Blå Tåget (lit. ''The Blue Train'') is a 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 contraction ...
-band that used to go under the name
, the name of a legendary Swedish runner, but after name conflicts occurred they changed name to Blå Tåget (which was a ride at the
amusement park
An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, and events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central theme, often fea ...
Gröna Lund
Gröna Lund (, ), or colloquially ''Grönan'' (), is an amusement park in Stockholm, Sweden. Located on the seaward side of Djurgården Island, it is relatively small compared to other amusement parks, mainly because of its central location, which ...
) in 1972.
Their lyrics (mostly written by Bengtsson, Rasmusson, Berger and Nylén) cover a wide range, from
marxist
Marxism is a political philosophy and method of socioeconomic analysis. It uses a dialectical and materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to analyse class relations, social conflic ...
analysis and invitations to revolution to
satire
Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of exposin ...
,
art criticism
Art criticism is the discussion or evaluation of visual art. Art critics usually criticize art in the context of aesthetics or the theory of beauty. A goal of art criticism is the pursuit of a rational basis for art appreciation but it is quest ...
, 1940s childhood nostalgia, images from daily life and experimental pop art works.
A recurring theme, at least in their early works, is criticism of
Saltsjöbadsandan; the Swedish model of mixing
capitalism
Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their use for the purpose of obtaining profit. This socioeconomic system has developed historically through several stages and is defined by ...
with
socialism
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 ...
through cooperation rather than conflict between government, large corporations and unions.
One song on this theme, "Den ena handen vet vad den andra gör", was covered by
punk
Punk or punks may refer to:
Genres, subculture, and related aspects
* Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres
* Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...
band
Ebba Grön
Ebba Grön was a Swedish punk band formed in Stockholm, Sweden, in 1977. Ebba Grön consisted of Joakim Thåström (lead vocals, guitar), Gunnar Ljungstedt (drums) and Lennart Eriksson (bass guitar, backing vocals). Thåström, Ljungstedt an ...
(renamed "Staten och kapitalet", with some of the lyrics omitted) and became a hit in 1980. It remains Blå Tåget's best known song today.
Members
* Mats G Bengtsson - vocals, keyboard
* Torkel Rasmusson - vocals, accordion
* Tore Berger - vocals, clarinet
* Urban Yman - double bass, violin
* Leif Nylén - drums
* Kjell Westling -
wind instruments
A wind instrument is a musical instrument that contains some type of resonator (usually a tube) in which a column of air is set into vibration by the player blowing into (or over) a mouthpiece set at or near the end of the resonator. The pitch ...
, guitar, violin
*
Carl Johan De Geer
Baron Carl Johan Louis De Geer af Finspång (born 13 July 1938) is a Swedish artist, writer, musician and '' friherre'' (baron) of the De Geer noble family.
De Geer was born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. He grew up in a castle in Skåne, in s ...
- trombone, accordion, vocals
* Roland Keijser - flute, saxophone
Discography
As Gunder Hägg:
* 1969 Tigerkaka ''(Tiger cake)''
* 1970 Vargatider ''(Tough times, literally "Wolf times")''
* 1971 Glassfabriken ''(The icecream factory)''
As Blå Tåget:
* 1972 Brustna Hjärtans Hotell (double-LP) ''(Heartbreak Hotel)''
* 1974 Slowfox
* 1982 På Fågel Blå (live) ''(At the Blue Bird)''
* 1988 1969-1974 (collection)
* 1999 Moderna Material ''(Modern Materials)''
* 2004 I Tidens Rififi ''(In the rififi of the time)''
* 2005 Inget Är Längesen 1969-2004 (collection) ''(Nothing is a long time ago)''
External links
Progg.se - Blå Tåget
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bla Taget
Swedish-language musical groups
Swedish rock music groups
Musical groups established in 1967
1967 establishments in Sweden