ABBA had won the
Eurovision Song Contest in April 1974 with "
Waterloo", which became a major hit across Europe, Australia and New Zealand. Since the follow-up singles did not achieve similar success, the interest in the band was reignited a year later when "
I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do", "
SOS" and "
Mamma Mia" became worldwide hits. To capitalize on this resurgence of interest, several labels around the world released their own licensed compilations of ABBA's singles up to and including "Mamma Mia". Among these were a similarly titled
Greatest Hits by France's
Disques Vogue, and
The Best of ABBA, released by West Germany's division of
Polydor Records and by
RCA Victor in Australia and New Zealand. To prevent the sale of any of these imported records, ABBA's record label,
Polar Music, rush-released their own version of
Greatest Hits. The album's songs were taken from ABBA's first three studio albums:
Ring Ring (1973),
Waterloo (1974) and
ABBA (1975). With the exception of "Dance (While the Music Still Goes On)", they had all been released as singles. Despite its title, only half of the tracks on
Greatest Hits charted in major territories as hit singles. "
Waterloo", "
SOS", "
Mamma Mia" and, later, "
Fernando" were top 10 hits in the UK and several countries, though only "Waterloo" became a top 10 hit in the US. Other hits included: "
I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do" (a top 10 hit in several countries, a number one in Australia, and a top 20 hit in the US, though barely cracking the top 40 in the UK); "
Honey, Honey" (a top 20 hit in several countries and a top 30 hit in the US); "
Hasta Mañana" (a top 10 hit in South Africa and New Zealand and a top 20 hit in Australia); and "
So Long" (a top 20 hit in Germany and a top 10 hit in Sweden and Denmark). "
Ring Ring" reached number one in Belgium and Sweden, and went top ten in a few other markets. "
Nina, Pretty Ballerina" was an A side in only a few territories, reaching number 8 in Austria. "
Another Town, Another Train" was a B side in most territories, but reached number 18 in Rhodesia. "
People Need Love" was a radio hit in several US regions, but didn't chart higher than No. 114 nationally (on the
Cash Box chart). "
Bang-A-Boomerang" was an A side in France, where it was a minor hit. ==Release==