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

History

"Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)" was written and composed by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus, with the lead vocal sung by Agnetha Fältskog. Agnetha, as the narrator, weaves the image of a lonely young woman who longs for a romantic relationship and views her loneliness as a forbidding darkness of night, even drawing parallels to how the happy endings of movie stars are so different from her own existence.

The song was recorded at Polar Music Studios in Stockholm, Sweden, in August 1979, and was ready for release in October of that year, in conjunction with the group's tour of North America and Europe.

Originally, ABBA had recorded another song, "Rubber Ball Man", which was planned as a single. It featured the typical "ABBA-arrangement" with both Fältskog and Anni-Frid Lyngstad on lead vocals and the use of classical strings. This song was also performed by the group during rehearsals for its 1979 tour as "Under My Sun". However, the group felt that "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!", with its disco sound, would be a better choice, and thus, "Rubber Ball Man" remained nothing more than a demo.

Single version

The single version of this song, which was released in its full length of 4:48 everywhere else in the world, was released in the United States and Canada in an edited format, being just 3:36 in length. This was done by removing the first half of the opening instrumental, the first four of the eight bars of the instrumental bridge between the second and final chorus, and fading the song out early. It is believed the edit was done by Atlantic, ABBA's North American record label and not Polar, hence the reason why it was available only in the USA and Canada. This single version has never appeared on any commercial CD issued by Polar/Universal to date and along with the US promo edit of "Chiquitita", it marked the only time Atlantic ever commercially released an edited version of an ABBA single while they had the North American rights to release ABBA recordings.

The single was never released by Polar Music in the group's native Sweden, instead being featured on the Greatest Hits Vol. 2 album, which did get a Swedish release. While Polar released the single in neighbouring Norway, Denmark, and Finland, copies of these versions were not made available in the Swedish record stores, who thus arranged to import copies of the United Kingdom version on Epic Records. Sales of these imports were sufficient for the single to reach no. 16 on the sales chart in Sweden.

Spanish version

"¡Dame! ¡Dame! ¡Dame!" is the Spanish-language version of the song. The song was released as a single to promote Gracias Por La Música in Latin America and other Spanish-speaking countries.

Reception

"Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)" was another highly successful song for ABBA. It hit no. 1 in Belgium, Finland, France, Ireland, and Switzerland, while reaching the Top 3 in Austria, Germany, Great Britain, The Netherlands, and Norway. It also proved to be ABBA's most successful song in Japan, hitting no. 17.

A-Teens version

"Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)" was A-Teens' third single (fourth in other territories) from their first album The ABBA Generation, a collection of ABBA cover versions.

When the single came out in the winter of 1999 in Sweden, it earned a Gold certification. It also became their third top ten hit there and the band's third top 40 hit in Germany. The song peaked at no. 51 in Switzerland, no. 27 in the Netherlands, no. 20 in Mexico, and no. 22 in Argentina and Chile.

"Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)" was recorded in Spanish for the Latin American promotion that started in early 2000.

Music video

The music video was directed by Sebastian Reed, and it was filmed in Sweden.

The video starts with the boys entering a warehouse, where they find a crystal ball. Inside, there is an "alternate world" where they perform the song. Part of the video also features the band at a bowling alley where they play a few games against each other.

The video had high rotation on several music channels, but it was not as successful as the first singles.

The version of the song used on the video is the Radio Version, which is shorter and includes different beats and sounds to the album version.

Releases

European 2-track CD single

1. "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!" [Radio version] – 3:45
2. "A*Teens Medley" [Pierre J's Radio Mix] – 3:54

European maxi CD

1. "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!" [Radio version] – 3:45
2. "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!" [Extended version] – 6:02
3. "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!" [Earthbound Late Show Remix] – 5:04
4. "A*Teens Medley" [Pierre J's Full Length Mix] – 8:19

Mexican CD single

1. "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!" [Radio version] – 3:45
2. "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!" [Spanish version] – 3:43

Japanese maxi CD

1. "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!" [Radio version] – 3:45
2. "A*Teens Medley" [Pierre J's Radio Mix] – 3:54
3. "Mamma Mia" [Spanish version] – 3:46
4. "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!" [Spanish version] – 3:43

1 Track CD'

1. "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!" [Radio version] – 3:45

Star Academy France version

In 2001, the song was successfully covered by the first edition of the French TV reality show Star Academy 1. The song was credited to Olivia Ruiz, Jenifer Bartoli and Carine Haddadou, three of the contestants. This version went straight to no. 1 in France, dislodging Star Academy's previous hit, "La Musique (Angelica)", and stayed atop for two weeks.

Track listings

1. "Gimme ! Gimme ! Gimme ! (A Man After Midnight)" – 3:30
2. "Brigitte Bardot" (remix edit) by Jean-Pascal Lacoste – 3:01

Film version

"Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)" was the first single released from the soundtrack for the 2008 film version of Mamma Mia! by American actress Amanda Seyfried. Unlike the original stage version, Seyfried sings the complete song as a solo performance, and also does the same in a music video to promote both the single and the movie.

Other notable covers

Live cover performances

Sampling, references and appearances in other media