Abba never officially disbanded, but when they stopped recording together in 1983, Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus concentrated on writing musicals for a while. One of them was 'Chess', created together with Tim Rice. The choruses were sung by Anders Glenmark while the verses, spoken raps by Murray Head, are a sarcastic, tongue-in-cheek denunciation of the city's moral corruption and comparative glorification of the intellectual purity of chess: 'The queens we use would not excite you.'The single reached number 1 in various European countries, but peaked at number 2 in the Dutch Top 40 and number 12 in the UK singles chart. I only bought the single after I got to know Puck, who was quite extatic about this song.
My collection: 7" single no. 1904
Found: Record fair, May 2, 1993
Cost: 1 guilder
Tracks: 'One night in Bangkok' (Murray Head) / 'Merano' (London Symphony Orchestra and the Ambrosian singers)
I didn't know you bought it after knowing my appreciation of the song. Indeed, I like it very much. But a lot has happened after bying de double CD album. There are many, even more beautifull songs on it. Mountain Duet and You and I and Anthem. Maybe you should listen to the album version of One night in Bangkok. It has a longer intro which I like.
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