This band was formed in Stockholm in 1969 and played soft progressive pop. After performing on "Hylands Hörna", the most popular TV-show at the time, they signed with Mallwax, a subsidiary to Metronome. Håkan Bryngelson went on to become President of Vasakronan, one of the leading real estate companies in Sweden.
| 1971 | ■ | In A Vision / Matthew, Little Man (S) | Mallwax MAL5013 | ★★★★4 |
See also Compilations
Norwegian Esdor Jensen started out as a bass player in Tromsö band the DeCoys before relocating to Katrineholm, Sweden in 1969. There he met drummer Edmund "Charlie" Franzén (also of Norwegian origin), who was learning the sitar. They performed at both Gärdet Festivals in the summer of 1970 and are featured on the compilation album Festen på Gärdet. The Swedish-language songs on the first single are filled to the brim with acid-laden sitar, displaying their flair for psychedelic music. It was produced by Bo-Anders Larsson of Scorpion, who brought in guitarist Lasse Summanen in November 1970 to beef up the sound for Charlie & Esdors début LP. The album was never released and the tapes were subsequently lost. Only three tracks were saved for Grönt är skönt two years later. The title track was an unreleased single. The EP is more energetic than the début, with loads of fuzz guitars. Along with Summanen, they joined Larsson on his second Scorpion single and the quartet briefly played live as Scorpion. Charlie & Esdor also sang backing vocals on Envoys' 1971 hit "Almarna åt folket" and then joined Biueset but they both quit before Rock Machine was recorded. Charlie Franzen made a total change of musical direction in 1977, when he appeared in the lower regions of the UK chart as part of disco group Stardust. The surviving material by Charlie & Esdor was released on CD by Mellotronen in 2005.
| 1970 | ■ | Då klagar mina grannar / Dagen är över (S) | MNW S29 | ★★★★★★★★8 |
| 1972 | ■ | Grönt är skönt (EP) | MNW LP1M | ★★★★★★★★★9 |
See also Compilations
This Umeå band was formed in 1976 as My Stamp. The single features rock with political Swedish lyrics in the vein of Rikets Affärer. The Chuck Berry-style A-side was also included on the Vi har rätt till jobb compilation. Their last gig was as support for UK band Dr Feelgood in October 1980.
| 1979 | ■ | SUSB / Pyret (S) | CC Records CC001 | ★★2 |
This band was formed in Stockholm suburb Danderyd in 1966. Their only single features an impressive version of Jefferson Airplane's "Somebody To Love" on the B-side. Singer Leif Carlsson was later active on the 50's rock 'n' roll revival scene.
| 1968 | ■ | Love Me Two Times / Somebody To Love (S) | Decca F 44542 | ★★★★★★★7 |
Formed in Gothenburg in 1972 by Torbjörn Johansson as a 20-piece band they, were down to six members when they recorded this jazz-rock album for the local, musician owned, LIM label.
| 1976 | ■ | Vibrationer | UM LP7601 | ★★★★4 |
See Wikström, Rolf
See also Compilations
Initially known as Hårbandet, this band was formed at the Stockholm art school Konstfack in 1967. They then called themselves Grand Canyon and briefly featured female vocalist Ann Sofi Nilsson before becoming Contact the following year. The band's first psychedelic single was released at the end of 1969. Contact used Swedish-language lyrics on the second single "Jag är lite lessen ikväll". American Kim Fowley contributed some of the lyrics and produced Nobody Wants To Be Sixteen. The album displays several diverse musical styles, from soft folk-psych to country & western. The Fowley sessions also produced Scorpion's album as well as his own MNW solo album The Day The Earth Stood Still. Contact members contributed songs and playing to both albums. Hon kom över mon was released 1971 and sung entirely in Swedish. The music is more mature than before and the folk influences come to the fore with great use of violin. Skäggmanslaget, a traditional folk group, played on the classic title track, and the album won Contact a Swedish Grammis award. Later that year the band released Utmarker, which became the last album. It was released on Polydor and by now the band had become a full-fledged folk-rock band using traditional Swedish melodies and incorporating them into their own material. All of the singles contain non-album tracks. Lorne De Wolfe had previously been in 60's groups Tintacs and Ron Faust with Bo Anders Larsson of Scorpion. Together with Palmkvist they teamed up as Vargen, which later evolved into the successful 80's group Hansson de Wolfe United. Bosse Linné and Ali Lundbohm joined Growing Grass while Ted Ström joined Norrbottens Järn and later established himself as a renowned composer for film and TV.
| 1969 | ■ | A Fairy Tale / Convul'sions (S) | MNW 5S | ★★★★★5 |
| 1970 | ■ | Jag är lite ledsen ikväll / Hon kom över mon (S) | MNW 7S | ★★★3 |
| 1970 | ■ | Nobody Wants To Be Sixteen | MNW MNWL-3P | ★★★★★★6 |
| 1971 | ■ | Hon kom över mon | MNW 17P | ★★★★4 |
| 1971 | ■ | Fyrvaktarns dotter / Fly mig en sommar (S) | Polydor 2053-053 | ★★2 |
| 1971 | ■ | Utmarker | Polydor 2379023 | ★★★3 |
This political rock band came from twin cities Huskvarna and Jönköping and released a single with good guitar work and strong vocals. The band later became a straightforward rock band and released two more singles and an album.
| 1978 | ■ | Efter fern långa år / Tunnan (S) | Ljudfabriken Spartacus | ★★★★4 |
This trio from Norrköping and Linköping released one single full of fuzz leads, congas and acoustic guitars. Anders Weyde, who had previously been in 60's group Scarlet Ribbons, played drums on the record, but various drummers were used live. Cymbeline went to Europafilm's studio to record an album featuring Swedish lyrics, but it was never finished and the band broke up in 1972. Ulf Ryberg moved on to become a successful script writer for TV, including the acclaimed "Lasermannen" in 2005, while Michael Journath would eventually become publisher for the magazine Allt Om Vetenskap.
| 1971 | ■ | New York / Sixth Image (S) | Green Light 42S | ★★★★★5 |