"Head Over Heels" is a song recorded by Swedish pop group

ABBA ABBA ( , , formerly named Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Anni-Frid or Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Frida) are a Swedish supergroup formed in Stockholm in 1972 by Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. The group's ...

, released as a single the following year. The song is the second track from their eighth studio album, '' The Visitors''.

History

"Head Over Heels", whose working title was "Tango", was written and composed by both

Benny Andersson Göran Bror Benny Andersson (; born 16 December 1946) is a Swedish musician, singer, composer and producer best known as a member of the musical group ABBA and co-composer of the musicals ''Chess'', '' Kristina från Duvemåla'', and '' Mamma M ...

and

Björn Ulvaeus Björn Kristian Ulvaeus (; born 25 April 1945) is a Swedish singer, songwriter, producer, a member of the musical group ABBA, and co-composer of the musicals ''Chess'', '' Kristina från Duvemåla'', and '' Mamma Mia!'' He co-produced the films ...

Agnetha Fältskog Agneta Åse Fältskog (born 5 April 1950), known as Agnetha Fältskog (), is a Swedish singer, songwriter, and musician. She first achieved success in Sweden with the release of her 1968 self-titled debut album. She later achieved internatio ...

sang the lead vocals, singing about her "very good friend", played in the music video by

Anni-Frid Lyngstad Princess Anni-Frid Synni Reuss, Countess of Plauen (born Anni-Frid Synni Lyngstad on 15 November 1945), also known by her nickname "Frida", is a Norwegian-born Swedish singer, songwriter and environmentalist, who is best known as one of the foun ...

, 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, was the group's final clip directed by long-time collaborator

Lasse Hallström Lars Sven "Lasse" Hallström (; born 2 June 1946) is a Swedish film director. He first became known for directing almost all the music videos by the pop group ABBA, and subsequently became a feature film director. He was nominated for an Acade ...

, 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, and the song has been choreographed for dance numbers.

Reception

"Head Over Heels" was released as the group's popularity was starting to decline, and became ABBA's worst selling single since "

I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do "I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do" is song by Swedish pop group ABBA. It was the third single to be released from their third studio album, ''ABBA'' (1975). The song was written by Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus and their manager Stig Anderson, and ...

", seven years earlier.Oldham, A, Calder, T & Irvin, C: "ABBA: The Name of the Game", page 185. Sidgwick & Jackson, 1995 It peaked at number 25 on the UK Singles Chart, 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 The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

, who had consecutive Top 10 hits from 1964 (with " A Hard Day's Night") to 1966 (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 song was excluded from their retrospective double LP '' The Singles: The First Ten Years'', which was released in late 1982.

Music video

ABBA filmed a video for ''Head Over Heels'' in

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

which was directed by

. It is the group's only music video where the director makes an appearance; Hallström is the pedestrian who Frida bumps into on the street. The action in the video is taken directly from the text; where Frida portrays a woman who rushes through shops with her tired husband in tow (played by Ulvaeus).

Personnel

– lead vocals *

– backing vocals *

– guitar *

– keyboards, synthesizer

Charts

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Head Over Heels (Abba Song) 1981 songs 1982 singles ABBA songs Music videos directed by Lasse Hallström Polar Music singles Songs written by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus