Super Trouper (1980) – ABBA

Saxophonist Ulf Andersson, who toured with Abba during the late 1970s around the time Super Trouper was penned, revealed in a 2020 interview that mentioning Glasgow was a secret love message from Bjorn to wife Agnetha Faltskog (Second couple from left to right in image above). At the time, their marriage was teetering – mere months after the song’s release, they would indeed file for divorce – yet the track was penned during a period of reflection on the brighter days.
– ABBA’s Super Trouper – Daily Record (UK)

Super Trouper is an opportune song to oil our rusted joints and get primed for the coming of the New Year. Really, is there a better group with all of their 48 hits to strut one’s stuff on the New Year’s Eve dance floor? To quote George Constanza from Seinfeld – ‘You’re not in the mood? Well you get in the mood‘!
It is said after ABBA left the music scene, it would be impossible to find two female voices which replicated their superior harmony. Still that statement holds true; despite the musicals and movies this group has produced, that harmony which the two ladies forged is irreplaceable. ABBA remains a bit of an enigma because their talent as music artists and songwriters of producing pure ‘Hits’ was immense although the Bee Gees were nothing to scoff at.

Super Trouper is one of the group’s most addictive pop numbers and remains one of the most played songs of ABBA on YouTube. It might not hit the heights of some of the band’s earlier hits (3 of which I have presented here), but there’s still glimpses of pure ABBA Gold. At first called “Blinka lilla stjärna” (Swedish version of popular nursery rhyme ‘Twinkle Twinkle Little Star’, this hit single was the title track from ABBA’s 1980 studio album Super Trouper. It is also part of the ABBA Gold: Greatest Hits compilation, as well as in the Mamma Mia! musical.

Super Troupers are huge spotlights used in stadium concerts and events. As popular ABBA was, the foursome were not really fond of performing onstage and liked performing in studios rather than going on tour. The idea is reflected in this song, which has an upbeat tempo while the lyrics take a more lonely approach to fame; it’s really about the drudgery of pop stardom. ABBA weren’t the first, nor the last, band to write a song about how terrible it is being famous. But somehow they manage to do it without the message grating.

‘All I do is eat and sleep and sing, Wishing every show was the last show…‘

[Intro: Frida & Agnetha]
Super Trouper beams are gonna blind me
But I won’t feel blue
Like I always do
‘Cause somewhere in the crowd, there’s you

[Verse 1: Frida]
I was sick and tired of everything
When I called you last night from Glasgow
All I do is eat and sleep and sing
Wishing every show was the last show
(Wishing every show was the last show)

[Pre-Chorus: Frida]
So imagine I was glad to hear you’re coming
(Glad to hear you’re coming)
Suddenly I feel all right
(And suddenly it’s gonna be)
And it’s gonna be so different
When I’m on the stage tonight

[Chorus: Frida & Agnetha, Benny & Björn]
Tonight, the Super Trouper lights are gonna find me
Shining like the sun (Sup-p-per Troup-p-per)
Smiling, having fun (Sup-p-per Troup-p-per)
Feeling like a number one
Tonight, the Super Trouper beams are gonna blind me
But I won’t feel blue (Sup-p-per Troup-p-per)
Like I always do (Sup-p-per Troup-p-per)
‘Cause somewhere in the crowd there’s you

[Verse 2: Frida]
Facing twenty thousand of your friends
How can anyone be so lonely?
Part of a success that never ends
Still, I’m thinking about you only
(Still, I’m thinking about you only)

[Pre-Chorus: Frida]

[Chorus: Frida & Agnetha, Benny & Björn]

[Bridge: Frida]
So I’ll be there when you arrive
The sight of you will prove to me I’m still alive
And when you take me in your arms and hold me tight
I know it’s gonna mean so much tonight

Super Trouper (the title track) was released in November 1980 as the album’s third single, reaching number one in several countries. It was the group’s ninth and final number one on the UK Singles Chart and the fourth best-selling single in the UK that year, selling over 700,000 copies in that country alone. Parts of the music video below were later reused in the clip for the song Happy New Year (which also features on the Super Trouper album.

References:
1. ABBA’s Super Trouper Glasgow reference explained as they mark 50 years since Eurovision win – Daily Record
2. Super Trouper (song) – Wikipedia