1978 ABBA attacks the French market harder

This article is from Vecko-Revyn, issue 45, 8 November 1978.

One TV-show every day!

No super group is that big that it hasn't to be extra promoted sometimes. ABBA are no exception. The first attack was against America this spring, the second against the Soviet Union - and last week it was France's turn.
     Even though Europe is more or less a safe market now for ABBA, France was honoured by a personal visit. Agnetha, Anni-Frid, Björn and Benny flew to Paris on the Wednesday the other week to record TV-performances during two days. The working schedule was comprised and it was just pure luck that the whole project didn't go to waste. As soon as ABBA had finished miming a strike broke out at French TV. The French strikes takes no consideration.
     ABBA are already big in France - really big. The French record market is by tradition tough and patriotic. Admittedly John Travolta and George Rafferty are topping the French hit list, but the bigger reason for ABBA to get the French TV-audience to notice them.

We are talking about really strong promotion. Every night for a week (!) ABBA will enter the French homes via TV on primetime. They get five minutes on the "Guy Lux Show" at 7.30pm just before the news, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. One song each night, among them "Waterloo", "Fernando" (click here to watch the clip!), "Take A Chance On Me" and of course their latest hit, "Summer Night City". The whole works.
     But that's not enough. The five minute shows are culminating with a supershow called "Top Club" on the Sunday. It is one of the most popular TV-shows in France and ABBA get to perform no less than four songs!
     Six shows in two days. That explains the different costumes in the pictures. Shiny and glittery... don't they look a little Parisienne?

What else then? Well, before ABBA left Paris they were invited to dinner by the French singer Mireille Mathieu (France's equivalent to Lasse Lönndahl) and her manager, at the restaurant "Grand Vefour".
     - The best meal we have ever had, according to Björn.
     And after dinner Björn and Benny decided to act as strikebreakers in the Paris night. The garbage collector of Paris happened to be on strike and lately the streets are filled with garbage. Something that happens almost every fall.
     But Paris is a fantastic city, ABBA says. The love the atmosphere.

After they came back to Sweden again they have locked themselves into the recording studio into to the early hours of morning. More than half of the new album is recorded, but there will not be a new album released before Christmas. TV-shows and travelling prevents that.
     In the middle of November it's time for Los Angeles again with an appearnce on the "Dick Clark Show". The USA-promotion tour this spring paid off. For the first time ABBA has received a diamond record for both "The Album" and "Greatest Hits".
     Straight from Los Angeles they will go to Tokyo for an intense week of promotion with radio, newspapers and a one hour TV-special. In Japan, the second largest music market, ABBA have no less than three albums on the Top 50-chart.
     Finally we can report that "Summer Night City" probably won't be released as a single in the US. Stikkan Anderson is there right now negotiating which song it will be. In the European market it hasn't been as successfull as earlier singles. In England, for example, it only reached number 6 and in Sweden it only sold 50.000 copies, which is far less than "The Name Of The Game" (150.000 copies).
     It's because of the disco- and Travolta fever right now, Polar Music believes.