| "I Have a Dream" | ||||||||
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| Single by ABBA | ||||||||
| from the album Voulez-Vous | ||||||||
| B-side | "Take a Chance on Me" (Recorded "Live" at the Wembley) | |||||||
| Released | December 1979 | |||||||
| Format | Single | |||||||
| Recorded | 15 March 1979 at Polar Music Studios | |||||||
| Genre | Pop | |||||||
| Length | 4:45 | |||||||
| Label | Polar Music | |||||||
| Writer(s) | Benny Andersson Björn Ulvaeus |
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| Producer | Benny Andersson Björn Ulvaeus |
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| Certification | Gold (UK), Gold (Netherlands) | |||||||
| ABBA singles chronology | ||||||||
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"I Have a Dream" is a song by Swedish pop group ABBA. The song was written by Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus and was taken from the group's 1979 album, Voulez-Vous. Anni-Frid Lyngstad sang the lead vocals. It was released as a single in December 1979 with a live version of "Take a Chance on Me" as the B-side. The recording is notable for being the only ABBA song to include vocalists other than the four band members; the final chorus features a children's choir from Stockholm. "I Have a Dream" is included on the ABBA Gold: Greatest Hits album, as well as in the Mamma Mia! musical.
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In the UK, the single was issued in a lavish gatefold sleeve, intended as a souvenir for UK fans who had attended the Wembley concerts (the live recording of "Take a Chance on Me" being from one of them). It was not a limited edition, however. The inner gatefold made use of the pyramid/mountain/iceberg designs similar to those used in the inner sleeve of Greatest Hits Vol. 2. The inner gatefold was effectively an advert for ABBA's existing albums released in the UK, but the back cover featured a message from ABBA themselves regarding the Wembley concerts, together with their signatures. The front cover used the same live photo of ABBA as the worldwide release, but artwork and fonts were different. This was only Epic's 2nd picture sleeve for an ABBA single.
There is some speculation that "I Have a Dream" was never originally intended to be a single. There had already been three releases from the Voulez-Vous album and the only other album to have four singles released from it was ABBA in 1975. Including B-sides, "I Have a Dream" was in fact the seventh of the 10 tracks from Voulez-Vous to be issued on single in the UK, and was released eight months after the Voulez-Vous album. Also, the track was not included on Greatest Hits Vol. 2 released just weeks before. It is therefore speculated that this single was an extra release to cash in on both the Christmas sales and the 1979 tour. Furthermore, ABBA did not film a promotional video for the track, even though they had done for the Spanish version, Estoy Soñando. It was rare for ABBA not to film a video for an official single. The Spanish version was filmed in the Polar Music Studios on the same day as the "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!" video (and even featured ABBA wearing the same clothes). If "I Have a Dream" had been intended as a single at that point, then presumably they would have filmed that as well. As it stood, a live performance from the tour was used to promote the single, causing some confusion to record buyers who may have been disappointed to discover the studio-recorded version on the record itself.
The live version of "Take a Chance on Me" on the B-side was one of three mixes of the same recording to be issued. Released soon after the concerts, this version is thought to be the genuine recording. A very slightly extended version, featuring spoken introductions from the group, was used as the B-side in Australia. This extended version has recently been released internationally on the deluxe edition of The Album. Finally, a 3rd mix was included on ABBA Live issued in 1986. This is considered the inferior version as it contains overdubs added at the time of release (and not by ABBA themselves).
| Chart (1979/1980) | Position |
|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA)[1] | 64 |
| Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 75)[2] | 1 |
| Netherlands (Mega Single Top 100)[3] | 1 |
| Ireland (IRMA)[4] | 2 |
| Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[5] | 1 |
| UK Singles (The Official Charts Company)[6] | 2 |
The song was sung by the olivers on the BBC tv show I'd Do Anything
| "I Have A Dream"/"Seasons In The Sun"" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Westlife | ||||
| from the album Westlife | ||||
| Released | 25 December 1999 | |||
| Format | CD single | |||
| Recorded | PWL Studios, London January 1999 | |||
| Genre | Teen pop | |||
| Length | 4:06 | |||
| Label | BMG | |||
| Writer(s) | Benny Andersson / Björn Ulvaeus | |||
| Producer | David Foster, Pete Waterman | |||
| Certification | Platinum (UK) | |||
| Westlife singles chronology | ||||
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Westlife released a cover of "I Have a Dream" in December 1999, twenty years after ABBA's original release. The song became the group's fourth UK #1 single. The release was a double-A-side, also featuring "Seasons in the Sun". The release became the UK's Christmas number-one single of 1999, extending its peak into January 2000 and spending seventeen weeks in the UK chart.[9] The song was the 26th best selling single of 1999 in the UK. In 2001, as part of a UNICEF fund-raising campaign, the song was re-recorded with additional vocals by Indonesian child singer, Sinna Sherina Munaf. The song has received a Platinum sales certification in the UK for over 650 000 copies sold.[10]
| Country/Chart | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Denmark (Tracklisten)[11] | 11 |
| Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[12] | 10 |
| Germany (Media Control AG)[13] | 24 |
| Ireland (IRMA)[14] | 1 |
| New Zealand (RIANZ)[15] | 10 |
| Norway (VG-lista)[16] | 10 |
| Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[17] | 15 |
| Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[18] | 18 |
| UK Singles (The Official Charts Company)[19] | 1 |
| End of year chart (1999) | Position |
|---|---|
| UK Singles Chart | 26 |
| Preceded by "Goodbye" by Spice Girls |
UK Singles Chart Christmas number-one single (Westlife version) 1999 |
Succeeded by "Can We Fix It?" by Bob the Builder |
| Preceded by "I Try" by Macy Gray |
Irish IRMA number one single 18 December 1999 (5 weeks) |
Succeeded by "Born To Make You Happy" by Britney Spears |
| Preceded by "The Millennium Prayer" by Cliff Richard |
UK Singles Chart number-one single (Westlife version) 18 December 1999 - 8 January 2000 (4 weeks) |
Succeeded by "The Masses Against the Classes" by Manic Street Preachers |
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