"Lay All Your Love on Me" | ||||
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Single by ABBA | ||||
from the album Super Trouper | ||||
B-side | "On and on and On" | |||
Released | July 1981 | |||
Recorded | September–October 1980 | |||
Genre | Dance, disco | |||
Length | 4:32 | |||
Label | Polar Music | |||
Songwriter(s) | ||||
Producer(s) |
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ABBA singles chronology | ||||
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Lyric video | ||||
"ABBA - Lay All Your Love On Me (Official Lyric Video)" on YouTube |
"Lay All Your Love on Me" is a song recorded by Swedish pop group ABBA in 1980 for their seventh studio album, Super Trouper . The song was not intended to be a single but after a remixed version gained popularity in nightclubs, the song was released as the album's sixth and final single in the summer of 1981, eight months after the album's release. At the time, it was the highest selling 12-inch record in UK chart history, where it peaked at No. 7.
In 2006, Slant Magazine placed it at No. 60 on their list of the greatest dance songs of all time, [1] and at 66 on the updated 2020 list. [2]
"Lay All Your Love on Me" is an electro-disco song penned by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus, with Agnetha Fältskog singing lead. Recording began at Polar Music Studios in Stockholm on 9 September 1980, with the final mix of the song being completed on 10 October 1980.
"Lay All Your Love on Me" is known for a descending vocal sound at the end of the verse immediately preceding the refrain. This was achieved by sending the vocal into a harmoniser device, which was set up to produce a slightly lower-pitched version of the vocal. In turn its output was fed back to its input, thereby continually lowering the pitch of the vocal. Andersson and Ulvaeus felt that the chorus of the song sounded like a hymn, so parts of the vocals in the choruses were run through a vocoder, to recreate the sound of a church congregation singing, slightly out of tune. [3] The song was not originally intended to be released as a single, but was issued in 12-inch form in the UK and a few other countries in 1981. "Lay All Your Love on Me" has since been much covered and is also featured in the Mamma Mia! musical (and its film adaptation), that showcases many of ABBA's hits.
ABBA did not film a promotional video for "Lay All Your Love on Me", and so Epic hastily assembled a video (at a cost of £3,500) by using excerpts from the existing ABBA videos for "Take a Chance on Me", "Summer Night City", "The Name of the Game", "I Have a Dream", "Voulez-Vous" and "The Winner Takes It All". It was never shown on TV because Epic managers thought it "wasn't needed", but was included on the ABBA Gold VHS. [4]
As "Lay All Your Love on Me" was not intended to be a single, it was not released until 1981, the year after it had been recorded. It was only after a remixed version by Raul A. Rodriguez [5] - (aka C.O.D) of Disconet - had soared in popularity in nightclubs, that it topped the U.S. Hot Dance Club Play chart (along with "Super Trouper" and "On and on and On"). [6] Therefore, the decision was made to release "Lay All Your Love on Me" in limited territories in 12-inch form, as opposed to the standard 7-inch record. It peaked at No. 7 in the UK, becoming ABBA's lowest charting single since "I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do" in 1975. However, reaching No. 7 in the charts was, at the time, the highest charting position achieved for a 12-inch only release in the UK. "Lay All Your Love on Me" also charted in Ireland (No. 8), Belgium (No. 13) and West Germany (No. 26).
As of September 2021, it is ABBA's 17th-biggest song in the UK, including both pure sales and digital streams. [7]
Chart (1981) | Peak position |
---|---|
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders) [8] | 13 |
Ireland (IRMA) [9] | 8 |
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan) [10] | 68 |
UK Singles (OCC) [11] | 7 |
US Dance Club Songs ( Billboard ) [12] | 1 |
West Germany (Official German Charts) [13] | 26 |
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Denmark (IFPI Danmark) [14] | Gold | 45,000‡ |
Spain (PROMUSICAE) [15] | Gold | 30,000‡ |
United Kingdom (BPI) [16] | Platinum | 600,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. |
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
United Kingdom (BPI) [17] | Gold | 400,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. |
"Lay All Your Love on Me" | ||||
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Single by Information Society | ||||
from the album Information Society | ||||
Released | 1989 | |||
Genre | Synth-pop, dance, electronica | |||
Label | Tommy Boy | |||
Songwriter(s) | Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus | |||
Information Society singles chronology | ||||
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"Lay All Your Love on Me" was covered by American synth-pop band Information Society on their 1988 self-titled debut album. The track peaked at No. 83 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1989. It was later included on the compilation ABBA: A Tribute – The 25th Anniversary Celebration.
