When Madonna sought a return to the dancefloor after 2003’s American Life, she wanted a memorable riff to take her into the stratosphere. The letter she wrote to Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus requesting a uncommon exception to their no-sampling rule is the stuff of music legend, and “Hung Up,” which was constructed round ABBA’s “Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight),” went on to turn out to be one of many largest hits of her lengthy profession.
Recording periods
That it borrows a lot from probably the most OTT tracks that ABBA ever recorded appears solely acceptable. Created at Polar Music Studio throughout August 1979, between rehearsals for an upcoming tour, Agnetha took the lead vocal on this charged, dancefloor epic that had been impressed by one thing Björn had examine in a ebook.
Earlier variations of the tune had included extra complicated lyrical twists, however these have been deserted in favor of a extra direct, pressing method that higher suits the driving, synth-drenched composition. “Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!” confirmed but once more that ABBA had a canny capability to form complicated melodies in a approach that may work efficiently within the golf equipment. Different songwriters would lengthen this custom of distilling aggressive pop hooks and complicated technical instrumentation into one thing that appeared primary however is definitely extremely arduous to drag off properly. Even Björn feels that the technical calls for of the monitor considerably obtained the higher of them. His description of it as a “good song, but a lousy recording” isn’t a view that’s extensively shared.
Launch and reception
Picked as a promotional hook for the upcoming Biggest Hits Quantity Two compilation, and launched on October 2 (slotted in behind the ultimate Voulez-Vous album single, “I Have A Dream”), “Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!” made No.3 within the UK and plenty of different markets all over the world (together with Spain and Latin America, for whom it was recorded as “Dame! Dame! Dame!,” and have become a spotlight of Oro, the Spanish-language model of Gold). The US and Canada had historically been robust territories to crack, however the tune’s success within the golf equipment established it as one among ABBA’s hottest songs over there, too. Oddly, nevertheless, “Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!” wasn’t given a single launch in Sweden, although it nonetheless managed to hit No.16 due to gross sales of import copies.
Legacy and canopy variations
A long time after its unique launch, “Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!”’s fame made it an apparent selection for Cher to sort out on her ABBA covers album, Dancing Queen, for which it grew to become a profitable lead single. She hadn’t, nevertheless, been the primary to cowl the tune. A★Teenagers, who had some success within the early twenty first Century with their teen-pop interpretations of ABBA hits, additionally launched it as a single.
Treading a cautious line between majestic camp and all-out cheese isn’t for the faint-hearted, however ABBA pull it off right here. Regardless of its provocative title, “Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)” is anchored by a dramatic lyric and a cracking hook, holding pop titans like Cher and Madonna coming again time and time once more.
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