World of Chig   

14.4.04
Your favourite ABBA tracks: #10 Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)

Benny and Bjo:rn must have been heavily influenced by the success of 1978’s Saturday Night Fever, as ABBA released a consecutive trio of disco singles the following year. ‘Does Your Mother Know?’ was followed by ‘Voulez-vous?’, (backed with ‘Angeleyes’) and rounded off with this, one of their camper, saucier, more frivolous efforts. Although they weren’t exactly known for setting musical trends, they followed them a bit, and so it’s probably no accident that this was also ABBA’s most electronic single to date, coming in the year of Cars and Are ‘Friends’ Electric?. It’s also worth noting that ‘Gimme!’ entered the chart (at a lowly #30) on the exact same day that Video Killed The Radio Star made number one for Buggles. Chic were also at their peak in 1979, and ‘Gimme’ features some funky little guitar licks that sound not unlike Messrs. Rodgers and Edwards themselves.

Incidentally, the week that ABBA spent at #4 with this single, before eventually peaking at #3, saw it stuck behind what must surely be one of the most painfully tragic top threes ever. Sad Café were whining that ‘Every Day Hurts’ at #3, while Dr. Hook were at #2 with ‘When You’re In Love With A Beautiful Woman’. It also hurts, apparently. Meanwhile, professional God-botherer Lena Martell sat atop this unholy trinity with ‘One Day At A Time’. Sweet Jesus indeed! Thank the Lord of the Dance that we had ABBA to save us! Thank goodness ABBA didn’t know what a ghastly sit‘com’ their song was to inspire two decades later, or they may never have recorded it.

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