Portishead Covers ABBA' "SOS" for Charity

Alison Alber July 9th, 2021 - 12:00 AM

In 2016, the British band Portishead covered ABBA’s 1975 hit song “SOS” for the movie High Rise. Since then,` the song wasn’t available on any streaming platforms (except for a YouTube video), according to BrooklynVegan. The band has now teamed up with the streaming website SoundCloud and released the cover on their website. The website has a “Fan-powered” royalties concept that pays the artist royalties directly, rather than a shared pool system a la Spotify. Because of this concept, the band will get all the proceeds of the song. Portishead and SoundCloud decided all the proceeds of the “SOS” stream will go to the British mental health charity MIND.

ABBA originally released the single in 1975 and it was their second hit after their debut single “Waterloo.” The song is part of the band’s self-titled album ABBA.

In 2020, Portishead was covered quite a little bit too. First, Amanda Palmer and Rhiannon Giddens released a cover of “It’s A Fire” and then goth band Evanescence covered “Glory Box” during a live stream event.

Portishead · SOS

Compared to the original, the cover is a lot darker and heavier. The dark synthesizer gives the whole song a different feeling. The vocals are closer and slower. The song sounds almost like it could be part of a Stanley Kubrik movie, a la Clockwork Orange. The cover has a strong appeal because it is vastly different from the uplifting ’70s original. An SOS is appropriate because the audience can feel lost in the melody of the goth-like cover.

Photo Credit: Ray Flotat

Portishead Covers ABBA’ “SOS” for Charity