Wiki
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Release Date
21 September 1992
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Length
19 tracks
ABBA Gold: Greatest Hits is a compilation album of recordings by Swedish pop group ABBA, released by PolyGram in 1992, the first compilation to be issued after the company had acquired Polar Music and thus the rights to the ABBA back catalogue. In 1998, PolyGram was in turn merged into what is now the Universal Music Group.
Prior to its release, all previously released ABBA compilations were deleted and only the original studio albums (along with the 1986 live album) remained in print. It was well received by the music-buying public. ABBA Gold has been re-released in various 'special' or 'remastered' releases in 1999, 2002, a 2003 CD/DVD release, 2004 and 2008. A similar package titled ABBA Oro: Grandes Éxitos featured ten ABBA songs sung in Spanish.
ABBA Gold is the biggest seller of all ABBA releases, and is one of the Top 30 best-selling albums of all time worldwide. Worldwide sales as of 2009 are 28 million ABBA Gold is the third biggest selling album of all time in the UK as of the end of October 2008, and by June 2009 it had sold 4,610,813 copies. In addition, by May 2009 it had occupied every position in the top 75 of the U.K. album chart. It is also the best selling album of all time in Switzerland, with certified sales of almost half a million copies there .It is also all time chart champion album in Switzerland for longevity.
The original 1992 release included edited versions of "Voulez-Vous" and "The Name of the Game." These were replaced by the full original-length versions on the 1999 and subsequent re-releases. The original 1992 version is still the only one available in the United States, however. The Australasian release had a modified track list to include three local hits, replacing three other songs. In Spain, the original 1992 release replaced the English versions of "Chiquitita" and "Fernando" with the Spanish language versions.
In 1999, the album was also released both worldwide and in Australasia with the different track listings to commemorate ABBA's 25th Anniversary of winning the Eurovision Song Contest with "Waterloo". This new version was called the 'signature series', as it came with autographs from the band members embedded into the front plastic casing in gold writing. This new version also contained new sleeve notes.
A 10th Anniversary Edition was released worldwide in 2002. The ABBA logo was changed to the official ABBA font and the back cover was redesigned. It was released in Europe and New Zealand (with the European track list, and not the previous Australasian track list). This version was not released in Australia.
The DVD released in 2003 included the 19 songs on the CD, plus the short documentary, ABBA - The History, as well as the 1992 version of the "Dancing Queen" video. This includes scenes from other clips edited into the original video, which was made to promote the original release of ABBA Gold.
A 30th Anniversary Edition was released in 2004 with a gold-coloured sleeve cover rather than the normal black sleeve. The original release included a DVD with 18 of the 19 songs from the CD, excluding "The Name Of The Game".
ABBA Gold was re-released in some territories in 2008, coinciding with the release of the film Mamma Mia!. The Australasian release featured the European track list, not the Australasian track list on previous issues.
The album topped the UK album chart on five separate occasions, sixteen years apart - first in 1992, then three times in 1999, and then again in 2008. It was also in the UK Top 50 best sellers of 2004. As a result, ABBA Gold is one of the highest selling and longest charting albums released in the United Kingdom. By 2008, it had become the fourth longest charting album of all time, and by week beginning 20 September 2009, it had totalled 438 weeks in the Top 100.
On July 24, 2008, it also topped for the first time the US Top Pop Catalog Albums charts, being its first #1 ever in any one of Billboard's Album charts, previously peaking at #17 on the Billboard Comprehensive Albums charts, where it finally peaked at #11.
In the Irish Album Chart, the album - as of 23 January 2008 - has been in the top 100 best selling albums for 426 weeks.
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