Frida – I Know There’s Something Going On
#quotefromthe80s
I call, you're not at home
You're home, but you're not alone
If you wanna leave then why don't you say it
Your love has gone anyway
#Frida #IKnowTheresSomethingGoingOn
In Summer 1982, a drama was unfolding that would tear apart an entire generation. The generation of European teenagers in the 70s had grown up with the myths of rock and the first American and English pop, and with some icons of an era of great change, In Europe perhaps the strongest of these symbols was represented by Abba, still famous and worshipped group, who in those days were working on their last album, which actually was not so successful.
I don’t know if Abba knew it was the last one, they probably imagined it, because things were getting worse: Bjorn had divorced Agnetha, and Benny had divorced Frida, which certainly makes us understand how the harmony of the group was at its lowest.
And so, while still working to get this latest album out, everyone had thoughts and plans for the future. And the one with the clearest ideas was Frida, who was determined to pursue a solo career that would allow her to continue the success she had with Abba, but without the constraints and the solar image of the group.
After all, she had always been a very strong and active woman, and she had a very complicated life behind her. Grown up without parents and becoming independent very early, with two divorces behind her and a career that was coming to an end at the age of 36, the beautiful and sensual Frida had already chosen her collaborators to launch her new career, and prepared a launch single that would really enter the history of the 80s. She really made a good choice, and his collaborators now had the record ready for the release on Aug 20, 1982!
Tough stuff: written by Russ Ballard (who had just written “You can do magic” for America, and two years later would become even more famous with “Voices”), and produced by the great Phil Collins, who also played drums, recognisable by the unmistakable touch and the technique of “gated reverb”. In short, Frida knew how to go for success and above all how to choose her collaborators!
This song is about betrayal and the end of a relationship, an argument that both Frida and Phil Collins had gone through, as we have seen for example in “In the air tonight“. I wonder if it was even a way of telling Abba that their story was over too: Frida knew well, that something was going on!!
In any case, “I know there’s something going on” really remains one of the great unforgettable pieces of the 80s!
Frida on Wikipedia
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