View source for Take a Chance on Me

[[File:Placeholder|video|right|300px]] [[File:Placeholder|right|300px]] 
{{About|the ABBA song||}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2012}}
{{Refimprove|date=September 2009}}
{{Infobox single 
| Name           = Take a Chance on Me
| Artist         = [[ABBA]]
| Cover          = Take a Chance on Me (Abba single) coverart.jpg
| B-side         = "[[I'm a Marionette]]"
| Released       = 12 December 1977
| Recorded       = 15 August 1977 at Marcus Music Studio
| Format         = [[Gramophone record|Vinyl]]
| Genre          = [[Europop]], [[disco]]
| Length         = 4:05
| Label          = [[Polar Music|Polar]] (Sweden)<br>[[Epic Records|Epic]] (UK)<br>[[Atlantic Records|Atlantic]] (US)
| Writer         = [[Benny Andersson]]<br />[[Björn Ulvaeus]]
| Producer       = Benny Andersson<br />Björn Ulvaeus
| Last single    = "[[The Name of the Game (ABBA song)|The Name of the Game]]"<br/>(1977)
| Next single    = "[[Eagle (song)|Eagle]]"<br/>(1978)
| This single    = "'''Take a Chance on Me'''/[[I'm a Marionette]]"<br/>(1978)
| Misc           = {{External music video|{{YouTube|-crgQGdpZR0|"Take A Chance On Me"}} }}
| from Album     = [[ABBA: The Album]]
}}
"'''Take a Chance on Me'''" is a song by the Swedish pop group [[ABBA]]. It was released in January 1978 as the second single from their fifth studio album ''[[ABBA: The Album]]''. The song has been featured on a number of ABBA compilations such as ''[[Gold: Greatest Hits (ABBA album)|Gold: Greatest Hits]]''.

==History==
{{Listen
 |filename     = ABBA Take a Chance On Me.ogg
 |pos          = right
 |title        = "Take a Chance on Me"
 |description  = A 19 second sample of "Take a Chance on Me" demonstrating the "tck-a-ch" rhythm in the form of the "take-a-chance" vocal backing behind the main lyrics.
}}
The working title of "Take a Chance on Me" was "Billy Boy". Written and recorded in 1977 by [[Benny Andersson]] and [[Björn Ulvaeus]], it opens as a cold intro and was sung by [[Agnetha Fältskog]] and [[Anni-Frid Lyngstad]], with Fältskog delivering the solo passages. It has a constant uptempo throughout the entire recording. It was one of ABBA's first singles in which their manager [[Stig Anderson]] did not lend a hand in writing the lyrics, firmly establishing Andersson and Ulvaeus as a songwriting partnership.

The song's origins sprang from Ulvaeus, whose hobby was running. While running, he would sing a "tck-a-ch"-style rhythm to himself over and over again, which then evolved into "take-a-chance" and the eventual lyrics.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zjCNbX630T4 |title=Frida and Bjorn Interview - The Nation's Favourite ABBA Song - Part II |publisher=YouTube |date=2010-12-12 |accessdate=2014-03-28}}</ref> The song's [[A-side and B-side|B-side]] was "[[I'm a Marionette]]", which, like "[[Thank You for the Music]]" and "I Wonder (Departure)" (the B-side to their previous single, "[[The Name of the Game (ABBA song)|The Name of the Game]]"), was intended to be part of a mini-musical entitled ''The Girl With the Golden Hair'' that Andersson and Ulvaeus had planned, but ultimately shelved.

==Reception==
"Take a Chance on Me" proved to be one of ABBA's most successful chart hits, becoming the group's seventh UK #1 (their third consecutive chart-topper in the country after "[[Knowing Me, Knowing You]]" and "[[The Name of the Game (ABBA song)|The Name of the Game]]").<ref>Oldham, A, Calder, T & Irvin, C: "ABBA: The Name of the Game", page 122. Sidgwick & Jackson, 1995</ref> It was also ABBA's final #1 in the UK of the 1970s, and gives the group the distinction of being the act with the most chart-topping singles of the 1970s in the UK.

