Lay All Your Love on Me

"Lay All Your Love on Me" is a song recorded by Swedish pop group ABBA for their seventh studio album, Super Trouper (1980). The song was not intended to be a single but after a remixed version gained popularity in nightclubs, it was released as the album's sixth and final single in the summer of 1981 by Polar Music, eight months after the album's release. At the time, it was the highest selling 12-inch record in UK chart history, where it peaked at No. 7. In the US, "Lay All Your Love on Me" reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart. In 2006, Slant Magazine ranked it No. 60 in their list of the greatest dance songs of all time,^[2] and No. 66 in the updated 2020 list.^[3]

"Lay All Your Love on Me"
Single by ABBA
from the album Super Trouper
B-side	"On and on and On"
Released	July 1981
Recorded	September–October 1980
Genre	Dance-pop[1]
Length	4:32
Label	Polar Music
Songwriter(s)	Benny Andersson Björn Ulvaeus
Producer(s)	Benny Andersson Björn Ulvaeus
ABBA singles chronology
"Andante, Andante" (1981) "Lay All Your Love on Me" (1981) "One of Us" (1981)
Lyric video
"ABBA - Lay All Your Love On Me (Official Lyric Video)" on YouTube

DiscoNet 12" extended remix 1981

Composition

"Lay All Your Love on Me" is an electro-disco song penned by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus, with Agnetha Fältskog singing lead. Recording began at Polar Music Studios in Stockholm on 9 September 1980, with the final mix of the song being completed on 10 October 1980. It is known for a descending vocal sound at the end of the verse immediately preceding the refrain. This was achieved by sending the vocal into a harmoniser device, which was set up to produce a slightly lower-pitched version of the vocal. In turn its output was fed back to its input, thereby continually lowering the pitch of the vocal. Andersson and Ulvaeus felt that the chorus of the song sounded like a hymn, so parts of the vocals in the choruses were run through a vocoder, to recreate the sound of a church congregation singing, slightly out of tune.^[4] The song was not originally intended to be released as a single, but was issued in 12-inch form in the UK and a few other countries in 1981. "Lay All Your Love on Me" has since been much covered and is also featured in the Mamma Mia! musical (and its film adaptation), that showcases many of ABBA's hits.

Music video

ABBA did not film a promotional video for "Lay All Your Love on Me", and so Epic hastily assembled a video (at a cost of £3,500) by using excerpts from the existing ABBA videos for "Take a Chance on Me", "Summer Night City", "The Name of the Game", "I Have a Dream", "Voulez-Vous" and "The Winner Takes It All". It was never shown on TV because Epic managers thought it "wasn't needed", but was included on the ABBA Gold VHS.^[5]

Chart performance

As "Lay All Your Love on Me" was not intended to be a single, it was not released until 1981, the year after it had been recorded. It was only after a remixed version by Raul A. Rodriguez^[6] - (aka C.O.D) of Disconet - had soared in popularity in nightclubs, that it topped the US Hot Dance Club Play chart (along with "Super Trouper" and "On and on and On").^[7] Therefore, the decision was made to release "Lay All Your Love on Me" in limited territories in 12-inch form, as opposed to the standard 7-inch record. It peaked at No. 7 in the UK, becoming ABBA's lowest charting single since "I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do" in 1975. However, reaching No. 7 in the charts was, at the time, the highest charting position achieved for a 12-inch only release in the UK. "Lay All Your Love on Me" also charted in Ireland (No. 8), Belgium (No. 13) and West Germany (No. 26).

As of September 2021, it is ABBA's 17th-biggest song in the UK, including both pure sales and digital streams.^[8]

Legacy

In 2006, Slant Magazine ranked "Lay All Your Love on Me" No. 60 in their list of the greatest dance songs of all time,^[9] and No. 66 in the updated 2020 list.^[10] In September 2024, Swedish national radio Sveriges Radio P3 ranked it among the world's 300 best songs.^[11]

Personnel

• Agnetha Fältskog – lead vocals
• Anni-Frid Lyngstad – backing vocals
• Benny Andersson – keyboards, synthesizers, backing vocals
• Björn Ulvaeus - guitar, backing vocals
• Lasse Wellander - guitar
• Rutger Gunnarsson – bass
• Ola Brunkert – drums

Charts

Chart (1981)	Peak position
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[12]	13
Ireland (IRMA)[13]	8
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[14]	68
UK Singles (OCC)[15]	7
US Dance Club Songs (Billboard)[16]	1
West Germany (GfK)[17]	26

