Swedish Erotica was a
Swedish rock band
''Rock Band'' is a series of rhythm games first released in 2007 and developed by Harmonix. Based on their previous development work from the Guitar Hero, ''Guitar Hero'' series, the main ''Rock Band'' games have players use game controllers mod ...
founded in
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 n ...
and disbanded in
1996
1996 was designated as:
* International Year for the Eradication of Poverty
Events January
* January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...
. The same members also played in the '90s in the cover band Double Trouble. Former members of Swedish Erotica have played with
Yngwie Malmsteen
Yngwie Johan Malmsteen (; born Lars Johan Yngve Lannerbäck, on 30 June 1963) is a Swedish-American guitarist. He first became known in the 1980s for his neoclassical metal, neoclassical playing style in heavy metal music, heavy metal, and has ...
,
TNT
Troponin T (shortened TnT or TropT) is a part of the troponin complex, which are proteins integral to the contraction of skeletal and heart muscles. They are expressed in skeletal and cardiac myocytes. Troponin T binds to tropomyosin and helps ...
,
Vinnie Vincent
Vincent John Cusano (born August 6, 1952), better known by his stage name Vinnie Vincent, is an American guitarist. He is a former member of the rock band Kiss from 1982 until mid-1984 during the band's transition out of their 1973–1983 makeu ...
,
Treat,
Black Ingvars,
Shotgun Messiah
Shotgun Messiah was a Swedish glam metal band from Skövde. The band was formed in 1985 by guitarist Harry Cody (musician), Harry Cody and bassist Tim Sköld, with singer Zinny J. Zan and drummer Stixx Galore taking part in their most commercial ...
,
John Norum
John Terry Norum (born 23 February 1964) is a Norwegian-born Swedish guitarist and one of the founders of the rock band Europe. Concurrent to his role with Europe, he also maintains a career as a solo artist.
Biography
As an infant, Norum moved ...
,
Talisman
A talisman is any object ascribed with religious or magical powers intended to protect, heal, or harm individuals for whom they are made. Talismans are often portable objects carried on someone in a variety of ways, but can also be installed perm ...
and
King Diamond
Kim Bendix Petersen (born 14 June 1956), better known by his stage name King Diamond, is a Danish rock musician. As a vocalist, he is known for his powerful and wide-ranging countertenor singing voice, in particular his far-reaching falsetto s ...
.
History
Prehistory
The band was formed in early 1985 by guitarists and former members of the band Trafalgar
Magnus "Manko" Axx (Axelsson, guitar) and Anders Allhage (best known as
Andy La Rocque, guitarist of
King Diamond
Kim Bendix Petersen (born 14 June 1956), better known by his stage name King Diamond, is a Danish rock musician. As a vocalist, he is known for his powerful and wide-ranging countertenor singing voice, in particular his far-reaching falsetto s ...
since 1985 and who also played briefly with Death and
Megadeth
Megadeth is an American thrash metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1983 by vocalist and guitarist Dave Mustaine. Known for their technically complex guitar work and musicianship, Megadeth is one of the "big four" of American thrash metal—alo ...
). Ken "Ulf" Sandin (bass). They joined forces with
Dag Ingebrigtsen, a former vocalist of the Norwegian band
TNT
Troponin T (shortened TnT or TropT) is a part of the troponin complex, which are proteins integral to the contraction of skeletal and heart muscles. They are expressed in skeletal and cardiac myocytes. Troponin T binds to tropomyosin and helps ...
, bassist Ulf "Ken" Sandin and drummer Dennis Nybratt. This line-up played on a Norwegian album of Christmas themed rock songs with various vocalists: "The Grønne Glitrende 3 Og Dag". In the summer of 1985, Allhage left for King Diamond and Nybratt (later in
Steelwings) left the band around the same time. They were replaced by Jamie Borger from
Treat on drums and Dan Stomberg from
Madison on guitar. This line-up recorded some demos with Allhage singing and informally used the name "Swedish Beauty" but was never able to secure a record deal. Magnus Axx did not give up, changed the band name and hired new musicians.
Formation and early career
The next incarnation of Swedish Erotica formed in 1987 with members Magnus Axx and Morgan Le Fay (Morgan Jensen) on guitar together with bassist Johnny D'Fox (Jonas Tångström) and drummer Pete Sanders (Petter Svärd). They recorded a demo with
Göran Edman as session singer, a former member of Madison who sang on two of their albums, and for a brief period in 1985 Edman fronted
Vinnie Vincent Invasion between
Robert Fleischman
Robert Fleischman (born March 11, 1953) is an American singer and songwriter. He is known for briefly working with the rock band Journey as their lead vocalist in 1977 and occasionally thereafter as a songwriting collaborator.
