Knowing Me, Knowing You
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| “Knowing Me, Knowing You” | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
|||||
| Single by ABBA from the album Arrival |
|||||
| B-side | "Happy Hawaii" | ||||
| Released | February 1977 | ||||
| Format | 7" single | ||||
| Genre | Pop | ||||
| Length | 4:01 | ||||
| Label | Polar Music | ||||
| Writer(s) | Stig Anderson, Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus | ||||
| Producer | Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus | ||||
| Certification | Gold (UK) | ||||
| ABBA singles chronology | |||||
|
|||||
"Knowing Me, Knowing You" is a hit single recorded by Swedish pop group ABBA. The song was written by Stig Anderson, Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus, with the lead vocal sung by Anni-Frid Lyngstad. During recording sessions it had the working titles of "Ring It In" and "Number One, Number One". "Knowing Me, Knowing You" features on the group's album Arrival, as well as the ABBA Gold: Greatest Hits compilation. The song has remained popular in the years since it was released, and became the catchphrase of Alan Partridge, Steve Coogan's comic creation from the show of the same name. "Knowing Me, Knowing You" is also featured in the Mamma Mia! musical.
Contents |
[edit] History
"Knowing Me, Knowing You" was recorded in 1976 at the Metronome studio in Stockholm, and released in February 1977, becoming one of the group's most successful singles. 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 breakup of a relationship, though with an upbeat quality to the music. It predates the divorces of the ABBA members, as well as further breakup 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".
[edit] Reception
"Knowing Me, Knowing You" was yet another smash hit on the charts worldwide, hitting No.1 in the UK, Ireland, West Germany, South Africa and Mexico, and reaching the Top 3 in Austria, Belgium, Canada, Switzerland and the Netherlands. It was also a Top 10 hit in Norway, New Zealand, Australia and France. In the United States, "Knowing Me, Knowing You" became ABBA's sixth Top 20 single, peaking at No.14.
"Knowing Me, Knowing You" was also the first in the second in a series of chart-topping singles for ABBA in Britain (continuing with "The Name of the Game" and "Take a Chance on Me"), coming after the group scored three number-ones in the UK in 1976.
According to United World Chart, "Knowing Me, Knowing You" was the second best selling single globally for 1977[1]
[edit] Chart positions
| Chart (1977) | Position |
|---|---|
| German Singles Chart | 12 |
| Irish Singles Chart | 15 |
| Mexican Singles Chart | 14 |
| South African Singles Chart | 1? |
| U.K. Singles Chart | 15 |
| Austrian Singles Chart | 2 |
| Belgian Singles Chart | 2 |
| Canadian Singles Chart | 2 |
| Dutch Singles Chart | 3 |
| Swiss Singles Chart | 3 |
| Norwegian Singles Chart | 6 |
| New Zealand Singles Chart | 8 |
| Australian Singles Chart | 9 |
| French Singles Chart | 9 |
| Rhodesian Singles Chart | 11 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 14 |
| Finnish Singles Chart | 16 |
| Spanish Singles Chart | 17 |
[edit] Cover versions
- Swedish pop group A*Teens included the song as a bonus track on the Japanese edition of their debut album The ABBA Generation.
- Danish singer Sanne Salomonsen recorded her own cover of the song for the 1992 Swedish tribute album ABBA - The Tribute, released on the Polar Music label.
- American power pop band Wondermints recorded a cover of the song on their 1996 album Wonderful World Of The Wondermints.
- Evan Dando, former lead singer of The Lemonheads, recorded an acoustic version of the song which was included on the album ABBA: A Tribute - The 25th Anniversary Celebration released in 1999.
- The British ABBAMania 2 album from 2004 featured a number of ABBA songs performed by various British TV stars. The album contains a cover of "Knowing Me, Knowing You" by actress Wendi Peters of Coronation Street fame.
- Right Said Fred covered the song on the German album ABBA Mania which was a tie-in to a TV special in Germany.
- Swedish musician Nils Landgren included a rendition of the song on his 2004 tribute album Funky ABBA.
- A dance version and numerous remixes by ABBA tribute group Abbacadabra were released through British label Almighty Records in the late 1990s.
- A eurodance version was recorded by Housecream.
- The song is featured on the 2003 tribute album ABBA Dance by Euphorica.
- A techno dance version was recorded by DJ Ensamble for their tribute album Trancing Queen. DCX recorded a techno cover version as well.
- Singer Hazell Dean included a dance-oriented cover of the song on her own ABBA tribute album.
- The New Zealand tribute album entitled ABBAsalutely features a cover by Superette.
- Indie artists including Minneapolis musician/songwriter Pamela McNeill (on her Tribute To ABBA album, which was produced by her husband Dugan McNeill), Texan band Javelin Boot, and Detroit country/rock band The Volebeats have all recorded their own renditions of the song.
- A version by Swedish heavy metal band Tad Morose was included on the ABBA tribute compilation ABBAMetal (also released as A Tribute to ABBA).
- Swedish studio musicians The Black Sweden recorded an ABBA tribute album entitled Gold, which includes their rendition of "Knowing Me, Knowing You". The beginning of this version includes a riff from the Led Zeppelin song "Heartbreaker".
- Two dance versions appear on the ABBA tribute compilation Lay All Your Love On ABBA. One is an instrumental techno version by Vectrolab, the other is a standard vocal version by Marmic.
- Belgian singer Arno Hintjens included a cover as a bonus track on his 2004 album French Bazaar. It was also included on his 2008 album Covers Cocktail.
- A cover of the song by P. Kurz can be found on the 2006 chill out music compilation ABBA Chill Out.
- A dance version by Australian singer Donna Burke was included on the Japanese ABBA Ibiza Caliente Mix tribute album.
- On the tribute album ABBAlicious performed by various U.S. drag queens, the song was covered by Sade Pendarvis.
- Tribute band Gabba (band) recorded a cover of the song, in the style of The Ramones.
- Danish a cappella sextet baSix included a cover for their 2007 album Star People.
[edit] Live cover performances, appearances in other media, etc.
- Live versions have been performed by various artists including Elvis Costello, Norwegian singer/actress Anneli Drecker, Swedish band Eskobar, Canadian singer Ron Sexsmith and American singer Marshall Crenshaw.
- The Phoenix Metropolitan Men's Chorus sung the song in a show entitled ExtrABBAganza that included almost all of the group's greatest hits.
- The song is also performed in the musical Mamma Mia! by the character of Sam.
- The song is the theme of the Steve Coogan 1990's comic vehicle Knowing Me, Knowing You... with Alan Partridge. "Knowing me, knowing you, ah-ha", is also Partridge's key catch phrase.
[edit] External links
[edit] References
| Preceded by "Chanson D'Amour" by The Manhattan Transfer |
UK number one single April 2, 1977 |
Succeeded by "Free" by Deniece Williams |
| Preceded by "Don't Leave Me This Way" by Thelma Houston |
United World Chart number one single April 16, 1977 |
Succeeded by "Don't Leave Me This Way" by Thelma Houston |
|
|||||||||||||||||
