white images of ABBA in happier times, we cut to a dejected and pained Fältskog in close-up, singing inbetween footage of the rest of the band having a laugh. Her face at the end is almost too much to bear when you consider the video was shot only 10 days after the divorce was officially declared.
After
The Winner Takes It All was a worldwide hit, becoming number 1 in the UK, Ireland, Belgium, the Netherlands and South Africa. It also performed well in Austria, France, West Germany and Sweden, and became their final US hit. The signs were very good for the parent album, Super Trouper.
The Outro
Rob Brydon and Steve Coogan’s rendition of ABBA’s penultimate number 1 from their series The Trip is well worth a watch if you’d rather not get too caught up in the inherent misery of the song.
The Info
Writers & producers
Benny Andersson & Björn Ulvaeus
Weeks at number 1
2 (9-22 August)
Trivia
Births
19 August: Actor Adam Campbell/Singer Darius Danesh
Deaths
9 August: Comedian Audrey Jeans 10 August: Philosopher Gareth Evans 18 August: Rower Harold Kitching 20 August: Historian AK Hamilton Jenkin/Historian Dame Lucy Sutherland 21 August: Actor Norman Shelley
Meanwhile…
11 August: Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher visits Harold Hill in East London to hand over the keys to the 12,000th council tenants to buy their home under the right to buy scheme. When she does so, she’s booed by neighbours of the family in East London. Also that day, Tyne and Wear Metro opens on Tyneside.
16 August: The Denmark Place fire kills 37 people of eight nationalities, after an arson attack. Petty criminal John Thompson was thrown out of The Spanish Place – one of two unlicensed bars on the top two floors of 18 Denmark Place (Rodo’s was the other). He found a container, hailed a taxi to a petrol station, filled it with petrol, poured it through the letterbox of the venue, and threw a lit piece of paper inside. The fire swept through the building so quickly, many inside died on the spot.
20 August: 47-year-old Marguerite Walls became Peter Sutcliffe’s 12th known victim, strangled to death on her way home from work in Leeds.
I’m just about done with the 70s for the time being, but before I get on with Every UK Number 1: The 60s, here’s one more look at the decade. As usual when I finish choosing my highs and lows of a decade, I take a look at the number 2s (oo-er). Why? Well, it’s a chance to take an alternative look at the most popular songs of the decade and see how they compare with the songs that pipped them to the post. It’s long been believed that some of the greatest songs of all time missed out on the top spot. This certainly proved true in the 60s.
Will it prove to be the case for the 70s? Let’s find out. As per usual, I’ll look at each year, pick a best and worst for each year, then an overall winner and loser. Any future past number 1s aren’t included – these songs must have reached no higher than 2.
1970
Just as with the number 1 selection of this year, rock is the main genre dominating the runner-up chart position. And there’s some real beauties. Elvis Presley’s greatest song, Suspicious Minds, gets things off to an excellent start. Like the best number 2s, it’s criminal this didn’t top the charts. Folk trio Peter, Paul and Mary are next with their version of John Denver’s Leaving on a Jet Plane. This was the version that was a hit, and rightly so as the harmonies are lovely. Let’s Work Together – later a hit for Roxy Music as Let’s Stick Together – is an excellent dose of raucous blues-rock courtesy of Canned Heat. The Beatles bow out of the charts with Let It Be, which is obviously a classic, but for a change, I’m not picking it as the winner. We won’t see them again until Every 90s Number 2, when Free As a Bird was pipped to the post. Question by The Moody Blues is a lovely piece of prog rock. It’s a bit like Fleetwood Mac’s Oh Well, in that it’s more like a two-parter, but both halves are great. Groovin’ with Mr Bloe was a B-side for a band called Wind that changed their name to Mr Bloe when this song became an accidental hit in the US. Although an unknown called Elton John recorded a version, it was ignored in favour of the harmonica-led soul original at last. It’s not bad. Then we’ve a couple of bangers. All Right Now by Free and Lola by The Kinks are still evergreen rock classics. Less famous is Neanderthal Man by session musicians Hotlegs, later known as 10cc. They were messing about with drum sounds in the studio when they stumbled upon their suitably primitive rock smasher. The rocksteady favourite You Can Get it if You Really Want was written and recorded by Jimmy Cliff before number 1 artist Desmond Dekker and the Aces released their version, which outdid Cliff’s. I find it a little overrated, to be honest. Then another total rock classic, and one of the greatest riffs of all time – Deep Purple’s Black Night. Patches is a forgotten soul track by Chairmen of the Board’s singer General Johnson, but blind singer Clarence Carter took it to number 2. It’s not aged well. Rounding a great year off is When I’m Dead and Gone by rock band McGuinness Flint. It’s pretty nice, and thanks to the mandolin is rather similar to Maggie May. Two of the band later departed to become Gallagher and Lyle.
The Best:
The Jackson 5 –I Want You Back
As you can see with such incredible competition, the winner of 1970 has to be pretty special. I nearly went with Suspicious Minds but few songs show the majestic uplifting beauty of pop at its best than this. It’s mad to think the Jacksons didn’t get a UK number 1 until 1977. I Want You Back, their debut, is still guaranteed to fill dance floors after all these years. Effervescent and sweet without being too sugary, it’s bloody brilliant. And whatever Michael Jackson later became, what a talent he was in 1970.
The Worst:
Mary Hopkin –Knock Knock, Who’s There
Young folk star Hopkin had recorded some great Paul McCartney material initially, including number 1 Those Were the Days, but this tune, which became the runner-up at the Eurovision Song Contest, is a big letdown. It’s perfect as a 70s Eurovision entry, and certainly better than the winner, but it’s the worst song in a very good year.
1971
Similar to 1970 but a lower rate of classics. But the first stirrings of glam are here, with the genre’s pioneers, T Rex, topping and tailing the year. The Pushbike Song by Australian band The Mixtures, is a very obvious copy of Mungo Jerry’s In the Summertime, but I can’t help but enjoy it anyway. It’s followed by Another Day, which was the debut solo single by a Mr Paul McCartney. John Lennon may have slated this by comparing it to Yesterday in How Do You Sleep?, but unfairly so in my opinion. It’s a lovely single. A controversial classic next, as The Rolling Stones got to number 2 for the last time with Brown Sugar/Bitch/Let It Rock. The first track was until recently considered one of the band’s best, but in the wake of Black Lives Matter and #metoo, the lyrical references to the slave trade and rape have understandably seen this removed from the Stones setlist. Bitch is a decent track from Sticky Fingers, with a good guitar and brass riff, and Let It Rock is a so-so run-through an old Chuck Berry song at the University of Leeds. There must have been something in the air in 1971, as the next three tracks are all about death. Indiana Wants Me was inspired by Canadian country singer R Dean Taylor’s viewing of Bonnie and Clyde and is written from the point of view who murdered a man who insulted his woman, which seems somewhat of an overreaction. It’s not bad, atmospheric and ending with gunfire. Not as good as his best-known track There’s a Ghost in My House, though. Then there’s I Did What I Did for Maria by Sheffield singer Tony Christie, sounding just like Tom Jones here. This is from the POV of a widower on Death Row who is about to die for avenging the death of his wife. Interesting premise, but so-so as a song. Worth mentioning it was written and produced by 50s hitmaker Mitch Murray and Peter Callander, who wrote Georgie Fame’s 1968 number 1, The Ballad of Bonnie and Clyde. They also wrote Christie’s 2005 number 1 Is This the Way to Amarillo. Then, Don’t Let It Die by Hurricane Smith. Norman Smith had been an engineer for The Beatles from 1963-65. Promoted to a producer, he worked with bands including Pink Floyd. He wrote this track as a warning abut the future of the Earth with Lennon in mind, but producer Mickie Most said Smith should release it himself. It’s pretty good, and Smith’s vocal is pretty weird, sounding slightly unhinged, even. Future glam stars The Sweet scored their first real hit with Co-Co, a catchy but cheesy calypso-style track. The New Seekers’ cover of Delaney & Bonnie’s Never Ending Song of Love is throwaway pap. Nancy Sinatra and her producer Lee Hazlewood, four years after her last number 1 Somethin’ Stupid, narrowly missed out with the duet Did You Ever, which I think is filthier than it first appears. Scottish popsters Middle of the Road followed up their number 1 Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep with Tweedle Dee, Tweedle Dum, which isn’t quite as irritating as their chart-topper, at least but it’s throwaway nonsense. US funk rockers redbone liven things up somewhat with the spooky The Witch Queen of New Orleans. Tom Jones’s cover of a 50s track, Till, is typically overblown, but not very memorable. Marc Bolan returns to end the year with the lightweight but enjoyable Jeepster. T Rex really were on fire in the early 70s.
