Head over Heels (ABBA song)

"Head Over Heels" is a 1981 song recorded by Swedish pop group ABBA, released as a single the following year. The song is the second track from their eighth studio album, The Visitors.

"Head Over Heels"
Single by ABBA
from the album The Visitors
A-side"The Visitors (double A-side)"
Released19 March 1982
Recorded2 September 1981 at Polar Music Studios
GenrePop, synthpop
Length3:45
LabelPolar Music
Songwriter(s)Benny Andersson
Björn Ulvaeus
Producer(s)Benny Andersson
Björn Ulvaeus
ABBA singles chronology
"When All Is Said and Done"
(1981)		 "Head Over Heels"
(1982)		 "The Visitors"
(1982)
Music video
"Head Over Heels" on YouTube

History

"Head Over Heels", whose working title was "Tango", was written and composed by both Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus. Agnetha Fältskog sang the lead vocals, singing about her "very good friend," played in the music video by Anni-Frid Lyngstad, an overactive high-society woman who rushes through the shops, with her hapless and exhausted husband (played by Ulvaeus) following behind and being forced to carry the shopping bags. The song's video, filmed on 21 January 1982,[1] was the group's final clip directed by long-time collaborator Lasse Hallström, who cameos as a man the woman bumps into while running around the city.

As with the previous single "One of Us", Epic Records in the UK used a different picture sleeve from the standard one used in most countries.

The single itself was not released in the United States; it was accompanied as the B-side to another single "The Visitors" instead.

The sheet music has been released,[2] and the song has been choreographed for dance numbers.[3][4]

Reception

"Head Over Heels" was not a successful chart hit; the release came as the group's popularity was declining, and became ABBA's worst selling single since "I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do", seven years earlier.[5] It only managed to chart as high as #25 in the UK, breaking a run of 18 consecutive Top 10 hits (from "SOS" in October 1975 to "One of Us" in December 1981). This 18-hit run had equaled that of The Beatles, who had consecutive Top 10 hits from 1964 (with "A Hard Day's Night") to 1976 (with "Yesterday"), broken by "Back in the U.S.S.R.". Although "Head Over Heels" did experience Top 10 success in Belgium, the Netherlands, Austria and France, by this time, ABBA's chart domination was all but over, and the group effectively disbanded a year later. The track was excluded from their retrospective double LP The Singles: The First Ten Years, which was released later in 1982.

Personnel

Chart performance
Chart (1982) Peak
position
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[6] 8
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[7] 3
UK Singles (OCC)[8] 25
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[9] 4
French Singles Chart 10
German Singles Chart 19
Irish Singles Chart 14
Polish Singles Chart 6
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[10] 18

Cover versions
  • A cover of the song by Finnish a cappella choral ensemble Rajaton can be found on their 2006 ABBA tribute album Rajaton Sings ABBA With Lahti Symphony Orchestra.
  • The song is covered on an ABBA tribute album presented by the San Juan Music Group.
  • The K&K Studio Singers recorded the song in Polish as "Dumna Jak Paw".
  • The German dance music project ZokZok based their 2002 club hit ZokZok 3 on the intro of this song.

References
  1. ABBA on Facebook Watch, retrieved 26 April 2020
  2. "Head over Heels (ABBA)". Musicnotes.com. Retrieved 25 August 2014.
  3. "Big Dave – Leicestershire: Awesome Linedancing". March 2007. Retrieved 25 August 2014.
  4. "Bear City Dancers: Head over Heels". Retrieved 25 August 2014.
  5. Oldham, A, Calder, T & Irvin, C: "ABBA: The Name of the Game", page 185. Sidgwick & Jackson, 1995
  6. "Austriancharts.at – ABBA – Head over Heels" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 16 April 2020.
  7. "Ultratop.be – ABBA – Head over Heels" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 16 April 2020.
  8. "ABBA: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 16 April 2020.
  9. "Nederlandse Top 40 – ABBA" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 16 April 2020.
  10. "Swisscharts.com – ABBA – Head over Heels". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 16 April 2020.
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