ABBA :: Charts & Sales History

[johnnyboy]

From Matthew_Dixon

I've not really been about much to make people aware of this but yes, this weekend is going to be the end of UKMIX. It has been a really good time whilst it's lasted - but the simple fact is Lars has never really had the time to keep this place up to date for a number of years, the one person who he tried to get to take over never really did, and really it's just too much work for us to keep running.

I'm gonna save all my page 1 stuff. Thanks for the contributions people!

Goodbye to
Zeus555
Benny
Stevereno

and all the contributors on this thread over the years. End of an era.

Bye

Johnny

[dris]

Sory about that. Can anyone recommend other sites similar to ukmix?

Thanks,

Dris.

[AndiIversen]

BB Charts 07/04/2012
(thanks arab!)

Catalog Physical Albums :
3 166 174 178 ABBA ICON 1117 -4 1168 95887

Catalog Digital Albums:
3 170 131 82 ABBA GOLD-GREATEST HITS 741 24 599 202102

Top Soundtracks:
67 60 53 MAMMA MIA SOUNDTRACK 637 21 525 1950739

[Benny]

Interesting to see that apart from "Gold", other compilations are also selling in the US, namely "20th Century Masters" and now "Icon" .

It sucks that we lost Johnnyboy over this whole UKMix closing stuff, he created this thread and made some great contributions to Abba related topics .

[AndiIversen]

Interesting to see that apart from "Gold", other compilations are also selling in the US, namely "20th Century Masters" and now "Icon" .
.

I agree!
The latest figure we had for ABBA's 20thC.M.was 1,246,000 right? It's still Gold so it's overdue for a new cert!

[Benny]

The latest figure we had for ABBA's 20thC.M.was 1,246,000 right? It's still Gold so it's overdue for a new cert!

Yep, "20th Century Masters" is undercertified, as is "Gold" which should be at least 7x platinum.

[zeus555]

There are several UK ABBA Compilations that should
have BPI Certifications, but have never had them
applied for:,

1) 'Forever Gold' (1996) - Over 60,000 sold. (It should have a Silver Disk).

2) 'The Music Still Goes On' (1996) - Over 230,000 sold.
(Budget CD - It should have a Gold Disk).

3) 'The Definitive Collection' (2001) - Over 230,000 sold.
(It should have a Gold Disk)

4) 'The Name Of The Game' (2002) - Over 285,000 sold.
(Budget CD - It should have a Gold Disk).

5) '18 Hits' (2005) - Over 330,000 Sales. (It should have a Platinum Disk).

6) 'Number Ones' (2006) - Over 170,000 Sales. (It should have a Gold Disk).

7) 'The Albums' (9 CD Box Set) (2008) - Over 60,000 Sales.
(It should have a Silver Disk).

'GOLD' - And with UK Sales at almost 5 Million copies, (about 4,995,000),
'Gold', (1992), should have 16 Platinum Disks - not the 13 Disks, that it has
had since February 2005. (Maybe 17 Disks, if we count stock still in the
Stores/Shops - which are counted towards its Shipments).

Zeus555

[Stevereno81126]

I can't believe UKMix is gonna end! I am really glad I checked the forum before it was gone. Been extremely busy with work and school so haven't been on in awhile.

You said it JohnnyBoy, it is the end of an era, I have never seen a thread as good as this one for anything ABBA related. Most are completely uninteresting or get way out of hand. This thread was amazing, it got a bit heated sometimes, but I think there was always an underlying feeling of respect and camaraderie that kept it in check.

I am actually starting a little research through all the archived Billboard Magazine issues. Will be compiling all ABBA related information; (as well as looking for info on a few other artists, but main purpose is for ABBA). Hopefully there will be a forum I can share any interesting stuff I find...

Goodbye to all who have posted over the years.

Most of All, Goodbye JohnnyBoy, Zeus555, and Benny.

It may not have been one of their best singles, but I like to reference ABBA whenever I can:

So Long

Stephen

[Nichu94]

^ the forum is not closing. It was a joke.

[Benny]

Stephen, UKMix is not gonna end, it was just an April fool's joke. However, the bad thing is that Johnnyboy got banned. I hope that we all can keep up this great thread even without him.

Old archives of Billboard magazine are a very interesting source for sales information about Abba. Some information is posted on the first page of this thread, mostly from the one issue in 1979 that celebrated five years of Abba.

