EDITORIAL > NUMBER ONE - AT LAST
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Number One - at last | 15 November 2005
ABBA never achieved it on their own with Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!, but Madonna managed to do it. In 1979 ABBA "only" reached the number 2 spot in The Netherlands. And now, 26 years later, the song finally reaches number 1. So did Madonna cover Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! ? Well, no. But for the first time in history the two ABBA men have given permission to use a sample of an original ABBA recording to a major artist. I have yet to read that Agnetha and Frida have said yes. Which is quite odd. Anyway, Hung Up features the original ABBA recording. And of course Björn and Benny are mentioned as two of the four composers of Hung Up. Rightly so, because Hung Up is built very heavily on the foundation of the ABBA melody line. Of course Madonna has also been creative as composer. Which makes the song an instant catchy hit single. You could say that a couple of pop music oldies have wiped out the entire new generation of hit artists. Not a bad achievement. Not by ABBA and not by Madonna. Who incidentally had her last number one hit in the Netherlands more than 18 (!) years ago. So quality always pays off. Maybe, just maybe, the huge success of the single will open up the eyes of the former ABBA members. This could be the beginning of more ABBA samples being used officially. We all know that the former ABBA members don't hate to receive royalties from their old recordings. And so maybe a couple of major artists don't mind using ABBA samples. I'd say: bring them on! Kylie doing Dancing Queen, Robbie Williams doing Take A Chance On Me. Life can be beautiful. |
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