"Arrival" is a 1976 composition by Swedish pop group

ABBA ABBA ( , , formerly named Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Anni-Frid or Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Frida) are a Swedish supergroup formed in Stockholm in 1972 by Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. The group ...

featured on their album of the same name. It is an instrumental piece, mainly the brainchild of member

Benny Andersson Göran Bror Benny Andersson (; born 16 December 1946) is a Swedish musician, singer, composer and producer best known as a member of the musical group ABBA and co-composer of the musicals ''Chess'', ''Kristina från Duvemåla'', and '' Mamma M ...

and had the working titles of "Fiol", "Ode to

Dalecarlia Dalarna () is a '' landskap'' (historical province) in central Sweden. English exonyms for it are Dalecarlia () and the Dales. Dalarna adjoins Härjedalen, Hälsingland, Gästrikland, Västmanland and Värmland. It is also bordered by Norway ...

" and "Arrival in Dalecarlia".

Background

"Arrival" was the second and last composition from the group not to contain lyrics, following " Intermezzo No.1" the previous year. As with "Intermezzo No.1", the choral tune, heavily influenced by traditional Swedish folk music, was written by

and

Björn Ulvaeus Björn Kristian Ulvaeus (; born 25 April 1945) is a Swedish singer, songwriter, producer, a member of the musical group ABBA, and co-composer of the musicals '' Chess'', '' Kristina från Duvemåla'', and ''Mamma Mia!'' He co-produced the films ...

. It was recorded on 30 August 1976 at Stockholm's Metronome Studio. The title of the album, ''Arrival'', gave the instrumental its name, rather than vice versa. It was also one of the last tracks to be recorded for the album before its release on 11 October 1976. In 1983, a different version of the song with lyrics, called "Belle", was sung by

Daniel Balavoine Daniel Xavier-Marie Balavoine (; 5 February 1952 – 14 January 1986) was a French singer and songwriter. He was hugely popular in the French-speaking world in the early 1980s; he inspired many singers of his generation such as Jean-Jacques Gol ...

and

Anni-Frid Lyngstad Princess Anni-Frid Synni Reuss, Countess of Plauen (born Anni-Frid Synni Lyngstad on 15 November 1945), also known by her nickname "Frida", is a Norwegian-born Swedish singer, songwriter and environmentalist, who is best known as one of the foun ...

("Frida") as part of the French musical ''

ABBAcadabra ''ABBAcadabra'' is a French children's musical based on songs from the pop group ABBA. It was originally produced for French television in 1983 by Alain and Daniel Boublil, but which was later also transferred to an English stage version and tw ...

''. Also in 1983, it was re-recorded with different lyrics, and released as "Time" by

B. A. Robertson Brian Alexander Robertson (born 12 September 1956) is a Scottish musician, composer and songwriter. He had a string of hits in the late 1970s and early 1980s characterised by catchy pop tunes and jaunty humorous lyrics, including " Knocked It ...

and Lyngstad.

Cover versions

Mike Oldfield version

In 1980

Mike Oldfield Mike may refer to: Animals * Mike (cat), cat and guardian of the British Museum * Mike the Headless Chicken, chicken that lived for 18 months after his head had been cut off * Mike (chimpanzee), a chimpanzee featured in several books and document ...

recorded a cover-version of the song, which is found on his '' QE2'' album. The artwork for Oldfield's single is a recreation of ABBA's ''Arrival'' album artwork depicting the artist flying in a

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G helicopter (Oldfield is indeed titled as helicopter pilot).

Track listing

# "Arrival" – 2:46 # "Polka" (live on European tour 1980) – 3:34 * "Polka" consists of a medley of one and a half traditional Irish polkas— the first part of "The 42 Pound Cheque" and the first and second parts of "John Ryan's Polka". Mike Oldfield rearranged the parts so that he is going from the A part of "42 Pound Cheque" to the B part of "John Ryan's", then to the A part of "John Ryan's", then back to the B part of "John Ryan's". He plays through the entire medley 3 times in all, with increasingly more backup and percussion each time. Also, he has transposed these tunes to the key of G, whereas they are more commonly played in D.

Oldfield's credits

* Mike Oldfield: Electric Guitars, African Drums, Celtic Harp, Bass Guitar, Mandolin, Spanish Guitar, Synthesizers, Vocoder, Aboriginal Rhythm Sticks, Vocals *

David Hentschel David Hentschel (born 18 December 1952) is an English recording engineer, film score composer and music producer who engineered on George Harrison's ''All Things Must Pass'' and Elton John's ''Goodbye Yellow Brick Road'', as well as for such a ...

: Synthesizers, Drums, Vocals *

Maggie Reilly Maggie Reilly (born 15 September 1956) is a Scottish singer best known for her collaborations with the composer and instrumentalist Mike Oldfield. Most notably, she performed lead vocals on the Oldfield songs " Family Man", " Moonlight Shadow", ...

: Vocals * Strings and Choir arranged by

David Bedford David Vickerman Bedford (4 August 1937 – 1 October 2011) was an English composer and musician. He wrote and played both popular and classical music. He was the brother of the conductor Steuart Bedford, the grandson of the composer, painter ...

* Leader of Strings: Dick Studt * Choir English Chorale

Other cover versions, sampling, etc.

* French singer

Michèle Torr Michèle Torr (born Michelle Cléberte Tort 7 April 1947) is a French singer and author, best known in non-Francophone countries for her participation in the Eurovision Song Contest for Luxembourg in 1966 and for Monaco in 1977. Early career ...

covered the song and added lyrics, under the title "J'aime". *

Petula Clark Petula Sally Olwen Clark, CBE (born 15 November 1932) is an English singer, actress, and composer. She has one of the longest serving careers of a British singer, spanning more than seven decades. Clark's professional career began during the ...

also covered the song with lyrics in French, as "La Vallée". *

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dance group Scooter sampled "Arrival" in the song "Roll Baby Roll" on their 2003 album ''

The Stadium Techno Experience ''The Stadium Techno Experience'' is the ninth studio album by Scooter. Three singles were released from it: " Weekend!", " The Night" and a remix of "Maria (I Like It Loud)" featuring Marc Acardipane and Dick Rules. Its artwork is an homage to ...

'', although some chords are slightly altered. For copyright reasons, they had to rewrite the track later, which sounds completely different, under the name of "Swinging In The Jungle". They can, however, play the original track in concerts. *

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rock band The Darkness have played "Arrival" as their opening song on headlining tours since 2003. * Sarah Brightman recorded a vocal version for her 2008 seasonal album '' A Winter Symphony'', with previously unused lyrics from

, which he wrote in 1999 for possible inclusion in the '' Mamma Mia!'' musical. * ABBA tribute act

Björn Again Björn Again is a parody of the 1970s Swedish pop group ABBA. Created in 1988 in Australia,The show currently involves performers based in several countries. The Björn Again name is based in part on ABBA's Björn Ulvaeus with the obvious rev ...

have used this as their entry music when starting a gig for many years. * The

band Gregorian made a cover of this song, using the lyrics from the Sarah Brightman version, on their album '' Masters of Chant Chapter VII'' in 2009. * "Arrival" was used as the theme tune for the

BBC TV BBC Television is a service of the BBC. The corporation has operated a public broadcast television service in the United Kingdom, under the terms of a royal charter, since 1927. It produced television programmes from its own studios from 19 ...

series ''Robbie'', presented by

Fyfe Robertson James Fyfe Robertson (19 August 1902 – 4 February 1987) was a Scottish television journalist and broadcaster. Biography Robertson was born in Edinburgh, Scotland. He was one of six children of Jane Dunlop and James Robertson, a miner w ...

. * German singer Annegret Behrend recorded a cover of this song in 1977 with the title "Wie ein Vogel auf dem Wind". The single was published on the label Elektra – ELK 12 253. * Russian dance band "Section 1" covered the track in 2015 on their track "Roll & Ride". * The Swedish metal band Ghost played this theme during their "A Final Gig Named Death" concert. Following the on-stage death of Papa Nihil during his final musical performance, front-man Cardinal Copia was subsequently anointed Papa Emeritus IV as several nuns fitted him with papal robes.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Arrival (Song) 1976 compositions 1976 songs 1980 singles ABBA songs Mike Oldfield songs Polar Music singles Rock instrumentals Songs written by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus Virgin Records singles