Moderns

- The Moderns Biography 1979 1981 The story starts at a high school in Malmö, south Sweden in late 1978, where Janne Borgh met Tony Manieri and Pär Attack for the first time. Being two years older and a lot more musically experienced, Janne became the leader and main songwriter of what was to become Swedens first and best mod-revival band. Janne had been playing in local band Silver and The Buddyboys who where quite well-known in south Sweden. The former was a glam-rock band in the Mott The Hoople/Bowie/New York Dolls vein and the latter a 60s tribute band, playing the Beatles and other hits of that era. Fuelled by the energy from the punk movement Janne wanted to do original songs, influenced by The Who and The Jam. So in early 1979 the band who at this point featured Janne on bass and vocals, Tony on rhythm guitar and vocals, Mats Johansson on lead guitar and vocals and Richard Lundqvist on drums, recorded their debut EP.- This record featured the songs Got To Have Pop, The Year Of Today, When The Time Comes and Say Yes. Self-produced and self-financed, the record gained a lot of publicity due to the freshness of the sound and the fact that nobody else did this kind of music in Sweden at the time. At this time both Janne and Tony was in the Swedish Army (mandatory in Sweden) for about a year, and Mats went to Sinai to do UN service. The band took a short break to reform in the fall of 1979, now with Pär Attack on drums. The band played lots of gigs in Sweden, recorded second single Tell Me Where The Action Is b/w She Said Go and secured a record-deal in Stockholm. This was with independent label Mandarine Records, who released the third single Ready For The 80s b/w Identity. Through Mandarine the band got to tour the UK as part of the first Echo & The Bunnymen tour and also with a few gigs of their own. They played at Liverpools Erics in Mathew Street and at the legendary Hope & Anchor in London and lots of other places. This was probably the high point of the band career. A funny incident was in Blackpool where band played in front of 500 skinheads who was there to see Screwdriver. The singer of Screwdriver told his fans to treat the Moderns with respect, in spite of the fact that we were mods, and thats what they did!- Back in Sweden, big label EMI started to show interest in the band and an audition was held at the EMI offices in Solna. It was around this time that the problems started. The band minus Pär had moved to Stockholm to get closer to the record label and to get a out of Malmö, which was quite dreary at this time. A new drummer, Henrik Svennerbrandt joined and Tony left. The reason for Tony leaving was a combination of outside pressure who tried to break up the band, and a lot of stubbornness from Janne and Tony. Today they both regret what happened and agree that after that the chemistry was broken. Anyway, EMI signed the band and they started recording their first album, Tro, Hopp & Fruktan in the EMI studio in south Stockholm. But even more changes had to take place. Henrik didnt meet the demands as drummer and he had to go. In came 18-year old Mikael Wirén, the band best drummer by far. Also, it was obvious that a second guitarist was needed so Mikaels friend Claudio Scubla was in. This quartet recorded the album, toured and then disbanded. This was late 1981, and the record didnt sell as much as was anticipated, partly due to a switch to the Swedish language. Mikael and Claudio left and Janne and Mats decided to call it a day. Mats moved back to Malmö and Janne moved on to his next project, Strindbergs who was to become big in Sweden in the following years, and record three albums. Two intense years, with lots of fun and fond memories and a small legacy of great songs is what is left ---Janne Borgh (bass & vocal) 2004- Diskografi: EP: The year of today - Got to have pop - When the time comes - Say yes ( 1979 - 500 ex) Singel: Ready for the 80´s - Identity (Mandarine Records MR S-7 - 1980 - 2000 ex) Samling: Let It Out: She said go - Tell me where the action is (Adventure Records ADVLP 100 - 1980) Samling: Hemliga Vågen: Got to have pop - When the time comes (Hemliga Bolaget HEM 001- 1980) LP: Tro hopp och fruktan (Parlophone 7C 062-35889 - 1981) Samling: Break the rules Vol 9: Got to have pop: (Insect records 9 -1999) Samling: Shake some action vol 6: Got to have pop (Pop Madrid) Samling: Power pearls Vol 2 Got to have pop (Pearl 2 - 1998)
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