Fernando (song)

Fernando
ABBA
publication	March 3, 1976
length	4:12
Genre (s)	pop
Author (s)	Benny Andersson Björn Ulvaeus Stig Anderson (Swedish original)
album	Greatest hits
Cover versions
1976	Lena Andersson
1997	E-Rotic
2005	Wing
2018	Cher

Fernando is a ballad by the Swedish pop group ABBA from 1976. The piece was written by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus , originally with Swedish lyrics for a solo album by Anni-Frid Lyngstad , who also took on the lead vocals for the English version of ABBA. The song was released as a single in March 1976. In 1980 a Spanish version was recorded for the album Gracias por la música .

The English version reached number one in the charts in twelve countries and the top 10 in ten other countries and was awarded a gold record in Germany, France, Great Britain and Australia, among others . This makes Fernando one of the most successful singles in the group. The ultimate chart show named it the most successful ABBA song in 2014.

Emergence

The song was composed in the summer of 1975 for Lyngstad's solo album Frida ensam ("Frida Alone"), which was produced by Andersson. Since the album mainly consisted of cover versions in Swedish, he and Ulvaeus also wanted to contribute their own new song. There was originally no intention to include the title as an ABBA version. The recordings began on August 4, 1975 at Glen Studio in the Stockholm suburb of Stocksund under the working title Tango . The attempts in the first take did not satisfy the musicians, especially because of the stiff rhythm. An excerpt from this demo tape was used in the 1993 ABBA Undeleted medley . On September 3, 1975, a new attempt was therefore made in the Metronome Studio , which finally led to the final result. The Swedish text for this version comes from ABBA manager Stig Anderson , who took a few weeks to think of a suitable title. It is about a woman who sits around the campfire with her boyfriend Fernando and tries to convince him to toast love despite her grief.

The composers quickly realized that the piece could become an international hit. Björn Ulvaeus wrote the text for the English version, who did not like the content of the Swedish one. According to his story, he had the idea for the sung starry sky on a summer night on Viggsö, an island in the Swedish archipelago , where he owned a summer house with Fältskog. The name Fernando, the Spanish variant of Ferdinand , brought him to a Latin-American theme. Further inspired by the snare drum in the song's intro, he developed the story of two revolutionaries of the Mexican Revolution in 1910, who many years later indulge in their memories. The struggle for freedom, which is also sung about in the English text, however, refers to the Mexican-American war in the 1840s . Despite the allusions to historical events, Ulvaeus stated that he did not want to deal with any such events, but merely create an atmosphere in which one's own imagination could work.

Fernando was one of the first ABBA songs to be recorded on 24 tracks. In mid-September 1975, the string arrangements were added by Sven-Olof Walldoff, which originally included a slightly longer instrumental pause between the first chorus and the second verse . This was removed or shortened from the final version of the piece, but a German hit version of the song was created in 1976, sung by Lena Andersson, in which the longer string passages were included. The recordings and overdubs for the Swedish and English versions were made in the autumn of 1975 analogously to one another, the Swedish Lyngstad version probably on October 10 with decorated flute sounds ready mixed was. It is likely that the English vocal recordings of Lyngstad and Fältskog took place in early December 1975. In an early mix, the choruses contained a glockenspiel , which was also cut out of the final version. However, it can be heard in the version of a television recording that was produced in January 1976 for the German program Musikladen .

publication

Due to the parallel recording sessions of Fernando and Dancing Queen in early 1976, two titles were available for a single release. While Andersson and Ulvaeus were explicitly in favor of Dancing Queen , Stig Anderson was of the opinion that Fernando, as a calm, contemplative ballad, was a welcome contrast to the single predecessor Mamma Mia and could therefore possibly be better received by the audience. So the song was brought forward and appeared in March 1976 as the first single from the recording sessions for the new album. In Sweden they did not want to release Fernando in the ABBA version at first, as the Swedish version of Lyngstad had been on the market since November 1975 and it was therefore assumed that the song was superfluous as an additional ABBA single. When it was finally released, it quickly entered the charts and became one of ABBA's biggest single hits in Sweden.

A music video for Fernando was shot on February 3rd and 4th, 1976. As with most ABBA music clips, it was directed by Lasse Hallström , who later criticized them himself. Since the group just sits around a campfire in front of a kind of starry sky and plays the guitar, everything seems pretty pathetic and far too stiff in his opinion. The sunset at the beginning and in the middle of the video came from a picture in the newspaper that was filmed while the starry sky in the background of the band was a black screen with holes in it. The reason was in particular the low budget that was available for production. In the end, Fernando remained a single and was only added to the track list on the reprints of the compilation Greatest Hits . In Australia and New Zealand, due to its great success, it was also co-released on the new studio album Arrival , which was released in October 1976.

