"Waterloo" was originally written with simultaneous rock music and jazz beats (unusual for an ABBA song). This was also the first single to be credited to the group performing under the name ABBA. Subsequently, German and French versions were recorded in March and April 1974 respectively: the French version was adapted by Claude-Michel Schönberg, who would later go on to co-write Les Misérables.[5]. ABBA had originally cited the song "See My Baby Jive", by English glam rock band Wizzard, as a major influence; in the wake of their Eurovision victory, they were quoted as saying that it would not surprise them if artists such as Wizzard would consider entering the Eurovision in the future. The original title of the song was "Honey Pie". It reached the U.S. Top 10 and went on to sell nearly six million copies, making it one of the best-selling singles in history.

[4], Harry Witchel, physiologist and music expert at the University of Bristol, named "Waterloo" the quintessential Eurovision song.

20 on the UK charts. 1 in the UK and stayed there for two weeks, becoming the first of the band's nine UK No.

20 on the UK charts.

The single became a No. The channel recovered some of Eurovision's all-time favorites and built the "Eurovision, votre Top 20" ("Eurovision, your Top 20") that relied on an online ranking to decide which was the best Eurovision entry of all time. The song's production style was influenced by Phil Spector's "Wall of Sound": prior to recording "Ring Ring", engineer Michael B. Tretow had read Richard Williams' book Out of His Head: The Sound of Phil Spector, which inspired him to layer multiple instrumental overdubs on the band's recordings, becoming an integral part of ABBA's sound. It also topped the charts in Belgium, Denmark, Finland, West Germany, Ireland, Norway, South Africa, and Switzerland, while reaching the Top 3 in Austria, France, the Netherlands, Spain, and ABBA's native Sweden. The song, which was performed at the 1974 competition in Brighton, helped the … The Swedish version of the single was a double A-side with "Honey, Honey" (Swedish version), while the English version usually featured "Watch Out" on the B-side. Throughout the special program, several former Eurovision stars made special appeareances: Myriam Marie (France 1977), Plastic Bertrand (Luxembourg 1987), Bilal Hassani (France 2019), Serge Lama (France 1971) and Alexander Rybak (Norway 2009). The band considered submitting another song to Eurovision, "Hasta Mañana", but decided on "Waterloo" since it gave equal weight to both lead vocalists Agnetha Fältskog and Anni-Frid Lyngstad, while "Hasta Mañana" was sung only by Fältskog. [8], a. "Waterloo" was re-released in 2004 (with the same B-side), to celebrate the 30th anniversary of ABBA's Eurovision win, reaching No. The programme gave the British public a chance to vote online for the greatest Eurovision song of all time.In the end, ABBA claimed the victory with their Eurovision 1974 winning song “Waterloo”. "Waterloo" was re-released in 2004 (with the same B-side), to celebrate the 30th anniversary of ABBA's Eurovision win, reaching No. It was performed 8th on the night following Israel and preceding Luxembourg. "Watch Out" – 3:46, sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. Belgium has been participating 61 times in Eurovision since the beginning in 1956.

All the songs and videos from Eurovision 2020. The song won, and therefore advanced to Eurovision. The song is also performed in the sequel, ABBA perform parts of the song live in the 1977 film, "Waterloo" features prominently in the 2015 science-fiction film, "Here I Go Again", the 11th episode of the third season of, This page was last edited on 19 October 2020, at 11:39.