People Need Love

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"People Need Love"
"People Need Love" cover
Single by ABBA
from the album Ring Ring
B-side(s) Merry Go Round
Released June 1, 1972
Format 7" single
Genre Europop, Pop
Length 2:45
Label Polar Music
Writer(s) Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus
Producer(s) Michael Tretow
Chart positions
ABBA singles chronology
People Need Love
(1972)
He Is Your Brother
(1972)

"People Need Love" was the first single released by the Swedish pop quartet "Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Anni-Frid," which would eventually become the group ABBA, on June 1, 1972, which was eventually included on their first album, Ring Ring from 1973.

The song, as all ABBA songs were, was written by the two male band members, Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus. It was produced by Michael Tretow who aimed to create a Phil Spector-like wall of sound on the recording.

Although not a memorable ABBA song, as their debut album did not bring them to global attention, it follows some standards of ABBA's style. The ballad is about what people can give each other to make their lives easier and to create a better world.

The basic aim of the "People Need Love" single was not to promote the quartet, since all four individuals all had other commitments and did not have time for a permanent group at the time (an example of this is the crediting; the single in most of the territories is credited to "Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Anni-Frid"), but to promote the Björn & Benny duo, which was the singing and songwriting partnership of the two men. The women were simply guesting on the new Björn & Benny single. But the positive audience reaction was unexpected.

"People Need Love" made the top twenty of the combined Swedish singles & albums chart, and hit number three on the popular Swedish radio chart show, Tio i topp (The Top Ten), but the single failed to gain a foothold outside Scandinavia. Interestingly, it was the foursome's first charting record in the US where it peaked at No.114 on the Cashbox singles chart and No.117 on Record World singles chart which was impressive for unknown Swedish artists in America at the time. The Playboy Records US release was credited to Bjorn & Benny (with Svenska Flicka) and according to ABBA's manager Stig Anderson could have been a much bigger US hit, if not for the limited distribution resources of the label that was unable to meet the demand from retailers and radio programmers.

At the time of the single's release, the Ring Ring album had not been planned, since there was no intention to form a permanent group. In spite of this, some people have incorrectly assumed that "People Need Love" is the lead single from Ring Ring, even though it is not.

Chart (1972) Position
Cashbox Singles Chart - USA 114
Record World Singles Chart - USA 117
Swedish Combined Singles/Albums Chart 17
Tio i Topp 3
Costa Rica Singles Chart 10


ABBA
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Björn Ulvaeus - Benny Andersson - Agnetha Fältskog - Anni-Frid Lyngstad
Discography
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 - Thank You For The Music - ABBA Oro: Grandes Éxitos - The Definitive Collection - Number Ones - The Complete Studio Recordings
Hit-Singles: "People Need Love" - "He Is Your Brother" - "Ring Ring" - "Love Isn't Easy (But It Sure Is Hard Enough)" - "Waterloo" - "Hasta Mañana" - "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" - "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)" - "I Have a Dream" - "The Winner Takes It All" - "Super Trouper" - "Lay All Your Love on Me" - "One of Us" - "When All Is Said And Done" - "Head over Heels" - "The Day Before You Came" - "Under Attack" - "Thank You for the Music"
Related articles
Unreleased songs - Eurovision Song Contest 1974 - Congratulations - Music of Sweden
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