Under Attack
Encyclopedia
"Under Attack" is the latest widely-released single by Swedish pop
group ABBA
. It was originally featured as a track on the 1982
compilation album The Singles: The First Ten Years
, but was released as a single the following year in most countries. In the United Kingdom
however, it was released on December 3, 1982. "Under Attack" was ABBA's 28th single for Polar Music
.
Studios, Stockholm
. The group had originally intended to release a new studio album, but the stress of the working environment led them to indefinitely shelve the project and instead release a double-album compilation of their past singles. Since it was decided that there would be two new tracks on the compilation, ABBA set to work recording the songs. The two tracks that made it onto what became "The Singles: The First 10 Years" were "The Day Before You Came
" and "Under Attack". The former was released as a single in October 1982. The video for "Under Attack" was filmed in November 16, 1982. The song contains fragments from two unreleased ABBA songs: "Just Like That" and "Rubber Ball Man".
On December 11, 1982, ABBA performed the song on the BBC
's Late Late Breakfast Show, in what was their latest collective performance.
and The Netherlands, and a minor Top 20 single in a couple of other European territories, it did not become a major hit anywhere else. It peaked at number 26 in the United Kingdom In Australia
, where the group's popularity only a few years earlier had rivaled that of The Beatles
, "Under Attack" was a sad swan-song, only reaching #96 in the singles chart. After the single's release, it was decided that ABBA would take a "break"; however, they would not record as a group again and later disbanded.
Björn Ulvaeus has said that "Under Attack" is a good song which, if released a year earlier, would have been a big hit. Benny Andersson, however, has stated that although the production was strong, the song overall was not one of ABBA's better recordings.
Musically, "Under Attack" is a song with strong production values and tight harmonies - it has a stereo sound that was popular in its day with a "soft fade" to end the song. The lead vocal has an interesting frequency equalization effect, not unlike certain parts of David McWilliams's "The Days of Pearly Spencer
". Despite not being a commercial success, Rolling Stone
magazine described the song as "the best thing they've done in three years."
"Under Attack" is featured in the musical theatre smash Mamma Mia!
, being the only number in the production that was not a major hit in Europe. Also in the musical is "Honey, Honey
", which received limited release and success in Europe, plus some other ABBA songs that were not released as singles at all, such as "Our Last Summer
" and "Slipping Through My Fingers
".
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
group ABBA
ABBA
ABBA was a Swedish pop group formed in Stockholm in 1970 which consisted of Anni-Frid Lyngstad, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson and Agnetha Fältskog...
. It was originally featured as a track on the 1982
1982 in music
This is a list of notable events in music from 1982. 1982 was a big year in music with Madonna making her debut as well as the year that Michael Jackson released Thriller which became the world's best selling album and it still holds that title today....
compilation album The Singles: The First Ten Years
The Singles: The First Ten Years
The Singles: The First Ten Years is a double compilation album by the Swedish pop group ABBA, released in 1982.1982 was ABBA’s final year together as a group. They had originally intended to record a new studio album, like they had done almost every year since they first came together...
, but was released as a single the following year in most countries. In the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
however, it was released on December 3, 1982. "Under Attack" was ABBA's 28th single for Polar Music
Polar Music
Polar Music is a Swedish record company founded in 1963 by Stig Anderson and his friend Bengt Bernhag. The first act that it signed was the Hootenanny Singers featuring Björn Ulvaeus. Polar eventually gained prosperity producing Ulvæus' next group, international superstars ABBA...
.
Background
Recording for Under Attack began between August 2 and August 4 1982 at Polar MusicPolar Music
Polar Music is a Swedish record company founded in 1963 by Stig Anderson and his friend Bengt Bernhag. The first act that it signed was the Hootenanny Singers featuring Björn Ulvaeus. Polar eventually gained prosperity producing Ulvæus' next group, international superstars ABBA...
Studios, Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
. The group had originally intended to release a new studio album, but the stress of the working environment led them to indefinitely shelve the project and instead release a double-album compilation of their past singles. Since it was decided that there would be two new tracks on the compilation, ABBA set to work recording the songs. The two tracks that made it onto what became "The Singles: The First 10 Years" were "The Day Before You Came
The Day Before You Came
"The Day Before You Came" is a song recorded and released by Swedish pop group ABBA. It was originally released in October 1982, as the first new song from ABBA's double compilation album The Singles: The First Ten Years...
" and "Under Attack". The former was released as a single in October 1982. The video for "Under Attack" was filmed in November 16, 1982. The song contains fragments from two unreleased ABBA songs: "Just Like That" and "Rubber Ball Man".
On December 11, 1982, ABBA performed the song on the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
's Late Late Breakfast Show, in what was their latest collective performance.
Music Video
In November 1982 a music video was filmed to promote the song. Filmed in an empty warehouse, the video involves ABBA navigating their way through a room filled with sirens. The video ends with the four members walking away in the distance, their backs to the camera.Reception
"Under Attack" was not a commercial success upon its release. ABBA's popularity was in decline and the two preceding singles (Head Over Heels and The Day Before You Came) had failed to reach #1 anywhere. Some fans say "Under Attack" was ahead of its time, others criticize it for being too poppy and simplistic when compared to ABBA's earlier efforts. Although a Top 5 hit in BelgiumBelgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
and The Netherlands, and a minor Top 20 single in a couple of other European territories, it did not become a major hit anywhere else. It peaked at number 26 in the United Kingdom In Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, where the group's popularity only a few years earlier had rivaled that of The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
, "Under Attack" was a sad swan-song, only reaching #96 in the singles chart. After the single's release, it was decided that ABBA would take a "break"; however, they would not record as a group again and later disbanded.