The Best:
T Rex – Ride a White Swan
And here’s the song that finally made Bolan, after years as a cult figure in Tyrannosaurus Rex, into a bona fide star. With only Bolan and percussionist Mickey Finn on board, it’s a fascinating bridge from the low-key whimsy of his former band into the electric, catchy pop template of T Rex’s future four number 1s and so much more.
The Worst:
Ray Stevens – Bridget the Midget (The Queen of the Blues)
Oh Ray, you really don’t do great with me, do you? On the basis of this and one of the worst chart-toppers of the 70s, The Streak, Stevens really was the master of awfully unfunny novelty crap. This is marginally better than that track, purely on the basis of a catchy piano riff. The rest is total shit. Pitched-up vocals from Stevens are meant to give the impression he is Bridget, a small, high-pitched singer. Fuck’s sake.
1972
Glam makes its presence felt with some classics and some that are best forgotten. But first, 11-year-old Scottish Opportunity Knocks winner Neil Reid with his soppy old cover of Mother of Mine. Pretty much forgotten now, unlike Don McLean’s American Pie. It’s better than his 1972 number 1 Vincent, but overfamiliarity with it makes me weary. Way too long, also. Ringo Starr! This is much more like it. His early 70s collaborations with fellow-Beatle George Harrison are well worth checking out, and Back OffBoogaloo is probably the best. Is it a Paul McCartney diss? Maybe, but it’s definitely very glam-sounding, that’s undeniable. Greek singer Vicky Leandros won Eurovision with Après Toi, and the English translation, Come What May, shows she had a great voice, but there’s not a lot to say about it otherwise. David Cassidy is next with a double A-side, Could It Be Forever?/Cherish. His voice is less irritating than it is on the number 1s he followed this up with, and I didn’t mind the former, but the latter is very wet and overlong, albeit with a nice climax (that’s what she said). I used to think Rocket Man was merely Elton John ripping off Space Oddity, but it’s grown on me over the last year or so. Great vocal and nice synth sound too. Won’t be a shock to hear I’d rather forget about Gary Glitter but unfortunately he crops up a lot now. Annoyingly though, Rock and Roll, Parts 1 and 2 still sounds good. But that’s down to producer Mike Leander. And at least Part 2 is an instrumental so we don’t even have to think about Glitter… except his voice is all over it still, particularly all those horrible yelping noises at the end… Then it’s Dr Hook and the Medicine Show’s Sylvia’s Mother. Nice idea, writing a song about a man ringing his ex to get her back, only for her mum to answer, but unfortunately the vocal is so overwrought it ruins it. Long before Jona Lewis was wishing he was home for Christmas, he was doing the Seaside Shuffle with Terry Dactyl and the Dinosaurs. Nice, jaunty little novelty track that makes me want to go for a paddle. After that we’ve the evergreen Children of the Revolution, a standout T Rex track that I actually prefer to his last two number 1s, Telegram Sam and Metal Guru. It’s a little different to Bolan’s usual fare thanks to the epic arrangement. Hotlegs became 10c with the release of doo-wop pastiche Donna, but it’s too similar to Oh! Darling by the Beatles, and not particularly funny. And here come the legendary Slade with Gudbuy T’Jane, an excellent ode to a woman who demonstrated a sex machine on a US chat show they appeared on.
The Best:
The Osmonds – Crazy Horses
Still astounds me how a Mormon boyband in effect pulled a ‘Monkees’ and decided to rock out and play their own instruments. Rehearsing in a basement, Wayne came up with the monster chugging riff, Merrill invented the melody and gave the verse vocal to Jay and Alan got the chords. Donny’s voice was breaking so he didn’t sing, but his organ was a stallion (that’s what she said), which, put through a wah-wah pedal, gave the song its hook. And what a hook. This ode to ecology had a great message, too. Their record label were understandably concerned before its release, but it did very well, particularly in the UK, and it bloody well deserved to.
The Worst:
The New Seekers – Beg, Steal or Borrow
Another Eurovision entry, this time for the UK. It came second but like the other contest entries so far, it’s pretty dull. But they perform it well. I do have a little respect for The New Seekers – they seem to have had a bit more going for them than the usual light entertainment singers of the era.
1973
Peak glam, with only a few pop songs getting a look in. T Rex are back for the last time with Solid Gold Easy Action, which is only an average Bolan track, but that’s still better than most of the competition. Very much of its time is the rowdy left-wing folk singalong Part of the Union by The Strawbs. I’ve read differing opinions on this over the years. Is it pro-unions or a pisstake. Probably the former. Either way, it’s an earworm and a reminder of days when unions held more power. The Faces next, with the rather lacklustre Cindy Incidentally. It’s no Stay with Me or Ooh La La. Sadly Glitter was at the peak of his powers this year with two more famous stompers. Hello! Hello! I’m Back Again is the least revolting of the two, and of course is better known these days for being knicked by Oasis. The Sweet are much more welcome with their two – Hell Raiser and particularly The Ballroom Blitz are great raunchy rockers, which probably went down a storm live, and bassist Steve Priest’s camp interjections are always fun. I like The Carpenters in small doses, but Yesterday Once More is a bit too saccharine, however lovely the production is. Barry Blue was perhaps too lightweight to be remembered for his glam single Dancing (on a Saturday Night), but it’s pretty good, if a bit on the retro side, something which occurred more with glam a year later. The least glam-sounding glam song here is MY FRIEИD STAИ by Slade – their comeback single after drummer Don Powell’s car crash. I like the fact they styled this song with what looks to be Satanic writing. But the song is a bit of a curio, sounding more like a Chas and Dave tune. The Osmonds are back with Let Me In, which was familiar with me thanks to The Avalanches sampling it on Since I Left You in 2000. The rock of Crazy Horses is gone and replaced with the more familiar commercial pop sound, but it’s good at what it does. Judging them by their biggest hits, it seems The Osmonds were better as a group than their various offshoots. Don’t even get me started on Little Jimmy… The black glove of Alvin Stardust is one of the most recognisable glam sights of yore, but as I discovered when reviewing his number 1 Jealous Mind, it’s actually songwriter Pete Shelley singing that and this better, more famous track, My Coo-ca-Choo. Rounding things off is Marie Osmond with an old-fashioned cover of country track Paper Roses. Mad to think this was higher up the charts that December than Wizzard…
The Best:
David Bowie – The Jean Genie
It’s also mad to think David Bowie didn’t get to number 1 during his Ziggy Stardust phase and we have to settle with this instead. Bizarrely written and recorded at the same time as another Bo Diddley soundalike, number 1 Block Buster !, Bowie missed out on the top spot. And despite being a massive Bowie hardcore fan, I said in my review that I preferred The Sweet’s song (just). Yet that didn’t win by favourite number 1 of 1973. Confused? Me too. Anyway, allegedly inspired by Jean Genet and Iggy Pop, The Jean Genie always sounds great, even when you hear it for the millionth time.
The Worst:
Gary Glitter – Do You Wanna Touch Me? (Oh Yeah!) – Eugh. I hate to say it but despite despising this despicable chancer, a lot of Glitter songs still sound good. The guitar sound at the start of this is cool, but as usual I’m going to say it’s down to Leander. Lyrically, this is the most sickening Glitter tune to be forced to hear these days. Forever a black stain on the charts.
