The Lonely Boys
The Lonely Boys (in Swedish, ”De ensamma pojkarna”) is a fiction book by Swedish author Mats Olsson about a young rhythm'n'pop band from the south of Sweden in 1965.
The Lonely Boys | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Sweden |
| Genres | Pop |
| Years active | 1995 |
| Labels | EMI Parlophone |
| Associated acts | Roxette |
| Members | Per Gessle Nisse Hellberg |
Per Gessle (of Roxette fame) was asked by Mats Olsson to write a soundtrack to follow the book, and so the band "The Lonely Boys" came into existence and the debut album by this 1965 fictitious band was released in December 1995. The members of the band consisted of members from the two swedish popbands Wilmer X (Hellberg and Holst) and Gyllene Tider (Gessle, Persson and Andersson).
The band went to great lengths to make the sound authentic 1960s; from the lyrical content (Why did Adam have to fall in love with Eve) to the authentic instruments and amplifiers used in the recording process. The album is set out as two sides of an LP (although it was available on a promotional LP in Sweden), including crackles of the needle on the turntable and a pause in between the two sides as the record is turned over.
Band members
The Lonely Boys consists of:
- Lasse Göransson (a.k.a. Thomas Holst) on Bass guitar
- Roland Bergström (a.k.a. Mats "MP" Persson) on Vox- & Hammond organs, Piano
- Kalle Johansson (a.k.a. Micke "Syd" Andersson) on drums and tambourine
- Thomas Nyberg (a.k.a. Per Gessle) on rhythm guitar and vocals
- Richard Andersson (a.k.a. Nisse Hellberg) on lead guitar, harmonica, maraccas, tambourine and vocals
The songs
There are 14 songs on the album, with the only cover version being "So Much In Love", which was written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards of The Rolling Stones (although the Stones never recorded a version, The Inmates did).
| Song title | Credits | Notes (main performers |
|---|---|---|
| Side One | ||
| "Lonely Boys" | Lead vocals Per (with Nisse), Per on lead guitar, Nisse on fuzz guitar. String quartet arrangement by Clarence Öfwerman. | |
| "I'm Not Like You" | Lead vocals Nisse (with Per), Per on acoustic guitar. | |
| "Keep the Radio On (This is the Perfect Song)" | Lead vocals Per (with Nisse), MP on 12-string guitar. | |
| "September Girl" | Lead vocals Nisse. | |
| "Adam & Eve" | Lead vocals Nisse (with Per). | |
| "I Wanna Be With You" | Lead vocals Per (with Nisse), MP on Mellotron, 12-string guitar & lead guitar. | |
| "Fuzzy Puss" | Nisse on fuzz guitar, MP on drums | |
| Side Two | ||
| "So Much In Love" | Lead vocals Nisse (with Per). | |
| "Flowers on the Moon" | Lead vocals Per (with Nisse), Nisse on acoustic-& 12-string guitar, lead guitar, MP on bongos & Mellotron. | |
| "Let Go of My Heart" | Lead vocals Nisse. | |
| "Apple in the Mud" | Lead vocals Per (with Nisse), Per on lead guitar, MP on acoustic guitar. | |
| "Pretty Little Devil (With Angel Eyes)" | Lead vocals Nisse. | |
| "Genius Gone Wrong" | Lead vocals Per (with Nisse), Per on 12-string solo guitar & piano, MP on guitar and 12-string guitar. | |
| "Days to Come, Days of Gold" | Lead vocals Nisse, Thomas on guitar. | |
