Abba-esque

Abba-esque is an EP by the British pop duo Erasure. Released in 1992, it was their first and only number one on the UK Singles Chart and also became a number-one hit in Austria, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Ireland and Sweden.

For the Irish tribute band, see Abbaesque.

Abba-esque
EP by Erasure
Released	1 June 1992 (UK) 30 June 1992 (US)
Recorded	1991
Genre	Synthpop
Length	17:46
Label	Mute
Producer	David Bascombe
Erasure chronology
Chorus (1991) Abba-esque (1992) Pop! The First 20 Hits (1992)
Erasure singles chronology
"Breath of Life" (1991) "Take a Chance on Me" (1992) "Who Needs Love Like That (Hamburg Mix)" (1992)

As big fans of the Swedish group ABBA, Erasure (Vince Clarke and Andy Bell) had often performed ABBA songs in concert over the years. They had originally planned to release an album of ABBA covers but instead opted to release an EP of four of ABBA's best known hits.

Background

Mute Records released Abba-esque in the UK, while Elektra Records released it in the US. Music videos were produced for all four tracks, and issued as a video EP on VHS. A remix EP was also released by Mute Records in the UK which featured the same four songs in heavily reworked form.[1] Shortly after the release, ABBA's Gold: Greatest Hits album was released, sparking a revival of ABBA's music that has endured well into the 21st century.

After peaking at number two twice (with "Sometimes" in 1986 and Crackers International in 1988), Erasure finally reached number one in the UK with this release, remaining there for five weeks.[2] In the United States, where EPs chart on the Billboard 200, Abba-esque peaked at number 85.[3] Although never officially released as a single by itself, the song "Take a Chance on Me", which features a guest rap by MC Kinky, received significant radio play in the US, allowing it to peak at number 52 on the Billboard Hot 100 Airplay chart.[4] In Sweden, the EP peaked at number one, staying there for six consecutive weeks,[5] and it also peaked atop the charts of Austria, Denmark, Finland, Greece and Ireland.[6][7][8][9][10]

The release of the Abba-esque EP in due course precipitated the release of a similar EP, Erasure-ish, by the ABBA tribute band Björn Again, which features two Erasure tracks ("A Little Respect" and "Stop!") performed in the style of ABBA as an answer record.

Music video

The music video for "Take a Chance on Me" was directed by Philippe Gautier.[11]

Track listings

Abba-esque

1. "Lay All Your Love on Me" (B. Andersson / B. Ulvaeus) - 4:45
2. "SOS" (S. Anderson / B. Andersson/B. Ulvaeus) - 3:49
3. "Take a Chance on Me" (B. Andersson / B. Ulvaeus) - 3:43
4. "Voulez-Vous" (B. Andersson / B. Ulvaeus) - 5:35

iTunes Store bonus track

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
5.	"Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!"	B. Andersson/B. Ulvaeus	3:55

Abba-esque – The Remixes

1. "Voulez-Vous" (Brain Stem Death Test Mix) (remixed by Fortran 5)
2. "Lay All Your Love on Me" (No Panties Mix) (remixed by Fortran 5)
3. "Take a Chance on Me" (Take a Trance on Me Mix) (remixed by Philip Kelsey)
4. "SOS" (Perimeter Mix) (remixed by Chris & Cosey)

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts Chart (1992) Peak position Australia (ARIA)[12] 13 Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[6] 1 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[13] 4 Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[14] 38 Canada Top Singles (RPM)[15] 52 Denmark (IFPI)[7] 1 Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[16] 2 Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[8] 1 Germany (Official German Charts)[17] 2 Greece (IFPI Greece)[9] 1 Ireland (IRMA)[10] 1 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[18] 7 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[19] 4 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[20] 42 Portugal (AFP)[21] 8 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[5] 1 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[22] 3 UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[2] 1 US Billboard 200[3] 85 US Radio Songs (Billboard)[4] "Take a Chance on Me" 51 US Dance Club Songs (Billboard)[23] "Take a Chance on Me" 10