1974
Just as the standard of number 1s fell with the decline of glam, so did the runners-up. Even more so, in fact. The year begins with an overlong blast of circus music courtesy of Leo Sayer and his first hit, TheShow Must Go On. It’s an odd little tune, with interesting lyrics but an overwrought vocal. TeenageRampage is OK but probably the least impressive tune by The Sweet here. Then it’s the surprise comeback of The Hollies with a cover of Albert Hammond’s The Air That I Breathe. It’s perhaps best known these days for the verses being so similar to part of Radiohead’s Creep, but that takes away from the memorable chorus. Country singer Charlie Rich’s The Most Beautiful Girl is decent I suppose, if you like the genre, which I don’t much. Tiger Feet was definitely a late-glam era highlight and one of my favourite number 1s of 1974, but Mud’s The Cat Crept In just sounds like a tossed-off retread. The guitar is practically the same. The Bay City Rollers had two chart-toppers but Shang-a-Lang was the start of Roller-mania. It’s a very irritating song – I really don’t like the chorus. Finally, a song to shake things up a bit… It was This Town Ain’t Big Enough for Both of Us. Combining inventive glam, rather than its derivative aspect, with music hall and progressive pop, this is the song that alerted the world to Sparks. Produced by Muff Winwood of former chart-toppers The Spencer Davis Group, fact fans. Back to 50s-sounding glam with Showaddywaddy’s Hey Rock and Roll. The Leicester band were riding high from their New Faces win and penned this debut single. which features their name in the backing vocals. It’s terribly unoriginal, but the stomping in the chorus would have been quite fun for children I suppose. It wasn’t just rock that was low on ideas in 1974, as Kissin’ in the Back Row of the Movies by The Drifters sounds like 50s soul rather than genres like the Philly Sound, up soon. The band were unsure whether singing about picking their girl up from school when her homework was done was a good idea – imagine that happening now… Where do I know Stephanie De Sykes’ Born with a Smile on My Face from? Is it from a 90s comedy? Wherever I first heard it makes me nostalgic upon hearing it again, but can you be nostalgic for something you can’t even remember?! The Stylistics’ You Make Me Feel Brand New was more contemporary. Love the sitar at the start and tenor Airrion Love’s vocal is much more pleasant on the ears than the falsetto of Russell Thompkins Jr. Donny and Marie Osmond team up with the predictably boring easy listening tune I’m Leaving It Up to You. And the next one, Rock Me Gently by Andy Kim, isn’t much better. The electric piano gives it a nice sound, but it’s an average bubblegum pop song from one of the guys who sang with The Archies. Slade made the gritty film Flame in 1974, seemingly to prove there was more to them than the crazy outfits and excellent pop songs. Far Far Away is a decent attempt at a more mature sound, capturing the melancholy involved with life on the road. Other than the year’s best and worst, that only leaves Bachman Turner Overdrive’s You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet. As happy and catchy as this is, I can’t hear it without thinking of Smashie and Nicey, which makes it hard to do anything but laugh at it.
The Best:
Queen – Killer Queen
I can take or leave some of Queen’s output, which has often been ruined for me by overfamiliarity. But this, their breakthrough hit, has always been one of my favourites. This super-camp music hall ditty was about a high-class call girl, and was unusual in that Freddie Mercury came up with the lyrics before the tune. It’s a song that always sounds fresh and a large part of that is, ironically, the very 70s production.
The Worst:
Gary Glitter – Oh Yes! You’re Beautiful
Oh fuck off already! I wonder if the song title came to Glitter as he stared out into the sea of children at his gigs. Thankfully, he won’t trouble us anymore after this.
1975
An interesting, varied mix this year, topped and tailed with Christmas songs. Wombling Merry Christmas is fun, even if the concept of Mike Batt and co dressing up as Wombles seems so odd in modern times. It’s a very Bay City Rollers-style sound. Ralph McTell’s Streets of London next, which is the musical equivalent of a worn, comfy pair of slippers, even if the lyrics are actually quite depressing. I prefer Gloria Gaynor’s Never Can Say Goodbye to I Will Survive. Originally recorded by The Jackson 5, Gaynor’s version is considered one of the first disco tunes. A quick blast of the Glitter sound that’s OK to still enjoy. However, The Glitter Band never actually played on the paedophile’s records, only backing him live sometimes. Goodbye My Love isn’t up to scratch though, other than the nice guitar lick. The Carpenters are back but again, there’s better songs by Richard and Karen out there. Please Mr Postman is considered a classic, but it’s not a patch on The Beatles version. The Sweet broke away from Chinnichap in 1975 and produced a re-recording of Fox on the Run themselves. Singer Brian Connolly sounds more like Noddy Holder here and there’s a nice Roxy Music vibe to the keyboards. Not bad at all. Aww, it’s Minnie Riperton’s classic Lovin’ You next, which is excellent. Co-produced by Stevie Wonder, the melody was created by Riperton as a distraction for her daughter Maya, which is what she’s singing at the end. DJs faded it out though in case it was misinterpreted as a religious chant. The birdsong was a happy accident they decided to leave in. Showaddywaddy are back with their inferior version of Eddie Cochran’s Three Steps to Heaven. The spoken-word section is laughably sinister. Now, here’s a surprise… Ray Stevens, performing a country song straight… and it’s actually not bad! I like the banjo, Stevens has a great falsetto and it builds to a rousing finale. Roger Whittaker, much like his mate Des O’Connor, is seemingly unconcerned with getting emotion into a song. The Last Farewell is a predictably wet song about sailing from 1971, which was held off the top spot by Rod Stewart’s… Sailing. Leo Sayer is back with Moonlighting, sadly not the excellent theme to the 80s US TV series, but not bad. A close second place this year is Roxy Music’s Love is the Drug. I hadn’t even realised just how devoid of sex these songs had been up to now (I’m not counting Glitter in this). Excellent slinky groove to this one. We all know Hot Chocolate’s You Sexy Thing of course, and I’m still surprised it never made it to number 1. Sadly overfamiliarity and an air of cheese kind of spoils it these days, but it certainly is catchy as hell. Strangest song here is Laurel & Hardy’s The Trail of the Lonesome Pine. Apparently the silent comedy duo’s films were very popular on TV at the time and John Peel had championed this tune. Due to its age, it has an eerie, haunting melancholy to it that’s really interesting.
The Best:
Greg Lake –I Believe in Father Christmas
Combining sombre folk with Sergei Prokofiev’s Lieutenant Kiljé Suite, this is one of my favourite Christmas songs. Emerson Lake and Palmer’s Greg Lake wrote the music and his former King Crimson bandmate Peter Sinfield wrote the lyrics as a protest at the commercialisation and loss of childhood belief in the festive season. Despite, or perhaps because of the downbeat, contemplative mood, it’s really beautiful and in sharp contrast to the usual party tone of other Christmas classics.
The Worst:
Guys ‘n’ Dolls – There’s a Whole Lot of Loving This sounds like it belongs on an advert for biscuits. And that’s exactly what it was. Recorded by session singers including Edison Lighthouse‘s Tony Burrows, this was used as a jingle for McVities. Such was its popularity, the group Guys ‘n’ Dolls were quickly formed to record a new version. However, they didn’t get their voices on this single as they weren’t assembled in time, so Burrows and co’s voices remain. There’s not a lot else to it other than the resemblance to Brotherhood of Man.
