This document contains research on how Abba's track "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)" was repurposed into the track "Hung Up" by Madonna.

1. Bryant Santos
HUM1505
Professor Jarvis
Assignment 1: Repurposing Popular Culture
When trying to find a piece of media for this assignment, I had trouble finding a track,
film, game, or other piece of media that would work. However, through my research I found a
song by one of the most iconic female performers of all time, which samples the beat of a track
by a fairly popular group in their own right. The song that I identified is “Hung Up” by Madonna
of Warner Bros. Records, now known as Warner Music Group. “Hung Up” is a Pop/Dance track
and in this track, Madonna samples parts of the Disco track “Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man
After Midnight)” by ABBA of Polar Music International. ABBA’s track is popularly known
shortly as “Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!”. “Hung Up” was produced by Stuart Price in
collaboration with Madonna herself and it was part of her 2005 album, Confessions on a
Dancefloor. (Schiff, 2015). “Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!” was produced in 1979 by ABBA
members Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus. (Guarisco, 2018). The way that Madonna
incorporates ABBA’s track into her track is quite substantial as she uses the main beat of
“Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!” and adds her own electronic spin on it when she uses the beat in
“Hung Up”. These are some descriptions of the two tracks that I will be discussing in this report
and how the older track was incorporated into the new one.
Furthermore, in regard to how the two tracks share meaning or context, I would say that
they do not do so besides the fact that Madonna is using the track from ABBA because she likes
it. When asked about how she obtained rights to use the track, Madonna goes on record stating
that she had to personally ask ABBA to use their track by sending an emissary and a

2. personalized letter to Sweden, where ABBA was from, in order to garner their permission.
Furthermore, Benny Andersson, a member of ABBA and one of the producers of the track states
that it took a bit of convincing to give Madonna permission to sample “Gimme! Gimme!
Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)” as it was only the second time that the group gave another
artist rights to one of their tracks. Andersson continues by saying that the group eventually said
yes to Madonna because they admire her and her work. (NME, 2005). Madonna showed just how
much she liked ABBA and their track by going to such great lengths to obtain permission to use
it in her track. This is why I feel that Madonna’s driving force to repurpose this track was
because she was a fan of the track and of the group ABBA. Also, speaking of how the two tracks
are connected, “Hung Up” was released at the peak of Madonna’s popularity so it is safe to say
that it garnered even more exposure for “Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!”. According to an article
from The Telegraph:
“Hung Up, which heavily samples Abba's 1979 hit Gimme, Gimme, Gimme, will
premiere simultaneously on national radio stations around the world. The broadcast is
part of a multi-million pound marketing strategy designed to re-establish Madonna as the
Queen of Pop. But the sales of the single, which is expected to top the charts around the
world, could also generate millions of pounds for Abba's songwriters, Benny Andersson
and Bjorn Ulvaeus. The pair agreed to let Madonna use their most famous disco hit after
striking a lucrative copyright agreement that observers say will give them a significant
share of royalties from airplay.” (Hastings, 2005).
Also, I would say that the connection between these two tracks is clear to a certain extent. What I
mean by this is that while Madonna is one of the most popular female performers of all time,
some may not immediately connect “Hung Up” to “Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!”, especially with

3. the almost twenty-year gap between the two songs. Also, since ABBA was not as commercially
successful as Madonna at the time, it would not be as an obvious connection to those who were
not familiar with ABBA’s work. However, the sampling of “Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!” in
“Hung Up” is quite substantial and it would definitely be clear to recognize for those who are
fans of both Madonna and ABBA. These are some examples of how these two pieces of media
are connected and why I feel the older piece was repurposed into the newer piece.
Additionally, in regard to the success of Madonna’s use of the original track, that is
dependent on the market. Unfortunately, “Hung Up” and Madonna’s whole album of
Confessions on a Dance Floor was not as commercially successful in the U.S., especially with
U.S. radio. However, Madonna saw a wealth of success with the track and the whole album
throughout the rest of the world, most notably in the U.K. An article out of Billboard goes into
further detail when it states:
“Madonna has had no such airplay problems internationally. Since its release last
November, "Confessions on a Dance Floor" has topped the charts in 29 countries and
sold more than 8 million copies worldwide, according to Warner Bros. For the week
ending July 15, the album's third single, "Get Together," had a radio audience of fewer
than 1 million listeners in the United States (aggregate, based on market size and station
share). Conversely, in the United Kingdom, where all three singles have been A-listed by
BBC Radio 1, the single had 38.4 million listeners.”
This article also explains how Confessions on a Dance Floor was not seeing as much U.S.
success due to the heavy interest in Hip-Hop music at that time. (Billboard, 2006). This
information shows us that Madonna’s use of “Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!” did not necessarily

4. have any impact on the success of her track “Hung Up” because there was a bigger factor of the
market that she was in that contributed to the success or failure of that track.
In conclusion, Madonna’s use of the song “Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After
Midnight) by ABBA on her song “Hung Up” could be seen as a risky career move at the time,
depending on which market you are looking at. In the U.S. market, where ABBA was not as
prevalently known and where there was a resurgence of Hip-Hop influence at the time of the
release of “Hung Up”, it is safe to say that the track was not as commercially successful as
Madonna or her label of Warner Bros. Records would have hoped. However, for the rest of the
world, especially in the U.K., which ABBA is quite popular with, there was much recognition
and success with Madonna’s sampling of ABBA’s track.

5. References:
Billboard (2006). U.S. Radio Hangs Up On Madonna. Billboard. Retrieved on January 30, 2018
from https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/57759/us-radio-hangs-up-on-madonna
Guarisco, D. (2018). ABBA Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight) Composed by
Benny Andersson / Björn Ulvaeus. AllMusic. Retrieved on January 30, 2018 from
https://www.allmusic.com/song/gimme%21-gimme%21-gimme%21-a-man-after-
midnight-mt0001068070
Hastings, C. (2005). Thank you for the music! How Madonna's new single will give Abba their
greatest-ever hit. The Telegraph. Retrieved on January 30, 2018 from
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1500733/Thank-you-for-the-music-How-
Madonnas-new-single-will-give-Abba-their-greatest-ever-hit.html
NME (2005). Madonna ended up ‘begging’ Abba to use sample. NME. Retrieved on January 30,
2018 from http://www.nme.com/news/music/madonna-270-1319586
Schiff, M. (2015) Behind the boards: An in-depth look at the producers behind the Madonna
sound. AXS. Retrieved on January 30, 2018 from https://www.axs.com/news/behind-the-
boards-an-in-depth-look-at-the-producers-behind-the-madonna-43748