In the summer of 1976, Fernando used the melody for a series of commercials for the Panasonic brand National . The original English text of the chorus “There was something in the air that night, the stars were bright, Fernando ...” was rewritten to “There are many things we share with you, together you and National ...”. In the five commercials , the group can be seen using various branded devices such as radios, headphones or vacuum cleaners. All scenes were filmed in Stockholm , but the spots were mostly broadcast in Australia. There were also numerous advertisements in the Australian newspapers. ABBA earned around one million Australian dollars from the campaign. In the end, however, the artists disliked the adaptation of one of their pieces for advertising, which is why ABBA songs were no longer used for advertising campaigns in the later band career.

success

Chart positions Explanation of the data

Singles

Fernando   DE 1 03/29/1976 (26 weeks)   AT 1 04/15/1976 (24 weeks)   CH 1 March 19, 1976 (22 weeks)   UK 1 03/27/1976 (15 weeks)   US 13 09/04/1976 (16 weeks)   SE 2 04/12/1976 (22 weeks)

When the single Fernando was released in March 1976, the enthusiasm for ABBA and their music was at a peak. The previous single Mamma Mia had become an international success, as was the best-of album Greatest Hits , which meant that the demand for new ABBA records was correspondingly high. Fernando entered the charts in 23 countries and became a number one hit in Germany , Austria , Switzerland , Great Britain , Ireland , Belgium , the Netherlands , Australia , New Zealand , Portugal, Mexico and South Africa. In addition, the single reached number 2 in Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Canada and Zimbabwe, number 3 in France, Spain and Costa Rica and number 6 in Italy. By the end of 1976, the single was estimated to have sold around six million times.

In Germany, Fernando occupied the top position in the single charts for a total of seven weeks and became the only ABBA single with a gold award with more than 600,000 units sold . More than 600,000 copies were also sold in France and the single was awarded gold. Similarly reached Fernando gold status in the UK, where it was sold about 775,000 times. It also achieved gold in Portugal for 80,000 units sold, in Canada for 75,000 units and platinum in New Zealand for 20,000 units. Fernando became the most successful single of 1976 in Switzerland, Belgium, Portugal and New Zealand. In the annual statistics of the most successful singles, she was also ranked 4th in Germany and Austria, 5th in South Africa, 7th in Great Britain and 9th in the Netherlands and France.

ABBA had a particularly great success with Fernando in Australia, where the single had become the best-selling single in the country. After the new piece had already been presented several times on television as part of their promotional tour, the single entered the charts on March 15, 1976 as part of Abbamania . She solved on April 5, 1976 Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen at the top position, and finished in first place for 14 consecutive weeks. Thus presented Fernando to a record, the first in 2017 by Ed Sheeran was broken. It stayed in the Australian single charts for a total of 40 weeks, achieved 25-fold gold and was sold 400,000 times. Only in 1997 was Fernando of Elton John 's Candle in the Wind surpassed in sales.

B sides

• Hey Hey Helen --- UK , Scandinavia
• Tropical Loveland --- Germany , Netherlands , Italy , Yugoslavia , Japan , Australia , New Zealand , Austria
• Rock Me --- USA
• Mamma Mia --- Mexico
• Dance (While The Music Still Goes On) --- France

literature

• Carl Magnus Palm: Light and Shadow. ABBA - The real story. Bosworth Musikverlag, Berlin 2009, ISBN 978-3-86543-100-4 (German translation: Helmut Müller).
• Carl Magnus Palm: Abba. Story and songs compact. Bosworth Music, Berlin 2007, ISBN 978-3-86543-227-8 (compact story and songs, German translation: Cecilia Senge).

Individual evidence

literature

• Carl Magnus Palm: Light and Shadow. ABBA - The real story. Bosworth Edition, 2006, paperback edition, 638 pages. ISBN 3-86543-100-3 .

1. ↑ ^{a b} p. 329
2. ↑ p. 332f
3. ↑ p. 383

• Carl Magnus Palm: ABBA - The Complete Recording Sessions. Revised and Expanded Edition. CMP Text / CPI Group, 1st edition 2017, 447 pages. ISBN 978-91-639-2656-3 .

