80's Flashback

ABBA, The Visitors, 1981. The final single from their eighth and final studio album of the same name, ABBA's The Visitors has become one of the most beloved and enduring dance classics of gay clubs worldwide. A radical departure from their trademarked style, The Visitors did not chart in the UK, but reached #62 on the U.S. pop chart and #8 on dance. The full-length album was banned in Russia in 1982 after the band issued a statement saying that the mysterious and ominous lyrics of the single were about the mistreatment of political dissidents there. Trivia: In 1982 The Visitors became the first album ever manufactured on CD. More trivia: Sales for the single were hampered because many listeners wrongly decided that the title of the song was Crackin' Up.

VIDEO: No production video clip of The Visitors appears to be available, but you might dig this clip of the dance floor at Sunday's Remember The Party in San Francisco, where patron DJ Rotten Robbie captured an eruption of joy as legendary DJ Jerry Bonham segued out of The Carpenter's Calling Occupants Of Interplanetary Craft and into The Visitors. The party's fantastic lighting crew kept the dance floor dark until just the right moment, so it's a minute or so before you can really see anything. I'll have a proper recap of the weekend, including photos from the party, as soon as I pull together what everybody is sending me.