Song Sunday: Take A Chance On Me (ABBA)
Returning to my Samsung playlist…submitted for your approval. ~Vic
“My love is strong enough to last when things are rough, It’s magic…”
I have loved ABBA since their music showed up on the radio. Their first album in 1973 didn’t make it to the US. They finally got noticed, here, with their second album in 1974. I clearly remember hearing Waterloo during the summer after second grade (I was seven). I was permanently hooked. I still love them and I am in my middle 50s.
The second track from the album ABBA: The Album, released in December 1977, Take A Chance On Me peaked at #3 on Billboard’s Hot 100 & #9 on Billboard’s Adult Contemporary, in July 1978 and, #5 on Cash Box in April 1978. Written and produced by Benny Andersson & Björn Ulvaeus, the song was one of ABBA’s first singles in which their manager Stig Anderson did not assist with writing the lyrics […]. In the UK Charts, it was number #1 and, of ABBA’s Top 20 biggest songs, this song is #4. It was a #1 hit in Austria, Belgium and Ireland. It was certified Gold in Canada, Denmark, the UK & the US.
English duo Erasure did a version of the song, released in June of 1992. It was the third track on their album Abba-esque. I am not fond of the remake but, I am including two videos, below.
I was also lucky to come across an actual live version of them singing this on a 1978 Olivia Newton-John television special. Most “live” videos are them lip-synching.
Official Video
Olivia’s Show
Erasure Version
Erasure Top of the Pops
June 18, 2023 at 1:40 PM
I have not heard that song in ages.
June 18, 2023 at 2:17 PM
Yeah. It doesn’t get played on the radio, anymore, unless you have a retro station nearby.
June 18, 2023 at 6:43 PM
I’ve been a big ABBA fan since day one too, and love this song.
June 18, 2023 at 6:49 PM
And the Erasure video is pretty funny.
June 18, 2023 at 7:01 PM
Yeah, it is! LOL!
June 18, 2023 at 7:00 PM
I miss them so much on the radio.
June 18, 2023 at 10:51 PM
People can say what they want about Abba, they had incredibly well-crafted pop songs. Yes, it’s not exactly classic rock, a genre I love, but I’m not ashamed to admit I like many Abba songs.
That said, I’m by no means an Abba expert, so what I’m referring to really are their hits, and obviously, they were many. Abba were very popular in Germany, and their music was on the radio all the time.
Back then, “Dancing Queen” was my favorite. I guess I also had a little bit of a little boy crush on Anni-Frid! Today, I would probably prefer “Waterloo”. 🙂
June 19, 2023 at 3:28 PM
Like Sarah McLachlan, I have their catalog, except for the newest stuff.
I always wanted to see them but, by the time I was getting old enough to attend concerts, they had broken up. Their last tour was ’79-’80 and their shows were all, mostly, out west or up north. Had a parent or family member taken me, the closest show would have been NYC. I live in NC. Except for my mom, no one in my family cared much for ABBA.
Heh…I always thought Björn was cute but, he was the same age as my dad. They were just 18 days apart. 😄
Favorite ABBA songs have changed for me as I have aged. I loved Momma Mia as a kid. Does Your Mother Know was a fave as it was not the girls doing the lead singing. In my late 40s, I loved Eagle. Now? I could not pick a favorite. This is the only group that I know 75% of their songs by heart/memory.
June 19, 2023 at 2:55 AM
Not my favourite ABBA song, but it’s still great, and I know it was one of their biggest US hits. The Erasure cover was a big step in ABBA’s rehabilitation as a respected band, in the UK at least. Before that they were being written off as unfashionable and very uncool, but after it was a big number one hit came ABBA Gold, then Mamma Mia, and the rest is history!
June 19, 2023 at 4:44 PM
Yeah. They were persona non grata in the late 80s & particularly during the grunge movement. They got tied to disco and…the world moved on.
There is always a kind of revival for old music. It seems to cycle with a family’s grandchildren.
June 20, 2023 at 2:43 AM
Speaking of grunge, Nirvana took Bjorn Again – the ABBA tribute band – on tour as a support act in the early 90s too. Kurt Cobain was a huge fan, apparently.
June 20, 2023 at 2:03 PM
You know, I didn’t even know about the tribute bands until doing the research. Björn Again is very clever.
Cobain, an ABBA fan… Wonders never cease.
June 19, 2023 at 9:17 AM
This is my favorite song by them…this and SOS…we played SOS before as a joke…but it worked with a 4 piece band.
June 19, 2023 at 4:44 PM
Did you record it?
June 19, 2023 at 6:57 PM
No…we didn’t… Take a Chance on Me would not work…but SOS is made for it.
June 19, 2023 at 9:16 PM
Ah, man…
June 25, 2023 at 10:37 AM
Classic. I was mad on ABBA from the moment I saw them at the Eurovision Song Contest and Ive never waivered in my love for them since. I was at Uni when this came out, so many happy memories attached to it. I saw Bjorn Again in the 90’s they were fun, and Ive been to the ABBA VOYAGE hologram experience, a unique stage production in London that is still running. Genuinely one of the great live shows Ive seen – its a purpose-built arena with jaw-dropping quality sound, and the digital abbatars recorded by the 4 members and digitally de-aged look like they are on stage in brand new 70-s/80’s styled clothes. The band is live, there’s a dance floor for those able to party while watching and people dress up and singalong to the show.
They’ve got so many massive hits…that they don’t do Take A Chance On Me! Though it’s rumoured they recorded some of the non-featured hits ready in case they needed to change the songs down the line if audiences need a boost to keep coming back. That hasn’t happened yet, and I will be going again….
June 25, 2023 at 12:57 PM
Wow. You are very fortunate to have actually seen them. They never toured the Southeast US. I have never been outside the US…not from a lack of desire…
Their music is a tapestry thru my life.
If you go, again, will you post about it? Did you post about going, recently? If you did, I missed it.
July 2, 2023 at 10:01 AM
No I didn’t do a review about it, but they are talking about doing a US version of the Experience, so it may crop up in a couple of years – I’d guess New York City or LA, if it happens! Next time I go I will do a full review 🙂
July 2, 2023 at 12:32 PM
Cool.
July 1, 2023 at 4:17 PM
Linda is a big fan of ABBA and yes, forced to go see the play. Guilty pleasure admission, prefer Ace of Base over them…but don’t tell anyone I know!!
July 1, 2023 at 11:59 PM
Oh. Dude. I LOVE Ace of Base, too!