I created this blog to help share ABBA information with other fans and to show off my new collection items :)
Please note: Collection item photos are from my own personal collection. These are not stock photos. If you wish to use any of my photos elsewhere, please have the courtesy to ask first - Thank you :)
On 3rd November 1975, 'Mamma Mia' - or 'Mama Mia' as on the Aussie single - hit number 1 in Australia - replacing 'I Do I Do I Do' in the top position.
This single would stay at number 1 in Australia for 10 weeks - before being replaced by 'SOS'.
But this song would not even have been released as a single if it had not been for Molly Meldrum, RCA and the Australian public.
Mamma Mia was the last track recorded for the album 'ABBA' and was never intended for a single release.
However, a promo clip of the song was sent to Australia along with others ( I Do I Do I Do, SOS) - and something about it caught Molly Meldrum's attention. He played it as a 'bonus clip' on one episode of 'Countdown', and soon fans were bombarding record stores with requests for the new song.
ABBA's Australian record company, RCA, asked that Mamma Mia be released as a single, but Polar Music refused. Molly kept showing the clip - almost in defiance - and eventually the pressure from the fans and the record company paid off !
Thankfully, Stig Anderson finally agreed to release Mamma Mia as a single - but in Australia only.
After this success in Australia, Epic Records in the United Kingdom took notice of ABBA for the first time since Eurovision and 'Waterloo'.
From then on, Epic began to heavily promote ABBA's singles with the immediate result of 'SOS' reaching the Top 10 in the important British market, their first hit since 'Waterloo'. 'Mamma Mia' soon followed reaching number one on the British charts in
early 1976, where it stayed at number 1 for 2 weeks.
The B-side
for the Australian release of 'Mamma Mia' was 'Hey, Hey Helen'. In most
other countries the B-Side was the instrumental 'Intermezzo Number 1'.
ABBA's British label Epic selected 'Tropical Loveland' as the B-side for
the UK release.
'Mamma Mia' knocked 'Bohemian Rhapsody' from the number 1 spot in UK.
'Mamma Mia' reached number 1 in Australia, UK, Germany, Ireland & Switzerland - number 2 in Belgium, New Zealand & Norway - along with making it to the top 10 in many other countries.
It even made it onto the US Billboard top 40.
It was even released in Madagascar ! :D
This is the song that opened up the world to ABBA - and it all started right here, in Australia !
If this song had never been released as a single, I wonder what the stage musical would have been called ? Hmmm ......
The clip that won us over:
'Mamma Mia' performed in Australia 1976 on 'The Best Of ABBA' Bandstand Special:
This is apparently the singles listing for the upcoming 40th Anniversary Box Set.
Word is that it will cost around 200 Euro which is just over $300 Aussie dollars.
Nothing very exciting in the singles list - and no mention of coloured vinyl or a picture disc - yet.
It will be Limited Edition.
Singles list:
1. People Need Love / Merry-Go-Round 2. He Is Your Brother / Santa
Rosa 3. Ring Ring (Swedish Version) / Åh, vilka tider 4. Ring Ring
(English Version) / She’s My Kind of Girl 5. Love Isn't Easy (But It Sure Is
Hard Enough) / I Am Just A Girl 6. Ring Ring (German Version) / Wer Im
Wartesaal der Liebe steht 7. Waterloo (Swedish Version) / Honey, Honey
(Swedish Version) 8. Waterloo (English Version) / Watch Out 9. Waterloo
(German Version) / Watch Out 10. Waterloo (French Version) / Gonna Sing You
My Lovesong 11. Honey, Honey / King Kong Song 12. Honey, Honey (German
Version) / Ring Ring (remix) 13. So Long / I’ve Been Waiting For You 14. I
Do, I Do, I Do / Rock me 15. S.O.S. / Man In The Middle 16. Mamma Mia /
Intermezzo No.1 17. Fernando / Hey, Hey Helen 18. Dancing Queen / That’s
Me 19. Money, Money, Money / Crazy World 20. Knowing Me, Knowing You /
Happy Hawaii 21. The Name Of The Game / I Wonder (Departure) 22. Take A
Chance On Me / I’m A Marionette 23. Eagle / Thank You For The Music 24.
Summer Night City / Medley: Pick A Bale of Cotton... 25. Chiquitita /
Lovelight 26. Chiquitita (Spanish Version) / Lovelight 27. Does Your
Mother Know / Kisses of Fire 28. Voulez-Vous / Angeleyes 29. Estoy Sonando
/ Does Your Mother Know 30. Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight) / The
King Has Lost His Crown 31. I Have A Dream / Take A Chance On Me
(live) 32. The Winner Takes It All / Elaine 33. Super Trouper / The
Piper 34. Happy New Year / Andante, Andante 35. Lay All Your Love On Me /
On And On And On 36. One Of Us / Should I Laugh Or Cry 37. Head Over Heels
/ The Visitors 38. When All Is Said And Done / Soldiers 39. The Day Before
You Came / Cassandra 40. Under Attack / You Owe Me One
