The Channel 5 ABBA TV 'Show'

Last night, Channel 5, (UK TV), revealed the results of their Poll,
to find Britain's Favourite ABBA Songs.

I Voted in the ABBA Poll for the TV 'Show', but I did not watch it.

A Top 20 was compiled from the Votes & the Top 10 was:,

1)... The Winner Takes it All
2)... Dancing Queen
3)... The Day before you Came
4)... One Of Us
5)... Knowing Me Knowing You
6)... Fernando
7)... Waterloo
8)... Summer Night City
9)... Take A Chance On Me
10)... I Have A Dream

 There is a 'lively debate' about it on the Digital Spy Forum's Site:,

LINK:,

forums.digitalspy.co.uk/showthread.php?t=2123993

Someone has pointed out, (Digital Spy), that Epic Records actually did quite
a large Advert, for 'One Of Us', in the 'Daily Mirror', in 1981. To do that, in a
National Newspaper - for a Single - was unheard of. It was usually done for
Albums. Epic's 'One Of Us' Advert would have been very expensive. They must
have been worried about the effect on ABBA's UK popularity, due to the Group
taking nearly all of 1981 to release anything new.....They must have been very
disappointed when the Single 'only' reached No.3. But it did sell as many as a lot
of No.1 Hits - just over 500,000.

With regards to 'The Day Before You Came' coming 3rd in the Channel 5 TV Poll...

I realise that it only reached No.32 in the UK, in 1982, & that it has now become
a 'Classic' with a great many ABBA Fans.

I read extensively - many things - and I can say that it is highly thought of by many people
in the UK Media etc. I know people in the UK 'Music Industry', who are not ABBA Fans, but
they think that Track is the best thing that ABBA ever did.

'New Musical Express' never regarded ABBA as being great, for much of their Years together,
but did say that 'The Day Before You Came' should have been a UK No.1. (It now has a lot of
respect for ABBA).

I hated 'The Day Before You Came' in 1982. I could not understand it. I even rang Epic Records
& asked if they could make 'Cassandra' the 'A' Side instead. They told me that they would certainly
not be doing that, & that the 'A' Side was going to be a big Hit here.

However, I now adore the song & I wish that it could have been a Top 10 Hit in the UK.

It is interesting that with both 'Summer Night City' & 'The Day Before You Came' in the
Top 10, that neither were on 'ABBA Gold', as there was no room for them there. So they
were 'relegated' to 'More Gold'.