Björn Ulvaeus has said that "Under Attack" is a good song which, if released a year earlier, would have been a big hit. Benny Andersson, however, has stated that although the production was strong, the song overall was not one of ABBA's better recordings.
Musically, "Under Attack" is a song with strong production values and tight harmonies - it has a stereo sound that was popular in its day with a "soft fade" to end the song. The lead vocal has an interesting frequency equalization effect, not unlike certain parts of David McWilliams's "The Days of Pearly Spencer
The Days of Pearly Spencer
The Days of Pearly Spencer is an compilation album by The Vietnam Veterans, released in 1988. It was the band's last full-length album before they broke up....
". Despite not being a commercial success, Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
magazine described the song as "the best thing they've done in three years."
"Under Attack" is featured in the musical theatre smash Mamma Mia!
Mamma Mia!
Mamma Mia! is a stage musical written by British playwright Catherine Johnson, based on the songs of ABBA, composed by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus, former members of the band. Although the title of the musical is taken from the group's 1975 chart-topper "Mamma Mia", the plot is fictional, not...
, being the only number in the production that was not a major hit in Europe. Also in the musical is "Honey, Honey
Honey, Honey
"Honey, Honey" is a song by the Swedish pop group ABBA. It was released as the second single from their second studio album, Waterloo, after the success of the title track winning the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest.-History:...
", which received limited release and success in Europe, plus some other ABBA songs that were not released as singles at all, such as "Our Last Summer
Our Last Summer
"Our Last Summer" is a song by ABBA from the group's seventh studio album, Super Trouper. It was written by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus.Recording for this track began on 4 June 1980 in Polar Music Studios...
" and "Slipping Through My Fingers
Slipping Through My Fingers
"Slipping Through My Fingers" is a song written by Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson and recorded by Swedish pop group ABBA from their 1981 album, The Visitors, with lead vocals by Agnetha Fältskog...
".
Chart positions
| Chart (1983) | Position |
|---|---|
| Australian Singles Chart ARIA Charts The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June... |
96 |
| Belgian Singles Chart | 3 |
| British Singles Chart | 26 |
| Dutch Singles Chart Dutch Top 40 The Dutch Top 40 is a weekly music chart, which started as the "Veronica Top 40", because the offshore radio station Radio Veronica was the first to introduce it. It remained "The Veronica Top 40" until 1974, when the station was forced to stop broadcasting... |
5 |
| Finnish Singles Chart | 16 |
| French Singles Chart | 43 |
| German Singles Chart Media Control Charts The official music charts in Germany are gathered and published by the company Media Control GfK International on behalf of Bundesverband Musikindustrie... |
22 |
| Irish Singles Chart Irish Singles Chart The Irish Singles Chart is Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association and compiled on behalf of the IRMA by Chart-Track. Chart rankings are based on sales, which are compiled through over-the-counter retail data captured... |
11 |
| Swiss Singles Chart Swiss Music Charts The Swiss Music Charts are Switzerland's main music sales charts. The charts are a record of the highest-selling singles and albums in various genres in Switzerland.The Swiss Charts include:* Singles Top 75... |
15 |
Cover versions
- As mentioned earlier, the song is one of the opening numbers performed by the character of Sophie for the second act of the musical Mamma Mia!Mamma Mia!Mamma Mia! is a stage musical written by British playwright Catherine Johnson, based on the songs of ABBA, composed by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus, former members of the band. Although the title of the musical is taken from the group's 1975 chart-topper "Mamma Mia", the plot is fictional, not...
. In the context of the musical, the song is sung by Sophie as a nightmare about her wedding and also, about how to solve the situation. Again, some of the lyrics are altered to suit the story. However, the song was one of several not included in the 2008 Mamma Mia!Mamma Mia! (film)Mamma Mia! is a 2008 musical/romantic comedy film adapted from the 1999 West End/2001 Broadway musical of the same name, based on the songs of successful pop group ABBA, with additional music composed by ABBA member Benny Andersson...
movie adaptation. - A cover of the song can be found on the ABBA tribute album ABBA Super Hits by Power Generation Project.
- Dutch artist Ice did a version on her 2004 album N Ster Vir My.
- A hi-NRGHi-NRGHi-NRG describes a form of high-tempo disco music as well as a genre of electronic dance music originating in the United States during the late 1970s...
/eurodanceEurodanceEurodance is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in the late 1980s or early 1990s primarily in Europe. It combines many elements from House, Techno, Hi-NRG and especially Italo-Disco...
cover by Abbacadabra can be found on the 2008 compilation We Love ABBA: The Mamma Mia Dance Compilation, released through Almighty RecordsAlmighty RecordsAlmighty Records is a British recording label and remix production team founded in 1989, releasing their first single in the same year. Producing mainly Dance-Pop and Hi-NRG music, the label is best known for releasing remakes and remixes of mainstream pop songs...
. An audio sample can be heard on the official Almighty Records website.