Under Attack

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"Under Attack"
"Under Attack" cover
Single by ABBA
from the album The Singles: The First Ten Years
Released February 21, 1983
Format 7" single
Genre Europop, Pop
Length 3:46
Label Polar Music, Epic, Atlantic
Writer(s) Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus
Producer(s) Michael Tretow
Chart positions
ABBA singles chronology
The Day Before You Came
(1982)
Under Attack
(1983)
Thank You For The Music
(1983)

"Under Attack" was the last single released by the pop group ABBA while they were still together. It was originally featured as a track on the compilation The Singles: The First Ten Years in 1982, but was released as a single in 1983. It was their twenty-eighth single for Polar Music in Scandinavia.

[edit] The song

"Under Attack" was one of the last songs ABBA recorded in August 1982. The group had originally intended to release a new studio album, but the stress of the working environment led them to indefinitely shelve the project and instead release a double-album of their past singles. Since it was decided that there would be two new tracks on the compilation, ABBA set to work recording the songs. The two songs that made it onto what became The Singles: The First Ten Years were "The Day Before You Came" and "Under Attack". The former was eventually released as a single in October 1982.

[edit] Chart Success

"Under Attack" was not very popular upon its release in 1983. Some fans say it was ahead of its time, others criticize it for being too poppy and simplistic when compared to their later efforts. Although a top five hit in Belgium and The Netherlands, it did not become a hit anywhere else. After the single's release, it was decided that ABBA would take a "break." However, they would not record as a group again.

Musically it is a song with strong production values and tight harmonies - it has a stereo sound that was popular in its day with a "soft fade" to end the song.

[edit] Comprehensive Charts

Chart (1983) Position
Belgian Singles Chart 3
Dutch Singles Chart 5
Irish Singles Chart 13
Swiss Singles Chart 15
Finnish Singles Chart 16
West German Singles Chart 22
UK Singles Chart 26
French Singles Chart 43
Australian ARIA Singles Chart 96
In other languages