Bo Hansson

Music:

Member Since: 10/15/2007
Band Website: silence.se/bohansson
Band Members:
THE BO HANSSON STORY:

Bo Hansson was born April 10th 1943 in Gothenburg, Sweden.
As for most people in Bo's generation it was the guitar that really got his music going. But then at the Gyllene Cirkeln, a club in Stockholm one night in 1966 the American jazz organist Brother Jack McDuff was playing a concert and the experience was a turning point for Bo. He was absolutely fascinated by the sounds of the Hammond organ and the possibilities of an instrument, that made it possible to play solos and rhythm with the hands, and bass with the feet. At the same time! The next day he put his guitar aside and decided to start to playing the organ.

Bill Öhrström, a talent scout and producer at Polydor introduced Bo to several musicians that could become possible partners. Some drummers, guitarists and even a violinist was tested before the jazz drummer Janne Karlsson came along and became a permanent partner.
The group Hansson & Karlsson made three albums between 1967 and 1969. Their debut album Monument is one of the best instrumental albums ever recorded in Sweden. Hansson & Karlsson mixed rock, jazz, classical music in a way never heard before. Monument has still after 35 years no competitor.
Hansson & Karlsson toured Sweden several times, from large folk parks to small clubs. They played a memorable gig as support for Cream in Stockholm 1967 and they had a one night long jam session with Jimi Hendrix at Klubb Filpis. Hendrix was a big fan of Hansson & Karlsson and he recorded their composition Tax Free. He also planned to record a version of their Triplets, but unfortunately he died shortly before having the chance.

The rock scene in Sweden was radically changing in the breaking of the sixties and seventies. The established record companies didn't realize what was happening and new companies with idealistic motives started.
Silence was such a company. One of the founders, the sound engineer Anders Lind, had followed Hansson & Karlsson from the cradle to the grave. One day Bo came knocking on his door to present the wild idea of making music to a book. Bo had got the books from a girlfriend and as everybody else he was captured by the story.

Bo recorded a demo tape he handed to Anders, who immediately loved what he heard and he wanted this to be the first release on the new Silence label. All through the fall and winter of 1969 they recorded and read the books. Bo in one room with his instruments, Anders in another with his machines and one room for the drums that Rune Carlsson came and played from time to time.
Lord of the Rings was recorded on a four track recorder and was finished when spring broke. They continued the work in a small studio with one of the first eight track recorders in Sweden and finally the record was mixed in a studio at The National Swedish Radio.
Lord of the Rings was released late in the fall of 1970 and became an immediate success. In the encyclopaedia Guide to Progressive Rock, published by American Billboard, Bo Hansson is mentioned with reverence and respect. He is the first to play "space music".

Bo had lots of compositions left which didn't fit on Lord of the Rings. Together with new material he put together a second album called Magician’s Hat. That was a straight follow up to Lord of the Rings, with tracks as "Fylke" and "Playing downhill into the Downs". He was also inspired by other fairy tales like Elidor by Alan Garner that became a track with the same title as the book.

The name Bo Hansson was spreading around the world and he was offered to play a big festival in Germany. A band was actually gathered and rehearsals took place in a garage outside Stockholm. The core was Fläsket Brinner in addition to bass player Göran Lagerberg and guitarist Kenny Håkansson from Kebnekajse. A dream team that never saw its way outside the garage. Bo himself could not find the right motivation to get out on the road again.
In 1975 Attic Thoughts was released, an album a little more experimental than the others where musicians like guitarist Kenny HÃ¥kansson and saxophone player Gunnar Bergsten are given more space to play. Attic Thoughts is to be considered the third and last part of Bo Hansson's musical fairy tale trilogy.

After Attic Thoughts Bo and Silence took a break from each other. He released Watership Down in 1977. Once again he leaned on Kenny HÃ¥kansson's brilliant guitar playing. Bo himself says that the real spice from the record comes from Kenny's musical input. After Watership Down came a long silence. A musical drainage that not was broken until 1985 by the surprising Mitt I Livet (In the middle if life). Silence and Bo had once again gotten together for this release but the critics did not like the beautiful little songs that were sung in Swedish by different singers. Since then there has been silence.

This MySpace biography is a shortened version of the biography of HÃ¥kan Lahger from the website: http://www.silence.se/bohansson.

Get more information on another fantastic site: http://www.progg.se/band.asp?ID=62

Record Label: silence
Type of Label: Major