The Wannadies is an

alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...

band formed in 1988 in

Skellefteå Skellefteå (, locally ) is a Cities in Sweden, city in Västerbotten County, Sweden, with a population of 36,388. It is the seat of Skellefteå Municipality, which had 77,322 inhabitants in 2024. The city is historically industrial, with mining ...

, northern

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

. The band's initial line-up featured Pär Wiksten (vocals,

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

), Christina Bergmark (born 1 March 1969) (vocals), Micke Herrström (keyboards), Stefan Schönfeldt (born 5 June 1965) (guitars) and his younger brother Fredrik Schönfeldt (

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

) with Gunnar Karlsson (

drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...

) and Björn Malmquist (

violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...

History

Early days (1988–1993)

The Wannadies played their first

concert A concert, often known informally as a gig or show, is a live performance of music in front of an audience. The performance may be carried by a single musician, in which case it is sometimes called a recital, or by a musical ensemble such as an ...

, a festival in support of the

Nicaragua Nicaragua, officially the Republic of Nicaragua, is the geographically largest Sovereign state, country in Central America, comprising . With a population of 7,142,529 as of 2024, it is the third-most populous country in Central America aft ...

Sandinistas The Sandinista National Liberation Front (, FSLN) is a socialist political party in Nicaragua. Its members are called Sandinistas () in both English and Spanish. The party is named after Augusto César Sandino, who led the Nicaraguan resistan ...

, in October 1988 and only weeks later entered local studio KN to record the three tracks that would become their debut release—the '' Smile EP''. ''Smile'' was released in February 1989 and managed to pick up several 'single of the week' accolades from national newspapers as well as airplay on indie radio shows such as 'Bommen' despite little or no marketing. Following the band's appearance at the

Hultsfred Festival The Hultsfred Festival () was an annual music festival held in Hultsfred, Sweden. It took place at the lake Hulingen for three days in June or July, from Thursday to Saturday. Since the first festival in 1986, its attendance increased from 7,5 ...

in August 1989, The Wannadies signed a

recording contract A recording contract (commonly called a record contract or record deal) is a legal agreement between a record label and a recording act (artist or group), where the act makes an audio recording (or series of recordings) for the label to sell and ...

with MNW Records, releasing their debut single, "My Hometown", in May the following year. The band's eponymous debut album was released in August 1990, and was supported by tours of

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

and

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

. A highlight for the group was 1991s Nordic music festival in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

where they shared the bill with Finland's 22 Pistepirkko and Iceland's

The Sugarcubes The Sugarcubes () were an Icelandic alternative rock band from Reykjavík formed in 1986 and disbanded in 1992. For most of their career, the band consisted of Björk Guðmundsdóttir (vocals, keyboards), Einar Örn Benediktsson (vocals, trumpe ...

. Second album, '' Aquanautic'' was released in October 1992 on Snap Records, MNW's indie label. Not without controversy the album saw

videos Video is an electronic medium for the recording, copying, playback, broadcasting, and display of moving visual media. Video was first developed for mechanical television systems, which were quickly replaced by cathode-ray tube (CRT) system ...

for the singles "Things That I Would Love to Have Undone" and "Cherry Man" banned by

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

, the former for featuring a foam animal cadaver, the latter for the allusions to paedophilia in both the song's lyrics and video which featured a middle-aged man surrounded by young girls and boys. In the summer of 1993 Björn Malmquist moved to

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

and left the band (he did make a contribution to The Wannadies next album however, playing violin on the track "Dreamy Wednesdays").

''Be a Girl'' and UK success (1993–1996)

Initial recording sessions for third album, '' Be a Girl'', proved unsuccessful—first choice producer Dagge Lunquist took paternity leave late in 1993 and a second attempt with producer Micke Herrström had to be abandoned after just a week and a half when, first engineer Adam Kviman, then Herrström were taken sick with hearing injuries. "Love in June", the only song to be completed with Micke Herrström, was released as a single while the band tried again to record ''Be a Girl'', this time with producer Nille Perned. The album was finally finished by late 1994 and was released along with second single, "

You and Me Song "You and Me Song" is a song by Swedish band the Wannadies. Originally released as a single in November 1994, it became the group's biggest hit. In April 1996, it peaked at number 18 in the United Kingdom. Song information Appearing on the band' ...