1976
Hmm, so this is interesting. The number 1s of 1976 were one of the worst years of the 70s, all in all. The standard of the runners-up is higher. In fact, there isn’t a truly awful track. Sailor are best known for Girls, Girls, Girls, but A Glass of Champagne did better at the time, and it’s not bad at all – albeit, a little bit too much of a Roxy Music pastiche. There were some weird phenomenons in the 70s, one of which was the CB radio craze which resulted in the novelty hit Convoy, credited to CW McCall (alias of Bill Fries). It’s, like all great novelty tracks, very catchy, and McCall’s voice was perfect for the part. Love Really Hurts Without You was Billy Ocean’s first of many hits. He’d do better, but it’s a well-remembered slice of soul, sounding very Motown. More soul follows courtesy of Barry White’s You See the Trouble with Me, co-written by Ray Parker Jr (Ghostbusters). It’s alright, but is sorely lacking the sex you’d expect from the Walrus of Love. I certainly haven’t had enough of Silly Love Songs – it’s one of my favourite Wings tracks. It’s a close runner-up for best of the year and is the cheeriest ‘Fuck you’ to Macca’s critics you’ll ever here. Love the harmonies in the breakdown near the end. A Little Bit More is one of Dr Hook’s (as they were known by then) best-known songs and I prefer it to Sylvia’s Mother, but those lyrics can’t help but sound a bit, well, rapey. Paul McCartney had a very good 1976 as Wings are back again with Let ‘Em In. I really like this tune, but unfortunately, it shows the problem with McCartney at times without John Lennon to bounce off. You’ve got this cool, moody music, set to lyrics about friends and family… just… knocking on his door, or ringing the bell. Shame. One of my favourite Rod Stewart songs is The Killing of Georgie (Part I and II) so it’s great to be reminded of that. Far removed from some of his more laddish tendencies, this is Stewart being sadly inspired by the killing of a friend of his band Faces. It’s a beautiful tune and a subject matter realty with sensitively. Or at least, Part I is. Part II is OK, but it’s a complete rip-off of The Beatles’ Don’t Let Me Down. The Real Thing are only really remembered for their great chart-topper You to Me Are Everything, but Can’t Get By Without You is also a good stab of disco, soul and funk. It must have surely inspired the theme to US 80s cop drama Hill Street Blues, which is what I thought it was when it came on. You Make Me Feel Like Dancing is one of Leo Sayer’s better tracks – he’s well-suited to this bright and breezy disco tune. Queen very nearly made it two Christmas number 1s in a row, and Somebody to Love has similarities to Bohemian Rhapsody. But it’s not as inventive. Nonetheless, it’s one of their most famous songs and a real rock anthem.
The Best:
Candi Staton – Young Hearts Run Free
Over lunch one day, Candi Staton’s producer David Crawford apparently asked the soul singer what was going on in her life and she told him about the abusive relationship she was struggling to find a way out of. Crawford took notes and promised her he’d write a song that would last forever. He achieved that with Young Hearts Run Free, which to me is the very definition of ‘bittersweet’. Set to a lovely upbeat disco backing, Staton isn’t jealous of the young people she sees in love, she just hopes they don’t end up like her. Many of the millions who’ve danced to this over the years may not have noticed how bleak the lyrics often are, which makes the beauty of the melody that much more effective. One of the best disco songs of the decade.
TheWorst:
Demis Roussos – When Forever Has Gone
The Greek singer-songwriter was very big in 1976. OK, he was very big in general, but Excerpts from ‘The Roussos Phenomenon’(EP), a spin-off from a hit BBC documentary, was the first EP to top the charts. This was the follow-up, but it’s not as good as the title track to that, Forever and Ever. It’s a bit sickly. Not by any means diabolical, but as I said, 1976 was a good year for number 2s.
1977
Disco is easily the most popular genre in a very strong year, full of great soul tracks that lit up the dancefloor. One of the best kicks things off. Heatwave’s Boogie Nights, written by Rod Temperton, has an amazing jazz-funk intro and outro, which opens out into a cool groove. David Soul’s Going in With My Eyes Open came between his two number 1s that year. It’s a rather bog standard ballad and the worst of the three tracks. Red Light Spells Danger by Billy Ocean is better than his last entry here. It has a great moody bassline and weird vocal effect to ramp up the tension. Then it’s the magnificent Stevie Wonder at the peak of his powers with his tribute to musical greats, in particular Sir Duke Ellington. Very nearly my pick for 1977. Southern soul singer Joe Tex’s biggest hit was Ain’t Gonna Bump No More (With No Big Fat Woman) and rightly so. The bass is excellent here and I love the groove in the extended outro. Greg Lake’s back with Keith Emerson and Carl Palmer this time. Their version of Aaron Copland’s Fanfare for the Common Man is a surprisingly punchy piece of prog rock, and is easy to enjoy. Lo and behold, here’s a Boney M track I don’t mind. If I ignore the cheesy interjections, Ma Baker is a nice disco tune and once again, a large part of that is down to the bass. Showaddywaddy return, once again with their feet firmly in the past, this time with a cover of Marv Johnson’s You Got What It Takes. Mediocre. Back to the disco next with the excellent Magic Fly. This one-hit wonder for the French band in spacesuits was highly influential, on fellow countrymen Air and Daft Punk, to name just a couple. Highly recommended. Black is Black had been a number 2 for Los Bravos in 1966 and here it is, revamped for the dancefloor by French vocal trio La Belle Epoque. It works well, with rhythmic strings and an usual echo on the vocals. Queen serve up another rock anthem at the end of the year. We Are the Champions is understandably one of their most famous tunes, and though some find it on the smug side, there’s no denying its mass appeal. A team of scientists declared it the catchiest pop song of all time in 2011.
The Best:
Sex Pistols – God Save the Queen
Here’s a timely tune. Created for the Silver Jubilee, the highest charting punk song of all time is being rereleased for the Platinum Jubilee. Sadly, its scabrous lyrics are more relevant than ever, as Johnny Rotten sings ‘And there’s no future/In England’s dreaming’. Words that could very easily be aimed at the horrendous, post-Brexit government led by our worst Prime Minister of all time, Boris Johnson. There’s enough proof out there to suggest that God Save the Queen was actually number 1 in the week of the Jubilee, but the establishment and music industry got together to ensure Rod Stewart was at pole position to save face. I prefer disco to punk nearly always, but this is an important moment in music that shouldn’t be forgotten and shook up pop culture forever.
The Worst:
Brighouse and Rastrick Brass Band – The Floral Dance
As weird 70s novelty hits go, this is a doozy. An instrumental track that had lyrics when originally recorded in 1911, this version was rearranged by a West Yorkshire brass band and shot up the charts at Christmas. Why, I’ve no idea. If anyone could tell me, please do. Such was its popularity, Radio One DJ legend Terry Wogan recorded a version soon after. Though less successful at the time, it’s the better known of the two now.
1978
After such a good year, 1978 is a big disappointment. It’s nearly exclusively 50s and 60s throwbacks, which I’m not too keen on and it’s also the year of Grease, which I actually love. I know, this is confusing… Doo-wop revival nine-piece Darts are first up with Come Back My Love, originally from 1955. It left little impression on me. New wave makes its debut here as Blondie scored their first hit with Denis. It may be a surprise that despite how great the New Yorkers undoubtedly are, I’m not that keen on this. Could be because it’s a cover of a 1963 doo-wop song, originally called Denise. Sadly it’s the only new wave tune to make it to number 2. Darts again with The Boy from New York City, which was originally from 1964. This is actually OK – possibly because it’s by renowned hitmakers Jerry Lieber and Mike Stoller. Then it’s, er, The Smurf Song by Father Abraham. Originally only 1,000 copies of this promo for the Belgian children’s characters were made. It somehow became huge because, er, it was the 70s. I loved the 80s animated series as a child, but this is just weird. Best of the bunch so far is a song I don’t think I’d ever heard before. Substitute had been a Righteous Brothers song three years previous but this version was by South African all-girl rockers Clout. It’s got a great chorus, really infectious. Darts are back for a third time and we’re in the doldrums again. Unlike their previous hits, It’s Raining was an original. However, it’s still retro and poor too. I like Rose Royce’s disco-soul ballad Love Don’t Live Here Anymore, mainly due to the early use of the LinnDrum. It’s followed by Boney M and again, not a bad one by their standards. Rasputin is probably their best song. Songs from the Grease soundtrack were everywhere that year, with You’re the One That I Wantand Summer Nights enjoying 16 weeks in total in the top spot. Sandy was kept from the top spot by the latter. This John Travolta solo song was written specifically from the movie and it’s pretty fun, especially his naff way of singing ‘why-aye-aye-oh-why’.
The Best:
Olivia Newton-John – Hopelessly Devoted to You
OK, this is a surprise I guess. Like I said, not a fan in general of 50s/60s rock’n’roll tributes, or musicals in fact. But seeing Grease at a young age left its mark and you can’t deny the power of nostalgia. This Olivia Newton-John vehicle was another that didn’t feature in the original musical. It was written by Shadows member John Farrar and was a last-minute addition for the film. There are a few better songs technically in this section (although not that many, poor year in general), but it’s fun to belt out, so it wins, OK?
