Biography
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Years Active
1969 – present (55 years)
Svenne & Lotta is a pop duo with Svenne Hedlund and Lotta Hedlund. They met in 1967, when (along with ABBA's Benny Andersson) Svenne Hedlund was the vocalist in the band Hep Stars. Charlotte Walker, which was Lotta Hedlund's name at that time, toured Sweden with the all-girl American trio The Sherrys. The Hep Stars' phenomenal success within Scandinavia is well-documented, and as an authentic, American soul group, the Sherrys were a European touring success story.
It was at Jerry Williams' 'Hamburger börs' show that the couple met, after which they spent time together during the Swedish leg of Lotta's concert tour with the Sherrys. Upon Lotta's return to America, the pair missed each other so greatly that Lotta soon travelled back to Sweden; this time with her three children. Seeking parental approval, Lotta also brought her mother to meet Svenne.
With the Hep Stars' popularity diminshing, Lotta was brought in as a new member of the band, along with Benny's songwriting colleague, Björn Ulvaeus. This new line-up didn't last long, with Benny and Björn setting their sights on international stardom with their fiances. Aiming to follow in ABBA's victorious footsteps, Svenne and Lotta competed in the Swedish heats for the Eurovision Song Contest, Melodifestivalen 1975, with the song "Bang en boomerang", but finished 3rd. The song however became their breakthrough in Scandinavia, and the duo became especially popular in Denmark. In the early 1980's they even took the very unusual step of recording a Danish language version of their Swedish hit "När Dagen Försvinner" (a cover of Alan Sorrenti's "Tu Sei L'Unica Donna Per Me"), retitled "Når Dagen Forsvinder".
As artists on the Polar Music International record label (owned by ABBA's manager Stig Anderson), Svenne & Lotta released various singles and albums produced by Benny and Björn. These mainly consisted of covers of 60's hits and Swedish-language versions of ABBA's (English-language) recordings; complete with ABBA's original instrumentation/backing tracks. Most notable of all is "Funky Feet", included on their 1976 album Letters; originally written for ABBA's Arrival album, Benny and Björn felt it was too similar to the already-recorded "Dancing Queen".
While most husband and wife teams with close connections to ABBA eventually separated, Svenne and Lotta have remained together. Since the early 1980's the couple resides in Sävsjö, Småland and since the early 1990's they have frequently toured Scandinavia with the reformed Hep Stars.
In 2000 the duo returned to Melodifestivalen, as they sang "Bara Du Och Jag" with Swedish rappers Balsam Boys (Gustav Eurén and Stefan Deak). In 2005 they also made a special anniversary appearance in the show, performing "Bang-A-Boomerang" 30 years after they first competed with the song.
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