Flashback Frida! The Making Of "Something Going On"!

The year was 1982.  ABBA, arguably the biggest pop group in the world, was feeling the pressure of unrealistic commercial expectations and inner-group turmoil brought about by the fact that the foursome built around two happily-married couples was now comprised of four divorcees.  Disillusioned with her lack of input into ABBA's creative process, Frida Lyngstad began work on her third solo album - her first to be sung in English.

After her daughter introduced her to Phil Collins' "In The Air Tonight", Frida would find herself listening to the corresponding album, Face Value, for eight months straight.  Seeing as how both she and Collins were going through painful divorces at the time, she felt a connection to the material and invited Collins to produce the album.  Despite apprehensions of being ill-prepared to produce another artist, Collins accepted and sessions began at Stockholm's Polar Studios in February 1982.



Of course, before sessions could begin, Frida and Collins waded through over 500 songs submitted by the likes of Bryan Ferry (Roxy Music, Rod Argent (The Zombies, Argent), Russ Ballard, and Stephen Bishop and came up with the best eleven songs to record.

With Frida being intent on updating her persona and move away from the "light pop" tag she'd been saddled with while in ABBA, the album's first single, "I Know There's Something Going On", accomplished just that with its angular guitar riffs and Collins' trademark gated drum track. Most importantly, the song gave Frida a chance to cut loose as a vocalist and she rose to the occasion.

The song, written by Russ Ballard, became a huge success around the world, selling over 3.5 million copies.  The album went on to sell over 1.5 million copies worldwide.