Nationalteatern 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 ...
rock
Rock most often refers to:
* Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids
* Rock music, a genre of popular music
Rock or Rocks may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...
group from the 1970s that featured leftist political lyrics. It was originally a traveling theater ensemble with many members, most notably
Ulf Dageby
Ulf Thorbjörn Dageby (10 May 1944 – 16 July 2024) was a Swedish rock musician, singer and songwriter. Dageby was best known for his role in the leftist "rock orchestra" and theater ensemble Nationalteatern, which toured for the final time in 2 ...
,
Anders Melander
Nationalteatern is a Sweden, Swedish progg rock and roll, rock group from the 1970s that featured leftist political lyrics. It was originally a traveling theater ensemble with many members, most notably Ulf Dageby, Anders Melander, Totta Näslund ...
,
Totta Näslund,
Nikke Ström,
Hans Mosesson and
Pale Olofsson.
History
Initially formed as a free theater group in
Lund
Lund (, ;["Lund"](_blank)
(US) and ) is a city in the provinces of Sweden, province of Scania, southern Swed ...
in 1968, Nationalteatern moved to
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 ...
and started to put heavy emphasis on the musical part of the plays. The leader of the group in the early days was
Anders Melander
Nationalteatern is a Sweden, Swedish progg rock and roll, rock group from the 1970s that featured leftist political lyrics. It was originally a traveling theater ensemble with many members, most notably Ulf Dageby, Anders Melander, Totta Näslund ...
, who also played most of the instruments on the group's debut album, ''Ta det som ett löfte...ta det inte som ett hot'' (Take it as a promise...don’t take it as a threat). On the second album, ''Livet är en fest'' (Life is a party),
Ulf Dageby
Ulf Thorbjörn Dageby (10 May 1944 – 16 July 2024) was a Swedish rock musician, singer and songwriter. Dageby was best known for his role in the leftist "rock orchestra" and theater ensemble Nationalteatern, which toured for the final time in 2 ...
was allowed more creative room, and he later evolved into the group's driving force. The album was a more straightforward rock album than the previous one, a formula that proved very successful.
In 1977, many members of Nationalteatern played a significant part in
The Tent Project. The next year saw the release of ''Barn av vår tid'' (Children of our time) – the first album featuring
Totta Näslund – and still later ''Rövarkungens ö'' (The Island of the Bandit King). After 1980, the group moved away from the theatrical work and concentrated on music, calling themselves a ''rock orchestra''.
The group dissolved soon afterward, but the new millennium has seen several reunions of Nationalteatern, touring all over Sweden, even after
Totta Näslund died in 2005. No new songs or albums have yet been recorded.
In 2002 a tribute album, ''
Nationalsånger - Hymner från Vågen och EPAs torg'', was released, featuring several of Sweden's most famous musicians (such as
Backyard Babies
Backyard Babies is a Swedish Rock music, rock band originally from Nässjö and currently based in Stockholm. The band was formed in 1987 and have released eight studio albums, in addition to winning two Grammis, Swedish Grammy Awards.
They ...
,
The Hellacopters
The Hellacopters are a Swedish garage rock band that was formed in 1994 by Nicke Andersson (vocals and guitar), Andreas Tyrone "Dregen" Svensson (guitar), Kenny Håkansson (bass) and Robert Eriksson (drums). Andersson (sometimes known as Nic ...
,
The Soundtrack of Our Lives,
Lisa Miskovsky, and
The Ark) performing Nationalteatern songs.
Their music, which was composed to the plays the group wrote and performed at youth
community center
A community centre, community center, or community hall is a public location where members of a community gather for group activities, social support, public information, and other purposes. They may be open for the whole community or for a sp ...
s in Sweden, was written in a youth-in-trouble-theme, often containing an anti-drug message.
Members
Current members
*Nikke Ström - Bass
*Håkan Nyberg - Drums, percussion
*
Mattias Hellberg - Vocals, harmonica
*Håkan Svensson - Guitars
*
Jaqee Nakiri - Vocals
Former members
*
Ulf Dageby
Ulf Thorbjörn Dageby (10 May 1944 – 16 July 2024) was a Swedish rock musician, singer and songwriter. Dageby was best known for his role in the leftist "rock orchestra" and theater ensemble Nationalteatern, which toured for the final time in 2 ...
*Bernt Andersson
*Bengt Blomgren
*Lars-Erik Brossner
*Kurt Bünz
*
Inga Edwards
*Göran Ekstrand
*Bertil Goldberg
*Maria Grahn
*Anna Guttorp
*Peter Guttorp
*Lars Jacobsson
*Jussi Larnö
*Sonja Lund
*
Anders Melander
Nationalteatern is a Sweden, Swedish progg rock and roll, rock group from the 1970s that featured leftist political lyrics. It was originally a traveling theater ensemble with many members, most notably Ulf Dageby, Anders Melander, Totta Näslund ...
*Per Melin
*
Hans Mosesson
*
Totta Näslund
*Pale Olofsson
*Anki Rahlskog
*Med Reventberg
*Ulf Stenberg
*Peter Wahlqvist
*Håkan Wennberg
*Hans Wictorsson
Discography
Albums
*''Ta det som ett löfte.....ta det inte som ett hot'' (1972)
*''Livet är en fest'' (1974)
*''Kåldolmar och Kalsipper'' (1976)
*''Vi kommer att leva igen'' (1977 - with
Nynningen
Nynningen ("The Hum") is a Swedish progressive rock group founded in Gothenburg in 1970. It released five albums in the 1970s before breaking up in 1980, then three more after reuniting in 2016. After the Sverigetopplistan
Sverigetopplistan (, ...
)
*''Barn av vår tid'' (1978)
*''Rockormen'' (1979)
*''Rövarkungens ö'' (1980)
*''Luffarrock - En lurkmusikal'' (1981)
*''Nationalteatern rockorkester LIVE'' (1991)
*''Nationalteatern rockorkester LIVE'' (2006)
Singles
*"Livet är en fest"/"Bängen trålar" (1974)
*"Doin' the omoralisk schlagerfestival" (1975)
*"Kamrater, Bodenarbetare!"/"Rädda Varven" (1978)
*"Kolla Kolla"/"Ingelas sång" (1978)
Compilations
*''Nacksving – ett samlat grepp från Götet'' (1975)
*''Alternativ Festival'' (1975)
*''Vi äro tusenden'' (1977)
*''Från Flykt till kamp'' (1978)
*''Nationalteatern En samling 1972-80''
*''MNW-Klassiker: Nationalteatern'' (double CD) (2007)
DVDs and VHS
*Live -91 (1991)
*Tältet - Vem tillhör världen? (2005)
*Nationalteaterns Rockorkester - Live (2006)
References
External links
Nationaltern Official WebsiteNationalteatern MySpace*
*
{{Authority control
Musical groups from Gothenburg
Songs about drugs