ABBA — Ring, Ring (Video)

JUL 01 1974 · 12:00

ABBA — Ring, Ring (Video) (1974) Director: Lasse Hallström Era: ABBA Pre-Breakthrough Era (1974) - Shot at SVT Studios Stockholm in June 1974, this promo clip was produced during ABBA's transitional period between Scandinavian success and global breakout, one year after 'Ring Ring' was first released as a Swedish single and immediately before 'Waterloo' conquered Europe. This is one of the earliest surviving ABBA promotional films and among the first works of Lasse Hallström's long career as the group's primary visual collaborator. Its historical significance — as a document of the pre-breakthrough ABBA, shot at SVT Stockholm, using the 1974 single remix — makes it a Tier 1 archival asset. The 2023 4K remaster and correction to the original audio further affirm its ongoing cultural relevance and its place at the origin of one of pop music's most influential video catalogues. Context: Produced in June 1974 at SVT Studios in Stockholm, this promo clip sits at a pivotal juncture in ABBA's history: the title track of their March 1973 debut album had already given the group their first Swedish No. 1 and chart success across Scandinavia, Belgium, and the Netherlands, but ABBA had yet to achieve its global breakthrough. That would come just months later via 'Waterloo' at Eurovision 1974. The clip's production directly reflects ABBA's early strategy of using low-cost promotional films to reach markets — particularly Australia — that were impractical to tour. When promo clips for subsequent albums were broadcast in Australia in 1975, they ignited a nationwide ABBA craze, demonstrating the format's transformative marketing power and presaging the music video era MTV would formalise a decade later. Director notes: This clip was one of Hallström's very first two ABBA promos — made alongside the 'Waterloo' video in 1974 — and is described by the official ABBA site as 'a quite simple affair, featuring a straightforward performance of the song.' It was filmed in June 1974 at SVT Studios in Stockholm, Sweden. The video originally used the 1974 remix version of the track rather than the original 1973 recording; this was corrected in a 4K remaster released to mark the Ring Ring album's 50th anniversary in 2023. The clip was later included on the DVDs Number Ones and The Definitive Collection. Hallström operated under characteristically low-budget, time-constrained conditions common to all early ABBA promos, sometimes completing two clips in a single day.