Bobbysocks is a Norwegian pop duo consisting of Norwegian

Hanne Krogh Hanne Krogh (born 24 January 1956) is a Norwegian singer and actress from Haugesund and Oslo. Krogh is among the most selling record artists in Norway ever and is internationally well known for winning the Eurovision Song Contest 1985 with Elisab ...

and Swedish-Norwegian

Elisabeth Andreassen Elisabeth Gunilla Andreassen (; born 28 March 1958), also known as just Bettan, is a Norwegian-Swedish singer who has finished both first and second in the Eurovision Song Contest. Career Her talent was discovered in 1979 by Swedish musician and ...

. They won the

Eurovision Song Contest 1985 The Eurovision Song Contest 1985 was the 30th edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Gothenburg, Sweden, following the country's victory at the with the song " Diggi-Loo Diggi-Ley" by Herreys. Organised by the Euro ...

with the song "

La det swinge "La det swinge" (; "Let it swing") is a Norwegian-language song by the pop duo Bobbysocks!. It was the winner of the Eurovision Song Contest 1985 and 's first victory in the contest. The song is a tribute to dancing to old rock 'n' roll heard ...

" ("Let it swing"). Elisabeth went by the surname Andreasson until 1994.

History

1980s

The duo was formed in

1983 The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning ...

. Both Krogh and Andreassen were frequent Eurovision contestants. Krogh has appeared three times, all for Norway - in 1971 as a soloist, with Bobbysocks in 1985 and as part of Just 4 Fun in 1991. Andreassen sang for Sweden as one half of

Chips ''CHiPs'' is an American crime drama television series created by Rick Rosner and originally aired on NBC from September 15, 1977, to May 1, 1983. It follows the lives of two motorcycle officers of the California Highway Patrol (CHP). The seri ...

in 1982 and after winning with Bobbysocks, teamed up with

Jan Werner Danielsen Jan Werner Danielsen, known professionally as Jan Werner, (10 April 1976 – 28 September 2006) was a Norwegian pop singer, also known for his interpretations of musical, classical, and rock standards. He was famous for his powerful voice which ...

in 1994 and sang solo in 1996. According to John Kennedy O'Connor's ''The Eurovision Song Contest - The Official History'' Andreassen is one of only five lead artists to sing in the contest on four occasions and is also one of only four artists to finish both first and second in Eurovision (

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 800, causing the plane to crash and killing everyone on b ...

). The duo's debut single was "I Don't Wanna Break My Heart" (

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast As ...

), released in a pink colored vinyl. The concept behind Bobbysocks! was to bring up to date songs from the 1950s with a swing mood, adding them a "modern" 1980s sound. That idea was fully applied on their first LP '' Bobbysocks!'', which was a mixture of covers and brand new songs. The scheduled next single was going to be "Radio", but the plans were changed when the duo won the Eurovision Song Contest. "Let It Swing" topped the Norwegian singles chart, as well as it did in Belgium. It was a Top 10 in Sweden and Ireland, and a Top 20 in The Netherlands and Austria. It entered the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

on 25 May 1985, and rose to a high of Nº 44; it remained in the charts for four weeks. It was also pressed in countries such as Germany, Japan and Australia. In 1985, due to their ESC victory, Bobbysocks! were awarded the Peer Gynt Prize, which is awarded by the

Stortinget The Storting ( no, Stortinget ) (lit. the Great Thing) is the supreme legislature of Norway, established in 1814 by the Constitution of Norway. It is located in Oslo. The unicameral parliament has 169 members and is elected every four years base ...

, Norway's

parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. ...

. Another ESC consequence was the re-release of the '' Bobbysocks!'' LP with "Let It Swing" on it, reaching the gold status. Their next album, '' Waiting for the Morning'', was released in April 1986, preceded by the single of the same name, both becoming a success in Norway, peaking at number 1 on the Norwegian singles and album charts. '' Walkin' on Air'', was recorded in Los Angeles in 1987 and produced by Bill Maxwell. It went gold in only four days, becoming their third and final LP. Just before the release of "If I Fall", the album's lead single in Norway, the duo wanted to do something "decently crazy" as they revealed at the time, so they did a cover of "Swing it, magister'n", a song from 1940 originally sung by the Swedish singer and actress Alice Babs, releasing it as single in the summer of 1987. In 1988, Bobbysocks disbanded, after four successful years.

21st century

Krogh and Andreassen still appeared from time to time together on stage in Norway. They appeared at '' Congratulations'', the 50th anniversary Eurovision concert in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establishe ...

, in October 2005. In May 2010, Bobbysocks did a short comeback to celebrate their 25th anniversary since their ESC victory in 1985, launching a compilation album called ''Let It Swing - The Best Of Bobbysocks!'', which included two newly recorded songs and peaking at number 13 on the Norwegian albums chart.

Discography

Albums

*1984: '' Bobbysocks!'' (re-released in 1985 with "Let It Swing") *1986: '' Waiting for the Morning'' (re-edited in 1994) *1987: '' Walkin' on Air''

Compilation albums

*2010: ''Let it Swing - The Best of Bobbysocks!''

Singles

*1984: "I Don't Wanna Break My Heart" *1984: "Radio" (re-released in 1985) *1985: "Let It Swing" / "La Det Swinge" *1986: "Waiting for the Morning" *1986: "Johnny And The Dancing Girls" (promo single) *1987: "Swing It, Magister'n" *1987: "If I Fall" *1987: "Don't Leave Me Here Without You" *2010: "Boogie Woogie Mama" (feat.

Vidar Busk Vidar Busk (born 19 May 1970 in Langesund, Norway) is a Norwegian guitarist, vocalist, composer and record producer within genres blues and soul. Store Norske Leksikon (in Norwegian) (in Norwegian) Career Busk grew up in Langesund, but went ...

)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bobbysocks Norwegian pop music groups Norwegian musical duos Norwegian girl groups Melodi Grand Prix contestants Melodi Grand Prix winners Eurovision Song Contest entrants for Norway Eurovision Song Contest winners Eurovision Song Contest entrants of 1985 Musical groups established in 1983 1983 establishments in Norway Musical groups disestablished in 1988 1988 disestablishments in Norway Musical groups from Norway with local place of origin missing Pop music duos Female musical duos