Abba - Hasta Manana

Hasta Manana - the Eurovision reserve! Abba considered two songs for Eurovision 1974, these were Waterloo and Hasta Manana. The previous four winners had all been solo female singers with a ballad, which was how the Agnetha-led Hasta Mañana would have come across. ABBA wanted to be different and really stand out from everybody else with a British style rock and roll number for Brighton rather than a ballad, and decided on Waterloo instead. Waterloo also had Agnetha and Frida sharing lead vocals as normal, which was unusual for Eurovision, whereas Hasta Manana had Agnetha as the sole lead vocalist and would give the wrong impression of the group. Both Waterloo and Hasta Manana were written and recorded in December 1973. Waterloo was completed first and it was more or less decided that this would be ABBA’s submission for Melodifestivalen. ABBA manager Stig Anderson was just about to leave for a Christmas holiday trip to the Canary Islands, when a cassette tape with the backing track for the new ballad was given to him with the instructions: “Please write some lyrics for this!“. Stig recalled “While I was on holiday in Las Palmas I often heard people say ’Hasta mañana’ (see you tomorrow) on the radio and in the street. I liked this expression and thought it fitted the music perfectly. The text came together very quickly.“ Once the lyrics were complete Stig shocked his fellow tourists by dictating them very loudly down a crackly telephone line between Spain and Sweden! At first Agnetha and Frida could not find the right way to interpret the song. “We realised that neither of us were able to sing it and we had actually started to give up on it“ Agnetha recalled. “Then I ended up alone in the studio and fooled around a bit, thinking that I might do it like Connie Francis would. I sang it in that really emotional way and then we found that we were on the right way.“ The song was so convincing that it felt a suitable contender for the Eurovision Song Contest, following the profile of every Eurovision winner since 1967. Stig arrived back in Stockholm on January 5, just two days before the deadline for submitting entries to the Swedish selection contest. The next day Björn and Benny arrived at his house to make that crucial decision - which song would they choose? They decided Waterloo was the better choice because it broke the Eurovision “solo female ballad“ tradition and would stand out being a rock number and focused on both Frida and Agnetha as lead singers. Abba made their first visit to Australia from March 4-13 1976. The highlight of the visit was the recording of the tv special “The Best Of Abba“ with a studio audience at Channel 9 studios in Artarmon, Sydney from March 9-12. The songs performed were Mamma Mia, Hasta Manana (this video), Ring Ring, Tropical Loveland, Waterloo, I Do I Do I Do I Do I Do, Rock Me, Honey Honey, Fernando, So Long and SOS. The show was broadcast on March 20 1976 in Australian capital cities and on March 27 in regional centes. It was watched by 58% of Australian viewers, which was more than watched the first Moon landing in 1969! The show was screened numerous times in Australia and was bought by several television companies around the world. At the end of Abba’s visit Vicki Jones, publicity manager for Sydney’s TCN-9, declared “I have never worked with such an agreeable group of people. The sort of image they present on screen - friendly, warm, bright, intelligent people - is exactly what they are“. Hasta Manana was recorded on December 18 1973 at Metronome Studios, Stockholm. It was released on the album “Waterloo“ on March 4 1974 and also as a single in these countries: Sweden #1, South Africa #2, New Zealand #9, Australia #16, Italy #30. Music / Lyrics: Benny / Stig, Björn Lead vocal: Agnetha Where is the spring and the summer That once was yours and mine Where did it go I just don’t know But still my love for you will live forever Hasta mañana ’til we meet again Don’t know where don’t know when Darling our love was much too strong to die We’ll find a way to face a new tomorrow Hasta mañana say we’ll meet again I can’t do without you Time to forget, send me a letter Say you forgive, the sooner the better Hasta mañana baby hasta mañana until then Where is the dream we were dreaming And all the nights we shared Where did they go I just don’t know And I can’t tell you just how much I miss you Hasta mañana ’til we meet again Don’t know where don’t know when Darling our love was much too strong to die We’ll find a way to face a new tomorrow Hasta mañana say we’ll meet again I can’t do without you Time to forget, send me a letter Say you forgive, the sooner the better Hasta mañana baby hasta mañana until then Hasta mañana say we’ll meet again I can’t do without you Time to forget, send me a letter Say you forgive, the sooner the better Hasta mañana baby hasta mañana until then