"Head Over Heels" is a 1981 song recorded by Swedish pop group

ABBA ABBA ( ) were a Swedish pop group formed in Stockholm in 1972 by Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. They are one of the most popular and successful musical groups of all time, and are one of the List ...

and the second track from their eighth studio album, '' The Visitors''. It was released as the second single from the album the following year. As with the first single, a different A-side was chosen in the US, although this time the sides were merely switched, " The Visitors" being the A-side.

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, composer and producer best known as a member of the pop group ABBA and co-composer of the musicals ''Chess (musical), Chess'', ''Kristina från Duvemåla'', and ''Mamm ...

and

Björn Ulvaeus Björn Kristian Ulvaeus (; born 25 April 1945) is a Swedish musician, singer, songwriter, and producer best known as a member of the musical group ABBA. He is also the co-composer of the musicals ''Chess (musical), Chess'', ''Kristina från Duve ...

Agnetha Fältskog Agneta Åse "Agnetha" Fältskog (; born 5 April 1950) is a Swedish singer, songwriter, and a former member of the pop group ABBA. She first achieved success in Sweden with the release of her 1968 Agnetha Fältskog (album), self-titled debut alb ...

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

Anni-Frid Lyngstad Anni-Frid Synni Lyngstad (born 15 November 1945), also known simply as Frida, is a Swedish singer who is best known as one of the founding members and lead singers of the pop band ABBA. Courtesy titles ''Principality of Reuss-Gera, Princess Re ...

, 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 music, pop group ABBA, but came to international attention with his 1985 feature film ''My L ...

, who also 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. In the United States the single was released with the sides switched, " The Visitors" being the A-side. 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 "

Money, Money, Money "Money, Money, Money" is a song recorded by Swedish pop group ABBA, written by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus with Anni-Frid Lyngstad singing lead vocals. It was released on 1 November 1976, as the second single from the group's fourth stu ...

", six 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 SOS is a Morse code distress signal (), used internationally, originally established for maritime use. In formal notation SOS is written with an overscore line (), to indicate that the Morse code equivalents for the individual letters of "SOS" a ...

" in October 1975 to " One of Us" in December 1981). This 18-hit run had equalled that of

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

, 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. "Back in the U.S.S.R." is a song by the English rock band the Beatles. It is the opening track on their 1968 double album, ''The Beatles'' (also known as the "White Album"). Written by Paul McCartney and credited to the Lennon–McCartney part ...

". 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, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

which was directed by

. It is the group's only music video where the director makes an appearance; Hallström is the pedestrian whom 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