Track listing
"Lay All Your Love on Me" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by Helloween | ||||
from the album Metal Jukebox | ||||
Released | 1999 | |||
Genre | Power metal | |||
Length | 11:08 | |||
Label | Victor Entertainment | |||
Songwriter(s) | Benny Andersson Björn Ulvaeus | |||
Helloween singles chronology | ||||
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"Lay All Your Love on Me" was covered by Helloween from their Metal Jukebox album. It was released as a single in Japan.
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Lay All Your Love on Me" (ABBA cover) | 4:38 |
2. | "From Out of Nowhere" (Faith No More cover) | 3:21 |
3. | "All my loving" (The Beatles cover) | 1:44 |
Lost in Space (Part 1) | ||||
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EP by | ||||
Released | 16 November 2007 | |||
Recorded | March 2007 | |||
Genre | Symphonic power metal | |||
Length | 17:53 | |||
Label | Nuclear Blast Records | |||
Producer | Sascha Paeth & Tobias Sammet | |||
Avantasia chronology | ||||
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"Lay All Your Love on Me" was also covered by German supergroup metal opera project Avantasia on their Lost in Space Part I EP and was included on their compilation album Lost in Space Part I & II.
EP track listing
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Lost in Space" | 3:52 |
2. | "Lay All Your Love on Me" (ABBA cover) | 4:23 |
3. | "Another Angel Down" | 5:42 |
4. | "The Story Ain't Over" | 4:59 |
5. | "Return to Avantasia" | 0:47 |
6. | "Ride the Sky" (Lucifer's Friend cover [18] ) | 2:55 |
Credits
Guest vocalists
Guest musicians
ABBA are a Swedish pop supergroup formed in Stockholm in 1972 by Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. The group's name is an acronym of the first letters of their first names arranged as a palindrome. They are one of the most popular and successful musical groups of all time, and are one of the best-selling music acts in the history of popular music.
Super Trouper is the seventh studio album by the Swedish pop group ABBA, released on 3 November 1980. It features the No.1 singles "The Winner Takes It All" and "Super Trouper". The album became the biggest-selling album of 1980 in the UK.
Agneta Åse Fältskog, known as Agnetha Fältskog and AnnaFältskog, is a Swedish singer, songwriter and a member of the pop group ABBA. She first achieved success in Sweden with the release of her 1968 self-titled debut album. She rose to international stardom in the 1970s as a member of ABBA, which is one of the best-selling music acts in history. She is the youngest member of ABBA, and the only one born in the 1950s.
Ring Ring is the debut studio album by the Swedish group ABBA, initially credited as Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Frida. It was released in Scandinavia on 26 March 1973, and later in a limited number of other territories, including West Germany, Australia, South Africa and Mexico, through Polar Music. It was a chart-topping album in Belgium, and a big success in the Netherlands, Norway and South Africa.
Arrival is the fourth studio album by the Swedish pop group ABBA. It was originally released in Sweden on 11 October 1976 by Polar Records. It became one of ABBA's most successful albums to date, producing three of their biggest hits: "Dancing Queen", "Money, Money, Money" and "Knowing Me, Knowing You". The track "Fernando", which had been recently released as a single in March 1976, was included on the Australian and New Zealand versions of the album. Arrival was the best-selling album of 1977 in the United Kingdom and was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America.
Voulez-Vous is the sixth studio album by the Swedish supergroup ABBA. Released on 23 April 1979, the album yielded five hits, all of them big 1979 singles in Britain – "Chiquitita", "Does Your Mother Know", "I Have a Dream" and the double A-side "Voulez-Vous"/"Angeleyes". The title track showed the group embracing disco music, which at the time was at its peak. The album topped the charts in a number of countries and ranked among Britain's five best-selling albums of the year.