Biography
Fle ...
and
Mark Slaughter. Edman soon left the band to sing in former
Europe
Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
guitarist
John Norum
John Terry Norum (born 23 February 1964) is a Norwegian-born Swedish guitarist and one of the founders of the rock band Europe. Concurrent to his role with Europe, he also maintains a career as a solo artist.
Biography
As an infant, Norum moved ...
's solo project, where he sang on the album ''
Total Control'' (1987). Later, Edman sang for
Yngwie Malmsteen
Yngwie Johan Malmsteen (; born Lars Johan Yngve Lannerbäck, on 30 June 1963) is a Swedish-American guitarist. He first became known in the 1980s for his neoclassical metal, neoclassical playing style in heavy metal music, heavy metal, and has ...
and on the early demos with former Malmsteen bassist
Marcel Jacob's band
Talisman
A talisman is any object ascribed with religious or magical powers intended to protect, heal, or harm individuals for whom they are made. Talismans are often portable objects carried on someone in a variety of ways, but can also be installed perm ...
.
Record deal and debut album
After living in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
in 1988, where they hung out with among others
Kee Marcello
Kee Marcello (born Kjell Hilding Lövbom; 20 February 1960) is a Swedish guitarist and vocalist, best known as the former guitarist in the hard rock bands Europe and Easy Action. He has also pursued a solo career.
Career
Throughout the yea ...
and
Stevie Nicks
Stephanie Lynn Nicks (born May 26, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter, known for her work with the band Fleetwood Mac and as a solo artist.
After starting her career as a duo with her then-boyfriend Lindsey Buckingham, releasing the album ...
and met with several record companies, eventually Swedish Erotica, now only consisting of guitarists Axx and Le Fay and bassist D'Fox were signed to
Virgin
Virginity is a social construct that denotes the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. As it is not an objective term with an operational definition, social definitions of what constitutes virginity, or the lack thereof ...
Records Swedish office, thanks to A&R representative Donna Simmons, based on the strength of the band's demos with Edman singing. Towards the end of the year the band had hired drummer BC Strike (Bjarne Johansson, ex-Zanity) and recorded demos in
Tuff Studios with BC Strike's former bandmate from Zanity, Tony Niva, singing. A single, "Downtown" was also released with this line-up.
In early 1989 the band recorded a demo in Norway with producer
Ole Evenrude. Mats Levén of the band Capricorn contributed background vocals, and when Niva's
AOR-oriented vocals didn't work out, he was asked by Evenrude about why he was not the lead singer of the band. Levén told him that he had declined the offer last year but was now actually interested in fronting the band.
The debut album "Swedish Erotica" came out in 1989 with Levén singing and former frontman Tony Niva featured on background vocals. The ballad "Hollywood Dreams" was originally written by British songwriter Jimmy Scott for
Bonnie Tyler
Gaynor Sullivan (née Hopkins; born 8 June 1951), known professionally as Bonnie Tyler, is a Welsh singer. Known for her distinctive husky voice, Tyler came to prominence with the release of her 1977 album '' The World Starts Tonight'' and its ...
but never released. Videos for the album's first two singles "R'n'R City" and "Young Wild & Free" were filmed and the videos played on MTV. Thanks to this the band got more attention than many other artists signed by Virgin Scandinavia. Second single, "Wild Young & Free," reached high on the charts but the album was not available in the stores for two months when demand peaked due to a pressing factory strike, which led to reduced sales and lack of success for the band.
After numerous gigs in and around their hometown, among other the clubs Alexis and White Corner and
Frölunda Culture House a UK tour followed, which included a gig at the
Astoria in London for 700-800 people, even before the album was released in the UK. After touring for their debut album, the band returned to the studio in the spring of 1990 to record some demos for a second studio album. Virgin evaluated the material but found it lacking material similar to the first two singles, which were written by the album's producer Ole Evenrude.
Member replacement and cover bands
About the same time Jamie Borger, who had played in the band's first version and now was a member of the far more successful Swedish band
Treat, informed Levén that his band was looking for a new singer. Levén felt that Virgin did not anticipate a successful career for Swedish Erotica, and he also wanted to move to Treat's hometown of
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 ...
, so he began to consider leaving the band. He discussed with a manager at the Virgin that he wanted to leave the band and was told that the label was more interested in him than the band and he was offered a solo project. But the singer decided to leave the label and join the established
Treat, where he sang on their self-titled album in 1992, while Swedish Erotica's first attempt at a follow-up album remained unreleased.
