Ebba Grön

Infobox musical artist |
Name =


Img_capt = Thåström, Fjodor and Gurra
Img_size =
Background = group_or_band
Alias =
Origin = Stockholm, Sweden
Instrument =
Genre = Punk
Years_active = 1977-1983
Label = Mistlur
Associated_acts =
URL = [http://www.thastrom.nu Thåström.nu]
Current_members =
Past_members = Joakim Thåström
Gunnar Ljungstedt
Lennart Eriksson
Anders Sjöholm: "This article is about Ebba Grön, the Swedish punk band. For the codeword used by the police, see Operation Leo."

Ebba Grön was a Swedish punk band formed in 1977. The original members were Joakim Thåström ("Pimme"), Gunnar Ljungstedt ("Gurra") and Lennart Eriksson ("Fjodor"). After their second album in 1981 they were joined by a fourth member, Anders Sjöholm ("Stry Terrarie").

One of the most famous songs they recorded is a cover by the Swedish progg band "Blå Tåget", and is called "Staten & Kapitalet", a song with anarcho-syndicalist political lyrics about how the government, "Staten", and the private corporations, "Kapitalet", cooperate to control and enslave the working classes.

History

During a party in Rågsved, a working-class suburb of Stockholm, in 1977, Thåström, Gurra and Fjodor formed a band called "The Haters". A few days later they changed the name to Ebba Grön after the codeword used by the police in Operation Leo.

One of the first songs performed by Ebba Grön was the controversial "Skjut en snut" (Shoot a cop), which was never officially recorded. They released their first single "Antirock" on April 21, 1978. The band bought all the 500 copies themselves and sold them in the streets. After a concert at Långholmsparken, which was recorded by the national radio, they were contacted by Mistlur record label, and offered a contract and to re-release the single.

Ebba Grön started a hectic period of touring all over Sweden, during which they also released two more singles. In 1978, the time had come for their album debut "We're Only In It For The Drugs", with songs about the tough, yet boring lives of young people in the working-class suburbs. The anarchistic lyrics were seen as very controversial at the time, and the lyrics of one song, "Beväpna er", (Take up arms) about taking up arms against the government, the bourgeoisie and the Swedish royal family, could not be printed on the cover. The band also started to get a reputation of having troublesome gigs, with vandalism and fights. At one gig when the band was attacked by Neo-Nazis, Fjodor used his bass to fight them off.

Ebba Grön also covered White Riot,a song originally performed by The Clash at some of their gigs.

In 1980, Ebba Grön released a single that would become their most famous song, a cover of Blå Tåget's "Den ena handen vet vad den andra gör", re-named "Staten och kapitalet", with very Anarcho-syndicalist political lyrics. Their second album "Kärlek & Uppror" (Love and Rebellion) was released next year, with the focus of the music shifting slightly away from punk. The catchy melodies and Ebba Grön's image as young rebels appealed to both the punk crowd and a wider audience, and the album was a big success.

Later that same year the keyboard player Stry was recruited and brought with him new influences. The single "Scheisse" was released in 1981 parallel with this: Thåström, Gurra, and Stry released a single with the new project "Rymdimperiet" (The Space Empire), which would later become Imperiet (The Empire).

During the recording of their second album and the tour that followed, the band was followed by film maker Johan Donner who was making a documentary about the band. The film, "Ebba the Movie" was released for the big screen in 1982.

Their third album, simply named "Ebba Grön", was released in 1982, and the new tendencies and influence by Stry were even more obvious. The band later said they attempted to make a "Rolling Stones-Album", and at the same time, a cover of the Stones’ "Happy" was recorded but not included on the album. The album had keyboards and horns, and was more melodic than its predecessors. This was a step away from punk. When Fjodor ended up in jail for four months for refusing to do his military service; it was the beginning of the end for Ebba Grön. But without Fjodor, the band lived on as "Rymdimperiet" and released their first album in 1983, now under the name Imperiet. Musically this album continued the development away from punk rock, but "Rasera" (Destroy), the first Imperiet album is sometimes considered being the last Ebba Grön album. Imperiet got a good start and would be the leading band of the Swedish rock scene throughout the '80s.

The lyrics and the music of Ebba Grön were always credited to the entire band, but after a while it became more obvious that it was Thåström who was the creative engine, and he would also have the most successful career after the breakup.

Discography

LPs

* We're Only in It for the Drugs (1979) #21 ( [http://www.swedishcharts.com/search.asp?cat=a&artist=Ebba+Gr%F6n&artist_search=starts&title=&title_search=starts SWE] )
* Kärlek & Uppror (1981) #5 (SWE)
* Ebba Grön (1982) #1 (SWE)

EPs/Singles

* Antirock (Profit/Ung & Sänkt) (1978)
* Prorock (Tyst För Fan/Mona Tumbas Slim Club) (1978)
* Total-POP (Vad Ska Du Bli?/Häng Gud) (1979) #18 ( [http://www.swedishcharts.com/search.asp?cat=s&artist=Ebba+Gr%F6n&artist_search=starts&title=&title_search=starts SWE] )
* Ung & Kåt/Staten & Kapitalet (1980) #11 (SWE)
* Scheisse/Tyna bort (1981) #3 (SWE)

Compilations

* Samlade Singlar (1983) #17 (SWE)
* Ebba Grön 1978-1982 (1993) #17 (SWE)
* Ebba Grön Live (1998) #4 (SWE)
* Boxen (1998) - 4 CDs with the complete works
* Ebba Grön Samlingen (2005) - Double CD #14 (SWE)

Film

* Ebba the Movie (1982)

External links

* [http://www.thastrom.nu Thåström official internet page]
* [http://notfound.se/ebba.html notfound.se] - Pictures of Ebba Grön from 1979/1980
* [http://bildrulle.nu/album/musik/dagvagoebba80/index.html bildrulle.nu] - Pictures of Dag Vag and Ebba Grön from October 20, 1980
* [http://bildrulle.nu/album/musik/raketernaoebba81/index.html bildrulle.nu] - Pictures of Ebba Grön and Raketerna from March, 1981