Ebba Grön was a Swedish punk band formed in

Stockholm Stockholm () is the capital and largest city of Sweden as well as the largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people live in the municipality, with 1.6 million in the urban area, and 2.4 million in the metropo ...

, Sweden, in 1977. Ebba Grön consisted of

Joakim Thåström Sven Joakim Eriksson Thåström (born 20 March 1957), better known as Thåström, is a Swedish singer and songwriter, mostly known for the bands Ebba Grön and Imperiet. He has moved between a number of genres, from punk to rock, industrial and ...

(lead vocals, guitar), Gunnar Ljungstedt (drums) and Lennart Eriksson (bass guitar, backing vocals). Thåström, Ljungstedt and Eriksson were also known as Pimme, Gurra and Fjodor. After the release of their second album in 1981, they were joined by a fourth member, Anders Sjöholm, also known as Stry Terrarie, on keyboard. The group disbanded in 1983. One of the most famous songs they recorded is a cover version of "Den ena handen vet vad den andra gör" by the Swedish

progg Progg was a left-wing and anti-commercial musical movement in Sweden that began in the late 1960s and became more widespread in the 1970s. Not to be confused with the English expressions " progressive music" or "prog rock," progg is a contract ...

band, '' Blå Tåget''. Renamed "Staten och kapitalet", the song expresses an

anti-capitalist Anti-capitalism is a political ideology and movement encompassing a variety of attitudes and ideas that oppose capitalism. In this sense, anti-capitalists are those who wish to replace capitalism with another type of economic system, such as so ...

sentiment about how the state (''staten'') and the capitalist owned corporations (''kapitalet'') control and enslave the working classes.

History

During a December 1977 party in Rågsved, a working-class suburb of

, Thåström, Gurra, and Fjodor formed a band called ''The Haters''. A few days later they changed the name to Ebba Grön after the codeword used by the police in Operation Leo. One of the first songs performed by Ebba Grön was the controversial ''Skjut en snut'' (Shoot a cop), which was never officially recorded. They released their first single ''Antirock'' on April 21, 1978. The band bought all the 500 copies themselves and sold them in the streets. After a concert at Långholmsparken, which was recorded by the national radio, they were contacted by the Mistlur record label and offered a contract and to re-release the single. Ebba Grön started a hectic period of touring all over Sweden, during which they also released two more singles. In 1978, the time had come for their album debut ''

We're Only In It For The Drugs ''We're Only in It for the Drugs'' is the debut album by the Swedish punk rock band Ebba Grön's, first released in November 1979. Most of the songs were recorded in September and October 1979 with Mistlurs mobile 8-channel mixer table in a clos ...

'', with songs about the tough, yet boring, lives of young people in working-class suburbs. The

anarchist Anarchism is a political philosophy and movement that is skeptical of all justifications for authority and seeks to abolish the institutions it claims maintain unnecessary coercion and hierarchy, typically including, though not necessar ...

lyrics were very controversial at the time, and the lyrics of ''Beväpna er'' (Arm yourselves)—about taking up arms against the government, the

bourgeoisie The bourgeoisie ( , ) is a social class, equivalent to the middle or upper middle class. They are distinguished from, and traditionally contrasted with, the proletariat by their affluence, and their great cultural and financial capital. Th ...

, and the Swedish royal family—could not be printed on the cover. The band also started to get a reputation for troublesome gigs with vandalism and fights. At one gig the band was attacked by Neo-Nazis; Fjodor used his bass to fight them off. Ebba Grön also covered "

White Riot "White Riot" is a song by English punk rock band the Clash, released as the band's first single in March 1977 and also included on their self-titled debut album. Versions There are two versions of the song: the single version (also appearin ...