Bjarne was replaced by Jonas Olsson on drums while Levén was replaced by former
Slobobans Undergång singer Anders Möller, who previously had replaced Göran Edman on vocals in Madison and also sang in an
Ozzy Osbourne
John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne (born 3 December 1948) is an English singer, songwriter, and media personality. He rose to prominence during the 1970s as the lead singer of the heavy metal music, heavy metal band Black Sabbath, during which per ...
cover band Crazy Train. Later Jonas Tångström was replaced on bass, first by Terry Barajas who later became the drummer in
Abysmal Dawn
Abysmal Dawn is an American death metal band from Los Angeles, California.
Band history
Abysmal Dawn was formed by Charles Elliott (guitars/vocals), Jamie Boulanger (guitars), and Terry Barajas (drums) who circulated a three-song demo in win ...
and then by a returning Ken Sandin, a former member of bands
Alien and Da Vinci. During this period, the same members played around
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 ...
in the cover band Double Trouble, covering songs by, among others
Guns N' Roses
Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1985 as a merger of local bands L.A. Guns and Hollywood Rose. When they signed to Geffen Records in 1986, the band's "classic" line-up consisted of vocalist Axl R ...
,
Poison
A poison is any chemical substance that is harmful or lethal to living organisms. The term is used in a wide range of scientific fields and industries, where it is often specifically defined. It may also be applied colloquially or figurati ...
,
Nirvana
Nirvana, in the Indian religions (Jainism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Sikhism), is the concept of an individual's passions being extinguished as the ultimate state of salvation, release, or liberation from suffering ('' duḥkha'') and from the ...
,
Pearl Jam
Pearl Jam is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1990. One of the key bands in the grunge, grunge movement of the early 1990s, Pearl Jam has outsold and outlasted many of its contemporaries from the early 1990s, ...
and
Magnus Uggla.
1993 Bjarne Johansson played as a guest musician in a new version of
Shotgun Messiah
Shotgun Messiah was a Swedish glam metal band from Skövde. The band was formed in 1985 by guitarist Harry Cody (musician), Harry Cody and bassist Tim Sköld, with singer Zinny J. Zan and drummer Stixx Galore taking part in their most commercial ...
with the stage name "BJ", and abandoned thus Swedish Erotica, and was replaced by a returning Jamie Borger, most recently Treat but also the very person who earlier had persuaded Levén to leave the band in favor of Treat.
Second album and split
1995, with a new contract with a small company Empire Records, Swedish Erotica finally released a second album called ''
Blindman's Justice'', recorded in Bauhaus Studios in Gothenburg and mixed by
Michael Ilbert. After the album was released frontman Möller had great success with his other band, pop-rockers
Black Ingvars, topping the Swedish album charts and touring successfully. This and the general musical climate dominated by grunge and alternative rock led to the Swedish Erotica finally disbanding in 1996.
Recent events - the third album
The former frontman Mats Levén has participated in several projects and is one of the most established singers in the Swedish metal scene. Following his time in Treat, he was involved in AB/CD, a parody of
AC/DC
AC/DC are an Australian rock band formed in Sydney in 1973. Their music has been variously described as hard rock, blues rock and Heavy metal music, heavy metal, although the band calls it simply "rock and roll". They are cited as a formativ ...
and released the album Cut the Crap! 1995. Later bands include Abstract Algebra, At Vance, Fatal Force,
Therion and many others. 2012 Leven briefly fronted
Candlemass after they got rid of former front man
Robert Lowe
Robert Lowe, 1st Viscount Sherbrooke, GCB, PC (4 December 1811 – 27 July 1892), British statesman, was a Liberal politician who helped shape British politics in the latter half of the 19th century. He held office under William Ewart Glad ...
.
2005, the German company
MTM Music released a compilation by Swedish Erotica - Too Daze Gone.
Morgan Jensen moved on to a successful career as a writer in film and television, Axx operated until early 2019 one of the most popular rock clubs in Sweden, Sticky Fingers in Gothenburg, while Möller and Sandin remained musicians in various constellations over the years. Axx is also credited on one
Motörhead
Motörhead () were an English rock music, rock band formed in London in 1975 by bassist and lead vocalist Lemmy Kilmister, guitarist Larry Wallis and drummer Lucas Fox. Kilmister was the primary songwriter and only constant member. The band a ...
album as one of the few outside writers ever to receive a songwriting credit together with the band on one song, "Civil War" on the "
Overnight Sensation" album and was also offered by drummer
Mikkey Dee
Micael Kiriakos Delaoglou (born 31 October 1963), known professionally as Mikkey Dee, is a Swedish musician, who has played drums for German heavy metal band Scorpions (band), Scorpions since 2016. He was the drummer for English heavy metal band ...
to join Motörhead as replacement for guitarist
Wurzel.
