- Super Trouper (album)
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Super Trouper 
Studio album by ABBA Released November 3, 1980 Recorded Polar Studio
February 4–October 15, 1980Genre Pop Length 41:57 Label Polar
Atlantic Records (US original release)Producer Benny Andersson & Björn Ulvaeus ABBA chronology Voulez-Vous
(1979)Super Trouper
(1980)The Visitors
(1981)Singles from Super Trouper - "The Winner Takes It All"
Released: July 21, 1980 - "On and On and On"
Released: October 1980 (limited) - "Super Trouper"
Released: November, 1 1980 - "Happy New Year"
Released: November 1980 (promotional) - "Lay All Your Love on Me"
Released: July 1981
Professional ratings Review scores Source Rating Allmusic 
[1]Super Trouper is the seventh studio album by Swedish pop group ABBA, first released in 1980 (see 1980 in music).
Contents
Overview
Led by the international hit "The Winner Takes It All", Super Trouper was the group's sixth chart-topping album in the UK. It was also the best-selling album in Britain for 1980. Super Trouper was first released on CD in 1983 by Atlantic Records, again in the 1980s by Polar International, and in the 1990s by Polydor in the USA. The album has been reissued in digitally remastered form four times; first in 1997, then in 2001, again in 2005 as part of the The Complete Studio Recordings box set and as a Deluxe Edition (containing a bonus DVD) in 2011. The previous year's divorce between Björn and Agnetha was explored in "The Winner Takes It All", and the members' lives in Stockholm high society circles coloured the lyrics for "On and On and On". Other well-known songs on the album include the hit single title track "Super Trouper", as well as the electro-dance of "Lay All Your Love on Me".
Probably due to the disco backlash of the time, the album saw ABBA returning to a more straight-forward pop sound,[2] as opposed to the preceding (and noticeably more dance-oriented) Voulez-Vous album.
Album cover and title
Super Trouper is a registered trademark owned by Strong Entertainment Lighting, for their brand of followspots, i.e., directional spotlights used to follow a performer on stage. Album cover designer, Rune Söderqvist, decided to use the spotlight theme and photograph the group, surrounded by circus performers, at Piccadilly Circus, London. After discovering that there was a law preventing any entertainers or animals appearing in central London, they instead invited the members of two local circuses to Europa Film Studios, Stockholm to take the photograph there. Several of ABBA's friends were also invited to take part and the following also appear on the cover: Görel Hanser (vice-president of Polar Music who subsequently married the band's photographer Anders Hanser), Berka Bergkvist (another Polar Music employee), Tomas Ledin and Anders Anderson (ABBA's manager's son).[3] At the same time, Lasse Hallström also filmed scenes that were eventually used in the videos for "Happy New Year" and "Super Trouper" even though the latter had not even been composed at the time.
Track listing
All songs written and composed by Benny Andersson & Björn Ulvaeus.
Side A:
- "Super Trouper" – 4:11
- "The Winner Takes It All" – 4:55
- "On and On and On" – 3:40
- "Andante, Andante" – 4:39
- "Me and I" – 4:54
Side B:
- "Happy New Year" – 4:23
- "Our Last Summer" – 4:19
- "The Piper" – 3:26
- "Lay All Your Love on Me" – 4:33
- "The Way Old Friends Do" (Live) – 2:53
(P) 1980 Polar Music International AB, Stockholm, Sweden.
On the vinyl LP, the audience applause following the end of the "The Way Old Friends Do" continues into the run out groove meaning that it plays continuously if the turntable does not have an auto stop function. On the Cassette version and the subsequent CD re-issues, the applause simply fades out.
CD re-issues, bonus tracks
Super Trouper was remastered and reissued in 1997 and 2001 with two bonus tracks:
- "Elaine" (B. Andersson, B. Ulvaeus) – 3:44
- "Put On Your White Sombrero" (B. Andersson, B. Ulvaeus) – 4:34
The 1997 remaster of the album also included "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)", but the 2001 remaster did not, the song being shifted as a bonus track onto the Voulez-Vous album.