The Worst:
Showaddywaddy – I Wonder Why
The Leicester retro rock’n’roll act’s cover of a Dion and the Belmonts 1958 hit is lazy, it’s not a great song anyway and I’ve definitely had my fill of this genre now.
1979
As with the number 1s, 1979 is a strong year for runner-ups, thanks largely to new wave. One of the most famous bands of the decade brings things down at either end of the year though, surprisingly. But we’ve a disco belter in the Village People’s In the Navy. I think I may actually prefer this to Y.M.C.A. London new wave outfit Squeeze have a strong showing with their two biggest hits. Cool for Cats, at number 2 the day I was born, is my favourite of the two with its excellent disco groove and cockney vocals from Chris Difford. He should sing more often. Also love the synth breakdown from Jools Holland. Some Girls by Racey is infectious, even if it is a bit naff. Chinnichap’s mark is all over it, but it seems a bit old-fashioned and naff for 1979. Nonetheless, I have a soft spot for it. One of my favourites of the year is the ironic one-hit wonder Pop Muzik by M, aka singer/musician Robin Scott, who reminds me of Bryan Ferry. Which is also ironic as he’s followed by Roxy Music with the classy, melancholic Dance Away. Squeeze returned with the nicely acerbic working-class humour of Up the Junction. Then there’s a gear change with the wonderful lovers rock classic Silly Games by Dennis Bovell. I’ve loved this track since it took centre stage in Steve McQueen’s Lovers Rock and that vocal by Janet Kay is amazing. More reggae to follow, but Can’t Stand Losing You isn’t one of The Police’s better tracks if you ask me. I prefer their number 1s that year – Message in a Bottle and especially Walking on the Moon. Not sure what to make of BA Robertson’s Bang Bang. It doesn’t feel like authentic new wave but it is a quite good facsimile, I guess. Blondie return with Dreaming, one of their less famous hits but one I enjoyed as the theme to the final series of The Deuce. Runner-up for track of the year is Queen’s effortless Elvis tribute Crazy Little Thing Called Love. Apparently Mercury had it down in five minutes. The final number 2 of the decade was ABBA’s naff ballad I Have a Dream. It’s one of their most famous tracks but this is the side of ABBA that turns me off – that Europop anthem sound leaves me cold. How horrible that Westlife’s cover of this was the final number 1 of the 20th century.
The Best:
Elvis Costello and The Attractions – Oliver’s Army
My favourite track by new wave firebrand Elvis Costello, Oliver’s Army is probably the world’s only glossy pop track about The Troubles. The addition of piano flourishes to remind the public of ABBA’s classic Dancing Queen adds to the brilliance of this tune, inspired by seeing young British soldiers patrolling the streets of Belfast. Costello notes here how, wherever the war (and others are certainly noted), ‘they always get a working class boy to do the killing’. Oliver’s Army has been controversial of late, much like Brown Sugar, due to the lyric ‘Only takes one itchy trigger/One more widow, one less white nigger’. Despite somehow passing censorship on the radio for more than 30 years, in 2013 BBC 6 Music began removing the phrase. This caused controversy, with fans of the song noting its anti-war message. ‘White nigger’ was a slur used against Irish Catholics and Costello’s grandfather was called it while serving the British Army. In 2020 Costello pointed out that censorship only served to highlight the phrase and so he announced he would no longer perform the song and asked radio stations to not play it. I can see both sides of this and it’s hard to know what’s best. Nonetheless, it’s a great song.
ABBA –Chiquitita
ABBA. Infuriating. Dancing Queen is one of the finest number 1s of the 70s and the had an amazing hitrate. But they also came out with some crap. I Had a Dream I’ve already noted, but they opened 1979 with this pap, inspired by the far superior Simon and Garfunkel track El Condor Pasa (If I Could).
The Best 70s Number 2 Ever is…
Sex Pistols – God Save the Queen
It’s a common belief that punk changed the landscape of pop music, putting an end to staid MOR and prog rock. While this has been exaggerated somewhat (it amuses me to discover that ELP overtook the Sex Pistols at number 2 after the Silver Jubilee), hearing this in the context of the biggest hits of the decade really does hammer home how scary and exciting this must have sounded in 1977. Yes, punk didn’t set the charts alight too much after this, but its influence is soon seen in all the new wave that came in its wake and set the scene for the 80s. And as i’ve already pointed out, the message of this song is sadly more relevant than ever. As the Platium Jubilee begins, the UK has never been more divided. What a shame there’s no equivalent to punk and the Pistols in 2022. A Disney+ biopic doesn’t count.
The Worst 70s Number 2 Ever is…
Gary Glitter – Oh Yes! You’re Beautiful
There may have been worse songs in the 70s, but no other artist sickens in the way Gary Glitter does. And this time there’s little you can say that’s positive about the song either. Glam at its most mundane – in slave to the 50s, with a lyric that can’t sound anything but sickening in 2022. A symbol of everything that was wrong with the 70s. Lazy… derivative… tasteless… fake… played by Jimmy Savile on the radio, no doubt. Rotten to the core.
The Outro
As usual, my journey through the number 2s of the 70s often mirrored the chart-toppers. We’ve rock holding centre stage at the start, with a fascinating mix of classics. Then glam becomes the biggest scene and it’s exciting at first, before running out of steam a few years later. However, things get interesting in 1976, because for the first time that I can remember, the number 2s are of a higher standard in general than the number 1s. And 1977 is a hell of a year, full of disco classics and lesser-known soul and funk tunes for the dancefloor. Boney M, whose chart-toppers I dissed, come out of this better. 1978, the year in which the biggest selling songs of the year started to get more interesting thanks to new wave, instead fares badly here, thanks to the seemingly never-ending array of 50s revival acts. Thankfully, we go out with a bang once more with 1979. In general, the standard of the 70s number 2s is interesting, but not as high as the 60s.
Right, that’s it for this blog for the foreseeable. I’ll be back to announce the release date of the next book eventually. Wish me luck!
ABBA broke Slade’s record for most UK number 1s in the 70s with this, their seventh. A return to the uplifting pop that made their name, Take a Chance on Me is one of their biggest anthems.
Before
The Swedish superstars released their fifth and most ambitious LP to date, ABBA: The Album in December 1977. It came out in conjunction with ABBA: The Movie, a docu-drama about their Australian tour. It also stars Tom Oliver, better known these days as Lou Carpenter in Neighbours, as their bodyguard.
The album’s second track and second single, Take a Chance on Me was recorded 15 August 1977 at Marcus Music Studio. Its origins lay in Björn Ulvaeus’ love of jogging. To pace himself he would repeat a ‘tck-a-ch’ rhythm to himself and found it so catchy, he and Benny Andersson set it to music and originally called it Billy Boy. Andersson wasn’t a fan of ‘We could go dancing, we can go walking, as long as we’re together’ but relented in the end. Unusually, Take a Chance on Me is mainly keyboard and synthesiser-led by Andersson. Ulvaeus only plays an acoustic guitar this time. Session musicians on this are drummer Roger Palm, Malando Gassama on percussion and Rutger Gunnarsson on bass.
Review
Now that I’m a little more aware of how ABBA’s songs developed, I’m really interested in Take a Chance on Me‘s place in their discography. Knowing Me, Knowing You was a bleak look at the end of a relationship and The Name of the Game a reticent chance of potential love. This seventh number 1 turns their last chart-topper on its head and now Anni-Frid Lyngstad and Agnetha Fältskog are urging someone to give their love another chance. There’s no pleading, no begging, no tears. They’re merely asking someone who sounds to have panicked to change their mind and give it a whirl, as what’s the worst that could happen?
Suitably, the music propelling Take a Chance on Me is upbeat and it’s their most life-affirming pop single since the magnificent Dancing Queen. The jogging rhythm is so effective, you wonder how nobody ever thought of it before. Was it a nod to Kraftwerk’s Trans Europe Express? Combined with the ‘ba-ba-ba-ba-ba’, it’s a very effective double whammy and when the two are given full prominence at the song’s close, it’s a dizzying display of pop brilliance. Having said that, the verses are reminiscent of The Name of the Game, with a slow, slinky disco groove to give chance to recover from the incredibly infectious chorus. The spoken word bits are cheesy but they just about get away with it. The supercool may scoff at the almost Europop ‘oompah’ synths but I’m having none of it. I’m a fan of this one.
