Neil Arthur was stunned to receive a letter from the four members of ABBA after Blancmange covered their single The Day Before You Came.
The synth-pop outfit recorded their own version of the Swedish supergroup’s 1982 single two years later, with the recording peaking at No. 22 in the charts.
Revealing how the single – which appeared on their second album ‘Mange Tout’ – came into fruition, he tells Retro Pop’s October 2022 issue he was on holiday in Tenerife with former bandmate Steve Luscombe and Erasure’s Vince Clarke when he had the idea.
“We had a Sony Walkman and I had ABBA’s ‘The Singles: The First Ten Years’ on double cassette,” Neil reveals. “Steve [Luscombe, former bandmate] and I both loved ABBA and decided we had to cover one of their songs.
“So we chose The Day Before You Came because we loved the story in the lyrics and the idea of me as this great big lanky Lancastrian singing it.
“Vince said, ‘One day I’m going to do some ABBA stuff as well,’ and of course with Erasure he did.”
On receiving a signed letter from all four of ABBA following its release, he adds: “We were really gobsmacked to get the ABBA seal of approval.”
This month, Blancmange return with ‘Private View’ – Neil’s 11th album in as many years – which sees him continue to push his sound further than before.
Reflecting on the forward-thinking set, the musician insists he didn’t want to dwell on the Covid pandemic, explaining: “I wanted it to be something that moved beyond it because for better or worse we have no choice but to go forward and face the issues that are ahead of us.
“I quite like a challenge, although I’m a bit of a scaredy-cat, and I thought ‘There’s no doubt the future is coming’. The album reflects the fact that ‘Yes, we’re in this but it will move forward and we will have to deal with all the difficulties, the sadness and the tragedy’.”
‘Private View’ is out September 30 and available to pre order now.
Read the full interview in the October 2022 edition of Retro Pop, out now. Order yours or subscribe via our Online Store, use our Store Finder to locate your nearest stockist, or get Digital Copies delivered direct to your devices.
