Ring Ring (album)

"People Need Love"
Ring Ring
Studio album by Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Anni-Frid
Released	26 March 1973
Recorded	1970; 29 March 1972–15 March 1973
Studio	Metronome, Europafilm and KMH Studio, Stockholm[1]
Genre	Europop[2]; folk; pop; schlager;
Length	35:43
Label	Polar
Producer	Benny Andersson; Björn Ulvaeus;
Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Anni-Frid chronology
Singles from Ring Ring
	"People Need Love"; Released: 1 June 1972; "He Is Your Brother"; Released: 1 November 1972; "Ring Ring (Bara Du Slog En Signal)"; Released: 14 February 1973; "Ring Ring (English version)"; Released: 19 February 1973; "Love Isn't Easy (But It Sure Is Hard Enough)"; Released: June 1973; "Nina, Pretty Ballerina"; Released: October or December 1973;

Ring Ring is the debut studio album by the Swedish group credited to Björn Benny & Agnetha Frida, who later became the pop group ABBA. It was released in Scandinavia and a limited number of other territories, including Germany, Australia, South Africa and Mexico, on 26 March 1973 through Polar Music.[7] It was a chart-topping album in Belgium, and a big success in the Netherlands, Norway and South Africa.[8]

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[3]
Blender	[4]
The New Rolling Stone Album Guide	[5]
Spin Alternative Record Guide	4/10[6]

The album was re-released in Australasia in 1975, but was not released in the United Kingdom until 1992, and the United States until 1995.

Overview

When the first song "People Need Love" was recorded in the spring of 1972, the group was just one of many projects the four members were involved in. Only after the title track, "Ring Ring" became a hit, did the four decide to go on working together as a permanent group.[9] The original 1973 Polar version of the album opens with "Ring Ring (Bara du slog en signal)", the Swedish version of the track, and places the English-language version as track four on side two.

The track "She's My Kind of Girl", included on the international editions, is in fact a song by Björn & Benny which dates back to 1969, which was a hit in Japan, and had also been included on the b-side of the English version of the "Ring Ring" single in Scandinavia. Ring Ring also features a song co-written by Agnetha Fältskog. Although she had composed much of her Swedish solo output, the song "Disillusion", for which she wrote the music, is the only song released on an ABBA studio album to feature a songwriting contribution from her.

Ring Ring was first released on CD in Sweden in 1988; a West German CD release followed in 1990 (later released internationally). The album has been reissued in digitally remastered form three times; first in 1997, then in 2001 and again in 2005 as part of The Complete Studio Recordings box set.

Track listing

All tracks are written by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus except where noted.

Scandinavian edition
Side one
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Ring Ring (Bara Du Slog En Signal)"	Andersson Stig Anderson Ulvaeus	3:04
2.	"Another Town, Another Train"		3:12
3.	"Disillusion"	Agnetha Fältskog Ulvaeus	3:04
4.	"People Need Love"		2:46
5.	"I Saw It in the Mirror"		2:34
6.	"Nina, Pretty Ballerina"		2:51

Side two
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Love Isn't Easy (But It Sure Is Hard Enough)"		2:53
2.	"Me and Bobby and Bobby's Brother"		2:50
3.	"He Is Your Brother"		3:18
4.	"Ring Ring" (English version)	Andersson Anderson Ulvaeus Neil Sedaka Phil Cody	3:03
5.	"I Am Just a Girl"	Andersson Anderson Ulvaeus	3:01
6.	"Rock'n Roll Band"		3:09
Total length:			35:43

International edition – Side one
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Ring Ring"	3:04
2.	"Another Town, Another Train"	3:12
3.	"Disillusion"	3:04
4.	"People Need Love"	2:46
5.	"I Saw It in the Mirror"	2:34
6.	"Nina, Pretty Ballerina"	2:51

International edition – Side two
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Love Isn't Easy (But It Sure Is Hard Enough)"	2:53
2.	"Me and Bobby and Bobby's Brother"	2:50
3.	"He Is Your Brother"	3:18
4.	"She's My Kind of Girl"	2:39
5.	"I Am Just a Girl"	3:01
6.	"Rock'n Roll Band"	3:09
Total length:		35:19

