Under Attack

"Under Attack" is a single by Swedish pop group ABBA. It was originally featured as a track on the 1982 compilation album The Singles: The First Ten Years, but was released as a single the following year in most countries. However, in the United Kingdom it was released on 3 December 1982. "Under Attack" was ABBA's 28th single for Polar Music and was the band's last widely released single.

This article is about the ABBA song. For other uses, see Under Attack (disambiguation).

"Under Attack"
Single by ABBA
from the album The Singles: The First Ten Years
B-side"You Owe Me One"
Released1 December 1982 Netherlands)
3 December 1982 (UK)
21 February 1983 (Worldwide)
Recorded2 – 4 August 1982 at Polar Music Studios
GenreSynthpop
Length3:45
LabelPolar Music, Epic, Atlantic
Songwriter(s)Benny Andersson
Björn Ulvaeus
Producer(s)Benny Andersson
Björn Ulvaeus
ABBA singles chronology
"The Day Before You Came"
(1982)		 "Under Attack"
(1982)		 "Thank You for the Music"
(1983)
Music video
"Under Attack" on YouTube

Background

ABBA recorded "Under Attack" between 2 and 4 August 1982 at Polar Music Studios, Stockholm.[1] The group had originally intended to release a new studio album, but the stress of the working environment led them to shelve the project indefinitely and instead to release a double-album compilation of their past singles featuring two new songs not previously released. The two new tracks that made it onto The Singles: The First Ten Years were "The Day Before You Came" and "Under Attack". The former was released as a single in October 1982.

"Under Attack" contains fragments from two unreleased ABBA songs: "Just Like That" and "Rubber Ball Man", also known as "Under My Sun". The song's dark lyrics seems to be about a stalker or an ex-lover.

On 11 December 1982, ABBA performed "Under Attack" on the BBC's Late Late Breakfast Show, in what was their last collective performance.[2][3]

Music video

ABBA filmed a music video for "Under Attack" on 16 November 1982.[2] Set in an empty warehouse, the video involves ABBA navigating their way through a room filled with red beacon lights. The video ends with the four members walking away in the distance, their backs to the camera, reaching the end of ABBA.

Reception

"Under Attack" was not a commercial success upon its release. ABBA's popularity was in decline and the two preceding singles ("Head over Heels" and "The Day Before You Came") had failed to reach No. 1 anywhere. Although a Top 5 hit in Belgium and the Netherlands,[2] and a Top 20 single in a couple of other European charts, it did not become a major hit anywhere else. It peaked at No. 26 in the United Kingdom.[4] In Australia, where the group's popularity only a few years earlier had rivaled that of The Beatles, "Under Attack" only reached No. 96 in the singles chart. "Under Attack" became ABBA's lowest charting single since "So Long". After the single's release, ABBA went on a temporary hiatus that effectively became indefinite and marked the end of the band.[5]

Despite the song not being a commercial success, Rolling Stone magazine described it as "the best thing they've done in three years."[6]

"Under Attack" is featured in the musical theatre production Mamma Mia! but not in the film.[7]

Personnel

Chart history
Chart (1982–83) Position
Australian Singles Chart 96
Belgian Singles Chart[8] 2
British Singles Chart 26
Dutch Singles Chart 5
Finnish Singles Chart 8
French Singles Chart 43
German Singles Chart 22
Irish Singles Chart[9] 11
Polish Singles Chart 11
Swiss Singles Chart 15

Cover versions
  • The song is one of the opening numbers performed by the character of Sophie for the second act of the musical Mamma Mia!. In the context of the musical, the song is sung by Sophie as a nightmare about her wedding and also, about how to solve the situation, so some of the lyrics are altered to suit the story. However, the song was one of several not included in the 2008 movie adaptation nor its soundtrack.
  • A cover of the song can be found on the ABBA tribute album ABBA Super Hits by Power Generation Project.
  • Dutch artist Ice recorded a version on her 2004 album N Ster Vir My.
  • A hi-NRG/eurodance cover by Abbacadabra can be found on the 2008 compilation We Love ABBA: The Mamma Mia Dance Compilation, released through Almighty Records. An audio sample can be heard on the official Almighty Records website.[10]

Live performances

References
  1. Recording sessions. Abba Annual.
  2. Palm, Carl Magnus (2002). Bright Lights Dark Shadows: The Real Story of Abba. Omnibus Press. p. 459.
  3. Under Attack (ABBA) – from "The Late, Late Breakfast Show". Youtube.
  4. Rees, Dafydd; Crampton, Luke (1991). Rock movers & shakers. ABC-CLIO. p. 20.
  5. ABBA biography. MTV.
  6. Connelly, Christopher (3 February 1983). Album Reviews – ABBA. Rolling Stone.
  7. Adcock, Joe (13 June 2003). 'Mamma Mia!' features ABBA tunes and a wedding plot. Seattle Post-Intelligencer.
  8. http://www.ultratop.be/nl/song/1b21/ABBA-Under-Attack
  9. http://irishcharts.ie/search/placement?page=2
  10. Abbacadabra Archived 28 March 2009 at the Wayback Machine. Almighty Records.
  11. Magnus Carlsson – Under Attack. Youtube.
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