ABBA have released Just a Notion as the latest single from their comeback album ‘Voyage’.
The group returned last month with a pair of new tracks – I Still Have Faith In You and Don’t Shut Me Down – lifted from the 10-track collection.
While those singles were newly written and recorded, Just a Notion, co-penned by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus, was first cut as a demo in 1978 but was never completed and released.
Björn explains: “Wikipedia says this track was recorded in September 1978, which sounds about right. That puts it in between ‘ABBA the Album’ and ‘Voulez-Vous’, and it would have been included in the latter had we not decided against it.
“Why did we decide against it? In hindsight, I don’t have a clue. It’s a good song with great vocals. I know that we played it to a publisher in France and a couple of other people we trusted and as far as I can remember they liked it very much. So it’s a mystery and will remain a mystery.”
He adds of the new version: “Now Benny has recorded a new backing track to which we’ve added drums and guitars, but all vocals are from the original 1978 tracks. In a way, it demonstrates what we plan to do with ABBA Voyage in 2022. There, we will have a live band playing, but all vocals will be from the old recordings.”
“Just a Notion is a ridiculously happy song and hopefully it will cheer you up in these dark times!”
A 90-second snippet of the song was included on the 1994 ‘Thank You for the Music’ box set.
Following the global announcement of new music from the Swedish supergroup, ‘Voyage’ broke Universal Music UK’s record for the biggest ever album pre-order, racking over 80,000 UK sales to date.
‘Voyage’, due November 5, is available to pre-order now on CD, vinyl and cassette.
