Angeleyes

"Angeleyes" is a song written and recorded in 1979 by Swedish pop group ABBA. The lyrics and music were composed by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus, with the lyrics sung by both Agnetha Fältskog and Anni-Frid Lyngstad, typical of most ABBA compositions. In the lyrics, a woman is out walking when she sees her ex-boyfriend with his new girlfriend. The man apparently has strikingly beautiful, bewitching eyes- if you look into them, you become "hypnotised", in other words, fall madly in love with him- this happened to the narrator. The relationship is now over, and the woman worries that he will let his new girlfriend down in the same way as he let her down.

[edit] History

In the United Kingdom, "Angeleyes" was released as a double A-side with "Voulez-Vous". This was because Epic, ABBA's British record label, believed that with its classic ABBA arrangement, "Angeleyes" would be the song record buyers would want. "Voulez-Vous" received less radio airplay than "Angeleyes" in the UK. The popularity of "Angeleyes" is proven by its inclusion on Greatest Hits Vol. 2 which did not feature "Voulez-Vous." However, later official ABBA compilations The Singles: The First Ten Years and ABBA Gold included "Voulez-Vous" instead. This has distorted the facts somewhat, and has falsely created the impression that "Voulez-Vous" was the more popular track of the two in the UK during the original single's chart life. This was not the case.

"Angeleyes" was included in the official ABBA compilations More ABBA Gold: More ABBA Hits (1993) and The Definitive Collection (2001), as well as the 1994 four-CD boxed setThank You for the Music. However, the phenomenal success of the "Angeleyes"-less ABBA Gold in reaching a mass audience means that the track's UK single success is largely forgotten except in the UK where it is still regarded with fondness.

A planned version of "Angeleyes" in Spanish remains unrecorded.

Unlike "Lay All Your Love On Me" in 1981 (which used clips from older videos), Epic did not make a promotional video for the track. As ABBA had filmed one for "Voulez-Vous" it was this that was used on television shows such as Top of the Pops.

The "Angeleyes/Voulez-Vous" single was the first in the UK to feature a picture sleeve. All of Epic's previous ABBA single releases were issued in plain company sleeves, which were yellow until 1976 when they changed to orange during a revision of Epic's label design. For this single, Epic used a photograph of ABBA that had already been used elsewhere for the "Chiquitita" single earlier in 1979. The single was also issued in several different colours of vinyl, and marked a change in Epic's presentation of their then most profitable act. Some of their future singles would be issued in either a gatefold sleeve, picture disc, or a 12-inch "pop-up" gatefold sleeve. However, the plain orange company sleeve was not yet history, as the next single "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)" reverted to this for one last time.

[edit] Reception

The double A-side managed to reach No.3 on the UK charts. At the same time, the group Roxy Music released a song (with a different tune and lyrics) also called "Angel Eyes", which charted slightly lower. There is no evidence though, that the similar titles may have caused confusion among record buyers.

At the time of the single's release, however, other publications provided single's charts alongside the official chart produced by Music Week for the BBC, New Musical Express and Melody Maker being two examples of publications with their own charts. There were often differences between these charts, but rarely more than a place or two. The double A-side single "Angeleyes" and "Voulez-Vous" caused controversy by reaching No.3 in the Music Week/BBC chart, when it rose no higher than No.9 on any other chart and generally missed the Top 10 completely in the majority of the charts produced. BBC Radio 1 acknowledged that there was a discrepancy on air. If there was anything untoward, it was ignored and the No.3 ranking with Music Week/BBC was never disqualified.

[edit] Cover versions, appearances in other media etc.

The song has been covered as a dance version by British tribute group Abbacadabra in the late 1990s (released through label Almighty Records).

German eurodance group E-Rotic covered the song for their ABBA tribute album Thank You For The Music.

American alternative rock band The Czars covered the song on their 2006 album Sorry I Made You Cry.

v • d • e ABBA

Agnetha Fältskog • Björn Ulvaeus • Benny Andersson • Anni-Frid Lyngstad

Studio albums	Ring Ring • Waterloo • ABBA • Arrival • The Album • Voulez-Vous • Super Trouper • The Visitors

Compilations	Greatest Hits • Greatest Hits Vol. 2 • Gracias Por La Música • The Singles: The First Ten Years • ABBA Gold: Greatest Hits • More ABBA Gold: More ABBA Hits • ABBA Oro: Grandes Éxitos • Thank You for the Music • The Definitive Collection • The Complete Studio Recordings • Number Ones

Hit singles	"People Need Love" • "He Is Your Brother" • "Ring Ring" • "Love Isn't Easy (But It Sure Is Hard Enough)" • "Waterloo" • "Honey, Honey" • "So Long" • "I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do" • "SOS" • "Mamma Mia" • "Fernando" • "Dancing Queen" • "Money, Money, Money" • "Knowing Me, Knowing You" • "The Name of the Game" • "Take a Chance on Me" • "Eagle" • "Summer Night City" • "Chiquitita" • "Does Your Mother Know" • "Voulez-Vous" • "Angeleyes" • "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)" • "I Have a Dream" • "The Winner Takes It All" • "On and On and On" • "Super Trouper" • "Lay All Your Love on Me" • "One of Us" • "When All is Said and Done" • "Head over Heels" • "The Visitors" • "The Day Before You Came" • "Under Attack" • "Thank You for the Music"

Related articles	Discography • Unreleased songs • Eurovision Song Contest 1974 • Mamma Mia! (musical) • Mamma Mia! (film) • Congratulations • Music of Sweden • Stig Anderson • "Thank ABBA for the Music"