Super Trouper was remastered and reissued again in 2005 as part of the The Complete Studio Recordings box set with three bonus tracks:
- "Elaine" – 3:45
- B-side of "The Winner Takes It All".
- "Andante, Andante (Spanish version)" (B. Andersson, B. Ulvaeus); (Spanish translation - Buddy McCluskey, Mary McCluskey) – 4:40
- "Felicidad" (B. Andersson, B. Ulvaeus); (Spanish translation - B. McCluskey, M. McCluskey) – 4:24
- Spanish version of "Happy New Year".
Tracks 12–13 are from the Spanish and Latin American version of the album Super Trouper.
Super Trouper was reissued once again in 2008 as part of the The Albums box set but without any bonus tracks.
As announced, the album will be remastered and reissued again as part of the Deluxe Edition series. It will be released on May 9, 2011.[4]
The Way Old Friends Do
"The Way Old Friends Do" was recorded live from ABBA's 1979 tour. The anthemic song was performed towards the end of each show with the four members linking arms around Benny's accordion.[5] Video footage of ABBA performing the song in Wembley was screened in Japan and the United States as part of the "ABBA in Concert" TV special. The song is included as an extra feature on the DVD of the special. All of the musicians involved with the Music for UNICEF Concert also sang this song along with ABBA as a short part of the concert telecast.
Although not released as a single with this album, the song was later released as a single in 1992 to promote the compilation "More ABBA Gold: More ABBA Hits".[6]
The song was later covered by The Alexander Brothers,[7] the Kingston Trio, Philomena Begley and Faryl Smith.
Singles
- "The Winner Takes It All"/"Elaine" (July 1980)
- "Super Trouper"/"The Piper" (November 1980)
- "Happy New Year"/"Andante Andante" (November 1980)
- "On and On and On"/"The Piper" (December 1980) (Japan only)
- "Andante Andante"/"The Piper" (1981) (South America and South Africa only)
- "Lay All Your Love on Me"/"On and On and On" (July 1981)
Personnel
ABBA
- Benny Andersson – synthesizer, keyboards, Vocals
- Agnetha Fältskog – vocals
- Anni-Frid Lyngstad – vocals
- Björn Ulvaeus – acoustic guitar, vocals
Additional personnel
- Ola Brunkert – drums
- Lars Carlsson – horn
- Rutger Gunnarsson – bass, guitar
- Janne Kling – flute, saxophone
- Per Lindvall – drums
- Janne Schaffer – guitar
- Åke Sundqvist – percussion
- Mike Watson – bass
- Lasse Wellander – guitar
- Kajtek Wojciechowski – saxophone
- Producers: Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus
- Engineer: Michael B. Tretow
- Arranger: Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus
- Design: Rune Söderqvist
- Mastering for 1980's USA Atlantic CD version by Zal Schreiber of Atlantic Studios, NYC
- Remastered for the 1997 Remasters by Jon Astley and Tim Young with Michael B. Tretow
- Remastered for the 2001 Remasters by Jon Astley with Michael B. Tretow
- Remastered for the 2005 Complete Studio Recordings Box Set by Henrik Jonsson
Chart positions
Album
Chart Position Argentina Album Chart 2 Australia Album Chart 5 Austria Album Chart 3 Belgium Album Chart 1 Canada Album Chart 4 Dutch Album Chart 1 Finland Album Chart 2 France Album Chart 8 Italy Album Chart 13 Japan Album Chart 8 Mexico Album Chart 1 New Zealand Album Chart 5 Norway Album Chart 1 Spain Album Chart 4 Sweden Album Chart 1 Switzerland Album Chart 1 UK Album Chart 1[8] The Billboard 200 17 West Germany Album Chart 1 UK Chart Position by Week
According to The Official Charts Company, the album spent 17 consecutive weeks in the Top 40 from 22 November 1980 to 14 March 1981. It then charted for another four weeks in the lower reaches of the Top 40 between March and August 1981. It went straight into the Top 40 at Number One.
