Head over Heels (ABBA song)

"Head Over Heels"
Single by ABBA
from the album The Visitors
B-side	"The Visitors"
Released	19 March 1982
Recorded	2 September 1981
Studio	Polar Music Studios
Genre	Pop, synthpop
Length	3:45
Label	Polar 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

"Head Over Heels" is a 1981 song recorded by Swedish pop group ABBA 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 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 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, ^[2] and the song has been choreographed for dance numbers. ^{[3] [4]}

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", six years earlier. ^[5] 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 equalled 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 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 which was directed by Lasse Hallström. 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

• Agnetha Fältskog – lead vocals
• Anni-Frid Lyngstad – backing vocals
• Björn Ulvaeus – guitar
• Benny Andersson – keyboards, synthesizer

Charts

Chart performance for "Head over Heels"

Chart (1982)	Peak position
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40) [6]	8
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders) [7]	3
Germany (GfK) [8]	19
Ireland (IRMA) [9]	14
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40) [10]	4
Netherlands (Single Top 100) [11]	1
UK Singles (OCC) [12]	25

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. "ABBA – Head over Heels" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 16 April 2020.
7. "ABBA – Head over Heels" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 16 April 2020.
8. "ABBA – Head over Heels" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 7 October 2021.
9. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – ABBA". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 7 October 2021.
10. "Nederlandse Top 40 – ABBA" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 16 April 2020.
11. "ABBA – Head over Heels" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
12. "ABBA: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 16 April 2020.