Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)

This article is about the ABBA song. For other uses, see Gimme Gimme Gimme (disambiguation).

"Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man after Midnight)"
Single by ABBA
from the album Greatest Hits Vol. 2
B-side	"The King Has Lost His Crown"
Released	2 October 1979
Format	Single
Genre	Disco, europop, synthpop
Length	4:46
Label	Polar Music
Writer(s)	Benny Andersson Björn Ulvaeus
Producer	Benny Andersson Björn Ulvaeus
Certification	Gold (France), Gold (Netherlands), Silver (UK)
ABBA singles chronology
"Angeleyes" (1979) "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)" (1979) "I Have a Dream" (1979)
¡Dame! ¡Dame! ¡Dame! Spanish language version single Music sample "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)"

"Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)", originally titled "Been and Gone and Done It", is one of Swedish pop group ABBA's biggest disco hits. It was recorded and released in 1979 with "The King Has Lost His Crown" as the B-side. It appears on ABBA's Greatest Hits Vol. 2 album, as well as their best-selling ABBA Gold album.

Original version

History

"Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man after Midnight)" was written by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus, with the lead vocal sung by Agnetha Fältskog. Agnetha, as the narrator, weaves the image of a lonely young woman who longs for a romantic relationship and views her loneliness as a forbidding darkness of night, even drawing parallels to how the happy endings of movie stars are so different from her own existence. Some people believe though that she is slipping into insanity and will do anything to get romance, even if it means a one night stand.

The song was recorded at Polar Music Studios in Stockholm, Sweden, in August 1979, and was ready for release in October of that year, in conjunction with the group's tour of North America and Europe.

Originally, ABBA had recorded another song, "Rubber Ball Man", which was planned as a single. It featured the typical "ABBA-arrangement" with both Fältskog and Anni-Frid Lyngstad on lead vocals and the use of classical strings. This song was also performed by the group during rehearsals for its current tour as "Under My Sun". However, the group felt that "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!", with its disco sound, would be a better choice, and thus, "Rubber Ball Man" remained nothing more than a demo.

Single Version

The single version of this song, which was released in its full length of 4:46 everywhere else in the world, was released in the United States and Canada in an edited format, being just 3:36 in length. This was done by removing the first half of the opening instrumental, the first four of the eight bars of the instrumental bridge between the second and final chorus, and fading the song out early. It is believed the edit was done by Atlantic, ABBA's North American record label, and not Polar, hence the reason why it was available only in the USA and Canada. This single version has never appeared on any commercial CD issued by Polar/Universal to date, and marked the only time Atlantic ever commercially released an edited version of an ABBA single while they had the North American rights to release ABBA recordings.

Spanish Version

"¡Dame! ¡Dame! ¡Dame!" is the Spanish language version of the song. The song was released as a single to promote Gracias Por La Música in Latin America and other Spanish-speaking countries.

The single was never released by Polar Music in the group's native Sweden, instead being featured on the "Greatest Hits Volume 2" album, which did get a Swedish release. While Polar released the single in neighbouring Norway, Denmark, and Finland, copies of these versions were not made available in the Swedish record stores, who thus arranged to import copies of the United Kingdom version on Epic Records. Sales of these imports were sufficient for the single to reach number 16 on the sales chart in Sweden.

Reception

"Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)" was another highly successful song for ABBA. It hit #1 in Belgium, Finland, France, Ireland, and Switzerland, while reaching the Top 3 in Austria, Germany, Great Britain, The Netherlands, and Norway. It also proved to be ABBA's most successful song in Japan, hitting #17.

Chart positions

Chart (1979)	Position
Australian Singles Chart	8
Austrian Singles Chart	2
Belgian Singles Chart	1
British Singles Chart	3
Dutch Singles Chart	2
Finnish Singles Chart	1
French Singles Chart	1
German Singles Chart	3
Irish Singles Chart	1
Japanese Singles Chart	17
New Zealand Singles Chart	15
Norwegian Singles Chart	2
Swedish Singles Chart	16
Swiss Singles Chart	1