", to critical acclaim in their native country. Shortly afterwards the band came to the attention of Indolent Records in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

who signed The Wannadies in the summer of 1995. The group's first British gig followed soon after, a sold-out show at the Dublin Castle, Camden in the autumn of the same year. Throughout winter the band toured extensively with labelmates Sleeper and The 60 ft Dolls as well as with

Lightning Seeds The Lightning Seeds (also known as Lightning Seeds) are an English rock band formed in Liverpool in 1989 by Ian Broudie (vocals, guitar, producer), formerly of the bands Big in Japan, Care, and Original Mirrors. Originally a studio-based s ...

and

Frank Black Charles Michael Kittridge Thompson IV (born April 6, 1965), better known by the stage name Black Francis, is an American singer, guitarist, and songwriter. He is the frontman of the alternative rock band Pixies. Following the band's break ...

. At the same time they were regularly commuting to studios 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 ...

, Skellefteå and Stockholm to record tracks for their next album, again with producer Nille Perned. Further singles "Might Be Stars" and "How Does It Feel?" were taken from ''Be a Girl'' but it was not until the re-release of "You and Me Song" in April 1996 that the band really made an impact in the United Kingdom, where the song peaked at number eighteen on the UK Singles Chart. The track later appeared on the official

soundtrack A soundtrack is a recorded audio signal accompanying and synchronised to the images of a book, drama, motion picture, radio program, television show, television program, or video game; colloquially, a commercially released soundtrack album of m ...

Baz Luhrmann Mark Anthony "Baz" Luhrmann (born 17 September 1962) is an Australian film director, producer, writer, and actor whose various projects extend from film and television into opera, theatre, music, and the recording industries. He is regarded by ...

's 1996 ''

Romeo + Juliet ''Romeo and Juliet'' is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. Romeo and Juliet or Romeo & Juliet may also refer to: Ballets * ''Romeo and Juliet'', a ballet score by Constant Lambert * Romeo and Juliet (Prokofiev), ''Romeo and Juliet'' (Prokofiev), a ...

'', further increasing their popularity.

Troubled times (1997–1999)

Problems with Swedish record company MNW led to delays with the release of the group's fourth album, '' Bagsy Me'' (a translation of the Swedish children's expression 'Pax jag!'), which was eventually released in January 1997 on Sony/BMG Records. The album included the hit singles "Someone Somewhere", "Friends", "Hit" (which made No. 20 in the UK Singles Chart) and "Shorty". "You and Me Song" was also included to capitalise on The Wannadies post-''Romeo + Juliet'' success. A revised version of the album (with two more singles from ''Be a Girl'' replacing two album tracks) was later released in America under the title ''

The Wannadies The Wannadies is an alternative rock band formed in 1988 in Skellefteå, northern Sweden. The band's initial line-up featured Pär Wiksten (vocals, guitar), Christina Bergmark (born 1 March 1969) (vocals), Micke Herrström (keyboards), Stefan Sc ...

''. The next few years were a turbulent time for the group. In Spring 1997 drummer and founding member Gunnar Karlsson left, to be replaced by Erik Dahlgren (born 25 August 1965), a long-term friend of the band. After sorting out problems with their Swedish record label The Wannadies now felt they were suffering from a lack of support from BMG in the UK and went on strike. A

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one Performing arts#Performers, performer or by several performers. If the recordings are from ...

of the best of their first three albums featuring tracks chosen by the band and entitled, appropriately, ''

'', was released in Scandinavia in the spring of 1998 with the band touring the region in support while their problems with BMG were being resolved. Relations with the label had sufficiently improved for the band to begin recording their next album in the autumn of 1998 with a ten-day session at the Chateau De La Rouge Motte studio in

Normandy Normandy (; or ) is a geographical and cultural region in northwestern Europe, roughly coextensive with the historical Duchy of Normandy. Normandy comprises Normandy (administrative region), mainland Normandy (a part of France) and insular N ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

with producer

Mike Hedges Mike Hedges (born 1954) is a British audio producer/engineer best known for his work with the Cure, Siouxsie and the Banshees, and Manic Street Preachers. During his career, Hedges has worked with an eclectic roster of artists ranging from rock ...

. Only one track, "String Song", was completed however and it was not until the winter of 1998/99 that the band recorded the bulk of the tracks for fifth album '' Yeah''. With former

Cars A car, or an automobile, is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of cars state that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people rather than cargo. There are around one billio ...

frontman

Ric Ocasek Richard Theodore Otcasek (March 23, 1944 – September 15, 2019), known as Ric Ocasek ( ), was an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He was the primary vocalist, rhythm guitarist, songwriter, and frontman for the America ...

at the helm The Wannadies began recording at Electric Lady

recording studio A recording studio is a specialized facility for Sound recording and reproduction, recording and Audio mixing, mixing of instrumental or vocal musical performances, spoken words, and other sounds. They range in size from a small in-home proje ...

s in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

and continued work at studios in Stockholm and London. ''Yeah'' was released in the autumn of 1999 in Scandinavia and early spring 2000 in the UK. BMG decided not to release the record in

America The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

however, refused permission for the band to release it on another label and eventually dropped the band altogether.

