ABBA Waterloo Day

6 april 1974 - 6 april 2025 - 51 years of Waterloo

"Waterloo" was originally written as a song for the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest, after the group finished third with "Ring Ring" the previous year in the Swedish pre-selection contest, Melodifestivalen 1973. Since it focused on lead vocalists Agnetha Fältskog and Anni-Frid Lyngstad, Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson chose it in place of another of their songs, "Hasta Mañana". "Waterloo" is about a girl who is about to surrender to romance, as Napoleon had to surrender at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. (Actually, Napoleon did not surrender at Waterloo; he surrendered at Rochefort on the French Atlantic coast four weeks later.)

The song proved to be a good choice. It won Melodifestivalen 1974 (in Swedish) in February and won the Eurovision Song Contest 1974 (ESC) final on 6 April by six points.

"Waterloo" was originally written with simultaneous rock music and jazz beats (unusual for an ABBA song); this was later discarded in favour of more disco-esque rhythms. The song broke the "dramatic ballad" tradition of the Eurovision Song Contest by its flavour and rhythm, as well as by its performance: ABBA gave the audience something that had never been seen before in ESC: flashy costumes (including silver platform boots), a group not singing in their native language, plus a catchy uptempo song and even simple choreography.

Eurovision

Eurovision After Winning

The "Waterloo" single introduced the world to the phenomenon that was to become ABBA. The song shot to #1 in the UK and stayed there for two weeks, becoming the first of the band's nine British #1's, and the 16th biggest selling single of the year in the UK[2] It also hit the top of the charts in Belgium, 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 tune didn't reach #1 in their home country, its Swedish (#2) & English (#3) versions were beat out for the top spot by the Waterloo album [At the time Sweden had a combined Album and Singles Chart].) The song also spent 11 weeks on Svensktoppen (24 March - 2 June 1974), including 7 weeks at #1.[3] Surprisingly, the song never made a huge impact in Italy, only reaching #14. In fact, ABBA would only achieve Top 10 success in Italy 3 times.

But the song's appeal transcended Europe; unlike other Eurovision-winning tunes, which are usually ignored outside the continent, "Waterloo" also reached the Top 10 in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Zimbabwe and even the United States (it remains the only Eurovision winner to be an American Top 40 hit, peaking at #6). "Waterloo" is the only Eurovision song to reach the Top 10 in 15 countries

(EP) - Australia	Austria	(Red) Denmark	(Green) Denmark
France	France in French	Germany	(Sung in German) Germany
The Netherlands	(1st Pressing) Italy	(2nd Pressing) Italy	Mexico
Portugal	South Africa	(1nd Pressing) Spain	(2nd Pressing) Spain
Sweden	(Sung in Swedish) Sweden	Turkey	United Kingdom
(30th Anniversary) United Kingdom	(30th Anniversary Picture Disc) United Kingdom	U.S.A.	(Oldies Series) USA
(Oldies Series 1987 Re-issue) U.S.A.	Yugoslavia	Canada

Officials Versions

Waterloo (English Version)

Waterloo (English Alternate Version)

Waterloo (French Version)

Waterloo (French/Swedish Version)

Waterloo (German Version)

Waterloo (Swedish Version)

Waterloo (French & Swedish Medley Version)

Waterloo (Live 1979)

Waterloo (English Live London Wembley Arena 1979)

Waterloo (Edited on Magic of ABBA LP)
(I seek this version)

Waterloo (Edited on Os Grandes Sucessos de ABBA LP)

Waterloo (Edited on MTV CD)

Television Appareances

Melodifestivalen	Melodifestivalen (After Wining)	Auftakt für Brighton
Eeurovisoon	Eurovision after Winning
Top Of The Pops (10 April 1974)	Die Aktuelle Schaubude	Studio B
Domino	Toppop	Top Of The Pops (May 1974)
Drehscheibe	Star Parade	Señoras Y Señores
VideoClip	Ein Kessel Buntes	Ein Kessel Buntes (In German)
Top of the Pops {December 1974}	Eddy-Go-Round Show (June 1975)	Momarkedet
Seaside Show	Don Kirschner Rock Concert	Saturday Night Live
Musikladen 1976	ABBA in Australia	ABBA in Studio 2
Don Kirshner'S New Rock Concert	La Noche de Lina Morgan	The Movie 1977
Top Club 1978	Japanese TV Special	Live in Concert London 1979