(Did my little clue at the end of yesterday's piece give it away?)

And so, in the end, the winner takes it all. Not that there’s a prize, you understand, but you, dear World Of Chig’s readers, (all 16 of you, plus me) have voted this your favourite ABBA song in the world...ever! This was ABBA’s 18th UK hit and the eighth of their nine UK number ones. It’s time to put this in context. By August 1980, when this was released, ABBA’s chart-topping days seemed to have come to an end. Sure, they were still clocking up the top ten hits, including milking five tracks (on four releases) off the previous album, ‘Voulez-Vous?’ but none of them had topped the UK charts. It had been a full two and a half years since their last chart topper, ‘Take A Chance On Me’. By the time they came to release the ‘Super Trouper’ album, their was a new emotional fragility in many of ABBA’s tracks, not entirely unconnected to the fact that both couples had broken up by this point. Yet they still continued to record wonderful music together, and continued the themes of reflectiveness and vulnerability on the next (and final) album, ‘The Visitors’ a year later.

‘The Winner Takes It All’ was a brand new track, released in late July 1980, from an album that would not be released until the November. Consequently, it bounded up the chart, entering at #9 and knocking Odyssey’s ‘Use It Up And Wear It Out’ from the top spot in ABBA’s second chart week. Their run would probably have lasted a lot longer, had it not been for the release of an all-time classic. David Bowie’s ‘Ashes To Ashes’ (one of Chig’s top ten number ones...ever!) crashed into the chart at #4 and deposed ABBA a week later, giving them only two weeks on top. The next single off the ‘Super Trouper’ album, the title track, also hit #1, but was the group’s last one ever.

Below is the top ten from ABBA’s second week on top in 1980. Many of these records are classics, for whatever reason. (Yes, even the Gap Band.). At the very least, most British people probably remember at least 8 of them. I wonder how many people in another 24 years’ time will be singing the praises of Special D, Wolfman, Marillion and Maroon 5; all from this month’s top ten in 2004? I wonder how many people could even sing them or recognise them now? Ahhh. [Chig goes all misty-eyed and nostalgic for the days of being 14 again]

01 (01) The Winner Takes It All – ABBA
02 (02) Upside Down – Diana Ross
03 (05) 9 to 5 – Sheena Easton
04 (--) Ashes To Ashes – David Bowie
05 (09) Oh Yeah (On The Radio) – Roxy Music
06 (07) Oops Upside Your Head – The Gap Band
07 (10) Give Me The Night – George Benson
08 (04) More Than I Can Say – Leo Sayer
09 (03) Use It Up And Wear It Out – Odyssey
10 (16) Funkin’ For Jamaica (N.Y.) – Tom Browne

And so, our survey comes to a close. Thank you to everyone who voted. Thank you to everyone who has been following this painfully slow countdown. Thanks particularly to everyone who has left comments – and feel free to leave more. But most of all, to ABBA, (because I know Agnetha reads this – she doesn’t get out much), thank you for the music. (Readers may now stick their fingers down their throats and vomit at the cheesiness of it all.)

And as our favourite Swedes once sang, in a track on ‘ABBA – The Album’ which is in Chig’s top ten ABBA songs but which none of you buggers gave another point to....Move On.
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