| "Take a Chance on Me" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
_coverart.jpg) | ||||
| Single byABBA | ||||
| from the albumABBA: The Album | ||||
| B-side | "I'm a Marionette" | |||
| Released | 27 January 1978 (1978-01-27)[1] | |||
| Recorded | 15 August 1977 | |||
| Studio | Marcus Music Studio | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 4:05 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Songwriters | ||||
| Producers |
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| ABBA singles chronology | ||||
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| Music video | ||||
| "Take a Chance on Me" onYouTube | ||||
| Alternative release | ||||
.webp) US picture sleeve cover | ||||
"Take a Chance on Me" is a song by Swedish recording groupABBA, released on 27 January 1978 in the United Kingdom, byPolar Music, as the second single from their fifth studio album,ABBA: The Album (1977).Agnetha Fältskog andAnni-Frid Lyngstad share the lead vocals on the verses and choruses, with Fältskog singing two bridge sections solo. The song reached the top ten in both the UK and US, and was notably covered by the British bandErasure in 1992.
The working title of "Take a Chance on Me" was "Billy Boy".[2] (An excerpt of “Billy Boy” was released on the 1994 box setThank You for the Music, as part of the track ABBA Undeleted, which consisted of demos, early and alternate versions of completed songs, and unfinished songs.) Written and recorded in 1977 byBenny Andersson andBjörn Ulvaeus, the song was one of ABBA's first singles in which their managerStig Anderson did not assist with writing the lyrics, confirming Andersson and Ulvaeus as a songwriting partnership.[3]
The song's origins sprang from Ulvaeus, a keen runner, who would repeat a "tck-a-ch"-style rhythm to pace himself.[3] This evolved into "take-a-chance" and the eventual lyrics.[4] Roger Palm, the drummer on the track, described the song as "ABBA at their most energetic and forceful".[3]
The single'sB-side was "I'm a Marionette", which, like "Thank You for the Music" and "I Wonder (Departure)" (the B-side to their previous single, "The Name of the Game"), was part of a mini-musical entitledThe Girl With the Golden Hair performed during their 1977 concert tour.[3]
Billboard magazine described "Take a Chance on Me" as "one of [ABBA's] most busy, fast paced productions."[5]Cash Box said that the vocals "are intricately arranged to produce awall of sound."[6]Record World called it a "pleasing tune,very well arranged" with "one of pop's most captivatingacappella openings sinceBlue Swede tackled 'Hooked on a Feeling.'"[7]
"Take a Chance on Me" proved to be one of ABBA's most successful chart hits, becoming the group's seventh UK number one (and third consecutive chart-topper in the country after "Knowing Me, Knowing You" and "The Name of the Game").[8] It was also ABBA's final number one in the UK of the 1970s and gave the group the distinction of being the act with the most chart-topping singles of the 1970s in the UK. It sold and streamed over 600,000 units to receive a platinum disc.[9] As of September 2021, it is the group's fourth-biggest song in the country with 950,000 chart sales (including 882,000 pure sales).[10] In the United States it reached number three and was certified gold for one million sales.[11] The song peaked at number three in Canada and West Germany as well.[12][13]
"Take a Chance on Me" has been widely regarded as one of ABBA's finest songs. In 2017,Billboard ranked the song number two on their list of the 15 greatest ABBA songs,[14] and in 2021,Rolling Stone ranked the song number nine on their list of the 25 greatest ABBA songs.[15]
In the American TV comedy seriesThe Office Season 4, Episode 3 episode "Launch Party", character Andy Bernard serenades coworker Angela with the song in hopes of scoring a date, with the assistance of his a cappella group, "Here Comes Treble," providing backup vocals over the phone.
Weekly charts[edit]
| Year-end charts[edit]
|
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Canada (Music Canada)[44] | Gold | 75,000^ |
| Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[45] | Gold | 45,000‡ |
| Kenya | — | 10,000[46] |
| New Zealand (RMNZ)[47] | 2× Platinum | 60,000‡ |
| Portugal | — | 20,000[48] |
| United Kingdom (BPI)[9] | Platinum | 600,000‡ |
| United States (RIAA)[49] | Gold | 1,000,000^ |
| United States Digital | — | 234,000[50] |
| Summaries | ||
| Worldwide physical sales | — | 2,000,000[51] |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||
| "Take a Chance on Me" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single byErasure | ||||
| from the albumAbba-esque | ||||
| Released | 1 June 1992 (1992-06-01)[52] | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length |
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| Label | Mute | |||
| Songwriters | ||||
| Producer | Dave Bascombe | |||
| Erasure singles chronology | ||||
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| Music video | ||||
| "Take a Chance on Me" onYouTube | ||||
The track was covered by Englishsynth-pop duoErasure in June 1992, byMute Records, as part of theirAbba-esque EPMute with an additionalragga-style toast performed byMC Kinky added to the song. In a few countries, the cover was credited to "Erasure featuring Special K", due to MC Kinky referring to herself as "Special K" during the ragga rap. It was produced by Dave Bascombe. In the United States, the song reached number 51 on theBillboardHot 100 Airplay chart.[55] Although it had earned enough charting points to reach the publication's main Hot 100 chart, it was not eligible to enter as it had not been released commercially as a single.[56] The radio edit omits the ragga rap. The music video for the song was directed by Philippe Gautier, featuring the duo indrag asFältskog andLyngstad.
Larry Flick fromBillboard magazine wrote, "Track maintains the coolkitsch of the original, while giving it electro-hip instrumentation and a jolting-but-pleasing toast interlude byMC Kinky. A must for adventurous popsters, while remixes have considerable club potential."[57] Amy Linden fromEntertainment Weekly found that Erasure "reverently tarts up" the song "as keyboard whizVince Clarke pumps the '70s gems full of '92 club aggression." She also stated that the duo "pay respect with a frothy testimonial that has its tongue in the right place."[58] In a 2011 retrospective review, Tom Ewing ofFreaky Trigger noted that the whole project "roars to life exactly once, when MC Kinky takes over for thirty delightful, crass seconds in the middle of 'Take a Chance on Me' and shows the song a little creative disrespect at last."[59] Dave Sholin from theGavin Report asked, "ABBA goestechno?", and concluded that this updated version "retains much of the flavor in the original with hip production elements added."[60] Howard Cohen fromKnight-Ridder Newspapers named it a "bouncy remake".[61]Everett True fromMelody Maker felt their cover of the song "bleeds. Seriously."[62]David Quantick fromNME noted its "sheer Swedishness".[63]
Erasure membersVince Clarke andAndy Bell played dual roles – as themselves and indrag (Clarke as Fältskog and Bell as Lyngstad) – in a music video heavily influenced by ABBA's original. It was directed by Philippe Gautier.[64] MC Kinky (aka. Caron Geary), who sings the reggae/dancehall rap part, also appears in an interlude in the video.[65] Danny Scott fromSelect described the video as "uproarious".[66]
| Chart (1992) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Europe (European Dance Radio)[67] | 11 |
| Iceland (Íslenski Listinn Topp 40)[68] | 14 |
| USRadio Songs (Billboard)[69] | 51 |
| USDance Club Songs (Billboard)[70] | 10 |
Singles notified by major manufacturers for week ending 27th January 1978.
{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link){{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link){{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)It sold over 500,000 in Britain, over 1,000,000 in the U.S.A. and with sales elsewhere an estimated tally of over two million
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