1. ↑ ^{a b} p. 164
2. ↑ p. 168
3. ↑ ^{a b c d} p. 169
4. ↑ p. 180
5. ↑ p. 181 f.
6. ↑ ^{a b} p. 186
7. ↑ p. 192

Charts

1. ↑ Chart overview ABBA Charts ( Memento of the original from April 6, 2012 on WebCite ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed April 5, 2017 
2. ↑ ABBA Charts: Portugal ( Memento of the original from May 3, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved May 3, 2016 
3. ↑ ABBA Charts: Mexico ( Memento of the original from March 10, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved May 3, 2016 
4. ↑ ABBA Charts: South Africa ( Memento of the original from February 13, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved May 3, 2016 
5. ↑ ABBA Charts: Denmark ( Memento of the original from October 29, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved May 3, 2016 
6. ↑ ABBA Charts: Finland ( Memento of the original from June 21, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved May 3, 2016 
7. ↑ ABBA Charts: Zimbabwe ( Memento of the original from March 8, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved May 3, 2016 
8. ↑ ABBA Charts: Spain ( Memento of the original from October 13, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved May 3, 2016 
9. ↑ ABBA Charts: Costa Rica ( Memento of the original from October 13, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved May 3, 2016 
10. ↑ hitparade.ch SWISS YEAR'S HIT PARADE 1976, Singles, accessed on April 6, 2017
11. ↑ ultratop.be ULTRATOP jaaroverzichten 1976, accessed on April 6, 2017
12. ↑ nztop40.co.nz End Of Year Charts 1976, Singles, accessed April 6, 2017
13. ↑ ABBA Charts: Germany - Additional Information ( Memento of the original from September 27, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved April 10, 2017 
14. ↑ austriancharts.at JAHRESHITPARADE SINGLES 1976, accessed on April 10, 2017
15. ↑ ABBA Charts: South Africa - Additional Information ( Memento of the original from September 27, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved April 10, 2017 
16. ↑ dutchcharts.nl JAAROVERZICHTEN - Single 1976, accessed on April 10, 2017
17. ↑ ABBA Charts: France - Additional Information ( Memento of the original from September 26, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved April 10, 2017 

Sales figures

1. ↑ ^{a b} musikindustrie.de gold / platinum database, accessed on April 6, 2017
2. ↑ ^{a b} infodisc.fr Les Singles / Titres Certifiés "Or", accessed on April 6, 2017
3. ↑ ^{a b} bpi.co.uk CERTIFIED AWARDS, Search by Parameters, accessed April 6, 2017
4. ↑ ^{a b} Peter Charley: THE ABBA ALBUM Horowitz Publications, January 1977 (?)
5. ^ Billboard Nov. 6, 1976
6. ↑ infodisc.fr Les Meilleures Ventes "Tout Temps" de 45 T. / Singles / Téléchargement, accessed on April 6, 2017
7. ↑ ABBA Charts: United Kingdom - Additional Information ( Memento of the original from March 10, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
8. ↑ ^{a b} ABBA Charts: Portugal - Additional Information ( Memento of the original from March 10, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved April 6, 2017 
9. ↑ ABBA Charts: Canada - Additional Information ( Memento of the original from April 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved May 3, 2016 
10. ↑ ABBA Charts: New Zealand - Additional Information ( Memento of the original from October 13, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved April 6, 2017 
11. ↑ Australian Sales Figures ( Memento of the original from April 29, 2012 on WebCite ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 

Others

1. ↑ ABBA Gold - The Success Story, p. 49
2. ↑ fernsehserien.de The ultimate chart show, episode 124: The most successful ABBA song of all time! , accessed July 13, 2018
3. ↑ ^{a b} Carl Magnus Palm: Abba - Story & Songs compact. Bosworth Edition, 2007, 156 pages, p. 50f
4. ↑ Ingmarie Halling, Carl Magnus Palm: ABBA backstage. Heel Verlag, 1st edition 2014, p. 19
5. ↑ ^{a b} abbaphenomenon.net information on the national advertising campaign 1976 (English), accessed on March 18, 2013
6. ↑ golyr.de Lyrics Fernando
7. ↑ Lyrics of the national advertising campaign 1976
8. ↑ abbafanatic.com Brochures and TV spots for the national advertising campaign 1976 (English), accessed on March 18, 2013
9. ↑ January Gradvall, Petter Karlsson, Bengt Wanselius, Jeppe Wikström: ABBA - The whole story in 600 images. National Geographic, 1st edition 2014, p. 84
10. ↑ Charts DE Charts AT Charts CH Charts UK Charts US Charts SE
11. ↑ Fernando - 40 years as Australia's biggest hit
12. ↑ thereporter.com.au ( Memento from May 31, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) Cameron Adams: Ed Sheeran breaks Australian music chart record (engl.) Article from May 1, 2017, accessed on May 2, 2017
13. ^ ABBA - Thank You for the Music. World Publications 2012, p. 27

Web links

• Music video on YouTube