| "The Visitors" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Single byABBA | ||||
| from the albumThe Visitors | ||||
| B-side | "Head Over Heels" | |||
| Released | 5 April 1982 (1982-04-05)[1] | |||
| Recorded | 22 October 1981 | |||
| Studio | Polar Studios (Stockholm, Sweden) | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 5:49 | |||
| Label | ||||
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| ABBA singles chronology | ||||
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| Audio video | ||||
| "The Visitors" onYouTube | ||||
"The Visitors" (working title "Den första", meaning "The first"), is a song by the Swedish recording groupABBA. It serves as the opening track to theireighth studio album of the same name.Anni-Frid Lyngstad provided the lead vocals to the track. In the inner sleeve of the album, the track is listed as"The Visitors (Crackin' Up)". It was released as the album's fourth and final single on 5 April 1982, only in North America viaAtlantic Records. Internationally, the sides were switched, with "Head over Heels" serving as the A-side, and overall third single. "The Visitors" is anew waveprotest song against the persecution ofpolitical dissidents in the Soviet Union, which ended up getting the album banned from the country.
Due to no promotion, "The Visitors" only achieved minor success in the United States, peaking at number 63 on theBillboard Hot 100. Many critics have retrospectively have come to name the song as one of the group's finest.
The official stated theme is a protest against the persecution ofpolitical dissidents in the Soviet Union at the time, as ABBA seemed to put political issues into their lyrics in the final days of the group.[4]Björn Ulvaeus has stated that at the time of release he preferred that the song should have a sense of mystery so did not explain the exact meaning.[5]
In 1982, the albumThe Visitors was banned in the Soviet Union,[6] possibly due to the band allowing a video of "When All Is Said and Done" to be shown in theUnited States Information Agency television special,Let Poland Be Poland, along with a spoken message from Ulvaeus andBenny Andersson,[7] broadcast via satellite around the world on 31 January 1982. The show, which also featuredFrank Sinatra,Paul McCartney,Orson Welles,Henry Fonda,Margaret Thatcher, andRonald Reagan, was a public protest against the then-recentimposition of martial law in Poland.[8]
However, ABBA's segment was not included in the broadcast. The official reason given was time constraints. Howeaver, in a Rapport interview, Ulvaeus mentioned that their message referenced human rights issues in US-backed dictatorships such asEl Salvador andChile.[9] This has led to speculation that political considerations might have influenced the decision to exclude the segment, although this remains unconfirmed.
"The Visitors" was released as the album's second (and final) single in the US instead of "Head over Heels," which remained as theB-side.
The single peaked just outside the Top 60 at No. 63 on thesingles chart in the U.S., and a double A-sided "The Visitors/When All Is Said and Done" 12" single reached No. 8 on theBillboarddance chart. The song was also remixed by Greg Silva subscription DJ remix service, Hot Tracks, into a much longer version that brought additional club play. This was the single most-requested remix by Hot Tracks, and was featured in Volume One ofThe Best of Hot Tracks.[10]AllMusic reviewer Bruce Eder retrospectively described the song as "a topical song about Soviet dissidents that also manages to be very catchy."[11]
| Chart (1982) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| USBillboard Hot 100[12] | 63 |
| USCash Box Top 100[13] | 81 |
...right up to this lost classic of Eighties creep-wave synth-pop paranoia. "The Visitors" is six minutes of frigid-pink electro-jitters...
The music [on "The Visitors"] lurches between seasick synth-pop and nervous disco flourishes...
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