The video is also good fun. Each band member gets a square to sing inside, which is reminiscent of the opening titles of The Brady Bunch. Then Frida and Agnetha are trying to persuade glum-looking Björn and Benny in a minimalistic white studio which occasionally switches to black. It’s another iconic ABBA moment.
After
This marked the end of ABBA’s very impressive run of UK number 1s in the 70s. I’d imagine it was pretty satisfying to knock copycats Brotherhood of Man from their perch too. It also topped many other charts and went top 10 in the US. The hits of course continued, even as their relationships soured. Two more number 1s would be notched up before their demise.
The Outro
14 years later Take a Chance on Me was back at number 1 courtesy of synth-pop duo Erasure. Their Abba-esque EP was their only chart-topper and was partly responsible for the ABBA revival of the 90s, for better or worse. Since then it’s been memorably sang by Steve Coogan as Alan Partridge and Julie Walters in the hit film Mamma Mia!. So I’m told. I’ll never watch it.
The Info
Written, produced & arranged by
Benny Andersson & Björn Ulvaeus
Weeks at number 1
3 (18 February-10 March)
Meanwhile…
18 February: 20 suspects are arrested in connection with the La Mon restaurant bombing by the IRA.
20 February: Severe blizzards hit the south west of England.
8 March: Douglas Adams’ cult sci-fi series The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy was first broadcast by BBC Radio 4.
Brotherhood of Man took their perceived similarity too far with their second number 1 Angelo. When their next single tanked they followed it up with another song named after a man with a similar name to Fernando. It paid off yet again and gave them a hat trick of chart toppers.
Before
The quartet had released Highwayman after Angelo but scuppered a major chance of promoting it on the 1977 Royal Variety Performance by electing to play the former instead. Figaro was their first release from their seventh album B for Brotherhood. As usual, singers Lee Sheriden and Martin Lee penned the track with producer and manager Tony Hiller. I don’t want to be cruel and call them a low budget Stig Anderson, Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus but…
Review
I was incredibly scathing about Angelo and couldn’t believe it when I saw they topped the charts a third time with what was bound to be another Fernando rip-off. So, put it down to very low expectations but I was pleasantly surprised by this. That’s mainly down to it not actually sounding like a straightforward ABBA copy. And I’m all for a bit of wah-wah guitar and the bawdy brass and song’s theme put me in mind of some kind of politically incorrect 70s British comedy film.
Figaro is a lecherous Spanish waiter intent on pursuing the opposite sex. The dirty dog is constantly at it, winking at the girls with his guitar and wandering the beaches looking for prey. The idea came about when Hiller’s daughter returned from a holiday with tales of real-life Figaros trying to romance her and other young ladies. It’s total throwaway nonsense of course, but it’s better than other Brotherhood of Man songs Angelo and Save Your Kisses For Me. Was the title this time around a reference to Bohemian Rhapsody?
After
Brotherhood of Man’s downfall came soon after. The next single Beautiful Lover was the last time they troubled the charts, peaking at 15. A compilation LP, Twenty Greatest, did at least give them their biggest album chart placing at six.
Hiller set up Dazzle Records in 1980 and signed his group but perhaps due to missing Pye’s promotional budget, they stopped selling well. They signed with Warwick Records. No, I’ve never heard of them either. Sheriden opted to leave in 1982 to study for a degree in music. He was replaced by Barry Upton, later a songwriter for Sonia and Steps.
Encouraged by the huge success of Bucks Fizz, Brotherhood of Man signed with EMI in 1982 and Hiller had high hopes of ripping off another Eurovision-winning group. A year later Hiller, Lee and Upton wrote a tune for A Song for Europe for Hiller’s male/female trio Rubic (how early 80s!) but they came fifth. When Upton decided to leave in 1984, the whole group called it a day.
However in 1985 Sheriden returned with Lee, Nicky Stevens and Sandra Stevens for a one-off TV reunion and decided to continue. They became stalwarts of the nostalgia circuit, becoming regulars at Butlins and other holiday camps. As well as their hits from the 70s they performed tracks like 1999 by Prince. That I have to hear.
The Outro
As 2000 dawned they cut back on touring but two years later they unveiled their show The Seventies Story, a nostalgic look back at the decade that brought them their glory years. They still tour now, sometimes with the current incarnation of Bucks Fizz and are often wheeled out for Eurovision-related shows, remaining one of the most successful winners of the competition.
The Info
Written by
Tony Hiller, Lee Sheriden& Martin Lee
Producer
Tony Hiller
Weeks at number 1
1 (11-17 February)
Trivia
Births
12 February:Welsh rugby player Gethin Jones
Meanwhile…
13 February: Anna Ford becomes the first female newsreader on ITV. Also on this day, an opinion poll conducted for the Daily Mail shows the Conservatives 11 points ahead of the Labour government, with an election due by October next year. The quick turnaround for the Conservatives, who last month were behind Labour, is believed to be due to Margaret Thatcher’s recent negative comments on immigration.
17 February: 12 people are killed by the Provisional IRA in the bombing of the La Mon restaurant in Belfast. It was one of the most horrific incidents in The Troubles, with some bodies left melted and unrecognisable by incineration.
ABBA’s impressive run of chart-toppers continued with this, their sixth. The Name of the Game can be seen as the sequel to their previous number 1, Knowing Me, Knowing You and it shows their continuing progression into serious, mature pop.
Before
In May 1977 the Swedish superstars began work on their fifth studio LP, ABBA: The Album. Concurrently, they filmed ABBA: The Movie, a docu-drama featuring many of the songs from that album. The first release from the forthcoming album was The Name of the Game. Originally known as A Bit of Myself, it was also the first song to be completed in the sessions.
If Knowing Me, Knowing You was a tragic look at the end of love, The Name of the Game is a tentative sign of a blossoming new romance. Agnetha Fältskog and Frida Lyngstad are singing from the point of view of an ‘impossible case’ wondering whether she can let a new man into her heart. They’ve seen each other twice within a week and she can already feel her defences dropping. So what is the name of the game? Is it love, or is he messing her about?
Review
The Name of the Game isn’t the best ABBA song, but it’s still decent. For me, the best part is that reggae-sounding walking bass that opens proceedings. It was apparently inspired by slowing down the bass in Stevie Wonder’s I Wish from Songs in the Key of Life (1976). Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus were heavily inspired by Wonder’s peak creative period in the mid-70s. It’s unusual to hear ABBA doing funk, but it’s welcome and it suits the hesitant seriousness of the song.
There’s something slightly disjointed here – ABBA were very good at overloading their best material with catchy hooks that complemented each other, but it doesn’t quite work this time. Before researching this song, I could only remember the chorus, I thought the verses were from a totally different song, which makes this an unusually unmemorable one. But it’s an interesting continuation of their maturing outlook on pop, which of course would coincide with the failing of relationships within the band.
After
As usual, Lasse Hallström created the video to the single. The theme of the song was taken extremely literally this time. Hallström simply took the premise of gameplay and had Björn, Benny, Agnetha and Frida playing a board game. The game in question is Fia-spel, a Scandinavian variant of Ludo.
The Outro
ABBA were by this point regularly scoring number 1s across Europe, so it may have come as a surprise to them and their label that they only topped the UK chart this time around. The Name of the Game marked the end of an era as it was the last time their manager Stig Anderson was involved in the lyrics of an ABBA single.
The Info
Written by
Benny Andersson, Stig Anderson & Björn Ulvaeus
Producers
Benny Andersson & Björn Ulvaeus
Weeks at number 1
4 (5 November-2 December)
Trivia
Births
22 November:Footballer Michael Preston
Deaths
10 November:Writer Dennis Wheatley 30 November: Playwright Terence Rattigan
Meanwhile…
14 November: Firefighters take part in their first ever national strike, in the hope of getting a 30% wage increase.
15 November: The first SavaCentre hypermarket, a joint venture between Sainsbury’s and British Home Stores, opens at Washington, Tyne and Wear.
