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Swedish Dance Bands of the 70s

Thursday, November 27, 2008

Having always assumed that ABBA were born as Gods - much like Monkey, but in a Swedish pop factory as opposed to, say, on a Chinese mountain top - this latest viral trawl through an alien pop history has really changed everything, or 'förändrade allt' if you will, and why the hell not.

After ~~gorging myself~~ scrolling through these promotional photos of Swedish dance bands I now better understand why ABBA often dressed so strangely, or why The Hives love a uniform, and why Robyn appreciates some fancy dress.

Sadly, I can't find any video of such fabled bands as 'The Shytts', 'Simsalabim', or 'Hick' but rest assured, each time I hear a Max Martin pop nugget I'll take a moment to thank these pioneers of Swedish pop.

"Tack, Sverige!"

Fact According to Internet 1:

"...according to lore, part of the reason for the, er, interesting costumes was Swedish tax law. Bands could deduct the cost of the costumes, but only in so far as they were 'fantasy costumes', with the criteria being that they couldn't conceivably be worn outside of the stage context."

Fact According to Internet 2:

"Hux flux" is a Swedish idiom, meaning something like "all of a sudden", "out of the blue" or "lickety split".

Fact According to Internet 3:

Sweden still exports 'dansband' music to Norway where 'the oldies' rightly use it as an effective means to procure a pissed up grope on the dancefloor. Which might explain this...