The band's third album "Too Daze Gone" contains 8 songs with Levén that were meant for the second album. There are also 8 old demos recorded at the beginning of the band's career, different sessions from 1986 to 1988 before they were signed. Three of the songs are from the demo that gave them the recording contract with Virgin. Levén is however credited as the only lead vocalist on the album.
A one-off reunion was announced for the 2024
Sweden Rock Festival
Sweden Rock Festival is a rock festival outside the town of Sölvesborg in Blekinge in southern Sweden. The festival offers the best possible mix of classic rock, hard rock, metal, blues and related genres.
The first version of the festival, k ...
with the line-up of Levén, Axx, Le Fay, Sandin and Borger. In August 2024 the band played their second show after the reunion, at the Swedish festival Skogsröjet.
Discography
*''Swedish Erotica'' (
1989
1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...
) – set list:
Side A: "Rock 'n roll City" (4.25); "Love on the Line" (4:19); "We're Wild, Young and Free" (4:43); "Hollywood Dreams" (4:26); "Love Hunger" (5:01)
Side B: "Love Me or Leave Me" (4:27); "Downtown" (3:55); "She Drives Me Crazy" (3:31); "Loaded Gun" (3:59); "Rip It Off" (4:24); "Break the Walls" (4:38).
*''Blindman's Justice'' (
1995
1995 was designated as:
* United Nations Year for Tolerance
* World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War
This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...
) – now with
Anders Möller (also in
Black-Ingvars) on vocals. Track listing: "White Sister"; "Heaven, Hell or Hollywood"; "Blindman's Justice"; Too Good to Be True"; "King of Pain"; "Blue Movies"; "Back in the Saddle"; "Sweetest of Sins"; "Rough Enough"; "Show a Little Lace"; "Satisfied".
*''Too Daze Gone ...''; (
2005
2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...
) – set list: "Down 2 Bizniz"; "Skin On Skin"; "Fire With Fire"; "Too Daze Gone"; " Muscle In Motion"; "Show a Little slip"; "Blue Movies"; "Terri" and the bonus demos "Break The Walls" (1987); "Roll Away the Stone" (1987); "Can You Stand The Heat" (1988); "Terri" (1987); "Goodbye to Romance" (1986); "Open Arms" (1986); "Love On The Line" (1986); "Loaded gun".
*'' Swedish Erotica Remaster'' (August
2007
2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year.
Events
January
* January 1
**Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...
) – remastered re-release of first album with a number of different versions of the more old songs. Track listing: "Rock and Roll City"; "Love On The Line"; "We're Wild, Young And Free"; "Hollywood Dreams"; "Love Hunger"; "Love Me Or Leave Me"; "Downtown"; "She Drives Me Crazy"; "Loaded Gun"; "Rip It Off"; "Break The Walls"; "Hollywood Dreams" (Acoustic Version); "Downtown" (Toni Niva Version); "Rock and Roll City" (Deep Hannover mix); "Loaded Rap" (Rap Version Of "Loaded Gun").
Members at dissolution
* Magnus Axx (guitar, 1985–1996, 2024)
* Anders Möller (vocals, 1990–96)
* BC Strike (Bjarne Johansson) (drums, 1988–93, 1995–96)
* Morgan Le Fay (Morgan Jensen) (guitar, 1988–96, 2024)
* Ulf Ken (Ken Sandin) (bass, 1985–88, 1993–96, 2024)
Former members
*
Andy La Rocque Anders Allhage (guitar, vocals 1985)
*
Dag Ingebrigtsen (vocals, 1985–86)
*
Goran Edman (vocals, 1988)
* Tony Niva (vocals, 1988–1989)
*
Mats Levén
Mats Levén (born 11 September 1964) is a Swedish singer. Some of his most notable collaborations have been with guitarist Yngwie Malmsteen, symphonic metallers Therion and doom metallers Candlemass. In 2011, due to family issues on the part ...
"Matthew S. Leven" (vocals, 1989–91, 2024)
* Dan Stomberg (guitar, 1985–87)
* Jonas Tångström "Johnny D. Fox" (bass, 1988–1990)
* Terry Barajas (bass, 1991–92)
* Dennis Nybratt (drums, 1985)
*
Jamie Borger (drums, 1985–87, 1993–94, 2024)
* Pete Sanders "Petter Svärd" (drums, 1988)
*Jonas Olsson (drums, 1994–95)
References
{{Authority control
Musical groups established in 1985
Musical groups disestablished in 1996
Swedish heavy metal musical groups
1985 establishments in Sweden