Chart (2025)	Peak position
Netherlands (Single Tip)[18]	10

Release history

Region	Date	Title	Label	Format	Catalogue
Netherlands, West Germany	3 Jul 1981	"Lay All Your Love On Me" / "On And On And On"	Polydor	12-inch vinyl	2141 397
UK, Ireland	13 Jul 1981		Epic		EPC A 13 1456
France	1981		Vogue		310922
USA			Atlantic	12-inch vinyl, promo	DMD 259
Brazil			RCA Victor		100.8063
Japan		"Lay All Your Love On Me" / "Super Trouper"	Discomate		DSS-1008
		"Lay All Your Love On Me"		7-inch vinyl, promo, single-sided	DSS-11
Netherlands, West Germany	1988	"Lay All Your Love On Me" / "The Day Before You Came" / "Cassandra" / "Under Attack"	Polydor	CD	871 115-2
Europe	30 Oct 2020	"Lay All Your Love On Me" / "On And On And On"	Polar	7-inch vinyl, picture disc	0602508778643
	7 Feb 2025	"Lay All Your Love On Me" / "I’ve Been Waiting For You"		7-inch vinyl, shaped disc	00602475143727
Worldwide	14 Feb 2025	"Lay All Your Love On Me"		Streaming

Certifications

Original version

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[19]	Gold	45,000‡
Germany (BVMI)[20]	Gold	300,000‡
Italy (FIMI)[21] sales from 2009	Gold	50,000‡
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[22]	Gold	30,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI)[23]	Platinum	600,000‡
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Mamma Mia! version

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[24]	Gold	400,000‡
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Cover versions

Information Society version

"Lay All Your Love on Me"
Single by Information Society
from the album Information Society
Released	1989
Genre	Synth-pop dance electronica
Label	Tommy Boy
Songwriter(s)	Benny Andersson Björn Ulvaeus
Information Society singles chronology
"Repetition" (1989) "Lay All Your Love on Me" (1989) "Think" (1990)

"Lay All Your Love on Me" was covered by American synth-pop band Information Society on their 1988 self-titled debut album. The track peaked at No. 83 on the US Billboard Hot 100 in 1989. It was later included on the compilation ABBA: A Tribute – The 25th Anniversary Celebration.

Track listing

1. "Lay All Your Love on Me" (Justin Strauss Remix)
2. "Lay All Your Love on Me" (Restricted Re-mix)
3. "Lay All Your Love on Me" (Prohibited Dub)
4. "Lay All Your Love on Me" (Radio Hot Mix)
5. "Lay All Your Love on Me" (Phil Harding Metal Mega-Mix)
6. "Funky at 45"

Helloween version

"Lay All Your Love on Me"
Single by Helloween
from the album Metal Jukebox
Released	1999
Genre	Power metal
Length	11:08
Label	Victor Entertainment
Songwriter(s)	Benny Andersson Björn Ulvaeus
Helloween singles chronology
"Hey Lord!" (1998) "Lay All Your Love on Me" (1999) "If I Could Fly" (2000)

"Lay All Your Love on Me" was covered by Helloween from their Metal Jukebox album. It was released as a single in Japan.

Single track listing

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Lay All Your Love on Me" (ABBA cover)	4:38
2.	"From Out of Nowhere" (Faith No More cover)	3:21
3.	"All My Loving" (The Beatles cover)	1:44

Credits

• Andi Deris – vocals
• Roland Grapow – lead and rhythm guitars
• Michael Weikath – lead and rhythm guitars
• Markus Grosskopf – bass guitar
• Uli Kusch – drums

Avantasia version

Lost in Space (Part 1)
EP by Avantasia
Released	16 November 2007
Recorded	March 2007
Genre	Symphonic power metal
Length	17:53
Label	Nuclear Blast Records
Producer	Sascha Paeth & Tobias Sammet
Avantasia chronology
The Metal Opera Part II (2002) Lost in Space (Part 1) (2007) Lost in Space (Part II) (2007)

"Lay All Your Love on Me" was also covered by German supergroup metal opera project Avantasia on their Lost in Space Part I EP and was included on their compilation album Lost in Space Part I & II.

EP track listing

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Lost in Space"	3:52
2.	"Lay All Your Love on Me" (ABBA cover)	4:23
3.	"Another Angel Down"	5:42
4.	"The Story Ain't Over"	4:59
5.	"Return to Avantasia"	0:47
6.	"Ride the Sky" (Lucifer's Friend cover[25])	2:55

Credits

• Tobias Sammet - Lead vocals, bass
• Sascha Paeth - Rhythm & lead guitars
• Eric Singer - Drums, vocals (Track 6)
• Michael "Miro" Rodenberg - Keyboards/Orchestration

Guest vocalists

• Jørn Lande (Track 3)
• Bob Catley (Track 4)
• Amanda Somerville (Tracks 1, 4)

Guest musicians

• Henjo Richter - Additional lead guitars (Track 3)