Abba-esque

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For the Irish tribute band, see Abbaesque.
Abba-esque
Abba-esque.jpeg
EP by Erasure
Released 1 June 1992 (UK)
30 June 1992 (US)
Recorded 1991
Genre Synthpop
Length 17:46
Label Mute Records
Producer David Bascombe
Erasure chronology
Chorus
(1991)Chorus1991		 Abba-esque
(1992)		 Pop! The First 20 Hits
(1992)Pop! The First 20 Hits1992
Erasure singles chronology
"Breath of Life"
(1991)		 "Take a Chance on Me"
(1992)		 "Who Needs Love Like That (Hamburg Mix)"
(1992)
Cover art for Erasure's Abba-esque remix EP
Cover art for Erasure's Abba-esque remix EP

Abba-esque is an EP by the British pop duo Erasure. Released in 1992, it was their first and only number one on the UK Singles Chart.

As big fans of the Swedish group ABBA, Erasure (Vince Clarke and Andy Bell) had often performed ABBA songs in concert over the years. They had originally planned to release an album of ABBA covers, but instead opted to release an EP of four of ABBA's best known hits.

Background

Mute Records released Abba-esque in the UK, while Elektra Records released it in the US. Music videos were produced for all four tracks, and issued as a video EP on VHS.

Shortly after the release, the greatest hits album ABBA Gold was released sparking a revival of ABBA's music that has endured well into the 21st century.

At the time, four-track EPs were eligible for inclusion in the UK singles chart. After peaking at number two twice (with "Sometimes" in 1986 and Crackers International in 1988), Erasure finally reached number one with this release, remaining there for five weeks. In Germany the EP peaked at number two. In the US, where EPs chart on the Billboard 200, Abba-esque peaked at number eighty-five. Although never officially released as a single by itself, the song "Take a Chance on Me", which featured a guest rap by MC Kinky, received significant radio play in the US At the time, Billboard Hot 100 policy prevented songs not released as singles from entering the chart, although the track did reach number 51 on the Hot 100 Airplay chart. In Sweden, the EP peaked at number 1 staying there for six consecutive weeks.

A remix EP was also released as a promotional "DJ only" release (ERAS4) by Mute Records in the UK which featured the same four songs in heavily reworked form.[1]

The release of the Abba-esque EP in due course precipitated the release of a similar EP, Erasure-ish, by the ABBA tribute band Björn Again, which featured two Erasure tracks ("A Little Respect" and "Stop!") performed in the style of ABBA as an answer record.

Track listing

Abba-esque

  1. "Lay All Your Love on Me" (B. Andersson / B. Ulvaeus) - 4:45
  2. "SOS" (S. Anderson / B. Andersson/B. Ulvaeus) - 3:49
  3. "Take a Chance on Me" (B. Andersson / B. Ulvaeus) - 3:43
  4. "Voulez-Vous" (B. Andersson / B. Ulvaeus) - 5:35

Abba-esque – The Remixes

  1. "Voulez-Vous" (Brain Stem Death Test Mix) (remixed by Fortran 5)
  2. "Lay All Your Love on Me" (No Panties Mix) (remixed by Fortran 5)
  3. "Take a Chance on Me" (Take a Trance on Me Mix) (remixed by Philip Kelsey)
  4. "SOS" (Perimeter Mix) (remix by Chris & Cosey)

Chart performance

Chart (1992) Peak
position
Australian Singles Chart[2] 13
Austrian Singles Chart[3] 1
Canadian Singles Chart[4] 38
Belgium Singles Chart (Vl)[5] 4
Dutch Singles Chart[6] 4
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[7] 1
German Singles Chart[8] 2
Irish Singles Chart[9] 1
New Zealand Singles Chart[10] 42
Swedish Singles Chart[11] 1
Swiss Singles Chart[12] 3
UK Singles Chart[13] 1
US Billboard 200[14] 85
US Dance/Club Play Singles[15] 10

References

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  5. ↑ http://www.ultratop.be/nl/song/9a4/Erasure-ABBA-esque
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Preceded by UK number one single
7 June 1992 for 5 weeks		 Succeeded by
"Ain't No Doubt" by Jimmy Nail
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