2001 CD edition bonus tracks
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
13.	"Merry-Go-Round"	Andersson Anderson Ulvaeus	3:24
14.	"Santa Rosa"		2:59
15.	"Ring Ring (Bara du slog en signal)"	Andersson Anderson Ulvaeus	3:08

*The Complete Studio Recordings* bonus tracks
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
13.	"Ring Ring (Bara du slog en signal)"	Andersson Anderson Ulvaeus	3:08
14.	"Åh, vilka tider" (B-side of Ring Ring (Bara du slog en signal))	Andersson Anderson Ulvaeus	2:33
15.	"Merry-Go-Round" (B-side of People Need Love)	Andersson Anderson Ulvaeus	3:36
16.	"Santa Rosa" (B-side of He Is Your Brother)		3:01
17.	"Ring Ring" (Spanish version)	Andersson Anderson Ulvaeus Doris Band	3:01
18.	"Wer im Wartesaal der Liebe steht" (German version of Another Town, Another Train; B-side of Ring Ring (German version))	Andersson Ulvaeus Fred Jay	3:21
19.	"Ring Ring" (German version)	Andersson Anderson Ulvaeus Peter Lach	3:09

2013 deluxe edition (The Debut Album) bonus tracks
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
13.	"Ring Ring (Bara du slog en signal)" (Swedish version)	Andersson Anderson Ulvaeus	3:08
14.	"Merry-Go-Round" (B-side of People Need Love)	Andersson Anderson Ulvaeus	3:36
15.	"Santa Rosa" (B-side of He Is Your Brother)		3:01
16.	"Ring Ring" (Spanish version)	Andersson Anderson Ulvaeus Band	3:01
17.	"Wer im Wartesaal der Liebe steht" (German version of Another Town, Another Train, B-side of Ring Ring (German version))	Andersson Ulvaeus Jay	3:21
18.	"Ring Ring" (German version)	Andersson Anderson Ulvaeus Lach	3:09
19.	"En hälsning till våra parkarrangörer" (1973 promotional single for Sweden tour with excerpts of recent hits; previously unreleased)		2:27

2013 deluxe edition extra bonus tracks – early versions
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
20.	"Hej gamle man!" (performed by Björn & Benny)		3:21
21.	"There's a Little Man" (performed by Billy G-Son)		2:45
22.	"I Saw It in the Mirror" (performed by Billy G-Son)		2:20
23.	"Jag är blott en man" (performed by Jarl Kulle)	Andersson Anderson Ulvaeus	3:04
24.	"Man vill ju leva lite dessemellan" (performed by Anni-Frid Lyngstad)	Vittorio Tariciotti Marcello Marrocchi Franca Evangelisti Anderson	2:53
25.	"Välkommen till världen" (performed by Lill-Babs)		3:19

2013 deluxe edition DVD
No.	Title	Length
1.	"People Need Love" (Vi i femman, SVT)
2.	"Ring Ring" (Spotlight, ORF)
3.	"Ring Ring Revealed" (Låtarna som förändrade musiken, UR)
4.	"International Sleeve Gallery"

Notes

All reissues above use the international edition track listing.

B-sides


Song	Single
"Santa Rosa"	"He Is Your Brother"

Personnel

Agnetha Fältskog – lead vocals (3), co-lead vocals (1, 4, 6, 7, 9, 11), backing vocals
Anni-Frid Lyngstad – lead vocals (8), co-lead vocals (1, 4, 6, 7, 9, 11), backing vocals
Benny Andersson – piano, keyboards, mellotron, co-lead vocals (4, 5, 7–12, 14), backing vocals
Björn Ulvaeus – acoustic guitar, lead vocals (2, 4, 5, 7, 9, 10, 12–14), co-lead vocals (8, 11), backing vocals[10]