22 November: British Airways inaugurates their regular London to New York City Concorde service.
This must surely win the award for most unoriginal number 1. Not content with a two-man, two-woman line-up and a Eurovision victory, Brotherhood of Man aped ABBA even further with this blatant Fernando rip-off.
Before
Following the huge success of Save Your Kisses for Me, the group released their second album with this line-up. Love and Kisses from Brotherhood of Man did OK, but couldn’t match the incredible sales of their Eurovision single. Nor did their follow-up single My Sweet Rosalie. It didn’t deserve to though, as it was almost a carbon copy of what came before. This time, the lyrical conceit was that they were singing about their love for a dog, rather than their three-year-old child. Eugh. It only managed a number 30 placing.
They fared better in 1977 with their cover of Oh Boy (The Mood I’m In), peaking at eight. They shook things up this time around as it was the women, Nicky Stevens and Sandra Stevens (no relation) taking the lead. And they did so again on Angelo.
So, yes, this song. Clearly at some point in 1976 when Fernando was storming the charts, singers Martin Lee and Lee Sheriden must have said to co-songwriter and producer Tony Hiller, ‘shall we copy that?’. Perhaps at some point in the process, one of them even said ‘This is too similar, should we at least make the lead character’s name end with a different letter?’. And was then ignored.
Er, why run away, avoid peril and then commit suicide? Doesn’t matter, does it, it sounds like ABBA. And not only is it a dead ringer for Fernando, the cheeky fuckers even add some piano reminiscent of Dancing Queen. Utterly shameless!
Review
They did at least manage to change the story of Angelo. But they forgot to add much detail. Fernando was about two former revolutionaries reminiscing over the war in Mexico. Angelo was a death disc about a shepherd boy in the mountains of, yes, Mexico. He and a girl from a rich family fell in love and so ‘They ran away to their destiny’. Despite avoiding danger, and strangers, their destiny was for them to kill themselves. For some reason.
‘They took their lives at night And in the morning light They found them on the sand They saw them lying there, hand-in-hand.’
The Outro
And so the British public, who should be commended for keeping I Feel Love at number 1 for a month, showed how stupid they can also be. How could Angelo top anything, let alone one of the best songs of all time? Not as irritating as Save Your Kisses for Me, but come on! This belongs on some cheap and nasty light entertainment show, not at number 1.
The Info
Written by
Tony Hiller, Lee Sheridan& Martin Lee
Producer
Tony Hiller
Weeks at number 1
1 (20-26 August)
Meanwhile…
23 August: A new, smaller, £1 note was introduced.
Following the rightful success of one of the greatest singles of all time – namely Dancing Queen, ABBA were becoming superstars. They followed it up with another of their most famous songs. But Money, Money, Money didn’t become their fifth UK number 1, narrowly missing out by peaking at two. Their fourth album Arrival was chock full of hits though and was mined further.
Before
Knowing Me, Knowing You was recorded on 23 March 1976 at Metronome Studios. It marked a turning point in the band’s career. Gone was the jollity and Europop stylings of Waterloo. This was where things got interesting. Although we’re not at the point in which the two couples were getting divorced, relations in the band had become strained. As Björn Ulvaeus wrote the lyrics, you would imagine he and Agnetha Fältskog were already having problems. Originally the song had the working title Ring It In and then the prophetic Number 1, Number 1. As with most tracks on Arrival, it featured Rutger Gunnarsson on bass (he also looked after the string arrangement) and Ola Brunkert on drums.
Review
I’ve always been more interested in the soap opera-style drama behind ABBA than the majority of the songs I’ve heard by them. It’s fascinating that a superstar group of two couples could end up cataloguing their breakups so poignantly. Give me that over the cheesiness of their early years anytime. So I’m a big fan of Knowing Me, Knowing You.
‘No more carefree laughter’, the opening line, is a very effective signpost that ABBA were in trouble, despite years of success still to come. Anni-Frid Lyngstad takes the lead here and she commits a great performance, documenting her walk through a silent, empty house alone, remembering the good times. Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson’s production fits the glacially cold mood perfectly (as does the opening of the video, the sun beaming down in the winter snow) and then the chorus is ABBA at their best.
Somehow, despite years of association with Steve Coogan’s immortal comic character Alan Partridge, you can still hear it and be impressed, not amused at the fact the chat show host adopted such an inappropriate song as his catchphrase. It stands head and shoulders above any of the other 1977 number 1s so far. It also captures the sadness of the inevitability of the split. They know each other so well, she can see there is no going back this time – ‘this time we’re through’.
Great backing vocals from Ulvaeus too, echoing Frida’s sentiment well. Just to remind us ABBA haven’t totally given up on glam, there’s a very memorable solo after the choruses, with Ulvaeus coming over all Mick Ronson. Fältskog interjects in verse two with some sexy whispering. To be fair Fältskog could make anything sexy, even divorce. I realise that, speaking as someone who likes to point out how he doesn’t generally get all the fuss about ABBA, I’ve had nothing but high praise indeed for the last two singles I’ve covered. Andersson also looked back in 2004 and called them some of ABBA’s greatest work.
One thing that doesn’t get mentioned about ABBA is how iconic their videos are. Knowing Me, Knowing You was, like most, directed by future Academy Award nominee Lasse Hallström. Simple, yet effective, those shots of the members confronting each other face-to-face or back-to-back are as memorable as the song itself.
After
Knowing Me, Knowing You was rightly one of the biggest-selling songs in the UK of 1977 and began a second run of three consecutive chart-toppers in a row for Benny, Björn, Frida and Agnetha. It’s been covered by a diverse range of acts including Cilla Black, A-Teens and Right Said Fred. And as already mentioned, it took on a whole new life as the theme tune to Knowing Me, Knowing You… with Alan Partridge, the radio and TV series that introduced us to one of the greatest comedy characters of all time.
The Info
Written by
Benny Andersson, Stig Anderson & Björn Ulvaeus
Producers
Benny Andersson & Björn Ulvaeus
Weeks at number 1
5 (2 April-6 May)
Meanwhile…
2 April: The legendary horse Red Rum wins the Aintree Grand National for the third time.
11 April: London Transport’s Silver Jubilee AEC Routemaster buses are launched.
18–30 April: The Embassy World Snooker Championship moves to Sheffield’s Crucible Theatre, where it attracts TV coverage for the first time.
23 April: National Front marchers clash with anti-Nazi protesters in London. Also on this day, prostitute Patricia Atkinson is murdered in Bradford. Police believe she is the fourth woman to be killed by the Yorkshire Ripper.
29 April: British Aerospace is formed to run the nationalised aviation industry.
5 May: The Conservatives make gains at local council elections, including winning the Greater London Council from Labour.
Simply magnificent. Right that’s Dancing Queen covered.
I’m joking, but really, what can be said about Dancing Queen that hasn’t already been said? How does one analyse the ecstasy contained within those three minutes and 52 seconds? In a moribund year of number 1s, this stands out not only as the best, it’s one of the greatest pop songs of all time, up there with She Loves You.
Before
Dancing Queen had been the first song ABBA recorded in the sessions for the album Arrival, beginning on 4 August 1975. The demo was known as Boogaloo and as sessions progressed, Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus became inspired by another disco classic – George McCrae’s Rock Your Baby and the drum sound from Dr John’s 1972 LP Dr John’s Gumbo. It’s slightly blown my mind to discover that the intro sounds very similar to Delaney & Bonnie’s Sing My Way Home from 1971. It was manager and co-writer Stig Anderson that gave the song its title.
Once the backing track was complete, with session musicians Rutger Gunnarsson on bass and Roger Palm on drums, Andersson took a tape home and played it to Anni-Frid Lyngstad. She was so moved she burst into tears and later recalled ‘I found the song so beautiful. It’s one of those songs that goes straight to your heart.’. Fellow ABBA vocalist Agnetha Fältskog agreed, reminiscing that ‘It’s often difficult to know what will be a hit. The exception was Dancing Queen. We all knew it was going to be massive.’