Year-end charts Chart (1992) Position Australia (ARIA)[24] 88 Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[25] 3 Belgium (Ultratop)[26] 28 Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[27] 5 Germany (Official German Charts)[28] 5 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[29] 60 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[30] 5 UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[31] 7 Decade-end charts Chart (1990–1999) Position Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[32] 41 Certifications Region Certification Certified units/sales Austria (IFPI Austria)[33] Gold 25,000^* Germany (BVMI)[34] Gold 250,000^^ United Kingdom (BPI)[35] Gold 400,000^^ ^*sales figures based on certification alone ^^shipments figures based on certification alone

References

1. "Erasure Releases/Other". Erasure the Official Website. Archived from the original on 10 January 2012. Retrieved 11 February 2012.
2. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2 August 2019.
3. "Erasure Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 2 August 2019.
4. "Erasure Chart History (Radio Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 2 August 2019.
5. "Swedishcharts.com – Erasure – Abba-esque". Singles Top 100. Retrieved 2 August 2019.
6. "Austriancharts.at – Erasure – Abba-esque" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 2 August 2019.
7. "Top 10 Denmark" (PDF). Music & Media. Retrieved 21 March 2018.
8. Nyman, Jake (2005). Suomi soi 4: Suuri suomalainen listakirja (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Tammi. ISBN 951-31-2503-3.
9. "Top 10 Greece" (PDF). Music & Media. Retrieved 26 February 2018.
10. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Abba-esque (EP)". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 2 August 2019.
11. "Take a Chance On Me (1992) by Erasure". IMVDb.com. Retrieved 18 October 2018.
12. "Australian-charts.com – Erasure – Abba-esque". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved 2 August 2019.
13. "Ultratop.be – Erasure – Abba-esque" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 2 August 2019.
14. "Top RPM Albums: Issue 1904". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 2 August 2019.
15. "Top RPM Singles: Issue 2022." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 2 August 2019.
16. "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Retrieved 21 March 2018.
17. "Offiziellecharts.de – Erasure – Abba-esque". GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 2 August 2019.
18. "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 31, 1992" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40 Retrieved 2 August 2019.
19. "Dutchcharts.nl – Erasure – Abba-esque" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 2 August 2019.
20. "Charts.nz – Erasure – Abba-esque". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 2 August 2019.
21. "Top 10 Portugal" (PDF). Music & Media. Retrieved 20 March 2018.
22. "Swisscharts.com – Erasure – Abba-esque". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 2 August 2019.
23. "Erasure Chart History (Dance Club Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 2 August 2019.
24. "The ARIA Australian Top 100 Singles 1992 (61–100) (from The ARIA Report Issue No. 152)". Imgur.com (original document published by ARIA). Retrieved 2 August 2019.
25. "Jahreshitparade Singles 1992" (in German). Retrieved 2 August 2019.
26. "Jaaroverzichten 1992" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Retrieved 2 August 2019.
27. "1992 Year-End Sales Charts" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 9 no. 51/52. 19 December 1992. p. 17. Retrieved 30 January 2020.
28. "Top 100 Singles–Jahrescharts 1992" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 2 August 2019.
29. "Jaaroverzichten – Single 1992" (in Dutch). MegaCharts. Retrieved 2 August 2019.
30. "Swiss Year-End Charts 1992" (in German). Retrieved 2 August 2019.
31. "Year End Charts: Top Singles". Music Week. 16 January 1993. p. 8.
32. "Bestenlisten – Singles 1990er". Hung Medien Austrian Charts Portal (in German). Retrieved 14 May 2019.
33. "Austrian single certifications – Erasure – Abbaesque" (in German). IFPI Austria. Retrieved 2 August 2019.
34. "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Erasure; 'Abbaesque')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved 2 August 2019.
35. "British single certifications – Erasure – Abba-Esque EP". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 14 July 2020.