Preceded by "Video Killed the Radio Star" by The Buggles	Irish Singles Chart number-one single 10 November 1979 – 17 November 1979	Succeeded by "When You're In Love With A Beautiful Woman" by Dr Hook
Preceded by "We Don't Talk Anymore" by Cliff Richard	Eurochart Hot 100 Singles number-one single 15 November 1979 – 26 December 1979	Succeeded by "Video Killed the Radio Star" by The Buggles
Preceded by "A Brand New Day" by The Wiz Stars	Belgian VRT Top 30 Singles Chart number-one single (first run) 17 November 1979	Succeeded by "We Belong to the Night" by Ellen Foley
Preceded by "We Belong to the Night" by Ellen Foley	Belgian VRT Top 30 Singles Chart number-one single (second run) 1 December 1979	Succeeded by "Weekend" by Earth & Fire
Preceded by "We Don't Talk Anymore" by Cliff Richard	Swiss Singles Chart number-one single 2 December 1979	Succeeded by "Video Killed the Radio Star" by The Buggles
Preceded by "Wanted" by The Dooleys	Japanese Oricon Weekly International Singles Chart number-one single 24 December 1979 – 3 March 1980

A-Teens version

"Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)"
Single by A-Teens
from the album The ABBA Generation
Released	1999, 2000
Format	CD single Airplay
Recorded	1999
Genre	Pop, europop
Length	3:56 (Album Version) 3:45 (Radio Edit)
Label	Universal Music
Writer(s)	B. Andersson B. Ulvaeus
Producer	Thomas Johansson Ronald Malmberg
A-Teens singles chronology
"Super Trouper" (1999) "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!" (1999) "Happy New Year" (1999)

"Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!" was A-Teens' third single (fourth in other territories) from their first album The ABBA Generation, a collection of ABBA cover versions.

When the single came out in the winter of 1999 in Sweden, it earned a Gold certification.^[1] It also became their third top ten hit there and the band's third top 40 hit in Germany. The song peaked at number 51 in Switzerland, number 27 in the Netherlands, number 20 in Mexico, and number 22 in Argentina and Chile.

"Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!" was recorded in Spanish for the Latin American promotion that started in early 2000.

Music video

The music video was directed by Sebastian Reed, and it was filmed in Sweden.

The video starts with the boys entering a warehouse, where they find a crystal ball. Inside, there is an "alternate world" where they perform the song.

The video had high rotation on several music channels, but it was not as successful as the first singles.

The version of the song used on the video is the Radio Version, which is shorter and includes different beats and sounds to the album version.

Releases

European 2-track CD single

1. "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!" [Radio version] - 3:45
2. "A*Teens Medley" [Pierre J's Radio Mix] - 3:54

European maxi CD

1. "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!" [Radio version] - 3:45
2. "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!" [Extended version] - 6:02
3. "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!" [Earthbound Late Show Remix] - 5:04
4. "A*Teens Medley" [Pierre J's Full Length Mix] - 8:19

Mexican CD single

1. "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!" [Radio version] - 3:45
2. "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!" [Spanish version] - 3:43

Japanese maxi CD

1. "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!" [Radio version] - 3:45
2. "A*Teens Medley" [Pierre J's Radio Mix] - 3:54
3. "Mamma Mia" [Spanish version] - 3:46
4. "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!" [Spanish version] - 3:43

1 Track CD'

1. "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!" [Radio version] - 3:45

Star Academy France version

"Gimme ! Gimme ! Gimme ! (A Man After Midnight)"
Single by Star Academy 1
from the album L'Album
B-side	"Brigite Bardot" (remix)
Released	4 February 2002
Format	CD single
Recorded	France, 2001
Genre	Pop
Length	3:30
Label	Island, Universal Music
Writer(s)	Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus
Star Academy 1 singles chronology
"La Musique (Angelica)" (2001) "Gimme ! Gimme ! Gimme ! (A Man After Midnight)" (2002)

In 2001, the song was successfully covered by the first edition of the French TV reality show Star Academy 1. The song was credited to Olivia Ruiz, Jenifer Bartoli and Carine Haddadou, three of the contestants. This version went straight to number-one in France, disloging Star Academy's previous hit, "La Musique (Angelica)", and stayed atop for two weeks.

Track listings

CD single

1. "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)" — 3:30
2. "Brigitte Bardot" (remix edit) by Jean-Pascal Lacoste — 3:01

Charts

Chart (2002)	Peak position
Belgian (Wallonia) Singles Chart[2]	11
French SNEP Singles Chart[3]	1

Preceded by "La Musique (Angelica)" by Star Academy 1

French SNEP number-one single 9 February 2002 – 16 February 2002

Succeeded by "J'ai tout oublié" by Marc Lavoine and Cristina Marocco

Film version

"Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)"
Single by Amanda Seyfried
from the album Mamma Mia! The Movie Soundtrack Featuring the Songs of ABBA
Released	2008
Format	Single
Genre	Pop, soundtrack
Length	3:53
Label	Polydor Records
Writer(s)	Benny Andersson Björn Ulvaeus
Producer	Benny Andersson Björn Ulvaeus

"Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)" was the first single released from the soundtrack for the 2008 film version of Mamma Mia! by American actress Amanda Seyfried. Unlike the original stage version, Seyfried sings the complete song as a solo performance.

