"I See Red" is a song written by

Gerry Rafferty Gerald Rafferty (16 April 1947– 4 January 2011) was a Scottish singer, songwriter, musician and record producer. He was a founding member of Stealers Wheel, whose biggest hit was "Stuck in the Middle with You" in 1973. His solo hits in the ...

's brother, Jim Rafferty. "I See Red" was first recorded 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 ...

of ABBA, under the name "Frida" for her first English-language studio album, ''

Something's Going On ''Something's Going On'' is the third solo album by Swedish singer Anni-Frid Lyngstad (Frida), one of the founding members of the Swedish pop group ABBA and her first album recorded entirely in English. Her previous two albums had been recorded i ...

''. Lyngstad's version wasn't released as a single aside from South Africa where it didn't chart, although subsequent cover versions by other artists such as the Irish folk group,

Clannad Clannad () were an Irish band formed in 1970 in Gweedore, County Donegal, by siblings , and (Moya) (in English, Brennan) and their twin uncles Noel and (Duggan). They have adopted various musical styles throughout their history. Beginn ...

, included on their album, ''

Magical Ring A magic ring is a mythical, folkloric or fictional piece of jewelry, usually a finger ring, that is purported to have supernatural properties or powers. It appears frequently in fantasy and fairy tales. Magic rings are found in the folklore of ...

'', resulted in a moderate success. Clannad's version was the follow-up single to their breakthrough hit "

Theme from Harry's Game "Theme from ''Harry's Game''" is a 1982 song by Clannad commissioned as the theme for '' Harry's Game'', a Yorkshire Television miniseries adapted from a 1975 novel set in the Troubles in Northern Ireland. It was released as a single in Octobe ...

". Gerry Rafferty himself also recorded a version on his 1992 album, ''

On a Wing and a Prayer ''On a Wing & a Prayer'' is the seventh studio album by Gerry Rafferty. The album includes three tracks co-written with Rafferty’s brother Jim, also a singer-songwriter, who had been signed to Decca Records in the 1970s. The music was heavily ...

''.

Anni-Frid Lyngstad's version

This song was released as a single in South Africa in December 1982, where 4 months earlier, Frida's hit single "

I Know There's Something Going On "I Know There's Something Going On" is a song by the Swedish singer and ABBA member Anni-Frid "Frida" Lyngstad, released on 6 August 1982 as her debut English-language single. It was the lead single to her third studio album and her first in the ...

" was released in the same territory. The single was coupled with "I Got Something", written by

Tomas Ledin Tomas Folke Jonas Ledin (; born 25 February 1952) is a Swedish singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. He grew up in the town of Sandviken, Sweden and has sold 3 million records. Career Tomas Ledin started his career in 1972 when ...

. In the sales-based charts, Lyngstad's version did not fare well. However, on the 702 Radio Top 20 charts, "I See Red" rose up to #15 in South Africa.

Music video

Alongside with "I Know There's Something Going On", "To Turn The Stone" and "Here We'll Stay", "I See Red" had a music video directed to promote her album ''Something's Going On''. The promotional video features Lyngstad lip-syncing to a montage between pinball machines, a group of acrobats dancing, and balls in a contemporary-styled stage. Stuart Orme directed the music video for Lyngstad's version.

Track listing

7" Vinyl # "I See Red" – 4:32 # "I Got Something" – 4:05

Clannad version

In February 1983,

released the song as a single which later appeared on their album ''

''. Clannad's version charted at No. 81 in the UK Charts.

Other cover versions

In 1983 the song was covered by Estonian singer Velly Joonas under the title "Stopp, seisku aeg" ("Stop The Time"). It was not until it was released in 2015 as a single, gaining a surprise global cult popularity. In 1992,

covered "I See Red" for his album, ''

''.

References

Anni-Frid Lyngstad songs Clannad songs 1983 singles 1982 songs Polar Music singles RCA Records singles Song recordings produced by Phil Collins {{1980s-song-stub