Björn Svante Afzelius (27 January 1947 – 16 February 1999) was a Swedish singer-songwriter and guitar player. He was an outspoken
socialist
Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...
, known for his support for
Olof Palme
Sven Olof Joachim Palme (; ; 30 January 1927 – 28 February 1986) was a Swedish politician and statesman who served as Prime Minister of Sweden from 1969 to 1976 and 1982 to 1986. Palme led the Swedish Social Democratic Party from 1969 until as ...
. His songs are about love, politics and joys and sadness in life.
Career
Björn Svante Afzelius was born on 27 January 1947 in
Huskvarna,
Jönköping County. His father Svante Arnold Afzelius (1923–1976) was an engineer and his mother Ulla Afzelius (1926–1971) was a housewife. His only sibling is his brother Bengt (b. 1952) who is a music teacher. He came into contact with music from a very young age, because his mother and her side of the family were largely into music. In 1970, Afzelius formed the
progg group
Hoola Bandoola Band together with
Mikael Wiehe. Wiehe and Afzelius became very close friends and worked together long after Hoola Bandoola had dissolved in 1975.
Afzelius released his first solo album in 1974, his last one in 1999. Some of his most popular songs are "Ikaros", "Tusen bitar" (Thousand pieces – which was originally recorded by Danish
Anne Linnet as "Tusind Stykker"), "Sång till friheten" (Song for Freedom – which was originally recorded by Cuban
Silvio Rodríguez as "El Día Feliz Que Está Llegando"), "Kungens man" (The king's man), "Tankar i Havanna" (Thoughts in Havanna) and "Till min kära" (For my dear). He died from lung cancer in 1999, 52 years old, but he remains one of the most beloved artists in
Scandinavia
Scandinavia is a subregion#Europe, subregion of northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. It can sometimes also ...
.
He wrote about 150 songs and sold over two-and-a-half million albums.
Death and legacy
Afzelius died on 16 February 1999 in
Gothenburg
Gothenburg ( ; ) is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, second-largest city in Sweden, after the capital Stockholm, and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated by the Kattegat on the west coast of Sweden, it is the gub ...
.
The Björn Afzelius International Culture Foundation (BAIK) was set up in his honour. The foundation has in the past sponsored a prize known as the Freemuse Award, which recognises an individual or organisation that "has worked for freedom of musical expression in a remarkable way".
The award is given by . Winners of the Freemuse Award include:
* 2008:
Tiken Jah Fakoly, Ivorian reggae singer exiled from
Côte d'Ivoire
Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire and officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital city of Yamoussoukro is located in the centre of the country, while its largest city and ...
owing to his outspokenness about political corruption
*2009:
Pete Seeger
Peter Seeger (May 3, 1919 – January 27, 2014) was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and social activist. He was a fixture on nationwide radio in the 1940s and had a string of hit records in the early 1950s as a member of The Weav ...
, American folk singer and activist
[
*2010: Joint winners, Iranian singer Mahsa Vahdat and Turkish- Kurdish singer and activist Ferhat Tunç
*2011: Ramy Essam, who provided the soundtrack for the Arab Spring at Tahrir Square, ]Cairo
Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...
, Egypt[
]
Discography
With Hoola Bandoola Band
*1971: ''Garanterat individuell''
*1972: ''Vem kan man lita på?''
*1973: På väg''
*1975: '' Fri Information''
*1975: "Stoppa matchen" (single)
Solo albums
*1974: ''Vem är det som är rädd?''
*1976: ''För kung och fosterland''
*1978: ''Johnny Boy'' (with Björn Afzelius Band)
*1979: ''Bakom kulisserna'' (with Björn Afzelius Band)
*1979: ''Another Tale to Tell'' (with Björn Afzelius Band)
*1980: ''Globetrotter'' (with Globetrotters)
*1982: ''Innan tystnaden'' (with Globetrotters)
*1982: ''Danska nätter'' (live) (with Globetrotters)
*1984: ''Exil'' (with Globetrotters)
*1984: ''Afzelius; sång & gitarr'' (live)
*1985: ''Nio liv'' (with Globetrotters)
*1986: ''Grande Finale'' (live) (with Globetrotters)
*1986: ''Björn Afzelius & Mikael Wiehe'' (with Mikael Wiehe)
*1987: ''Riddarna kring runda bordet''
*1988: ''Don Quixote''
*1988: ''En man, en röst, en gitarr''
*1990: ''Tusen bitar''
*1991: ''Nidaros'' (live)
*1992: ''Afzelius, Bygren och Råstam'' (live)
*1994: ''Nära dig''
*1997: ''Tankar vid 50''
*1999: ''Elsinore''
*2004: ''Björn Afzelius & Mikael Wiehe 1993 – Malmöinspelningarna'' ''(with Mikael Wiehe)''
*2011: ''Tusen bitar – Sånger om kärlek & rättvisa''
Compilations
*1988: ''Björn Afzelius Bästa Vol I''
*1988: ''Björn Afzelius Bästa Vol II''
*1995: ''Björn Afzelius Bästa Vol III''
*1995: ''Afzelius Box (Bästa Vol 1, 2, 3)''
*1998: ''Den röda tråden – Definitivt''
*2002: ''Den röda tråden Vol 1''
*2002: ''Den röda tråden Vol 2''
*2005: ''Björn Afzelius Bästa''
*2006: ''Guldkorn vol.1''
References
External links
Björn Afzelius official website
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Afzelius, Bjorn
1947 births
1999 deaths
People from Huskvarna
Musicians from Jönköping County
Swedish male songwriters
Swedish socialists
20th-century Swedish male singers
Deaths from lung cancer in Sweden