Additional musicians

Ola Brunkert – drums
Roger Palm – drums on "Me and Bobby and Bobby's brother" and "Rock 'n' roll band"
Jan Bandel - drums on "He is your brother"
Rutger Gunnarsson – bass
Mike Watson – bass on "Disillusion", "People need love", "I saw it in the mirror" and "Love isn't easy"
Stefan Brolund - bass on "He is your brother"
Janne Schaffer – acoustic guitar on "Another town, another train", electric guitar
Håkan Jansson - baritone saxophone on "He is your brother"

Production

Benny Andersson; Björn Ulvaeus – producers, arrangers
Michael B. Tretow – engineer
Björn Almstedt; Lennart Karlsmyr; Rune Persson – assistant engineers
Sven-Olof Walldoff – string arrangements on "I Am Just a Girl"[11]
Lars Falck; Bengt H. Malmqvist – photography
Peter Wiking – original album design
Jon Astley; Tim Young; Michael B. Tretow – remastering for the 1997 remasters
Jon Astley; Michael B. Tretow – remastering for the 2001 remasters
Henrik Jonsson – remastering for The Complete Studio Recordings box set

Charts

Year	Chart/Country	Position
1973	Sweden	2[12]
1973	Norway	2
1974	Denmark	3
1976	Australia	10

Certifications and sales


Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Norway	—	10,000[13]
Sweden	—	116,627[14]

References

Scott, Robert (2002) 'ABBA: Thank You for the Music – The Stories Behind Every Song', Carlton Books Limited: Great Britain, p. 22
AllMusic
Blender Magazine
The New Rolling Stone Album Guide. Simon & Schuster. 2004. pp. 1–2.
Spin Alternative Record Guide. Vintage Books. 1995. pp. 3–4.
Ring Ring at AllMusic
Scott, Robert (2002) 'ABBA: Thank You for the Music – The Stories Behind Every Song', Carlton Books Limited: Great Britain, p. 24
Rees, Dafydd; Crampton, Luke (1991). Guinness Book of Rock Stars. Enfield: Guinness Publishing Ltd. pp. 1–2. ISBN 0-85112-971-4.
http://www.abbaomnibus.net/songs/whosings.htm
Scott, Robert (2002) 'ABBA: Thank You for the Music – The Stories Behind Every Song', Carlton Books Limited: Great Britain, p.
"ABBA: The Worldwide Chart Page". home.zipworld.com.au. Retrieved 17 April 2017.
Hultin, Randi (8 September 1979). "Abba The World – Norway". Billboard. Retrieved 23 July 2018.
Schulman, Leif (8 September 1979). "Abba The World – Sweden". Billboard. Retrieved 23 July 2018.

External links

Ring Ring at Discogs (list of releases)

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[1] Scott, Robert (2002) 'ABBA: Thank You for the Music – The Stories Behind Every Song', Carlton Books Limited: Great Britain, p. 22

[3] AllMusic

[4] Blender Magazine

[RS-5] The New Rolling Stone Album Guide. Simon & Schuster. 2004. pp. 1–2.

[SP-6] Spin Alternative Record Guide. Vintage Books. 1995. pp. 3–4.

[7] Ring Ring at AllMusic

[autogenerated24-8] Scott, Robert (2002) 'ABBA: Thank You for the Music – The Stories Behind Every Song', Carlton Books Limited: Great Britain, p. 24

[9] Rees, Dafydd; Crampton, Luke (1991). Guinness Book of Rock Stars. Enfield: Guinness Publishing Ltd. pp. 1–2. ISBN 0-85112-971-4.

[10] ttp://www.abbaomnibus.net/songs/whosings.htm

[11] Scott, Robert (2002) 'ABBA: Thank You for the Music – The Stories Behind Every Song', Carlton Books Limited: Great Britain, p.

[12] "ABBA: The Worldwide Chart Page". home.zipworld.com.au. Retrieved 17 April 2017.

[13] Hultin, Randi (8 September 1979). "Abba The World – Norway". Billboard. Retrieved 23 July 2018.

[14] Schulman, Leif (8 September 1979). "Abba The World – Sweden". Billboard. Retrieved 23 July 2018.