[Stevereno81126]

Well that is bittersweet news. Hadn't noticed it was April 1st. Glad the site is not going down, but I can't believe they would ban JohnnyBoy for the joke. It is April Fool's, that was not that extreme of a joke. It's not like he said someone was dead. If they had a sense of humor (or humour if you prefer to spell it incorrectly ) they would claim they are banning him completely, but then remove the ban after April Fool's.

That 1979 issue is really interesting; I have already seen mentions of sales of Ring Ring from weeks while it was still at No. 1 in Sweden. I amazed at how often they mention the Eurovision Song Contest in the magazine, and even so barely anyone in the US has any idea that the contest even exists.

[Benny]

Well that is bittersweet news. Hadn't noticed it was April 1st. Glad the site is not going down, but I can't believe they would ban JohnnyBoy for the joke.

JB wasn't banned for the joke, he didn't start it (some of the mods did).

In some chart-related news, "18 Hits" is still in the UK album top75, at number 75. Some further UK chart info from abba4ever.com:

'Gold' - UK Artist Chart - The past 5 Weeks - 3rd to 31st March:,

89 - 104 - 131 - 125 - 126

I'm not sure where it is in today's Album Chart - W/E 7th April - but, it is still not back in the Top 100.

It is selling about 1,000 copies a Week.

Its UK Sales are now about 4,995.000.

'18 Hits' is on over 330,000 UK Sales.

[zeus555]

The Demo Versions Track on 'The Visitors' (Deluxe),
was premiered on BBC2 TV, in the UK, today.

I did not hear it/see it, but here is the Review of an
Irish ABBA Fan - Seanie - from an ABBA Fan Site:,

'FROM A TWINKLING STAR TO A PASSING ANGEL'

Well it premiered on BBC 2 today and I had to listen to it!
I love it! There is 6 versions, with the last version taking up half (almost a complete song).

So there is

- Bjorns "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" version
- Frida "Another Morning Without You"
- Disco Version (Loads of Harmonies and great vocals)
- Twinkling Piano where Frida sings and talks the words over it dead:
- Vocoder version (probably my least favourite version although Fridas vocals are So amazing)
- 3 full minutes of an "alternative take" with raw vocals.

I love it! AMWY is so wonderful and the disco version is really cool!
Bjorns version is actually really cool! Agnetha fans wont be very happy though because I can't hear at all (but then again I'm not looking out for her)

The disco version is my favourite. Half of the demo is taken up by the last alternative take, and about a minute of the rest.

I'm in heaven literally! I'll post this in the spoiler thread also.

His 2nd Post - the Times of each 'Section' of the 9 Minute Track:,

Now, here roughly how long each demo lasts from my recording (it's not entirely accurate but an estimation)

Bjorn "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" - 1.10 minutes
Another Morning Without You - 1.17 minutes
Disco Version - 1.26 long
Instruments Version - 1.05 minutes
Vocoder Version - 0.41 seconds
Alternative Take - 3.01 minutes

Zeus555

[Benny]

The Demo Versions Track on 'The Visitors' (Deluxe),
was premiered on BBC2 TV, in the UK, today.

Finally! Of course it's already on YouTube. I like Frida's "Another Morning Without You" best; the Vocoder version is also nice, the disco version is ok. Björn's "Twinkle Twinkle", however, is just horrible .

[zeus555]

There is to be a 'New' Global ABBA Compilation in May.

The odd thing, that I find, is that neither 'Our Last Summer', nor 'Slipping Through My Fingers',
are on it. Both of which many people heard for the first time in the 'Mamma Mia!' Film,
& many of them liked those Songs. So, there is still not an ABBA Compilation, that matches
the ABBA Songs in the 'Mamma Mia!' Film.....(I'm not fully sure if they match all of the Songs
in the Stage Musical - I've never seen it).

The Cover Photo was originally made for the 'Dancing Queen' Single, in 1976.

http://www.abbasite.com/the-essential-collection/

The Set is to be released in 3 ways:,

A) A 2 CD + DVD Edition (Limited Edition. This will only be available for a certain time)

B) A 2 CD Edition

C) A DVD Edition

(In the UK, The OCC will, combine the Sales of A & B, for Album Chart purposes.
Presumably, that is how it is done by other Countries Chart Compilers, too).

THE ESSENTIAL COLLECTION - ABBA (MAY 2012)

What the ABBA Site says about it:,

All the hits and more featured on 2 CDs and 1 DVD.

