The winner takes it all - Abba

The final Japanese Abba single for today is the monumental track 'The winner takes it all'. It should be fitting to end with this one, because it is truly one of the band's best. 

Ulvaeus denies the song is about his and Fältskog's divorce, saying the basis of the song 'is the experience of a divorce, but it's fiction. 'Cause one thing I can say is that there wasn't a winner or a loser in our case. A lot of people think it's straight out of reality, but it's not'. However, Ulvaeus admitted that the heartache of their breakup inspired the song, but noted that the words in the song should not be taken literally. He said: 'Neither Agnetha nor I were winners in our divorce.' 

My collection: 7" single no. 6163
Found: Discogs.com, received 6 October 2021
Tracks: 'The winner takes it all' / 'Elaine' 

Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A man after midnight) - Abba

'Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)' was written and composed by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus, with the lead vocal sung by Agnetha Fältskog. Fältskog, as the narrator, weaves the image of a lonely woman who longs for a romantic relationship and views her loneliness as a forbidding darkness of night, even drawing parallels to how the happy endings of movie stars are so different from her existence. The melody line of the song was played on an ARP Odyssey synthesizer.

The song came about after Benny and Bjorn heard Donna Summer's hit 'Hot stuff', and upon hearing it, it inspired the riffs, melody and sentiment of the song with Agnetha yearning for 'a man after midnight' whilst Donna was in need of some 'hot stuff'.

My collection: 7" single no. 6155
Found: Discogs.com, received 6 October 2021
Tracks: 'Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A man after midnight)' / 'The king has lost his crown'

Chiquitita - Abba

'Chiquitita' proved to be one of Abba's bigger hits. It was featured in the Music for UNICEF Concert, broadcast worldwide from the United Nations General Assembly in 1979. As a direct result of this event, Abba donated 50% of all royalties from the song to UNICEF in recognition of the "International Year of the Child". In 2014, all ABBA members agreed on increasing their donation to 100% of all royalties from the song to UNICEF. As of 2021, the song's royalties had raised $4.8 million for the charity.

The Japanese sleeve only adds a few Japanese characters, which makes it less original when compared to earlier releases.

My collection: 7" single no. 6153
Found: Discogs.com, received 6 October 2021
Tracks: 'Chiquitita' / 'Lovelight' 

Summer night city - Abba

While 'Summer night city' was recorded during sessions for the group's then-upcoming sixth studio album Voulez-Vous (1979), it was scrapped from the album. It was, however, included on the group's compilation album Greatest Hits Vol. 2, a year after its release. Both Andersson and Ulvaeus have shared dislike of the song, due to being unsatisfied with the final mix. 

A planned US release was cancelled, the second ABBA single to be shelved following 'Eagle', and charted poorly in Canada. The single was, however, released in Japan, and with the same sleeve as in most of Europe. Due to the fact that the group was going to tour in Japan at the time, the sleeve also proclaims 'Welcome ABBA'. It's a nice touch.

My collection: 7" single no. 6154
Found: Discogs.com, received 6 October 2021
Tracks: 'Summer night city' / 'Medley: Pick a bale of cotton * On top of old Smokey * Midnight special' 

Eagle / Thank you for the music - Abba

This double A-side single was also released as a double A-side single in Japan, with almost exactly the same sleeve - with some added Japanese on it, of course.

Personally I always preferred 'Eagle'. The song was written and composed by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus as a kind of tribute to a band that the two men admired at the time, the Eagles. The recording, which commenced on 1 June 1977, had the working titles of 'High, High' and 'The Eagle'. Ulvaeus said that with the lyrics, he was "trying to capture the sense of freedom and euphoria" that he got from reading Richard Bach's 1970 novella Jonathan Livingston Seagull.

My collection: 7" single no. 6151
Found: Discogs.com, received 6 October 2021
Tracks: 'Eagle' / 'Thank you for the music' 

Take a chance on me - Abba

Contrary to most of those earlier Abba singles, 'Take a chance on me' came with a similar sleeve to European ones in Japan. The only thing added were the Japanese characters and the fact that the lettering was transparent instead of white. Other than that, it was probably the start of the Japanese record company copying off the European sleeves from then on. 

The origin of the song sprang from Ulvaeus, a keen runner, who would repeat a 'tck-a-ch'-style rhythm to pace himself. This evolved into "take-a-chance" and the eventual lyrics. Roger Palm, the drummer on the track, described the song as "ABBA at their most energetic and forceful". 

My collection: 7" single no. 6159
Found: Discogs.com, received 6 October 2021
Tracks: 'Take a chance on me' / 'I'm a marionette' 

The name of the game - Abba

Yet another copy of 'The name of the game', this time from Japan. Originally, another track entitled 'Hole in Your Soul' was intended for release, but those plans were soon shelved. 'The Name of the Game' was released with a live version of 'I Wonder (Departure)' as the B-side. This B-side was one of several songs written for the mini-musical The Girl with the Golden Hair, written by Ulvaeus and Andersson and originally performed by ABBA on their 1977 world tour. 

The recording used on this single was recorded at Sydney Showground, Sydney, Australia on 3 or 4 March 1977. A studio recorded version of the song was included on ABBA: The Album. 

My collection: 7" single no. 6157
Found: Discogs.com, received 6 October 2021
Tracks: 'The name of the game' / 'I wonder (Departure)'