How an ABBA Chanteuse Piggybacked off Phil Collins’ Signature Sound for an Iconic 80s Hit

Stepping out from a band as big as ABBA required something bold to grab the public’s attention. Anni-Frid Lyngstad, aka Frida, clearly realized that when she made a 1982 solo move. That’s why she partnered with a guy who knew a little something about striking sounds.

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Phil Collins produced the album Something’s Going On for Frida in ‘82. And he contributed his distinctive drum sound to help set Frida’s single “I Know There’s Something Going On” apart from the competition.

ABBA’s Subtle Farewell

When you think of most major bands that eventually stop recording together, there’s usually a definitive breakup moment that signals the end. It could be one member leaving the group, or perhaps an announcement that the band has ceased to exist as a recording entity. Whatever it is, it lets fans know that there’s no hope, at least at the moment, for continuation.

That never really happened with ABBA. The Swedish quartet that dominated worldwide pop music in the 70s started to peter out as the 80s dawned. Both of the group’s married couples were breaking up at the time. Their long stretch together also left the individual members looking for new challenges. But they never announced a breakup.

As such, Frida’s 1982 solo album Something Going On, at the time, seemed like it was more of a side project. ABBA had released the album The Visitors in 1981, and were still actively recording singles now and then. No one knew at the time that they wouldn’t release another album for 40 years.

The “Going” Rate

The process by which Frida made the record essentially began when her daughter played a tape of some current songs she liked for her mother during a car trip. One of the songs that Frida heard was Phil Collins’ “In The Air Tonight”. Immediately, she knew that she wanted that kind of sound for her own music.

Collins agreed to produce the album with Hugh Padgham, his longtime collaborator. And the pair brought with them the gated-drum effect that was all over Collins’ Face Value album in 1981. Meanwhile, top writers of all stripes got in touch to offer their songs for the project.

Russ Ballard, formerly of Argent and already gaining traction at the time as one of rock’s most in-demand writers for hire, contributed the brooding “I Know There’s Something Going On”. The song was a worldwide hit and the biggest solo single of Frida’s career. It topped out at No. 17 on the US charts in 1982.

Behind the Lyrics of “I Know There’s Something Going On”

“I Know There’s Something Going On” features a narrator bravely facing the end of a relationship, even as the other party tries to go through the motions. “I can see that it won’t be long,” Frida opens. “You grow cold when you keep holding on.”

She begs him to recognize his figurative absence. “If you wanna leave, then why don’t you see?” she asks. “Your love is gone anyway.” In the final verse, she wonders why we won’t take the final step. “I know what you think and what’s in your mind,” she accuses. “So darling, look, why pretend?”

Frida couldn’t sustain the momentum of that album with her 1984 follow-up Shine, which didn’t even get released in the US. She recorded only sporadically from that point. But with Phil Collins’ help, she left behind a winning album and a piercing single before ceding the spotlight.

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