Covers, live performances and uses in the media

Notable covers

• An instrumental electronica cover of the song by Motor Industries can be found on the album The Electronic Tribute to ABBA.
• British electronic band O.V.N.I also recorded its own rendition of the song.
• The song was covered by the band Eldissa on its album What A Difference.^[4]
• Dance versions have been recorded by various artists including: Angeleyes on its 1999 album ABBADance, Marmic on the compilation Lay All Your Love On ABBA, DJ Ensamble on its 2006 Trancing Queen tribute album,^[5] Rio & Mars, and Mito featuring Naymi.
• The famous guitar virtuoso Yngwie Malmsteen released a metal version of the song, titled "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (Your Love after Midnight)" from the compilation album Anthology: 1994-1999. The song features minor changes to the lyrics and the melody features a more powerful metal feel. Malmsteen plays an arpeggiated version of the main theme in his version, and has added guitar solos in the instrumental bridge.
• German alternative band Bananafishbones^[6] covered the song with slightly altered lyrics.
• Vietnamese-American singer, Christine Thuy Huong, recorded her version of the song for her album, Men Say Tinh Ai. In her version, Huong sings part of the song in English, and part in Vietnamese.
• A Cantonese version entitled 心向上 was performed by Hong Kong singer Teresa Cheung Tak Lan.
• In 1980, a Mandarin version entitled Annoying Autumn Wind (惱人的秋風) hit Taiwan, performed by pop singer Lingfeng Gao. Later, in the late 1980s, it was introduced into mainland China by a Chinese American singer Kris Phillips (Fei Xiang).
• In 1984, The Sisters of Mercy covered the song several times as part of their live set.
• In 1986, British synthpop duo Erasure released a faithful cover as the B-side to their 12" single "Oh L'amour". Erasure would go on to record a further EP of ABBA songs.
• In 1986, the song was also covered and released in two different mixes on 12" singles by the Swedish rock band The Leather Nun.
• In 1997, the San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus recorded a cover of the song for its album ExtrABBAganza!.
• In 1998, punk rock band Attaque 77 made a cover for its tribute album Otras Canciones; called "Dame, Dame, Dame" (Spanish for Gimme ! Gimme Gimme!) the version was in Spanish but featured different lyrics than the original Spanish version by ABBA.
• In 1999, a version of the song performed by singer/actress Denise Van Outen was included on the British Abbamania tribute album. Van Outen was also the host of the Abbamania TV special. On the subsequent ABBAMania 2 album, from 2004, which featured covers performed by various British TV stars, the song was performed by actress Julie Forsyth.
• In 2000, the song was covered by Swedish metal band Black Ingvars on its album Kid's Super Hits.
• In 2001, another heavy metal version of the song is the track by Finnish power/speed metal band Sinergy from the ABBAMetal tribute album (also released as A Tribute to ABBA).
• In 2001, as a B-side to its single "Gimme Back My Brain", the Northern Irish rock band Therapy? recorded a cover version.
• In 2004, Swedish musician Nils Landgren included a cover on his tribute album Funky ABBA.
• In 2004, a duet version by German heavy metal vocalist Doro Pesch and comedian Dirk Bach was featured on the German ABBA Mania album (released in conjunction with a TV special on RTL Television.
• In 2004, on the tribute album Abbalicious performed by various American drag queens, the song was covered by Hedda Lettuce.^[7]
• In November 2004, the French-Techhouse project Shana Vanguarde covered the song, eliminating most of the lyrics and retaining a looped sample at the end of the chorus before the eight-bar instrumental.
• In 2004, a cover by Swedish goth metal band Beseech can be found on its album Souls Highway.
• In 2006, a cover of the song by Sawa Kobayashi can be found on the chill out music compilation ABBA Chill Out.
• In 2006, a cover of the song by Finnish a cappella choral ensemble Rajaton can be found on its ABBA tribute album Rajaton Sings ABBA With Lahti Symphony Orchestra.
• In 2007, Swedish goth rock band Funhouse covered the song on its EP Don't Wanna Know Me. An audio sample can be heard on their official MySpace page.^[8]
• In 2008, the song was covered in a jazz/lounge music style by American group BNB on its album Bossa Mia: Songs of ABBA.^[9]
• In 2008, Spanish singer Edurne covered the song in Spanish as Dame, Dame, Dame Amor Esta Noche for her album Première.
• In 2008, Canadian singer Damhnait Doyle covered the song on her album of cover songs, Lights Down Low.
• Tribute group Abbacadabra released numerous dance cover remixes of the song through Almighty Records in the late 1990s. Mixes of the group's cover version were most recently included on the its 2008 compilation We Love ABBA: The Mamma Mia Dance Compilation. Audio samples can be heard on the official Almighty Records website.^[10]
• Indie artist Bangobang recorded a cover of the song.
• Idol 2008 winner Kevin Borg sang his version on the Top 9 final performance show and also a studio version was released on the Idol 2008 best of cast recording, replacing "gimme a man after midnight" with "gimme your love after midnight".
• In 2010, the Spanish folk metal band Mago de Oz covered the song as a B-side for its single "Que el Viento Sople a tu Favor".

