Super Trouper (the song) and John Lennon

Yes, it definitely has that association for me. I’m not sure I knew who John Lennon was prior to his murder. I think I’d heard of The Beatles but didn’t know much about them. I was nine at the time. His death really upset me though, and I couldn’t sleep properly for weeks. When the Imagine video was shown on Top of the Pops I’d cover my eyes and I didn’t like hearing his records.

It was a strange reaction considering he had meant nothing to me prior to that, but it was such big news that it quickly became apparent to me how important he and The Beatles were. Perhaps I wasn’t aware of anyone being murdered before then, certainly not anyone famous anyway.

I imagine ABBA must have been affected by it. Around this time, there were kidnap threats against Björn and Agnetha’s children so nearly all promotional activities for the album (including a planned UK visit and a second Christmas Day appearance on the Mike Yarwood show) were cancelled.

I did have a dislike of much of the Super Trouper album for a while and I’m still not a fan of the song itself. Maybe some of that is because of the John Lennon connection and how it affected me. I don’t think anything has affected me in quite that way since, certainly not a celebrity death.

ABBA Magazine #33, March 1981 (published February).

Incidentally, after a five-year hiatus, John Lennon went back into the recording studio in Aug 1980 to record the Double Fantasy album. ABBA were top of the UK charts with The Winner Takes it All.

A week after his death, his song ‘Starting Over’ took over the number one spot from Super Trouper.

I don't associate Super Trouper (song) with John Lennon - though I know Just Like Starting Over replaced ST as #1 in the UK.

Lennon's single had peaked at #8 in the UK and had dropped to #21 then his murder and it was #1. The changeover date for #1 was 16th December - my birthday and Benny's.
If there's any association for people it is people from the UK and Ireland only. Super Trouper not a big hit outside Europe and Just Like Starting Over not #1 in mainland Europe, apart from Switzerland, where ST was not #1.In the US Just Like Starting Over was still climbing the charts.

Lennon famously said Presley died after joining.the army suggesting Presley's music became very bland. (actually I luke several Elvis songs from late 60s to early 70s).

Lennon's own album at the time Double Fantasy was actuallt very very MOR (well Lennon's tracks. Yoko's were just screaming).

Like Alan I am not a big fan of Super Trouper (song). Infact I am not a huge fan of the album.

Only in retrospect have I thought about the murder of John Lennon in relation to Super Trouper in the charts.

I think that among ABBA fans the song is perhaps less liked than it was back in the day. (Didn't it outsell TWTIA as a single when released?)

I love most of the things about Super Trouper that Joseph mentions. But nowadays I've gone off the chorus, finding it a bit 'four-square' and not one of ABBA's better ones. But Frida's vocal is lovely, and especially in the bridge.

There's a piano solo rendition of the song posted somewhere on this forum and, as I think Tony/HOMETIME said - and I agree with him - it's something of a revelation. I can't explain it, but for me the chorus just works better in this piano solo. That's personal preference for you!

Yes, that Not The Nine O’Clock News skit was brilliant! As we seem to have a sense of humour by-pass these days, I’m sure there are plenty that won’t see the funny side. I recall on a previous forum there was offence taken that Frida was played by a man. I remember explaining that it wasn’t trying to cause offence, and that simply the Not team was three men and one woman, and the youngest and best-looking of the men played Frida.

The lyrics:

Super duper, super duper, super duper, super doo

One of us is ugly, one of us is cute
One of us you'd like to see in her birthday suit
Two of us write music, two have way a song
Sorry, in translation, that line come out wrong

But still, super duper, it's super duper that we're number one again
Singing super duper duper, makes a super duper refrain

We believe, that if you have three tunes in a song
And a showbiz cliché nothing can go wrong
The world is just a great big stage
Each man plays his part
In this concrete jungle, my sleeve is on my heart

On the beaches we go swimming in the nude
Oh how I wish now and then that we could sing something rude
Breast and bottom, tongue and inner thigh
Heaving bellies come up from behind

But still super duper, it's more super, super than we would have thought
If it's super duper duper, make it super duper short

Super duper, super duper, its a super duper refrain
So we thought how super duper to sing "super duper" again

I don't think the super duper thing is particularly funny and I like the actors involved a lot. And I do love a good parody! I prefer the French and Saunders C'est La Vie song.

It’s nice that there’s a wee bit of Scotland in Super Trouper, although I’d much preferred it if they’d mentioned Edinburgh rather than Glasgow 🤪

They didn’t go to Edinburgh in 1979 though, only Glasgow, and the song is about the 1979 tour. Plus Edinburgh wouldn’t have rhymed with “last show”! Glasgow was the penultimate date in that leg of the tour though, as it wouldn’t resume until March 1980 in Japan.

The problem with Edinburgh is that for years, we have missed out on major acts performing in the city because we don’t have a decent indoor city venue holding around 10,000.

It’s either the smaller theatres such as the Playhouse and the Usher Hall (which hosted Eurovision in 1972) or the giant Murrayfield rugby Stadium.

Glasgow has its act together with several large indoor venues.

As for the rhyming aspect, that’s really no excuse now. How about?:

“I was sick and tired but feeling thorough…”