“Breaking up is never easy, I know, but I have to go”

#49= Knowing Me, Knowing You – Abba

[403] Writers Benny Andersson, Stig Anderson & Bjo:rn Ulvaeus. Producers: Benny Andersson & Bjo:rn Ulvaeus
26 Feb 77 – 13 weeks on chart – 5 weeks at #1 from 02 Apr 77

You like Abba, don’t you? No, I mean you REALLY like Abba, but you can’t quite decide which of their nine #1s you like best, so this one can only manage to share the #49 spot with The Kinks. A staggering 21 out of the 40 voters had an Abba song in their top ten #1s. Richard S had three. But how many of the nine have made the Top 50?

It’s easy to look at the instant number ones in the charts now and forget that, back in 1977, even top notch Abba singles like this could take six weeks to climb to the top. They had been famous for three years and already notched up four #1 singles, but they had something to prove with this single, as previous release Money Money Money had ‘only’ made #3, following a hat-trick of #1s. In fact, Knowing Me, Knowing You persevered admirably, making it to the top even after it stalled for two weeks at #2 behind Manhattan Transfer’s Chanson D’Amour (which Jacky will be disappointed to know we won’t be seeing here, as no one else gave it any points).

Knowing Me, Knowing You therefore turned out to be the fifth of Abba’s eventual nine #1s, and the start of another consecutive hat-trick of them. It was also the last of the three singles taken off the Arrival album; their first UK #1 album of original material, after Greatest Hits had also topped the UK chart. You could hardly get away from Abba’s huge chopper in 1976-77, as there they were with it on the Arrival cover, years before Bjo:rn Again pastiched it in their own photo shoot.

You may think Knowing Me, Knowing You is, like so many of Abba’s songs, about their relationships breaking down, but in fact it’s a tribute to Buddy Holly. Or is it?

Why not learn it in Spanish?

Chris A has this as his #3 and sums it up as “peerless songwriting!” But now, the memory of this song has been tarnished by Alan Partridge and that spoof chat show. Such a shame, as I have a feeling this would have been higher otherwise.

You don’t need me to tell you that this isn’t the last we’ve heard from the super Swedes in this Top 50. But will we be seeing that chopper again with the other #1 from the Arrival album? With homosexuals involved in the voting? Of course we will.

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