Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!

   It sold very well for a UK No.3 Hit. It was the UK's 28th Best Selling Single of 1979.

   It wasn't a Hit in the USA.I'm not sure if it was even released there. 1978 and 1979
   were strange Years for UK & USA ABBA releases, as 'Eagle' was not released in either
   Country, and 'Summer Night City' and 'I Have A Dream' were not released in the USA.
   'Chiquitita' was released very late in the USA. In January 1979 in every other Country,
   but not until November 1979 in the USA. That is why it 'only' reached No.29 there. By
   November 1979, the 'Voulez-Vous' Album had sold around 600,000 there, and that lost
   'Chiquitita' a lot of Sales. I'm sure that it would have made the Top 20 there, had it been
   released in January...

   If I'd have been in charge of ABBA releases, I'd have made sure that ABBA had as many Hit
   Singles as possible. There would have been no 'skipping' any releases, in the UK or the  USA.

  
    ABBA have a Total of over 1,710,000,000 views on You Tube. Their biggest Video there is 'Dancing Queen', with over
    380,000,000 views. 2nd is 'Mamma Mia', with over 183,000,000 views. However, 'Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!' is 3rd,
    with almost 148,000,000 views. This is due to it being featured in the 1st 'Mamma Mia!' Film. it brought its attention
    to a lot of people, who had never heard ABBA's original.

    ABBA have 25 You Tube Videos with over 11,000,000 views. The goal is for ABBA to reach over 2 Billion You Tube views.
    Not many Acts have ever managed it. But several have and ABBA deserve to be one of them. Queen never sold as many
    Records as ABBA, when ABBA were together - 1972 to 1982. However, they had a 1980's Career that ABBA never had, 
    and they are now on almost 5,642,000,000 You Tube views. Which is the most for any Group. Even The Beatles are 'only'
    on almost 1,468,000,000 You Tube views and they are the Best Selling Group and Act, of 'All Time'. ABBA beat them on You  
    Tube views, though...
  

That killer synth riff* is definitely the highlight. Literally perfect.

When the record came out, there was definitely a sense that ABBA were back on top form. I definitely think it would have reached higher than 3 in the UK if it hadn't been the fourth single release of the year. ABBA fatigue was setting in. Personally, I'd rather they'd had fewer but higher-achieving hits in that year as opposed (seemingly) to trying to chalk up as many hits as possible. For me, ABBA were all about gunning for No.1s, not just infiltrating the Top 5. Two singles from VV would have been enough - then GGG really WOULD have burst out of the speakers for the great British singles-buying public when it emerged in the autumn.

(* The song 'Ooh Yes I Do' by the Dutch girl band Luv', which was released in November 1979 as a single and features a very similar synth riff after the choruses, was said to have been recorded in 1978, though I don't know whether that was actually the case. Wikipedia says "The song uses a melody inspired by the flute theme of ABBA's "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)". If so, the dates don't tally. A bit of a mystery, to me anyway! Can anyone enlighten me?)

I always thought that GGG was mediocre by ABBA’s high standards, but the introduction is sublime - probably the best ‘bit’ of any ABBA song. And yes, Agnetha’s vocal is excellent (as always). One thing I really dislike about GGG is the title - it’s just not classy at all!

My 40 year old memories....
Here in the UK , GGG , had the misfortune of not going higher than number 3, due to a novelty song, pseudo religious , Lena Martel and One Day At A Time, you should google , and you’ll wonder why GGG didn’t make it higher. The UK tends  to love these one off different from everything else sort of songs.. our chart history is littered with them..
GGG was then over took by Dr Hooks When Your In Love With A Beautiful Women, nowdays not a classic, but of its time.
So GGG stalled at a respectful number 3, and as stated went on to be the 28th best selling single of the year, selling around 500 ,000 plus.. a huge amount compared to today.. I think all 1979 singles sold over 250,000...

The one aggravating aspect, I remember for radio as is now , for when the instrumental mid section came on was to talk over and fade out.. cutting the track short...

Never really understood why it wasn’t released in the USA, I remember rumours of it was , but never !!! 
Again like Eagle.. strange decisions of the labels at the time.. both were potentially top 20 if not top 10.. we shall never know...

I like GGG more now than I did at the time. I think the long opening section is sublime. The vocals throughout are brilliant: Agnetha's zesty lead, the gloriously metallic urgency of the Frida/Agnetha meld on the chorus and those angelic joint vocals at the entry point to the bass breakdown are gorgeous. I love the strings and the double octave piano chords in the bridge - it makes for a classy sound. For me, the big problem has always been the instrumental breakdown. It is beautifully played and recorded but it's so long that it makes the track feel like an album cut or a modest 12" mix. I think they knew this themselves at the time, as it was excised from the video. IMO, this was a squandered opportunity to maximise the track's commercial potential. They could have released a short-and-punchy (and more radio friendly) 7" single, augmented by their first official 12" extended version. And/or they could have put the longer version on GHV2, making both discs essential fan purchases. But that's my inner marketing cynic talking.

Ultimately, I think the track has aged brilliantly and, as a recording, it probably stands up better than anything else from the 78/79 sessions. But as a single....? That lovely bass solo still gives me pause. 

Below is a 'Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!' Post that I've just added to the 2 ABBA Forums at the
UKMIX Chart Site. I thought that some of you may find it of interest. I know that not all ABBA
Fans are as fascinated by ABBA Chart & Sales Statistics as I am...

As some other ABBA Fans have expressed in the past, the only thing that I don't like about the
'Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!' Single is the Instrumental 'Bridge' in the 'Middle'. I think that it is too
long. I'd rather that ABBA had used more of the engaging Intro Music in other parts of the Song...

It is now the 40th Anniversary of 'Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)' being released,
as a Single. The time has flown by. I recall it coming out and I and an Irish Pen Pal were wondering
if it could reach No.1 in the UK, as ABBA had not had a No.1 Single here since 'Take A Chance On Me'
in early 1978. It all seems like just a few Years ago. 'Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!' reached No.3 here, in
the end. It sold very well, for a No.3 Hit, and it was the 28th Best Selling UK Single, of 1979. So, it sold
as well as many No.1 Hits, but did not quite get to that Chart Position. ABBA were still huge, of course,
and 'Greatest Hits Vol.2' was soon released, with 600,000 UK Advance Orders. That was No.1 for 4 Weeks...

Note -- On Tuesday 15th October 'ABBA Gold' rose from No.3 to No.2 in both the World iTunes Chart and in
the European iTunes Chart. Awesome, for an Album that has been selling well since September 1992.

I think that's fair. It does suck a bit of the energy from the song. Thinking back, though, a lot of DJs used it as an excuse to start talking and fade the record out early. Inevitable, perhaps, as the whole thing's virtually a five-minuter. Mind you, a lot of them spoke over the intro too - an act of absolute desecration, given its undoubted status as one of THE very best intros on any record, ever. I always remember wishing they'd shut the eff up. (The keyboards on the bridge always remind me of one of the instrumental passages on Kraftwerk's 'Trans Europe Express' (1977) - I wonder if that provided some form of inspiration?)

So how good was the song? Well, I think if it'd been part of ABBA's golden run of singles from SOS to TACOM, it wouldn't have been a weak link, though clearly not being one of the very best. In an alternative universe, I'd like to think it appeared in 1978 instead of SNC and spent a month in the top slot.   

I actually love Hung Up as a song in itself. Madonna's use of the sample was inspired. I love the video, too...everything about it. It's exciting and thrilling.

Indeed. When I first heard that intro, I was totally unaware of Hung Up, and I actually thought it was Gimme Gimme Gimme.