B-side "Happy Hawaii" Format 7" single Length 4:00 | Released 14 February 1977 Genre Europop | |
Recorded 23 March 1976 at Metronome Studio | ||
"Knowing Me, Knowing You" is a hit single recorded by Swedish pop group ABBA. The song was written by Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus and Stig Anderson, with Anni-Frid Lyngstad singing the lead vocals. During recording sessions, it had the working titles of "Ring It In" and "Number 1, Number 1". The song is featured on the group's album Arrival, and also on the Gold: Greatest Hits compilation.
Contents
History
"Knowing Me, Knowing You" was recorded in 1976 at the Metronome studio in Stockholm and was released as a single in February 1977, becoming one of the group's most successful hits. The B-side was "Happy Hawaii", an arrangement of another ABBA song, "Why Did It Have to Be Me?", but with a different lead vocalist and lyrics. "Knowing Me, Knowing You" was one of the first ABBA songs to deal with the break-up of a relationship. It predates the divorces of the ABBA members, as well as further break-up songs to come: "The Winner Takes It All", "One of Us" and "When All Is Said and Done". Group member Benny Andersson named "Knowing Me, Knowing You" as one of ABBA's best recordings in a 2004 interview, along with "Dancing Queen", "The Winner Takes It All" and "When I Kissed the Teacher". "Conociéndome, Conociéndote" is the Spanish-language version of the song. It was included in the compilation Oro: Grandes Éxitos released in 1993.
Music video
The music video depicts the band against various colored backdrops singing while facing each other, turning away as a new line is sung. At the end of the video, the band's female members are seen walking away through thick snow. The video was directed by future Academy Award nominee Lasse Hallström and is a landmark in his career alongside most other videos of the band which were directed by him.
Reception
"Knowing Me, Knowing You" proved to be one of ABBA's most successful singles, hitting #1 in Germany (ABBA's sixth consecutive chart-topper there), the United Kingdom, Ireland, Mexico and South Africa, while reaching the Top 3 in Austria, Belgium, Canada, the Netherlands and Switzerland. It was also a Top 10 hit in Australia, France, New Zealand and Norway. In the United States, it became ABBA's sixth Top 20 single, peaking at #14 on the Hot 100, and also reached #7 on Billboard's AC chart.
In the UK, "Knowing Me, Knowing You" was the biggest single of 1977. It also began a second run of three consecutive #1 singles for ABBA (followed by "The Name of the Game" and "Take a Chance on Me"), the group having already had three consecutive #1 hit singles in 1976.