"Take a Chance on Me" also topped the charts in Austria, Belgium, Ireland and Mexico, and was a Top 3 hit in Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, Rhodesia, Switzerland, and the United States (also reaching #9 on the AC chart), where it allegedly sold more copies than "[[Dancing Queen]]". "Take a Chance on Me" also reached the Top 10 in France, Norway and South Africa.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://home.zipworld.com.au/~callisto/abba.html |title=ABBA Charts |publisher=Home.zipworld.com.au |date= |accessdate=2014-03-28}}</ref>

==Chart performance==
{{col-start}}
{{col-2}}

===Weekly singles charts===
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"
|-
!align="left"|Charts (1978)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://home.zipworld.com.au/~callisto/summary.html |title=Quick Reference Summary |publisher=Home.zipworld.com.au |date=2014-03-22 |accessdate=2014-03-28}}</ref>
! style="text-align:center;"|Peak <br> position
|-
|align="left"|[[ARIA Charts|Australian Singles Chart]]
| style="text-align:center;"|12
|-
|align="left"|[[Ö3 Austria Top 40|Austrian Singles Chart]]
| style="text-align:center;"|1
|-
|align="left"|Belgian Singles Chart
| style="text-align:center;"|1
|-
|align="left"|[[RPM (magazine)|Canadian Top Singles]] <ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/films-videos-sound-recordings/rpm/Pages/image.aspx?Image=nlc008388.4602a&URLjpg=http%3a%2f%2fwww.collectionscanada.gc.ca%2fobj%2f028020%2ff4%2fnlc008388.4602a.gif&Ecopy=nlc008388.4602a |title=Image : RPM Weekly : 100 Singles |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date=  |website=Bac-lac.gc.ca |access-date=2016-10-14 |quote=}}</ref>
| style="text-align:center;"|3
|-
|align="left"|[[Dutch Top 40|Dutch Singles Chart]]
| style="text-align:center;"|2
|-
|align="left"|[[Eurochart Hot 100]]
| style="text-align:center;"|1
|-
|align="left"|French Singles Chart
| style="text-align:center;"|10
|-
|align="left"|[[Media Control Charts|German Singles Chart]]
| style="text-align:center;"|3
|-
|align="left"|[[Irish Singles Chart]]
| style="text-align:center;"|1
|-
|align="left"|Japanese Singles Chart
| style="text-align:center;"|67
|-
|align="left"|Mexican Singles Chart
| style="text-align:center;"|1
|-
|align="left"|New Zealand Singles Chart
| style="text-align:center;"|14
|-
|align="left"|[[VG-lista|Norwegian Singles Chart]]
| style="text-align:center;"|8
|-
|align="left"|Rhodesian Singles Chart
| style="text-align:center;"|2
|-
|align="left"|South African Singles Chart
| style="text-align:center;"|6
|-
|align="left"|[[Swiss Music Charts|Swiss Singles Chart]]
| style="text-align:center;"|3
|-
|align="left"|[[UK Singles Chart]]<ref name="British Hit Singles & Albums">{{cite book
| first= David
| last= Roberts
| year= 2006
| title= [[British Hit Singles & Albums]]
| edition= 19th
| publisher= Guinness World Records Limited 
| location= London
| isbn= 1-904994-10-5
| pages= 349–50 }}</ref>
| style="text-align:center;"|1
|-
|align="left"|U.S. ''Billboard'' [[Adult Contemporary (chart)|Adult Contemporary]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.billboard.com/charts/adult-contemporary/1978-07-08 |title=Adult Contemporary Music Chart |publisher=Billboard |date=1978-07-08 |accessdate=2016-10-14}}</ref>
| style="text-align:center;"|9
|-
|align="left"|U.S. [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]]
| style="text-align:center;"|3
|-
!scope="row"|US ''[[Cashbox (magazine)|Cashbox]]'' Top 100 Singles<ref>{{cite book|title=Cash Box pop singles charts, 1950–1993|year=1994|publisher=Libraries Unlimited|last1=Downey|first1=Pat|last2=Albert|first2=George|last3=Hoffmann|first3=Frank W|page=1|isbn=978-1-56308-316-7}}</ref>
| style="text-align:center;"|5
|}
{{col-2}}