Weekly chart positions from 22 November 1980 and 14 March 1981: 1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-5-10-13-24-22-23-36-36
Singles
United Kingdom
Year Single Chart Position 1980 "The Winner Takes It All" UK Singles Chart 1 "Super Trouper" 1 1981 "Lay All Your Love on Me" 7 Norway
Year Single Chart Position 1980 "The Winner Takes It All" Norwegian Singles Chart 3 "Super Trouper" 2 1981 "Happy New Year" 11 United States
Year Single Chart Position 1980 "The Winner Takes It All" Billboard Hot 100 8 Adult Contemporary 1 "Lay All Your Love on Me"/"Super Trouper"/"On and On and On" Club Play Singles 1 1981 "Super Trouper" Billboard Hot 100 45 Adult Contemporary 14 "On and On and On" Billboard Hot 100 90 Preceded by
Guilty by Barbra StreisandUK Albums Chart number-one album
22 November 1980 – 23 January 1981Succeeded by
Kings of the Wild Frontier
by Adam and the AntsNotes
- ^ http://www.allmusic.com/album/r42/review
- ^ http://www.allmusic.com/album/r42/review
- ^ Magnus Palm, C: "Bright Lights, Dark shadows", page 432-433. Omnibus Press, 2001
- ^ http://www.icethesite.com/2011/02/super-trouper-deluxe/
- ^ Oldham, A, Calder, T & Irvin, C: "ABBA: The Name of the Game", page 92. Sidgwick & Jackson, 1995
- ^ Oldham, A, Calder, T & Irvin, C: "ABBA: The Name of the Game", page 75. Sidgwick & Jackson, 1995
- ^ Oldham, A, Calder, T & Irvin, C: "ABBA: The Name of the Game", page 92. Sidgwick & Jackson, 1995
- ^ "Number 1 Albums – 1980s". The Official Charts Company. Archived from the original on 9 February 2008. http://web.archive.org/web/20080209095724/http://www.theofficialcharts.com/all_the_no1_albums.php?show=4. Retrieved 27 June 2011.
UK best-selling albums (by year) (1970–1989) 1970: Bridge Over Troubled Water (Simon & Garfunkel) · 1971: Bridge Over Troubled Water (Simon & Garfunkel) · 1972: 20 Dynamic Hits (Various Artists) · 1973: Don't Shoot Me I'm Only the Piano Player (Elton John) · 1974: The Singles: 1969–1973 (The Carpenters) · 1975: The Best of The Stylistics (The Stylistics) · 1976: Greatest Hits (ABBA) · 1977: Arrival (ABBA) · 1978: Saturday Night Fever (Original Soundtrack) · 1979: Parallel Lines (Blondie) · 1980: Super Trouper (ABBA) · 1981: Kings of the Wild Frontier (Adam and the Ants) · 1982: Love Songs (Barbra Streisand) · 1983: Thriller (Michael Jackson) · 1984: Can't Slow Down (Lionel Richie) · 1985: Brothers in Arms (Dire Straits) · 1986: True Blue (Madonna) · 1987: Bad (Michael Jackson) · 1988: Kylie (Kylie Minogue) · 1989: Ten Good Reasons (Jason Donovan)
Complete list · (1956–1969) · (1970–1989) · (1990–2009) · (2010–2029) UK Christmas number-one albums in the 1980s Super Trouper (ABBA, 1980) · The Visitors (ABBA, 1981) · The John Lennon Collection (John Lennon, 1982) · Now That's What I Call Music (Various artists, 1983) · Hits 1 (Various artists, 1984) · Now – The Christmas Album (Various artists, 1985) · Now That's What I Call Music 8 (Various artists, 1986) · Now That's What I Call Music 10 (Various artists, 1987) · Private Collection: 1979–1988 (Cliff Richard, 1988) · ...But Seriously (Phil Collins, 1989)Complete list · 1960s · 1970s · 1980s · 1990s · 2000s · 2010sCategories:- ABBA albums
- Polar Music albums
- 1980 albums
- "The Winner Takes It All"
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