ABBA - Dancing Queen

What this video is

Released as the lead single from ABBA's fourth studio album Arrival in August 1976, 'Dancing Queen' marked the apex of ABBA's early commercial period and became their only US Billboard Hot 100 number-one, topping charts in over 15 countries. The song received its first public performance on 18 June 1976 at a royal gala at the Royal Swedish Opera in honour of King Carl XVI Gustaf and his bride-to-be. Musically, the…

Why it matters

'Dancing Queen' is a foundational document of Europop and one of the earliest globally distributed promotional music films to demonstrate the commercial viability of the format as a marketing substitute for live touring. Its low-budget, location-based production aesthetic — shot in a real…

The director

Lars Sven 'Lasse' Hallström (born 2 June 1946, Stockholm, Sweden) is a Swedish film director who first gained recognition directing almost all of ABBA's promotional music videos between 1974 and 1982, including 'Dancing Queen' (1976). He also directed the…