===Year-end charts===
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;"
|-
!Chart (1978)
!Rank
|-
|style="text-align:left;"|Australia <ref>{{cite web|author=Steffen Hung |url=http://australian-charts.com/forum.asp?todo=viewthread&id=35092 |title=Forum - 1970 (ARIA Charts: Special Occasion Charts) |website=Australian-charts.com |date= |accessdate=2016-10-14}}</ref>
|109
|-
|style="text-align:left;"|Canada <ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-119.01-e.php?&file_num=nlc008388.0070a&type=1&interval=20&PHPSESSID=4foft5ra8m6p1r9ojqe0hqdg26 |title=Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada |website=Collectionscanada.gc.ca |date= |accessdate=2016-10-14}}</ref>
|55
|-
|style="text-align:left;"|[[UK Singles Chart|UK]] <ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.uk-charts.top-source.info/top-100-1978.shtml |title=Top 100 1978 - UK Music Charts |website=Uk-charts.top-source.info |date= |accessdate=2016-10-14}}</ref>
|9
|-
|style="text-align:left;"|US ''Billboard'' <ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.musicoutfitters.com/topsongs/1978.htm |title=Top 100 Hits of 1978/Top 100 Songs of 1978 |website=Musicoutfitters.com |date= |accessdate=2016-10-14}}</ref>
|32
|}

===Certifications===
{{Certification Table Top}}
!scope="col" colspan="3"| Digital
|-
{{Certification Table Entry|region=United States|artist=Abba|type=single|award=|relyear=2005|salesref=<ref name="US sales">{{cite web | url=http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/thisday/ask-billboard-mariah-carey-abba-oasis-the-1003934063.story | title=Ask Billboard: Mariah Carey, Abba, Oasis, The Verve | publisher=[[Prometheus Global Media]] | work=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] | date=23 January 2009 | accessdate=12 April 2013 | author=Trust, Gary | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090207065222/http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/thisday/ask-billboard-mariah-carey-abba-oasis-the-1003934063.story | archivedate=7 February 2009}}</ref>|salesamount=234,000|autocat=yes}}
{{Certification Table Bottom}}
{{col-end}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-bef| rows   = 2 | before = "[[Figaro (song)|Figaro]]" by [[Brotherhood of Man]] }}
{{s-ttl| title  = [[UK Singles Chart]] [[List of number-one singles (UK)|number-one single]]
       | years  = 18 February 1978 – 11 March 1978 }}
{{s-aft| after  = "[[Wuthering Heights (song)|Wuthering Heights]]" by [[Kate Bush]] }}
{{s-ttl| title  = [[Irish Singles Chart]] [[Number-one singles in 1978 (Ireland)|number-one single]]
       | years  = 25 February 1978 }}
{{s-aft| after  = "The Rare Auld Times" by [[Danny Doyle (singer)|Danny Doyle]] }}

{{succession box
  | before = "If I Had Words" by [[Scott Fitzgerald (singer)|Scott Fitzgerald]] and Yvonne Keeley
  | title  = Belgian Flemish [[VRT Top 30]] number-one single (first run)
  | years  = 4 March 1978
  | after  = "If I Had Words" by Scott Fitzgerald and Yvonne Keeley
}}
{{succession box
  | before = "[[Mull of Kintyre (song)|Mull of Kintyre]]" by [[Wings (band)|Wings]]
  | title  = [[Eurochart Hot 100 Singles]] [[Hot 100 number-one hits of 1978 (Europe)|number-one single]]
  | years  = 8 March 1978 – 29 March 1978
  | after  = "[[Stayin' Alive]]" by [[Bee Gees]]
}}
{{succession box
  | before = "If I Had Words" by Scott Fitzgerald and Yvonne Keeley
  | title  = Belgian Flemish [[VRT Top 30]] number-one single (second run)
  | years  = 18 March 1978
  | after  = "[[I Can't Stand the Rain (song)|I Can't Stand the Rain]]" by [[Eruption (band)|Eruption]]
}}
{{succession box
  | before = "Mull of Kintyre" by Wings
  | title  = [[Austrian Singles Chart]] number-one single
  | years  = 17 April 1978 – 8 May 1978
  | after  = "[[Rivers of Babylon]]" by [[Boney M.]]
}}
{{s-end}}

