Wow, has it really been 40 years since this most iconic album was released ? How the time does fly.
Released in November 1975, this is the most successful ABBA album in Australia, with sales in excess of 1,250,000 copies !
When you consider that Australia's population at the time was a mere 14 million, that is quite phenomenal.
We were proud of the fact that '1 in ever 4 households in Australia owned an ABBA album' - and rest assured, this was the album that everyone had.
The Best Of ABBA was unique to Australia and New Zealand - with other countries releasing a variation of the 14 or 15 track Greatest Hits.
'The Best Of ABBA' entered the charts on 22 December 1975. The album was released in only 2 States at the time - with the rest of the country not getting the release until February 1976.
After slowly climbing the charts for 14 weeks, it hit the number 1 spot 15 weeks after the initial release and stayed at number 1 for 16 weeks in Australia and 18 weeks in New Zealand !
Overall, it stayed in the charts for an amazing 70 weeks (yes folks, that is more than a year).
At one stage RCA Records couldn’t keep up with the demand for the albums in the country's shops, and copies had to be pressed under licence by a rival record company.
A sentimental favourite for Australians, and probably the most recognisable album cover in this country.
Wonderful memories, playing this album over and over and over :)
Thanks Roxanne for this nod to 'The Best of ABBA'. My first ABBA item; being in it's cassette format, I have it set in my iPod. It's just a pity that RCA did a substandard pressing for the CD they released in 1988 ( < I think that was the year), and as it was a half-hearted attempt, you wonder why they bothered, especially during a time when there was still much 'Anti-ABBAing' in Oz. Still, it's a nice keepsake.
ReplyDeleteCheers, Tony.
Thanks for your comment Tony.
ReplyDeleteThis was the soundtrack to my life - and it got played so much in my house. Such a delight :)
I agree the CD in 1988 should have been given start treatment - although I am still very happy to have it in my Australian collection :D
One of the users from our fun and addictive App www.yanoit.com created this survey, thought you might find it interesting being an ABBA fanatic :) you can see real time results...hopefully they are favorable to you!
ReplyDeleteABBA bigger than The Beatles?
http://yanoit.com/q/GbAwx0HTZf
I got this Album for my birthday in 1976 and I'm glad to say I still have it, the cover is a bit worn though.
ReplyDeleteI still play it every now and then.