Frida – I See Red

11th January 2025 · 1980s, 1982, Music

Frida is the brunette from ABBA and I See Red is a song from her solo album back in 1982, produced by Phil Collins.

How come I never heard this before? It’s a breezy slice of reggae-lite with a gently funky undercurrent and a killer bassline that came on as I was leaving a restaurant last night.

The singer, Frida, is none other than Anni-Frid Lyngstad, the brunette from ABBA (always my favourite), and the drummer – and producer – is a certain Phil Collins.

The song, I now discover, was written by Gerry Rafferty’s brother Jim Rafferty and came out as a track on Frida’s first solo album back in 1982.

It wasn’t a single except in South Africa (where it flopped) but was covered by Clannad and released as a follow-up to their hit single Theme From Harry’s Game (where it flopped again), and finally appeared on a 1992 album by Jim’s famous brother Gerry Rafferty.

And, according to Wikipedia, Estonian singer Velly Joonas under the title Stopp, Seisku Aeg (Stop The Time) gained “surprise global cult popularity” in 2015 with a cover version recorded in 1983 (see below).

A prize if anyone can interpret a meaning behind Stuart Orme’s music video, featuring Frida lip-syncing to a montage between pinball machines, a group of acrobats dancing, and balls in a contemporary-styled stage.

It’s all very Eighties – and I love it.