==Erasure cover version==
{{Infobox single 
| Name           = Take a Chance on Me
| Cover          = 
| Caption        = 
| Artist         = [[Erasure]]
| from Album     = [[Abba-esque]]
| B-side         = 
| Released       = June 1, 1992
| Format         = 
| Recorded       =
| Genre          = [[Synthpop]]
| Length         = 4:45
| Label          = [[Mute Records]]
| Writer         = [[Benny Andersson]], [[Björn Ulvaeus]]
| Producer       = Dave Bascombe
| Last single = "[[Breath of Life (Erasure song)|Breath of Life]]"<br />(1991)
| This single = "'''Take a Chance on Me'''"<br />(1992)
| Next single = "[[Who Needs Love Like That|Who Needs Love Like That (Hamburg Mix)]]"<br />(1992)
| Misc           = 
}}

The track was covered by English [[synthpop]] duo [[Erasure]] in 1992, as part of their ''[[Abba-esque]]'' EP, with an additional [[ragga]]-style toast performed by [[MC Kinky]] added to the song.  The cover topped the [[UK Singles Chart]] for 5 weeks in 1992. In the United States, it reached number 51 on the ''Billboard'' [[Hot 100 Airplay]] chart.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.billboard.com/artist/301794/erasure/chart?f=350 |title=Erasure - Chart history |work=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] |publisher=[[Prometheus Global Media]] |accessdate=28 April 2015}}</ref> Although it had earned enough charting points to reach the publication's main Hot 100 chart, it was not eligible to enter as it had not been released commercially as a single.<ref>{{cite journal |url=http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-Billboard/90s/1992/Billboard-1992-09-19.pdf#page=118|title=Hot 100 Singles Spotlight|last=Ellis|first=Michael|work=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|publisher=BPI Communications|date=19 September 1992|accessdate=28 April 2015|page=69|issn=0006-2510|volume=104|number=38}}</ref>

===Music video===
Erasure members [[Vince Clarke]] and [[Andy Bell (singer)|Andy Bell]] played dual roles – as themselves and in [[drag (clothing)|drag]] (Clarke as Fältskog and Bell as Lyngstad) – in a music video heavily influenced by ABBA's original. MC Kinky (aka. Caron Geary), who sings the reggae/dancehall rap part, also appears in an interlude in the video.

==A-Teens version==
{{Infobox single
| Name = Take a Chance on Me
| Cover =
| Artist = [[A-Teens]]
| from Album = [[The ABBA Generation]]
| Released = 2000
| Format = [[Airplay (radio)|Airplay]]
| Recorded = 1999
| Genre = [[Europop]]
| Length = 3:52
| Label = [[Universal Music Group]]
| Writer = B. Andersson<br>B. Ulvaeus
| Producer = Thomas Johansson<br>Ronald Malmberg
| Last single = "[[One of Us (ABBA song)#A-Teens version|One of Us]]"<br>(1999)
| This single = "'''Take a Chance on Me'''"<br>(2000)
| Next single = "[[Dancing Queen#A-Teens version|Dancing Queen]]"<br>(2000)
}}
"Take a Chance on Me" was an [[A-Teens]] promo single from their debut album ''[[The ABBA Generation]]'', a cover of the [[ABBA]] song of the same name. [[Universal Music|Universal Music Spain]] released the song on Spanish [[Airplay (radio)|radio]], hoping to promote the band in Spain in the early 2000s. The song also became part of the ''[[Head Over Heels (2001 film)|Head Over Heels]]'' motion picture soundtrack in 2001. Unlike the original, this version omits the lines "Gonna do my very best, baby can't you see? Gotta put me to the test, take a chance on me" from the second refrain and replaces them with the last two lines from the usual refrain.

