Take me through the darkness to the break of the day

A Friday, in the middle of the most glorious Spring, with a sunny weekend forecast? Yayyyyyyy!

Tomorrow happens to be the 75th birthday of the lovely Agnetha Fältskog of ABBA, so what better way to get the party started than with one of the Swedish super-group's more "club-worthy" numbers [as also featured - in a very different version - last week]?

Thank Disco It's Friday!

Abba - Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)

Half past twelve
And I'm watching the late show in my flat all alone
How I hate to spend the evening on my own
Autumn winds
Blowing outside the window as I look around the room
And it makes me so depressed to see the gloom

There's not a soul out there
No one to hear my prayer

Gimme gimme gimme a man after midnight
Won't somebody help me chase the shadows away
Gimme gimme gimme a man after midnight
Take me through the darkness to the break of the day

Movie stars
Find the end of the rainbow, with a fortune to win
It's so different from the world I'm living in
Tired of T.V.
I open the window and I gaze into the night
But there's nothing there to see, no one in sight

There's not a soul out there
No one to hear my prayer

Gimme gimme gimme a man after midnight
Won't somebody help me chase the shadows away
Gimme gimme gimme a man after midnight
Take me through the darkness to the break of the day

Have a great weekend, dear reader - enjoy the sunshine!

Autumn winds blowin' outside the window

On this day in 1899 the Siege of Ladysmith began in the Boer War, in 1917 the Balfour Declaration (of support for the establishment of a Jewish state in Palestine) was agreed, in 1938 Orson Welles broadcast his radio play of H. G. Wells's The War of the Worlds and caused a mass panic across the USA, and in 1973 the Bosphorus Bridge in Turkey (connecting the continents of Europe and Asia) was completed; a raft of assorted "names" were also born today, including Sir Christopher Wren, Grace Slick, Ruth Gordon, Charles Atlas, Stefan Dennis, Richard Brinsley Sheridan, Mario Testino, Henry Winkler, Diego Maradona, Michael Winner, Ruth Hussey, Gavin Rossdale, Ezra Pound, Harry Hamlin, Anna Wing, Juliet Stevenson and (ahem) Ivanka Trump...

...and our friend John-John!

Since it is also the end of another uninspiring week of work and no parties to go to, I reckon we can combine the birthday boy's ABBA obsession with something a bit more "dancy", courtesy of some tarts, a boat and a pool - and Thank Disco Electro House It's Friday!

Benny Benassi and Shana Vanguarde - Gimme, Gimme, Gimme

Happy birthday, dear.

Have a great weekend, dear reader!

And it makes me so depressed to see the gloom

It is foul out there...

Autumn is unleashing one of the nastiest mornings we've had for a long time - but it is almost the weekend, regardless. And we know what that means - it's time to party! Indeed, we do have a glittering Goth-themed party tomorrow to look forward to (our friend John-John's birthday celebration).

So let's get our boogie shoes on, and sing along with his favourite Swedes, Abba - and the anthem of most queens "out there" Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight). Thank Disco It's Friday!

Abba - Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)

Half past twelve
And I'm watching the late show in my flat all alone
How I hate to spend the evening on my own
Autumn winds
Blowing outside the window as I look around the room
And it makes me so depressed to see the gloom

There's not a soul out there
No one to hear my prayer

Gimme gimme gimme a man after midnight
Won't somebody help me chase the shadows away
Gimme gimme gimme a man after midnight
Take me through the darkness to the break of the day

Movie stars
Find the end of the rainbow, with a fortune to win
It's so different from the world I'm living in
Tired of T.V.
I open the window and I gaze into the night
But there's nothing there to see, no one in sight

There's not a soul out there
No one to hear my prayer

Gimme gimme gimme a man after midnight
Won't somebody help me chase the shadows away
Gimme gimme gimme a man after midnight
Take me through the darkness to the break of the day

Have a great weekend, dear reader!

Won't somebody help me chase these shadows away?

It is (amazingly) thirty years since a landmark song in gay history was hitting the top of the charts across Europe. Abba (for it is they) embraced the dying embers of the Disco era in late 1979 and decided to go for gold.

Finally acknowledging (perhaps with their Swedish tongues in their cheeks) their massive queeny following that had built up, ever since their satin-and-platformed-glitter-boots arrival on the scene on Eurovision five years previously in 1974 and their drag queen classic Dancing Queen two years afterwards in 1976, they released the most "out gay" single of their career - Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight).

An eternal staple of bizarre gay club nights thenceforth (until and including the arrival of Hi-NRG in the 80s), this is one helluva "Marmite" tune. You either love it or you hate it. But nevertheless, it survives, and many artistes have decided it is worthy of a cover version (notwithstanding the recent Madonna sample). So without further ado here are a few of them:

First up, someone described as a "guitar virtuoso" with a name that looks like an anagram, Yngwie Malmsteen:

Yngwie Malmsteen - Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)

Of course, Erasure did the song greater justice:

Erasure - Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight) [live]

Even Benny Benassi gave it a go, with a heavy dance version:

Benny Benassi feat Shana Vanguarde - Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)

And then there is this loud version by the world famous (in Serbia, possibly?) Doro Pesch and Dirk Bach...

Doro Pesch and Dirk Bach - Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)

I couldn't let this blog post pass, however, without the original...

Abba - Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)

Enjoy!