" by

The Clash The Clash were an English rock band formed in London in 1976 who were key players in the original wave of British punk rock. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they also contributed to the and new wave movements that emerged in the w ...

and " Born to Be Wild" by Steppenwolf (which also was recorded in studio) at some of their gigs. In 1980, Ebba Grön released a single that would become their most famous song, a cover of Blå Tåget's ''Den ena handen vet vad den andra gör'' (The One Hand Knows What the Other One is Doing), renamed ''Staten och kapitalet'' (The State and the Capital), with

political lyrics. Their second album '' Kärlek & Uppror'' (Love and Rebellion) was released the next year, with the focus of the music shifting slightly away from punk. The catchy melodies and Ebba Grön's image as young rebels appealed to both the punk crowd and a wider audience, making the album a big success. Later that same year the keyboard player Stry was recruited and brought with him new influences. The single ''Scheisse'' was released in 1981 parallel with this: Thåström, Gurra, and Stry released a single with the new project ''Rymdimperiet'' (The Space Empire), which would later become

Imperiet was a Sweden, Swedish rock band from Stockholm, that existed from 1983 to 1988. History started as , a side project to the Swedish punk band , and included three of its members. When broke up in 1983, re-emerged as ; with Joakim Thåström ( ...

(The Empire). During the recording of their second album and the tour that followed, the band was followed by

Johan Donner Johan * Johan (given name) * ''Johan'' (film), a 1921 Swedish film directed by Mauritz Stiller * Johan (band), a Dutch pop-group ** ''Johan'' (album), a 1996 album by the group * Johan Peninsula, Ellesmere Island, Nunavut, Canada * Jo-Han, a man ...

, who was making a documentary about the band. ''

Ebba the Movie ''Ebba the Movie'' is a documentary film of Swedish punk band Ebba Grön from 1982, by director and writer Johan Donner. The film includes a lot of live music and interviews with the band's members. It starts in Rågsved, a working class subur ...

'' was released for the big screen in 1982. Their third album, simply named '' Ebba Grön'', was released in 1982, and the influence of Stry was even more obvious. The band later said they attempted to make a "

Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically d ...

-Album"; a cover of the Stones’ ''Happy'' was recorded but not included on the album. The album had keyboards and horns, and was more melodic than its predecessors. This was a step away from punk. When Fjodor ended up in jail for four months for refusing to do his military service it was the beginning of the end for Ebba Grön. But, without Fjodor, the band lived on as ''Rymdimperiet''; they released their first album in 1983, now under the name

. Musically this album continued the development away from punk rock. But ''Rasera'' (Destroy), the first Imperiet album, is sometimes considered the last Ebba Grön album. Imperiet got a good start and would be the leading band of the Swedish rock scene throughout the 1980s. In 2003, shortly after the death of

Joe Strummer John Graham Mellor (21 August 1952 – 22 December 2002), known professionally as Joe Strummer, was a British singer, musician and songwriter. He was the co-founder, lyricist, rhythm guitarist and co-lead vocalist of punk rock band the Clash, f ...

, Mick Jones (guitarist of The Clash) traveled to Sweden to play a tribute for the recently deceased musician with Ebba Grön.

Discography

LPs

* ''

We're Only in It for the Drugs ''We're Only in It for the Drugs'' is the debut album by the Swedish punk rock band Ebba Grön's, first released in November 1979. Most of the songs were recorded in September and October 1979 with Mistlurs mobile 8-channel mixer table in a clos ...

'' (1979) No. 21 SWE) * '' Kärlek & uppror'' (1981) No. 5 (SWE) * '' Ebba Grön'' (1982) No. 1 (SWE)

EPs and singles

* ''Antirock'' (Profit/Ung & Sänkt) (1978) * ''Prorock'' (Tyst För Fan/Mona Tumbas Slim Club) (1978) * ''Total-Pop'' (Vad Ska Du Bli?/Häng Gud) (1979) No. 18 SWE) * ''Ung & Kåt/Staten & Kapitalet'' (1980) No. 11 (SWE) * ''Scheisse/Tyna bort'' (1981) No. 3 (SWE)

Compilations

* ''Samlade singlar'' (1983) No. 17 (SWE) * '' Ebba Grön 1978-1982'' (1993) No. 17 (SWE) * ''Ebba Grön Live'' (1998) No. 4 (SWE) * '' Boxen'' (1998) - 4 CDs with the complete works * ''Ebba Grön samlingen'' (2005) - Double CD No. 14 (SWE)

Film

* ''

'' (1982)

References

External links

Thåström official internet page
- Pictures of Ebba Grön from 1979/1980

- Pictures of Dag Vag and Ebba Grön from October 20, 1980

- Pictures of Ebba Grön and Raketerna from March, 1981 {{DEFAULTSORT:Ebba Gron Swedish punk rock groups Musical groups established in 1977 Musical groups disestablished in 1983 Musical quartets