===Music video===
A music video features the band at an indoor go-kart track, complete with neon lights, and the band is seen racing as they perform the song.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6BHZLeGhHa8 |title=A-Teens Take A Chance On Me |publisher=YouTube |date= |accessdate=2014-03-28}}</ref>

==Other cover versions==
* British [[synthpop]] duo [[Erasure]] earned an award from the [[UK Singles Chart]] for their release of ''[[Abba-esque]]'', an ABBA cover [[Extended play|EP]] that included a cover version of "Take a Chance on Me".
* [[Alvin and the Chipmunks]] covered the song for their 1982 album ''[[Chipmunk Rock]]''.
* The song has been covered by [[Brighouse and Rastrick Brass Band]]<ref>Oldham, A, Calder, T & Irvin, C: "ABBA: The Name of the Game", page 209. Sidgwick & Jackson, 1995</ref>
*An [[a cappella]] version was recorded by the Belgian vocal group Voice Male for their 1999 album ''Colors''.<ref>[http://www.voice-male.com/backup_20080229/eng/index.html ] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080725005504/http://www.voice-male.com/backup_20080229/eng/index.html |date=25 July 2008 }}</ref>
*A pop/dance cover of the song by J'Nae Fincannon was included on the 2000 compilation ''Tokahits''.<ref>{{cite web|author=Jim Ross, Radio Dj And Reviewer – Seattle |url=http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/toka |title=Tokahits &#124; Tokahits |publisher=CD Baby |accessdate=5 February 2012}}</ref>
*Swedish musician [[Nils Landgren (musician)|Nils Landgren]] includes a version on his 2004 tribute album ''Funky ABBA''.{{Citation needed|date=July 2013}}
*The song was covered by Cashetta on the 2004 album ''Abbalicious'', a compilation of ABBA covers songs performed by various American [[drag queen]]s.<ref>[http://www.figjament.com/figjam_records_v1/abbalicious_pages/abbalicious_the_cd.html ] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081024164427/http://www.figjament.com/figjam_records_v1/abbalicious_pages/abbalicious_the_cd.html |date=24 October 2008 }}</ref>
*[[Germans|German]] [[AC/DC]] tribute band Riff Raff recorded a cover in AC/DC style for their 2006 album ''Rock 'N' Roll Mutation Vol. 1: Riff Raff Performs ABBA''.{{Citation needed|date=July 2013}}
*The song was covered in a [[jazz]]/[[lounge music]] style by American group BNB on their 2008 album ''Bossa Mia: Songs of ABBA''.<ref>{{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/2008120503532/http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2008/jan/09/yehey/life/20080109lif4.html |date=5 December 2008 |title=Bossa Mia, the music of ABBA }} Manila Times, January 9, 2008</ref>
* Both the stage musical [[Mamma Mia!]] and its [[Mamma Mia! (film)|2008 film adaptation]] cover the song, sung by Rosie to Bill when she asks him to reconsider getting married and not living the single life he's been living. Like the [[A-Teens]] version, this version omits the lines "Gonna do my very best, baby can't you see; gonna put me to the test, take a chance on me" from the second refrain and replaces them with the last two lines from the usual refrain. However, the whispered lines "That's all I ask of you, honey" and "C'mon, give me a break, won't you" are omitted as well.

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
* {{MetroLyrics song|abba|take-a-chance-on-me}}<!-- Licensed lyrics provider -->

{{ABBA}}
{{MC Kinky}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Take A Chance On Me}}
[[Category:UK Singles Chart number-one singles]]
[[Category:Irish Singles Chart number-one singles]]
[[Category:Number-one singles in Austria]]
[[Category:Number-one singles in Belgium]]
[[Category:European Hot 100 Singles number-one singles]]
[[Category:1978 singles]]
[[Category:ABBA songs]]
[[Category:1992 singles]]
[[Category:Erasure songs]]
[[Category:A-Teens songs]]
[[Category:1999 singles]]
[[Category:Songs written by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus]]
[[Category:Polar Music singles]]
[[Category:Music videos directed by Lasse Hallström]]
[[Category:Alvin and the Chipmunks songs]]
[[Category:Atlantic Records singles]]
[[Category:Epic Records singles]]
[[Category:1978 songs]]
[[Category:MC Kinky songs]]