Recent times and break-up

Despite not having a record company The Wannadies toured extensively throughout the summer of 2000, played the

Glastonbury Glastonbury ( , ) is a town and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated at a dry point on the low-lying Somerset Levels, south of Bristol. The town had a population of 8,932 in the 2011 census. Glastonbury is less than across the River ...

and Carling festivals in the UK,

Roskilde Roskilde ( , ) is a city west of Copenhagen on the Danish island of Zealand. With a population of 53,354 (), the city is a business and educational centre for the region and the 10th largest city in Denmark. It is governed by the administrative ...

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

, Hultsfred and

Arvika Arvika is a locality and the seat of Arvika Municipality, Värmland County, Sweden with 14,244 inhabitants in 2010. Geography The town of Arvika is situated at Kyrkviken, a bay of Glafsfjorden, Sweden's only inland fjord, a remnant of the tim ...

in Sweden and completed a mini-tour of

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. The latter half of 2000 and much of 2001 saw the band construct their own

in which they would record much of their sixth album. With Nille Perned again producing, the band released '' Before & After'' in 2002 in Scandinavia through the

National National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, c ...

record label and on 8 September 2003 in the UK on

Cooking Vinyl Cooking Vinyl is a British independent record label, based in Acton, London, England. It was founded in 1986 by former manager and booking agent Martin Goldschmidt and his business partner Pete Lawrence. Goldschmidt remains the current owner an ...

records (who also handled distribution for the rest of the world). The album featured the singles "Skin", "Disko" and "Little by Little". In 2003, "You and Me Song" was used in the climax to an episode of the long-running British soap opera ''

Coronation Street ''Coronation Street'' (colloquially referred to as ''Corrie'') is a British television soap opera created by ITV Granada, Granada Television and shown on ITV (TV network), ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres on a cobbled, terraced ...

'' in which

Richard Hillman Richard Hillman is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'', played by Brian Capron. He first appeared on 20 June 2001 and became the show's main antagonist until his eventual departure on 14 March 2003. Ric ...

drives his new wife,

Gail Platt Gail Platt (also Potter, Tilsley, Hillman, McIntyre, Rodwell and Chadwick) is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'', played by Helen Worth. The character first appeared on-screen on 29 July 1974. Gail is ...

and her family into a canal (in which he dies); and later, in 2007, an episode in which his stepson, David Platt, drives his car into that same canal as a suicide attempt, only to survive, ruining his sister

Sarah Sarah (born Sarai) is a biblical matriarch, prophet, and major figure in Abrahamic religions. While different Abrahamic faiths portray her differently, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam all depict her character similarly, as that of a pious woma ...

's wedding day. In 2006 "You and Me Song" was used as the theme song to the

BBC Three BBC Three is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was first launched on 9 February 2003 with programmes for a 16 to 34-year-old target aud ...

TV series '' I'm with Stupid''. The band were thought to be writing and recording songs for their seventh album, and are preparing to release a twenty track

best of A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be creat ...

, however, in April 2009, they announced they had split with Pär Wiksten going solo. On August 30 and September 2, 2016, after seven years apart, the band reunited and played their hits "Friends" and "Hit" at a festival.

New music and reformation announced (2020)

It was announced that to coincide with the release of Before & After on vinyl, the band would release their first new music since 2002, with the single "Can't Kill The Musikk" a song originally started in the session following the 2002 album, but not completed until 2020. The single was released on September 3, 2020, with a live version of "My Home Town" as the b-side. On October 6, the band announced that they would be reforming to perform live dates. Three dates in Sweden in March 2021 were announced, with a new press shot of the band, and live dates outside of their home country were expected to follow.

Discography

Studio albums

Compilation albums

Extended plays

* ''

Smile A smile is a facial expression formed primarily by flexing the muscles at the sides of the mouth. Some smiles include a contraction of the muscles at the corner of the eyes, an action known as a Duchenne smile. Among humans, a smile expresses d ...

'' (1989, A West Side Fabrication) * ''Cherry Man'' (1993, Snap Records) * '' You and Me Song EP'' (1996, Nippon Columbia)

Singles

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wannadies, The Swedish alternative rock groups Swedish indie rock groups 1988 establishments in Sweden Musical groups established in 1988 English-language musical groups from Sweden Musical groups from Västerbotten County Culture in Skellefteå