"Super Trouper" is a song by the Swedish pop group ABBA, and the title track from their 1980 studio album of the same name, written by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus. It was released in November 1980 as the album's third single. The song – with lead vocals by Anni-Frid Lyngstad – had the working title "Blinka Lilla Stjärna", and was the last track to be written and recorded for the album.
Elva kvinnor i ett hus is the fifth studio album by Swedish pop singer Agnetha Fältskog, released on 1 December 1975 by Cupol Records.
The Singles: The First Ten Years is a double compilation album by Swedish pop group ABBA, released in November 1982.
"One of Us" is a song by Swedish pop group ABBA. It was released in December 1981 by Polar Music as the lead single from the band's eighth studio album, The Visitors (1981). Written by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus, who also produced it, the song has lead vocals by Agnetha Fältskog and is about a woman trying to revive a relationship she had ended. It would become ABBA's last major hit for 40 years, and the last No. 1 single of their career, topping the charts in Belgium, Denmark, West Germany, Ireland and the Netherlands. "One of Us" was also a top-10 hit in countries like Austria, Norway, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland and the UK. In the US, where it was released in 1983, it only charted on the Billboard Bubbling Under the Hot 100 chart and the Adult Contemporary chart, peaking at number 107 and 33, respectively. The music video for the song was directed by Lasse Hallström, featuring Fältskog as a woman moving into her new house. "One of Us" has since been covered by Pandora in 1995, A-Teens in 1999 and Cher in 2018.
"The Winner Takes It All" is a song recorded by Swedish pop group ABBA. Released as the first single from the group's seventh studio album, Super Trouper (1980), it is a ballad in the key of G-flat major, reflecting on the end of a relationship. The single's B-side was the non-album track "Elaine". The song peaked at No.1 in several countries, including the UK, where it became their eighth chart-topper. It was also the group's final top 10 hit in the United States. It was written by Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson, with Agnetha Fältskog singing the lead vocal.
"Head Over Heels" is a 1981 song recorded by Swedish pop group ABBA and the third track from their eighth studio album, The Visitors. It was released as a single the following year.
ABBA Oro: Grandes Éxitos is a greatest hits compilation album by ABBA, first released by Polydor in the United States in 1992, in which the songs are sung in Spanish. This album is the Spanish equivalent of their Gold: Greatest Hits album. The included songs were originally released on Gracias Por La Música in early 1980. It was certified Gold in Argentina.
"On and On and On" is a pop song recorded by Swedish pop group ABBA. It was released as a single in a limited number of countries in 1980 as the second single from their seventh studio album, Super Trouper.
Number Ones is a compilation album of recordings by Swedish pop group ABBA, released by Polar Music in 2006.
Ted is the second studio album from Swedish singer/songwriter Ted Gärdestad, released in 1973 through Polar Music. It contains the hits "Jag Ska Fånga En Ängel", "Sol, Vind Och Vatten", "Come Give Me Love" as well as his 1973 Melodifestivalen entry "Oh Vilken Härlig Da'". The album was produced by Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus and Ted, engineered by Michael B. Tretow and features backing vocals by Agnetha Fältskog and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. The CD version of the album was released in 1991.
"My Love, My Life" is a song recorded by ABBA for their album, Arrival. The song was written by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus.
Lycka is a 1970 album released by folk/rock duo Björn Ulvaeus & Benny Andersson, who later became the male half of ABBA. Most of the songs feature lead vocals by Björn. The songs show the influence of Brian Wilson, "Ticket to Ride"-era Beatles and traditional Swedish folk music.
A is the fifth English-language studio album by Swedish singer Agnetha Fältskog, a member of the group ABBA. It is her twelfth studio album overall.
Live at Wembley Arena is an album of live recordings by Swedish pop group ABBA, released by Polar Music on 26 September 2014, on 2 CD, 3 LP and digital format.