May 21, 2012 is the release date for The Essential
Collection, a brand new collection of ABBA
hits and other classic tracks. The release will come
in three different configurations: a double-CD,
a DVD, and a Limited Edition package featuring the
two CDs, the DVD and an illustrated 28-page
booklet. The DVD features all official ABBA promo
clips in remastered form, including two previously
unreleased videos: ‘Conociéndome, Conociéndote’ and
‘Gracias por la música’ (Spanish versions
of ‘Knowing Me, Knowing You’ and ‘Thank You For The
Music’, respectively).

Track listings:

CD 01:

1. People Need Love
2. He Is Your Brother
3. Ring Ring
4. Love Isn’t Easy (But It Sure Is Hard Enough)
5. Waterloo
6. Honey, Honey
7. So Long
8. I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do
9. SOS
10. Mamma Mia
11.Bang-A-Boomerang
12. Fernando
13. Dancing Queen
14. Money, Money, Money
15. Knowing Me, Knowing You
16. That’s Me
17. The Name Of The Game
18. Take A Chance On Me
19. Eagle
20. One Man, One Woman
21. Thank You For The Music
22. Summer Night City

CD 02:

1. Chiquitita
2. Does Your Mother Know
3. Voulez-Vous
4. Angeleyes
5. Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)
6. I Have A Dream
7. The Winner Takes It All
8. Super Trouper
9. On And On And On
10. Lay All Your Love On Me
11. Happy New Year
12. One Of Us
13. When All Is Said And Done
14. Head Over Heels
15. The Visitors
16. The Day Before You Came
17. Under Attack

DVD:

1. Waterloo
2. Ring Ring
3. Mamma Mia
4. SOS
5. Bang-A-Boomerang
6. I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do
7. Fernando
8. Dancing Queen
9. Money, Money, Money
10. Knowing Me, Knowing You
11. That’s Me
12. The Name Of The Game
13. Take A Chance On Me
14. Eagle
15. One Man, One Woman
16. Thank You For The Music
17. Summer Night City
18. Chiquitita
19. Does Your Mother Know
20. Voulez-Vous
21. Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)
22. On And On And On
23. The Winner Takes It All
24. Super Trouper
25. Happy New Year
26. When All Is Said And Done
27. One Of Us
28. Head Over Heels
29. The Day Before You Came
30. Under Attack
31. Estoy Soñando (I Have A Dream, in Spanish)
32. Conociéndome, Conociéndote (Knowing Me, Knowing You, in Spanish)
33. Gracias Por La Música (Thank You For The Music, in Spanish)
34. Felicidad (Happy New Year, in Spanish)
35. No Hay A Quien Culpar (When all is Said & Done, in Spanish)
36. The Last Video


Zeus555

[AndiIversen]

On the new South Korea's GAON international artists albums chart, ABBA's The Definitive Coll. goes up 14 spots to #37 even with 24 debuts ahead of it!

http://www.gaonchart.co.kr/main/section/album/list.gaon

[Benny]

This "Essential Collection" is completely unnecessary, there's already a double CD with an almost identical track listing, "The Definitive Collection".

"People Need Love", "He Is Your Brother", "Love Isn't Easy" and "That's Me" should have been replaced by "Hasta Mañana", "When I Kissed The Teacher", "Our Last Summer" and "Slipping Through My Fingers" IMO. The two latter songs should have been included because of the Mamma Mia movie (as already pointed out by Colin). At least they chose "Happy New Year".

This collection would have been a good opportunity to finally release the complete version of "Just Like That", but I guess this will never happen...

[wolfmother]

Stephen, UKMix is not gonna end, it was just an April fool's joke. However, the bad thing is that Johnnyboy got banned. I hope that we all can keep up this great thread even without him.

Old archives of Billboard magazine are a very interesting source for sales information about Abba. Some information is posted on the first page of this thread, mostly from the one issue in 1979 that celebrated five years of Abba.

Why was he banned ? He was a good member, made some interesting contributions.

[zeus555]

Benny - It looks like 'The Essential Collection'
is replacing 'The Definitive Collection'. It is a
sort of 21st Century 'Up-Grade', of that.

It will Chart, in several Countries - which is more
than 'The Definitive Collection' has done, for several
Years. (South Korea's current International Chart,
excepted).

It is not seen as 'unnecessary' by Universal,
because it will sell at least 500,000 copies,
around the World.

They are certain to advertise it on TV. It will
expand ABBA's Album Chart Career, (Hits),
in the UK, Irish, German, etc. Album Charts.

To a Record Company, that is all that matters -
making money.

