| Ring Ring | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 26 March 1973 | |||
| Recorded | 29 March 1972, 26 September 1972 – 15 March 1973[1] | |||
| Studio | Metronome, Europafilm and KMH Studio, Stockholm[2] | |||
| Genre |
| |||
| Length | 35:43 | |||
| Label | Polar | |||
| Producer |
| |||
| Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Frida chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from Ring Ring | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    [5] |
| Blender | [6] |
| The Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [7] |
| The New Rolling Stone Album Guide | [8] |
| Spin Alternative Record Guide | 4/10[9] |
Ring Ring is the debut studio album by the Swedish group ABBA, initially credited as Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Frida. It was released in Scandinavia on 26 March 1973, and later in a limited number of other territories, including West Germany, Australia, South Africa and Mexico, through Polar Music.[10] It was a chart-topping album in Belgium, and a big success in the Netherlands, Norway and South Africa.[11]
The album was re-released in Australasia in 1975, but was not released in the United Kingdom until 1992, and the United States until 1995.
When the first song "People Need Love" was recorded in the spring of 1972, the group was just one of many projects the four members were involved in. Only after the title track, "Ring Ring" became a hit, did the four decide to go on working together as a permanent group.[12] The original 1973 Polar version of the album opens with "Ring Ring (Bara du slog en signal)", the Swedish version of the track, and places the English-language version as track four on side two.
The track "She's My Kind of Girl", included on the international editions, was originally recorded by Björn & Benny in 1969 for the Swedish pornographic film Inga II: the Seduction of Inga. Released as a single in 1970, it became a hit in Japan,[13] and was released as the B-side of the English version of the "Ring Ring" single in Scandinavia. The track "Disillusion" was originally written in Swedish by Agnetha Fältskog for her solo album Elva kvinnor i ett hus. Although she had composed much of her Swedish solo output, "Disillusion" is the only song released on an ABBA studio album to feature a songwriting contribution from her.[14]
Ring Ring was first released on CD in Scandinavia in 1988 by Polar Music alongside Waterloo and ABBA's self titled album. It follows the same running order as the original Scandinavian LP, being the only CD of this album to do so.[15] Also in 1988, the international version was first released on CD in Australia by Rainbow Music Group.[16] In 1990, the international version of the album was released on CD throughout Europe by Polydor Records with the discs manufactured in West Germany. In the United States, Ring Ring would not be made available on CD - or indeed at all - until 1995 when it was released there by Polydor.[17] The album has been digitally remastered on CD multiple times: in 1997 as part of "The ABBA Remasters" series,[18] in 2001 with an updated cover artwork and some bonus tracks,[19] in 2005 as part of The Complete Studio Recordings box set, and most recently in 2013 as a "Deluxe Edition".[20]
All tracks are written by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus except where noted
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Ring Ring (Bara Du Slog En Signal)" |
| 3:04 |
| 2. | "Another Town, Another Train" | 3:12 | |
| 3. | "Disillusion" |
| 3:04 |
| 4. | "People Need Love" | 2:46 | |
| 5. | "I Saw It in the Mirror" | 2:34 | |
| 6. | "Nina, Pretty Ballerina" | 2:51 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Love Isn't Easy (But It Sure Is Hard Enough)" | 2:53 | |
| 2. | "Me and Bobby and Bobby's Brother" | 2:50 | |
| 3. | "He Is Your Brother" | 3:18 | |
| 4. | "Ring Ring" (English version) |
| 3:03 |
| 5. | "I Am Just a Girl" |
| 3:01 |
| 6. | "Rock'n Roll Band" | 3:09 | |
| Total length: | 35:43 | ||
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Ring Ring" | 3:04 |
| 2. | "Another Town, Another Train" | 3:12 |
| 3. | "Disillusion" | 3:04 |
| 4. | "People Need Love" | 2:46 |
| 5. | "I Saw It in the Mirror" | 2:34 |
| 6. | "Nina, Pretty Ballerina" | 2:51 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Love Isn't Easy (But It Sure Is Hard Enough)" | 2:53 |
| 2. | "Me and Bobby and Bobby's Brother" | 2:50 |
| 3. | "He Is Your Brother" | 3:18 |
| 4. | "She's My Kind of Girl" | 2:39 |
| 5. | "I Am Just a Girl" | 3:01 |
| 6. | "Rock'n Roll Band" | 3:09 |
| Total length: | 35:19 | |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 13. | "Merry-Go-Round" |
| 3:24 |
| 14. | "Santa Rosa" | 2:59 | |
| 15. | "Ring Ring (Bara du slog en signal)" |
| 3:08 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 13. | "Ring Ring (Bara du slog en signal)" |
| 3:08 |
| 14. | "Åh, vilka tider" (B-side of Ring Ring (Bara du slog en signal)) |
| 2:33 |
| 15. | "Merry-Go-Round" (B-side of People Need Love) |
| 3:36 |
| 16. | "Santa Rosa" (B-side of He Is Your Brother) | 3:01 | |
| 17. | "Ring Ring" (Spanish version) |
| 3:01 |
| 18. | "Wer im Wartesaal der Liebe steht" (German version of Another Town, Another Train; B-side of Ring Ring (German version)) |
| 3:21 |
| 19. | "Ring Ring" (German version) |
| 3:09 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 13. | "Ring Ring (Bara du slog en signal)" (Swedish version) |
| 3:08 |
| 14. | "Merry-Go-Round" (B-side of People Need Love) |
| 3:36 |
| 15. | "Santa Rosa" (B-side of He Is Your Brother) | 3:01 | |
| 16. | "Ring Ring" (Spanish version) |
| 3:01 |
| 17. | "Wer im Wartesaal der Liebe steht" (German version of Another Town, Another Train, B-side of Ring Ring (German version)) |
| 3:21 |
| 18. | "Ring Ring" (German version) |
| 3:09 |
| 19. | "En hälsning till våra parkarrangörer" (1973 promotional single for Sweden tour with excerpts of recent hits; previously unreleased) | 2:27 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20. | "Hej gamle man!" (performed by Björn & Benny) | 3:21 | |
| 21. | "There's a Little Man" (performed by Billy G-Son) | 2:45 | |
| 22. | "I Saw It in the Mirror" (performed by Billy G-Son) | 2:20 | |
| 23. | "Jag är blott en man" (performed by Jarl Kulle) |
| 3:04 |
| 24. | "Man vill ju leva lite dessemellan" (performed by Anni-Frid Lyngstad) |
| 2:53 |
| 25. | "Välkommen till världen" (performed by Lill-Babs) | 3:19 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "People Need Love" (Vi i femman, SVT) | |
| 2. | "Ring Ring" (Spotlight, ORF) | |
| 3. | "Ring Ring Revealed" (Låtarna som förändrade musiken, UR) | |
| 4. | "International Sleeve Gallery" |
Notes
| Chart (1973–76) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)[22] | 10 |
| New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[23] | 32 |
| Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[24] | 10 |
| Swedish Albums Chart[25] | 2 |
| Chart (2021) | Peak position |
| Greek Albums (IFPI Greece)[26] | 57 |
| Chart (2023) | Peak position |
| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[27] | 29 |
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA)[28] | 3× Platinum | 150,000^ |
| Norway | — | 10,000[29] |
| Sweden | — | 116,627[30] |
|
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||
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