Sven Lindström and Per Gessle are counting down from 10 to 6 on their Swedish best of the ’80s list on the June episode of Nordic Rox. Before that, the guys kick off the show with a bang and play By The Grace Of God by The Hellacopters from 2002.
The next song is Blue Ruin by Say Lou Lou from their latest album called Dust, which came out half a year ago.
Then comes Nothing Out There by Alberta Cross. Per doesn’t know anything about Alberta Cross, so he asks Sven to tell something about them. Sven explains that the creative force behind the band is a guy from Sweden, Petter Ericson Stakee. He moved to London some 20 years ago and he’d been having London as his base, and he formed Alberta Cross there. They are mostly British musicians, Sven thinks. They made some changes in the lineup, but they have been touring and releasing albums ever since. PG thinks it’s a good song. Sven agrees that it’s a cool track.
The guys move on with more good-looking music in the shape of You’re Breaking My Heart by NONONO.
Before getting down to the ’80s countdown, Sven and Per look back on the ’80s in Roxette history. Sven says the listeners will hear a track that they both know and still don’t, because they haven’t heard this version really that much. PG explains they are talking about Roxette’s The Look and Per’s demo from 30th March 1988, Halmstad. He wrote the song for the Look Sharp! album and it was actually written for Marie to sing. So the lyric Per is singing is „he’s got the look”, because it was supposed to be sung by Marie. It sounds a little bit different. And also the classic famous guitar riff of The Look isn’t there on the demo. It’s something that they made up in the studio while recording the song. This is how it started out. Per wrote it because he had bought a new synthesizer, an Ensoniq ESQ-1. Sven loves that synthesizer sound. Mr. G says, to learn how to program the synthesizer, he wrote two songs and The Look was one of them. Sven wants to know which the other one was. It was Don’t Believe In Accidents. That one is on Spotify, but it didn’t make any album. But The Look made it all over the world. Sven says that it was the song that in 1989 would open up the world for Roxette. Per confirms. It became their first US number one, and it became number one in so many countries he can’t even remember. Those were the days.
The guys are now entering the ’80s top 10 countdown. Spela under hot (Play Under Threat) by a southern Swedish band, Wilmer X is No. 10. Per thinks it’s an amazing band. They have been around for a very long time, and they are so special also because they sing in a very southern dialect. According to Per, it sometimes restricted them a bit, because a lot of people in Sweden don’t understand what they are saying, because the dialect is so heavy. But it’s a great band, and they are still around, and they just sound amazing. They have a harmonica player, Jalle Lorensson. He is really good, Sven thinks. This album, Under hot was recorded more or less live in the studio. Wilmer X broke through a couple of albums before this, but this one sort of cemented their position and gave them the reputation of being one of Sweden’s best rock bands. Per agrees.
The Final Countdown by Europe is No. 9 from 1986. Per thinks it’s a great track. It’s a US top 10 record that peaked at number eight. Europe had quite a few hits during this era. They were a great band, influenced by the times, the Whitesnake, Bon Jovi and that kind of stuff. Melodic metal. Joey Tempest wrote really good songs, and this is at their prime. It still sounds like a hit record today. It might be a little long, but Per is sure there was a radio edit. Haha. Sven says they might have a look at the ending here and fade it out a bit earlier on Nordic Rox. Haha.
At position No. 8 there is a Swedish classic artist, Ulf Lundell, who debuted in 1975. In the late ’70s and early ’80s he became like a household name in Sweden. He was very influenced by Springsteen and Bob Dylan. He had lyric-oriented stuff and he was also an amazing performer. He had a great band too. This album, Kär och galen came out in 1982. It was his commercial peak. Sven and Per picked the song Aldrig nånsin din clown, which translates to never ever your clown. Per loves Sven’s translations and he thinks it’s a really cool song. They don’t think they ever played it on Nordic Rox before, so it’s an American radio debut here. It also has a wonderful guitar solo by Ulf’s sidekick, Janne Bark. Janne was also a great performer. Per worked with him a bit as well. Mr. G thinks he is a great guitar player, but he really came to his prime when he worked with Ulf.
After the song is played, Sven says they are still grooving here with Per. Haha. Then they are moving up to No. 7 on their chart. Sarah by Mauro Scocco is played. Mauro was the lead singer of a duo in the ’80s called Ratata. It was a great band, very influenced by Scritti Politti, Michael McDonald, that kind of style. Mauro made his debut album in 1988, and this was the first single. It became a monster. Sven says that some would probably call it yacht rock, but they don’t. PG thinks it’s a great track and Mauro is a great singer.
No. 6 is a beautiful Swedish artist called Monica Törnell and her Vintersaga. She had a breakthrough in the early ’70s. Per thinks she is a brilliant singer who has always had a standout voice. Mr. G had the privilege of writing a couple of songs for her in the ’80s as well. This song was written by a guy called Ted Ström, who was a member of a band called Contact. It’s a bleak picture of Sweden in the wintertime. It became a massive hit on Swedish radio, because a lot of people recognize the feeling of that sort of bleak sadness. It’s got a really strong melody, and the production is wonderful. It’s got this warm, analog synthesizer sound. For Per, it’s one of the greatest tracks in the ’80s.
The last 2 songs on the show are Dow Jones Syndrome by The Soundtrack Of Our Lives and Notes by Dominique. Sven thinks Dominique is a great artist. Per agrees and adds that she has a fantastic voice. Sven says we will probably hear a lot more from her in the future.
Sven and Per thank the listeners for joining them and the show ends with Cigarettes by Anita Lindblom, as usual.
Still is from the Bag Of Trix talks recorded by Anders Roos.
Thanks for your support, Sven!