Live cover performances

• The song is one of the major numbers in the Mamma Mia! musical and movie. In the context of the musical, the song is sung by Sophie's friends at the hen party when they notice the fathers and dance with them. Throughout the song in little intermissions, the fathers question Sophie as to why they are invited to the island. At the end of the song, Bill (One of the three of Sophie's potential fathers) talks to Sophie about his great aunt leaving Donna money in her will. Bill then realizes that he could be Sophie's father.
• The X Factor girl band Hope sang the song with interjections of Madonna's "Hung Up" on Series 4.
• The song was sung on Australian Idol season 6 by Sophie Paterson during ABBA week.

Sampling, references, appearances in other media, etc.

• In 2005, it was sampled by Madonna, who used it on her worldwide huge hit "Hung Up". Madonna is said to have sent a letter to Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus asking to use the song as a sample,^[11] since the Swedish songwriting duo are reluctant to let other artists sample their material. It was only the second time that an ABBA track had been officially sampled, the first being the Fugees in 1996 with their hit "Rumble in the Jungle", sampling part of 1977's "The Name of the Game".
• The Tamperer featuring Maya sampled it for their song Hammer to the Heart.
• "Ooh, Yes I Do", a single by Dutch girl group Luv', uses a melody inspired by the flute theme of the song.
• A ringtone called "Cool Chick" uses the rhythm of the song. It was released in many Siemens phones like Siemens AX72.
• The British sitcom "Gimme Gimme Gimme (TV series)" uses this song as its title theme.^[12]

See also

• Gimme Gimme Gimme (disambiguation)

References

1. ^ IFPI Certifications in 1999
2. ^ "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)", Belgian (Wallonia) Singles Chart Ultratop.be . Retrieved 2 November 2008.
3. ^ "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)", French Singles Chart Lescharts.com . Retrieved 2 November 2008.
4. ^ "Eldissa". Dreyfus Records. http://www.dreyfusrecords.com/discs_ns.php?a=85&l=0. Retrieved 2010-04-09. 
5. ^ "Reviews". Eurodancehits.com. http://www.eurodancehits.com/review.html. Retrieved 2010-04-09. 
6. ^ "Bananafishbones – Wikipedia" (in (German)). De.wikipedia.org. http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bananafishbones. Retrieved 2010-04-09. 
7. ^ [1]^{[dead link]}
8. ^ "FUNHOUSE op MySpace Music – Gratis gestreamde MP3s, fotos en Videoclips". Profile.myspace.com. http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=58058568. Retrieved 2010-04-09. 
9. ^ "The Manila Times Internet Edition | LIFE & TIMES > Bossa Mia, the music of ABBA". Manilatimes.net. 2008-01-09. http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2008/jan/09/yehey/life/20080109lif4.html. Retrieved 2010-04-09. 
10. ^ "Abbacadabra | Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!". Almighty Records.com. http://www.almightyrecords.com/product/ALMY207/. Retrieved 2010-04-09. 
11. ^ Madonna 'begged' Abba for sample, BBC 18 October 2005
12. ^ BBC: Gimme Gimme Gimme

External links

• Video of the song being recorded (from Abba's official website)