Andersson, Anderson and Ulvaeus worked on the missing piece of the puzzle, coming up with lyrics that capture how it feels to be young, on a night out, and feeling the music and eyes of adorers upon you.
Review
Dancing Queen is a masterclass in pop on every level. Just like the Beatles with She Loves You, they know they have a killer chorus on their hands and go straight into it after a triumphant piano roll. It’s euphoric and ecstatic, and before turning the spotlight (or should that be Super Troupers?) on the 17-year-old girl in the disco, it’s pointing at the listener. You can dance. You can jive. Having the time of your life. The combination of this message and the beautiful music is so inviting, I don’t see how can anyone can turn it down. And then the verses. It’s Friday night, the lights are low and the Dancing Queen is on the prowl.
The only real complaint I’ve heard about Dancing Queen is that the lyrics are politically incorrect, that the girl is a prick tease. I don’t agree. I think the lyrics are empowering, particularly considering the era they were written in. To read ‘Anybody can be that guy’ as a sign of her not being fussy who she pulls, needs to pay attention to the preceding line: ‘You come to look for a king’. Although this is obviously considered a disco anthem, the lyrics note she’s dancing to rock music. Andersson and Ulvaeus wisely ditched a verse that was here originally and has survived via footage from a recording session:
‘Baby, baby, you’re out of sight Hey, you’re looking all right tonight When you come to the party Listen to the guys They’ve got the look in their eyes’
You could still argue with me, and it’s a strong argument, that the final verse really does prove this girl is bad news:
‘You’re a teaser, you turn ’em on Leave them burning and then you’re gone Looking out for another, anyone will do’
ABBA somehow manage to make all this sound kind of innocent though, and I’d still say it’s refreshing to see the girl in charge. And it’s true. It’s the girls that hold all the power in the nightclub discos. And if you listen to this wonderful music, you can feel that way again. It’s a song that doesn’t age thanks to the heavenly production. Lyngstad and Fältskog sing like angels and Andersson’s piano is the highlight – I love the way his pieces seem to tumble from ear to ear with earphones on. Nice synth too, adding texture here and there. As the song fades away, you can almost cry at the sheer beauty of it all. Ah to be young again. There’s none of the Europop cheese ABBA often indulge in here. If there is a higher power up there, I think ABBA somehow channeled it with this song. It’s perfect.
Recorded in two days flat, ABBA knew they were on to a winner, but Anderson suggested Fernando should be released before it as it was broader. This seems like madness to me, but both were massive hits so there you go. Dancing Queen went global. A very respectful six weeks here, 14 weeks in their native Sweden and topping the charts in more than 10 countries, including their only number 1 in the US. It became the second track on Arrival, which was a smash.
After
In 1980 they recorded a Spanish version for their Latin LP Gracias Por La Música, where it was renamed Reina Danzante. Over the years Dancing Queen has only grown in stature and is often referenced by critics who want to get over the simple beauty of pop at its best. It returned to the UK charts in 1992, reaching 16 off the back of Erasure’s number 1 Abba-esque EP. it’s perhaps here that the ABBA revival really began.
The Outro
So, with three number 1s, all huge sellers and this one ruling the roost, 1976 really was ABBA’s year. They weren’t one-hit wonders anymore. They were one of the UK’s favourite groups. In the video to Dancing Queen above, they are performing in a small, packed venue to bopping fans. The band look to be on top of the world. They were.
The Info
Written by
Benny Andersson, Stig Anderson & Björn Ulvaeus
Producers
Benny Andersson & Björn Ulvaeus
Weeks at number 1
6 (4 September-15 October)
Trivia
Births
6 September:Footballer Ian Ashbee/Actress Naomie Harris 8 September: Model Abi Titmuss 11 September: Swimmer Neil Willey 16 September: S Club 7 singer Tina Barrett 13 October: Field hockey player Jennie Bimson
Deaths
1 October: Royal Air Force officer George Stacey Hodson 14 October:Actress Edith Evans
Meanwhile…
4 September: 25,000 people attend the Peace March in Derry and call for an end to violence in Northern Ireland.
9 September: The Royal Shakespeare Company opens a production of Macbeth at The Other Place, Stratford-upon-Avon. Directed by Trevor Nunn, it stars Ian McKellen and Judi Dench in the lead roles.
12 September: Portsmouth football club are reported to be on the brink of bankruptcy due to huge debts.
23 September: Eight men are killed when a fire breaks out on the destroyer HMS Glasgow while being fitted out at Swan Hunter at Wallsend on Tyne.
29 September: Ford launch the Cortina Mark IV.
4 October: The famous InterCity 125 high-speed train is introduced into passenger service on British Rail, initially between London Paddington, Bristol and South Wales.
15 October: Two members of the Ulster Defence Regiment are ailed for 35 years for murder of the members of the Republic of Ireland cabaret performers Miami Showband.
It may have seemed a little bold for ABBA to release a Greatest Hits in March 1976. However, their label Polar decided to due to the many cash-in compilations labels scattered around the globe were releasing in an attempt to cash-in on the fact that they were becoming huge. And with two UK number 1 singles to their name and plenty of hits elsewhere featured, it proved a wise move. It became their first number 1 album on these shores.
Before
As well as a mix of their early hits and lesser-known tracks in the UK, there was a new song, released as a single. Although it wasn’t strictly speaking, ‘new’. Fernando had first featured on band member Anni-Frid Lyngstad’s debut solo LP Frida ensam in 1975. Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus had originally called it Tango but at the last minute they renamed it Fernando after a bartender working at a club in Stockholm, Sweden, allegedly.
This Swedish version had lyrics penned by ABBA’s manager Stig Anderson and Lyngstad is singing to a heartbroken Fernando, attempting to console him after he has lost the love of his life. The chorus translated as:
‘Long live love, our best friend, Fernando. Raise your glass and propose a toast to it; to love, Fernando. Play the melody and sing a song of happiness. Long live love, Fernando’
When it came to ABBA recording the song, Ulvaeus decided to take a different tack. He was lying outside one summer night and gazing at the stars when he hit upon a brainwave. Fernando became about two old freedom fighters who fought in the Texas Revolution of 1836, who reminisced about days of old one night in Mexico.
Review
Fernando is one of ABBA’s best-known and biggest-selling singles, but it’s my least favourite of their number 1s. I find it leaden and overwrought and I’m not really interested in hearing about what two 19th-century soldiers have to say. Give me their relationship drama and we’ve something to work with. It also suffers coming straight after Save Your Kisses For Me, which meant 10 weeks of tedium at number 1 on repeats of Top of the Pops and again, it makes me relieved I wasn’t a pop fan in 1976. Having said all this, I’d be a liar if I didn’t say the chorus was very memorable.
ABBA starred in a memorable, suitably dramatic video for Fernando, sat around a campfire looking very serious and gazing into each other’s eyes, as you can see above. ABBA made lots of videos – I’m not sure if they ever actually promoted on Top of the Pops in person? As well as a month as UK number 1, Fernando topped the charts across the globe. It became the longest-running number 1 in Australian history (14 weeks) for more than 40 years until Ed Sheeran’s Shape of You went one better in 2017.
After
ABBA made a Spanish-language album, Gracias Por La Música, in 1980 and Fernando was a natural choice for an LP aimed at Latin American countries.
The Outro
So, ABBA had scored two number 1s before we even reach the half-way mark of 1976, and the best was yet to come.
9 May: 20-year-old prostitute Marcella Claxton is badly injured in a hammer attack in Leeds.
10 May: Following months of rumours of his involvement in a plot to murder his ex-lover Norman Scott, Jeremy Thorpe resigns as leader of the Liberal Party.
19 May: Liverpool win the UEFA Cup for the second time by completing a 4-3 aggregate win over Belgian side Club Brugge KV at the Olympiastadion in Brugge.
27 May: Harold Wilson’s Resignation Honours List is published. It becomes known satirically as the ‘Lavender List’ due to the number of wealthy businessmen awarded honours.
1 June: UK and Iceland end the third and final Cod War. The UK abandoned the ‘open seas’ international fisheries policy it had previously promoted.
