ABBA & Blondie - Hanging On The Ring Ring (Matt Mix)

I created and uploaded this video in dedication to Matt - "producermattpop" on YouTube - for his awesome mash-up mix of Blondie's "Hanging On The Telephone" and ABBA's "Ring Ring". Footage is taken from the official music videos of ABBA's "Ring Ring" along with Blondie's "Hanging On The Telephone" and "Picture This". Enjoy!

Update: October 2009

Dear readers,

I'd just like to draw your attention to a few recent changes.

Firstly, you may have noticed the return of the post feedback feature. The feedback feature was actually first available a while back, but after I switched to this new template it disappeared for some odd reason. Under each post, you will see two feedback buttons entitled "More like this" and "Less like this". I'd appreciate it if you could help me make the blog more enjoyable for you by voting for your preferred option once you have read a post.

Secondly, I have replaced the regular Blogger tag list with a new tag cloud (you can find it in the sidebar on the left). Words that appear larger have a greater number of posts associated with them, and vice versa. Simply click on a word to be taken to a page containing all posts tagged with that word. Incidentally, I'm also in the process of "cleaning up" the tags - deleting negligible ones and adding new ones to make searching for posts easier.

I hope you appreciate these changes. Please do subscribe if you wish (it's much appreciated!), and remember you can always share your thoughts via the Visitorsbook, the link to which can be found at the bottom of every page.

Thanks for stopping by!

More Rarities

I'd like to post a few ABBA snippets that I apparently haven't got around to posting here before. With my primary reason for running this blog being to catalogue all known ABBA rarities in existence, I felt it wouldn't be fair to leave them out indefinitely. ;) Here's the first batch.

In The Arms Of Rosalita (Snippet)
This is an early demo version of Chiquitita. The excerpt heard here is from the TV documentary that ITV first showed us about a decade ago, entitled "The Winner Takes It All". ITAOR featured lead vocals by Frida, contrary to Chiquitita with its Agnetha-driven lead. Interestingly, apparently a third version of the song - Chiquitita Angelina - was sung by both girls in unison.



Get On The Carousel
This song is an early version of what was to become Hole In Your Soul. It was performed live by ABBA during their 1977 tour of Australia, which is how this recording originated. The version heard here is the complete song - not the edited version that can be heard in ABBA: The Movie. The sound quality isn't pristine, but it is an excellent arrangement, none-the-less!



I Am An A
I Am An A is a song written for the 1977 tour - with lyrics contributed by all four members of the group - jokingly depicting themselves as "A, B, B, A". The song was never considered for the studio, but parts of the chorus were later recycled into Free As A Bumblebee. As FAAB song never progressed beyond the demo, the melody surfaced once again in the chorus of I Know Him So Well, from the musical Chess.



Monsieur, Monsieur (Snippet)
The early version of My Love My Life, recorded for the Arrival album in 1976. It's a shame about the talking over the music!



To Live With You
An attempt to record B&B's earlier song Lycka with English lyrics, To Live With You was recorded in 1975, but never got further than the demo. A solemn number with an exquisite melody, it's a shame about the dreary lyrics!

More ABBA Gold Anomalies IV (Videos 11 - 15)

Here are the latest in MarkPMus's More ABBA Gold Anomalies video series, which is in fact almost at an end! However, the videos are interesting as ever; hardcore ABBA fans...take note! ;)

I Wonder (Departure)


Lovelight


Head Over Heels


When I Kissed The Teacher


I Am The City

Madonna Sings "Like An Angel Passing Through My Room"

If, besides from ABBA, you're a stringent Madonna fan such as myself, you'll appreciate this video. It's a version of Like An Angel Passing Through My Room that Madonna recorded some time during the period 1998-2000. It would have ended up on the Ray Of Light or Music albums, had she chosen to release it.

Madonna's take on the song - in my case, at least - takes a little while to fully appreciate. It's quite different from ABBA's version, and Madonna's vocals are not quite as suited to the arrangement as the elegant solemnity of Frida's. However, it is still not a bad piece at all, and so kudos to Madonna for choosing to give her own interpretation to such a beautiful song.

Update: October 2009

Howdy folks,

I'd just like to quickly let you know that you've no need to fear - I'm still alive. ;) I'm swamped right now with the university lifestyle, so please excuse my apparent disappearance over the last few months. Hopefully I'll be back with you soon with more updates. For now, enjoy this little something - and keep the ABBA love alive. :)

More ABBA Gold Anomalies III (Video 10)

Here is the More ABBA Gold Anomalies video for Ring, Ring. Possibly the longest video in this series and the original series to date!

More ABBA Gold Anomalies II (Videos 2-9)

Here are the most recent installments in MarkPMus's More ABBA Gold Anomalies series. Provides very interesting listening, as usual.

Angeleyes


The Day Before You Came


Eagle


I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do


So Long


Honey, Honey


The Visitors


Our Last Summer


Enjoy! Thanks, Mark. :)

Update: June 2009

Hi folks,

I just want to quickly apologise for the lack of updates recently. Unfortunately, it's the summer time again and exams (and hence revision) call. Hopefully, I'll be able to spend some more time updating this place in a week or so. See you then!

Einfach So ("Just Like That" In German)

Einfach So is a German recording, sung by Angelika Milster, of ABBA's unreleased song "Just Like That". It uses the verse and chorus structure of the Gemini version of the song, but with a different arrangement. Being a non-German speaker, the sound of the lyrics is an acquired taste, but the melody and arrangement really does shine through.

The "So Long" Dance

Now for a bit of light-hearted fun. This apparent "So Long Dance" is quite amusing, and, as the original poster puts it, is 'the best part of the song' - though I shall leave that up to you to decide. ;)

Update: March 2009

Hi all,

I have found it at last necessary to switch to a non-original Blogger site design. While out of choice I would have preferred to keep the same template as the blog had previously, I found that with the recent changes to YouTube videos, they could be better exploited with a wider design.

This change will allow me to embed larger videos, and will also stop widescreen videos from breaking the site design, as was happening with the previous template.

This new template - at least at the moment - is pretty sparse and simple. Whether that is an advantage or not is up to you, but I'll be doing my best to readd some of the features of the old template (and possibly some new ones!).

Two For The Price Of One (Live, 1981) - Vocals Only & Vocals Removed

Another couple of videos by Rudolf; the 1981 live performance of Two For The Price Of One gets the vocal treatment this time.

Super Trouper (Live, 1981) - Vocals Only & Vocals Removed

Yet another video from Rudolf; this time it's Super Trouper that receives the vocals-only and vocals-removed treatment.

Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight) - Vocals Only & Vocals Removed

Here are two more intriguing videos by Rudolf. This time it's the 1981 live version of Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight) with lead vocals only, followed by vocals removed.

More ABBA Gold Anomalies I (Video 1)

Here is the first video in MarkPMus's new More ABBA Gold series, based on the 1993 More ABBA Gold: More ABBA Hits compilation track listing. This one is Summer Night City.

Slipping Through My Fingers (Live, 1981) - Vocals Only & Vocals Removed

Rudolf (MozPiano2 on YouTube) recently posted two rather intriguing videos. Both are versions of ABBA's live performance of Slipping Through My Fingers in 1981. The first is the girls' vocals without the backing track, and the second is the backing track only. Both are indeed very interesting; thank you to Rudolf for making them available.

ABBA Gold Anomalies V (Videos 16 - 23)

Here is the remainder of MarkPMus's ABBA Gold Anomalies series on YouTube.

Chiquitita


Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)


Does Your Mother Know


One Of Us


The Name Of The Game




Thank You For The Music


Waterloo