"Super Trouper" is a song by the Swedish pop groupABBA, and the title track from their 1980studio album of the same name, written byBenny Andersson andBjörn Ulvaeus. It was released on 3 November 1980 as the album's third single, reaching number one in several countries. It was the group's ninth and final number one on theUK Singles Chart and the fourth best-selling single in the UK that year, selling over 700,000 copies in that country alone.[2]
The song – with lead vocals byAnni-Frid Lyngstad – had the working title "Blinka Lilla Stjärna" (i.e. Twinkle Little Star, in Swedish),[4] and was the last track to be written and recorded for the album (ultimately replacing the track "Put on Your White Sombrero").[3]
The group had already decided on the album titleSuper Trouper when they realised that they needed another track for the album. Written in October 1980, the song fitted to become the title track and also a single.[3]
The first verse contains the line, "I was sick and tired of everything when I called you last night fromGlasgow", with the video showing lead vocalistAnni-Frid Lyngstad singing this line. In February 2020, saxophonist Ulf Andersson, who toured with ABBA in the late 1970s, revealed that name-checking Glasgow was a coded love note fromBjörn Ulvaeus to then-wifeAgnetha Faltskog. "It was a personal thing between Bjorn and Agnetha," he told theScottish Mail on Sunday. "Björn was in Glasgow for some ABBA promotion. It was around the time they were about to separate. He wrote the lyrics and Agnetha sings it, but really it was meant to be from him."[5]
However, in 2014 lyricist Björn Ulvaeus wrote about the creation of the song for The Singles box set, hinting it was inspired by his new fiancé Lena Källersjö: "weaving a story around that title was no problem for a man, who had fallen in love again."
"Super Trouper" is an upbeatpop rock,disco 1980s track. It continued ABBA's run of chart success, particularly in Europe. It became ABBA's ninth (and final) No. 1 in theUnited Kingdom.[1][6] This distinction placed ABBA fourth for the most UK chart-toppers in history (behindThe Beatles,Elvis Presley andCliff Richard); a position the group would keep for almost 20 years untilMadonna scored her tenth UK No. 1 with "Music" in August 2000.[7] "Super Trouper" also topped the charts in Belgium,West Germany, Ireland and the Netherlands, and was a top 10 hit in Austria, Finland, France, Norway, Spain and Switzerland. In their native Sweden however it failed to reach the top 10, stalling at number 11.[8]
Outside of Europe, "Super Trouper" was a more modest hit. For example, in the United States, where ABBA never attained quite the popularity experienced elsewhere, the single reached No. 45. However, combined with "Lay All Your Love on Me" and "On and On and On", it topped the USHot Dance Club Play chart in May 1981. The song reached the lower regions of the charts in countries such as Australia[9] and Japan,[10] but in Mexico it reached No. 3.[11]
The track was the fourth biggest selling single in the UK for 1980 and sold 709,000 copies in the United Kingdom in 1980 alone.[12] In addition to those physical sales, the single’s digital sales & streaming equivalent has achieved 600,000 units certified by the British Phonographic Industry (Platinum).[13] Combined, total United Kingdom sales therefore exceed 1.3 million units.
Record World said that the song "deals with onstage loneliness" and that "engaging vocal interaction bounces resoundingly."[14]
In October 1980, themusic video for "Super Trouper" used the largest number of artists that ABBA ever used in a music video, including a fullcircus troupe. The spotlight featured throughout the video is, in fact, a CCT Silhouette profile spot with followspot kit, as opposed to a realSuper Trouper. The city ofGlasgow mentioned in the lyric was suggested by Howard Huntridge who worked with their then-UK publishers Bocu Music. The music video was directed byLasse Hallström. Parts of the video were later reused in the clip for the song "Happy New Year" (which also features on theSuper Trouper album).
* Sales figures based on certification alone. ‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.
In the United Kingdom, total sales are estimated at over 1,300,000 copies, combining more than 700,000 physical copies sold in 1980 with a further 600,000 streaming-equivalent units certified by the British Phonographic Industry since 2004.[46][47]
"Super Trouper" wasA-Teens' second single from their first album,The ABBA Generation (1999), a cover ofABBA's song. When the single came out in the fall of 1999, it became a hit around the globe, just as its predecessor "Mamma Mia", also an ABBA cover. "Super Trouper" debuted at No. 2 in Sweden and was latercertified platinum.[48]
It also became their only Top 5 hit in Germany peaking at No. 4. The single also reached No. 21 in the United Kingdom, No. 18 in Switzerland, No. 15 in Norway, No. 11 in Austria and No. 12 in the Netherlands.
The music video was directed by Sebastian Reed and was filmed in Sweden. The video shows a girl so obsessed with the band that she owns posters, magazines, mugs, clothing, and a key chain. She also copies the band's choreography that is shown on TV. Some of the articles that feature pictures of the band come to life in the video.
In the first few seconds of the video, before the actual song starts,Mamma Mia can be faintly heard in the background.
The video was a hit in most TV stations charting inside the Top 10 countdowns in late 1999 and early 2000.
^Pennanen, Timo (2006).Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Tammi.ISBN978-951-1-21053-5.