Whether ABBA Fans see 'The Essential Collection'
as pointless, is of no more interest to Universal,
than it interests ABBA Fans, how many drops of
water are in the Pacific, (or any other), Ocean.

Zeus555

[Benny]

Why was he banned ? He was a good member, made some interesting contributions.

Of course he was a good member with great contributions, especially to Abba-related topics. When a member is banned then this is announced in the "UKMix" section, you'll find the answer to your question there.

[Benny]

Zeus555, I know that this new compilation is not seen as unnecessary by the record company, as long as they can make some money out of it. All I'm saying is that this new release would have been an opportunity to put some songs on a greatest hits album that haven't been there before. A best of album which finally features all the songs from the "Mamma Mia" movie or the complete version of "Just Like That" would be something "new" and would sell more copies than an "up-grade" of a compilation that already exists for 10 years.

[zeus555]

Benny - I hope that I did not sound 'rude' towards
you. We all have many views here. I try to be as polite
as I can. Sometimes I'm not sure if I manage it.

Regarding adding 'New', (Unreleased), Tracks to an
ABBA Compilation - I'd like to see that too - of
course I would.

Unfortunately, there are some other Fans, who feel
that would be 'inapproriate', & 'misleading' - on the
grounds that 'Gold', (for example), is supposed to be
ABBA's 'Hits', & as 'Just Like That', & 'Just A Notion',
etc., were never Singles, they were never Hits, &
therefore have no place on 'Gold'.

I bet that there are people at Universal with both
views, too - some think it would be great to have
'Just Like That' on 'Gold', & others feel that it
has no place on 'Gold' - no reason to be on it.

Then, we have the fact that Benny & Bjorn have the
final say, & neither want us to have those unreleased
Tracks at all.

It is all very sad really, as they did let us have
'I Am The City', for 'More ABBA Gold' - but, then
again, that was not purely Singles based, as we got
Album Tracks on that, too.

'The Essential Collection' is also Singles based,
with some Album Tracks added. But, the Album Tracks
have really been chosen because they have Video Clips
for them, & they can also go on the DVD - 'That's Me',
'Bang A Boomerang', & 'One Man, One Woman'.

Of course, 'That's Me' was also the 'B' Side of
'Dancing Queen', in most Countries. In Japan,
it was an actual Single - with 'Money Money Money',
as the 'B' Side. Japan got 'Tiger' as the 'B' Side
to their 'Dancing Queen'. Japan also had 'If It
Wasn't For The Nights', as the 'B' Side of 'Super
Trouper'. Elsewhere, 'The Piper' was the 'B' Side
of 'Super Trouper'. 'On And On And On', was a
Japanese ABBA Single, & 'The Piper' was the 'B'
Side of that, there.

As for 'Bang A Boomerang' - believe it or not -
it was not only a French Single, but they wasted
'SOS' as its 'B' Side, there! I love 'Bang A Boomerang',
but there is no way that 'SOS' should have been its
'B' Side, in France.....

Whether or not we think 'The Essential Collection'
is pointless, it will get into numerous Charts. I
like seeing ABBA in the Charts.

I expect that it will stop 'Gold' selling for a while.
In the UK, 'Gold' is on about 4,996,000 Sales.
So, it will have just enough time to reach 5 Million
Sales, before 21st May, when 'The Essential
Collection' is in the Stores. It will manage it -
it sells about 1,000 copies a Week, in the UK.

Zeus555

[AndiIversen]

Catalog Physical Albums
4 174 178 160 ABBA ICON 1192 7 1117 97079

Catalog Digital Albums
14 131 82 117 ABBA GOLD-GREATEST HITS 672 -9 741 202774

thanks to arab!

[zeus555]

'The Essential Collection' - ABBA Fan Poll

There is a Facebook Poll, about 'The Essential Collection'.

It is asking ABBA Fans if they plan to buy it in
the 2 CD + DVD Edition, the 2 CD Edition, the DVD
Edition - or, if they have no plans to buy any of them.

Here it is - if you want to Vote in it:,

https://www.facebook.com/icethesite


Zeus555

[Benny]

35 years ago this week, "Dancing Queen" was the number one single in the US while "Knowing Me Knowing You" was at the top of the charts in the UK and Germany.

http://www.worldcharts.co.uk/archives/usa/us75.htm
http://www.worldcharts.co.uk/archives/uk/uk75.htm
http://www.worldcharts.co.uk/archives/germany/ger75.htm

US Top 10 April 9th 1977 on YouTube