Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)



"Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)" (working title "Been and Gone and Done It") is a song by Swedish band ABBA. It was recorded and released in 1979 with "The King Has Lost His Crown" as the B-side. It appears on ABBA's Greatest Hits Vol. 2 album, as well as their best-selling album, Gold: Greatest Hits.

History
"Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)" was written and composed by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus, with the lead vocal sung by Agnetha Fältskog. Agnetha, as the narrator, weaves the image of a lonely young woman who longs for a romantic relationship and views her loneliness as a forbidding darkness of night, even drawing parallels to how the happy endings of movie stars are so different from her own existence.

The song was recorded at Polar Music Studios in Stockholm, Sweden, in August 1979, and was ready for release in October of that year, in conjunction with the group's tour of North America and Europe.

Originally, ABBA had recorded another song, "Rubber Ball Man", which was planned as a single. It featured the typical "ABBA-arrangement" with both Fältskog and Anni-Frid Lyngstad on lead vocals and the use of classical strings. This song was also performed by the group during rehearsals for its 1979 tour as "Under My Sun". However, the group felt that "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!", with its disco sound, would be a better choice, and thus, "Rubber Ball Man" remained nothing more than a demo.

Single version
The single version of this song, which was released in its full length of 4:48 everywhere else in the world, was released in the United States and Canada in an edited format, being just 3:36 in length. This was done by removing the first half of the opening instrumental, the first four of the eight bars of the instrumental bridge between the second and final chorus, and fading the song out early. It is believed the edit was done by Atlantic, ABBA's North American record label and not Polar, hence the reason why it was available only in the USA and Canada. This single version has never appeared on any commercial CD issued by Polar/Universal to date and along with the US promo edit of "Chiquitita", it marked the only time Atlantic ever commercially released an edited version of an ABBA single while they had the North American rights to release ABBA recordings.

The single was never released by Polar Music in the group's native Sweden, instead being featured on the Greatest Hits Vol. 2 album, which did get a Swedish release. While Polar released the single in neighbouring Norway, Denmark, and Finland, copies of these versions were not made available in the Swedish record stores, who thus arranged to import copies of the United Kingdom version on Epic Records. Sales of these imports were sufficient for the single to reach no. 16 on the sales chart in Sweden.

Spanish version
"¡Dame! ¡Dame! ¡Dame!" is the Spanish-language version of the song. The song was released as a single to promote Gracias Por La Música in Latin America and other Spanish-speaking countries.

Reception
"Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)" was another highly successful song for ABBA. It hit no. 1 in Belgium, Finland, France, Ireland, and Switzerland, while reaching the Top 3 in Austria, Germany, Great Britain, The Netherlands, and Norway. It also proved to be ABBA's most successful song in Japan, hitting no. 17.

A-Teens version
"Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)" was A-Teens' third single (fourth in other territories) from their first album The ABBA Generation, a collection of ABBA cover versions.

When the single came out in the winter of 1999 in Sweden, it earned a Gold certification. It also became their third top ten hit there and the band's third top 40 hit in Germany. The song peaked at no. 51 in Switzerland, no. 27 in the Netherlands, no. 20 in Mexico, and no. 22 in Argentina and Chile.

"Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)" was recorded in Spanish for the Latin American promotion that started in early 2000.

Music video
The music video was directed by Sebastian Reed, and it was filmed in Sweden.

The video starts with the boys entering a warehouse, where they find a crystal ball. Inside, there is an "alternate world" where they perform the song. Part of the video also features the band at a bowling alley where they play a few games against each other.

The video had high rotation on several music channels, but it was not as successful as the first singles.

The version of the song used on the video is the Radio Version, which is shorter and includes different beats and sounds to the album version.

