Per "Pelle" Almqvist (born 29 May 1978), also known as Howlin' Pelle Almqvist, is a Swedish singer and songwriter. He is the lead singer of

garage rock Garage rock (sometimes called garage punk or 60s punk) is a raw and energetic style of rock and roll that flourished in the mid-1960s, most notably in the United States and Canada, and has experienced a series of subsequent revivals. The sty ...

band

The Hives The Hives are a Swedish rock band that rose to prominence in the early 2000s during the garage rock revival. Their mainstream success came with the release of the album '' Veni Vidi Vicious'', containing the single " Hate to Say I Told You So ...

Biography

Almqvist was born to a doctor father and a teacher mother. Almqvist and his brother

Nicholaus Arson Niklas Almqvist (born 26 January 1977), better known by his stage name Nicholaus Arson, is the lead guitarist and backup vocalist of the Swedish garage rock band The Hives, of which his brother Howlin' Pelle is the lead singer. Career Arson ...

formed the band in 1993, and, according to a fictional biography about the band, attracted the attention of promoter/manager/songwriter Randy Fitzsimmons. Prior to success with the Hives he worked as a postman and a sixth-grade teacher. Almqvist is known for being particularly animated during live shows, and his onstage antics have earned the band the title of "The best live band in the world" from ''

Spin Magazine ''Spin'' (stylized in all caps) is an American music magazine founded in 1985 by publisher Bob Guccione, Jr. Now owned by Next Management Partners, the magazine is an online publication since it stopped issuing a print edition in 2012. History ...

'', which also puts Almqvist in their list of the "50 Greatest Frontmen of All Time". Some of his onstage antics include regularly mixing with the crowd, climbing on amps/ladders/stairs, and saying very ridiculous, nonsensical and seemingly arrogant things between songs. Almqvist was previously in a relationship with Maria Andersson (lead vocalist of the Swedish rock band

Sahara Hotnights Sahara Hotnights are a Swedish rock band from Robertsfors, Sweden. Their style incorporates elements of garage rock, power pop and punk. History The band formed sometime around 1991/1992, "due to boredom". While in Australia, Josephine Forsman ...

) until a 2006 breakup. Since May 2010 he has been in a relationship with Catrin Nilsson. In January 2007, Almqvist led the P3 Guld Awards. In 2016, he presented

Musikhjälpen ''Musikhjälpen'' (; "Music Aid") is the Swedish version of the Dutch '' Serious Request'' radio and television campaign. The annual show is an appeal for money which each year helps a certain cause. Three radio/television personalities are lock ...

which was broadcast from

Örebro Örebro ( , ) is the sixth-largest city in Sweden, the seat of Örebro Municipality, and capital of the Örebro County. It is situated by the Närke Plain, near the lake Hjälmaren, a few kilometers inland along the small river Svartån, an ...

. Almqvist is a

vegetarian Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the consumption of meat ( red meat, poultry, seafood, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slaughter. Vegetaria ...

and an

atheist Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no ...

. In 2021, he took part in the sixth season of the Swedish game show '' Alla mot alla med Filip och Fredrik'', with teammate

Little Jinder Astrid Maria Josefine Jinder (née Stove; born 20 February 1988), better known by her stage name Little Jinder, is a Swedish singer, songwriter, and record producer. Biography She is the daughter of Björn Stove and Åsa Jinder and granddaughte ...

Collaborations

Almqvist performed a collaboration with Swedish rock artist

Moneybrother Anders Olof Wendin (born 16 March 1975, Norrtälje, Sweden) is a Swedish rock musician, best known for his solo project Moneybrother. Career After the split-up of his ska-punk band Monster, Wendin took a new direction and released Moneybrother' ...

, a cover of an

Operation Ivy Operation Ivy was the eighth series of American nuclear tests, coming after '' Tumbler-Snapper'' and before '' Upshot–Knothole''. The two explosions were staged in late 1952 at Enewetak Atoll in the Pacific Proving Ground in the Marshall Is ...

song "Freeze Up". They used Swedish lyrics and called it "", which translates as "I Won't Sign Anything". He was also the featured singer in the DJ Duo Punks Jump Up single "Dance to our Disco".

Discography

*'' Barely Legal'' (1997) *''

Veni Vidi Vicious ''Veni Vidi Vicious'' is the second studio album by Swedish rock band the Hives. The album was released on 10 April 2000 through Burning Heart and Epitaph. It was later re-released on 30 April 2002 through Sire and Gearhead. The Japanese rele ...

'' (2000) *''

Tyrannosaurus Hives ''Tyrannosaurus Hives'' is the third full-length album by the Hives, released on 20 July 2004. It is their first album since '' Veni Vidi Vicious'' from 2000, and also their first original release on a major label. If the front cover of the al ...

'' (2004) *''

The Black and White Album ''The Black and White Album'' is the fourth studio album by Swedish rock band The Hives. The track listing for ''The Black and White Album'' was confirmed on the band's German website on 13 September 2007, and later through ''NME''. The Hives ...

'' (2007) *''

Lex Hives ''Lex Hives'' is the fifth full-length album by Swedish rock band The Hives. The album was released on 1 June 2012 in Sweden, and internationally from 4 June 2012. ''Lex Hives'' was self-produced by The Hives and mixed by Grammy Award winner An ...

'' (2012)

References

External links

Official website of The HivesOfficial FacebookOfficial MySpace
{{DEFAULTSORT:Almqvist, Pelle 1978 births English-language singers from Sweden Living people People from Fagersta Municipality Swedish atheists Swedish male singers Swedish rock singers Swedish tenors The Hives members 21st-century Swedish singers Swedish songwriters People from Västanfors