Releases
European 2-track CD single
 * 1) "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!" [Radio version] – 3:45
 * 2) "A*Teens Medley" [Pierre J's Radio Mix] – 3:54

European maxi CD
 * 1) "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!" [Radio version] – 3:45
 * 2) "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!" [Extended version] – 6:02
 * 3) "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!" [Earthbound Late Show Remix] – 5:04
 * 4) "A*Teens Medley" [Pierre J's Full Length Mix] – 8:19

Mexican CD single
 * 1) "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!" [Radio version] – 3:45
 * 2) "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!" [Spanish version] – 3:43

Japanese maxi CD
 * 1) "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!" [Radio version] – 3:45
 * 2) "A*Teens Medley" [Pierre J's Radio Mix] – 3:54
 * 3) "Mamma Mia" [Spanish version] – 3:46
 * 4) "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!" [Spanish version] – 3:43

1 Track CD'
 * 1) "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!" [Radio version] – 3:45

Star Academy France version
In 2001, the song was successfully covered by the first edition of the French TV reality show Star Academy 1. The song was credited to Olivia Ruiz, Jenifer Bartoli and Carine Haddadou, three of the contestants. This version went straight to no. 1 in France, dislodging Star Academy's previous hit, "La Musique (Angelica)", and stayed atop for two weeks.

Track listings

 * CD single
 * 1) "Gimme ! Gimme ! Gimme ! (A Man After Midnight)" – 3:30
 * 2) "Brigitte Bardot" (remix edit) by Jean-Pascal Lacoste – 3:01

Film version
"Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)" was the first single released from the soundtrack for the 2008 film version of Mamma Mia! by American actress Amanda Seyfried. Unlike the original stage version, Seyfried sings the complete song as a solo performance, and also does the same in a music video to promote both the single and the movie.

Other notable covers

 * Dance versions have been recorded by various artists including: Angeleyes, Marmic and DJ Ensamble.
 * Guitar virtuoso Yngwie Malmsteen released a metal version of the song, titled "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (Your Love After Midnight)" from the compilation album Anthology: 1994–1999. The song features minor changes to the lyrics and the melody features a more powerful metal feel. Malmsteen plays an arpeggiated version of the main theme in his version, and has added guitar solos in the instrumental bridge.
 * In 1984, The Sisters of Mercy covered the song several times as part of their live set.
 * In 1986, the song was also covered and released in two different mixes on 12" singles by the Swedish rock band Leather Nun.
 * Also in 1986, Erasure covered the song, which was released as the B-side of their single "Oh L'amour".
 * In 1999, a version of the song performed by singer/actress Denise van Outen was included on the British ABBAmania tribute album. Van Outen was also the host of the Abbamania TV special. On the subsequent ABBAMania 2 album, from 2004, which featured covers performed by various British TV stars, the song was performed by actress Julie Forsyth.
 * In 2001, another heavy metal version of the song is the track by Finnish power/speed metal band Sinergy from the ABBAMetal tribute album (also released as A Tribute to ABBA).
 * In 2001, as a B-side to its single "Gimme Back My Brain", the Northern Irish rock band Therapy? recorded a cover version.
 * In 2006, a cover of the song by Finnish a cappella choral ensemble Rajaton can be found on its ABBA tribute album Rajaton Sings ABBA With Lahti Symphony Orchestra.
 * In 2008, the song was covered in a jazz/lounge style by American group BNB on its album Bossa Mia: Songs of ABBA.
 * Tribute group Abbacadabra released numerous dance cover remixes of the song through Almighty Records in the late 1990s. Mixes of the group's cover version were most recently included on the its 2008 compilation We Love ABBA: The Mamma Mia Dance Compilation. Audio samples can be heard on the official Almighty Records website.
 * In 2010, the Spanish folk metal band Mägo de Oz covered the song as a B-side for its single "Que el Viento Sople a tu Favor".

Live cover performances

 * The song is one of the major numbers in the Mamma Mia! musical and movie.
 * The James Last Orchestra performed the song on tour in 2006 as part of a big band ABBA tribute at London's Royal Albert Hall.

Sampling, references and appearances in other media

 * In 2005, this song was sampled by Madonna, who used it on her worldwide hit "Hung Up". Madonna is said to have sent a letter to Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus asking to use the song as a sample, since the Swedish songwriting duo are reluctant to let other artists sample their material. It was only the second time that an ABBA track had been officially sampled, the first being the Fugees in 1996 with their hit "Rumble in the Jungle", sampling part of 1977's "The Name of the Game".
 * "Ooh, Yes I Do", a single by Dutch girl group Luv', uses a melody inspired by the flute theme of the song.
 * The British sitcom comedy "Gimme Gimme Gimme" used this song as its title theme.
 * This song appears in Just Dance 2014, making it ABBA's first video game appearance besides having their own games respectively SingStar ABBA and ABBA: You Can Dance, which also feature the song.