Lill-Babs
Encyclopedia
Lill-Babs is a Swedish
singer and actress.
, Gävleborg County
, as the first daughter of Britta and Ragnar Svensson. At the age of fifteen, she sang on the radioshow Morgonkvisten as a "young talent." The Swedish band leader and talent scout Simon Brehm had heard the show and contacted her that very same evening and invited her to audition in his studio in Stockholm
. The audition went well, and she moved to Stockholm to begin her career in show business.
In 1954, she recorded her first record "Min mammas boogie" under the name "Lill-Babs.", a combination of the Swedish word 'little' and the Anglicized nickname for Barbro/Barbara. Just as her fame was beginning to grow, the unmarried Lill-Babs became pregnant - a potential public scandal in Sweden of the mid-1950s. She continued to work as long as she was able to hide her pregnancy, then went home to Järvsö to give birth to a girl, Monica.
After some time at home, she returned to focus on her career. However, Simon Brehm had by then found a new vocalist to take her place and no longer required her services. Lill-Babs received an offer to tour with Brehm's competing band leader Kettil Olsson. After the tour and a couple of concerts at jazz club Nalen in Stockholm, she received a call from Simon asking for her to come back to work for him. She accepted his offer and went on to perform many concerts at dance palace Bal Palais and other tours.
In 1958, she went on her first self-produced tour and was cast in the movie Fly mig en greve with comedian Carl-Gustaf Lindstedt
. She made many recordings, such as the novelty song "Är Du Kär I Mig Ännu Klas-Göran?", "Leva Livet" and "En tuff brud i lyxförpackning", all of which became big sellers, Svensktoppen
entries and schlager
standards in Sweden. "Är Du Kär I Mig Ännu Klas-Göran" was composed by the then relatively unknown Stig Anderson
. Anderson would go on to write several of Lill-Babs' hits in the 1960s and in the early 1970s he would gain international fame and success as the manager of ABBA
.
In the 1960s, Barbro's own fan-club Splorr was created and became the largest in Sweden with 17,000 members. The number of members however became too cumbersome to handle and the growing costs forced the club to go into bankruptcy.
During this time Lill-Babs did much of her work in West Germany
, where many of her records, television shows, and movies were produced. As a result of this she became a big star in Germany, considered as popular as TV-artist Caterina Valente
. In 1961 she represented Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest
with "April, april
" in Cannes
and she would go on to participate several times in the national preselections for the contest both in Sweden and Norway.
One of the more unusual merits in Lill-Babs' career took place in October 1963 as she guested on Swedish TV show Drop In, broadcast live, and afterwards signed autographs for a starstruck and at the time up and coming British band from Liverpool
making one of their first international TV appearances on the same show; the name of the band was The Beatles
.
Lill-Babs' 1971 Svensktoppen hit "Välkommen Till Världen", originally composed as a contender for Melodifestivalen
of that year, is of special significance in the history of ABBA since it was written and produced by Björn Ulvaeus
and Benny Andersson
and it is also one of the earliest recordings to feature backing vocals by all four future members of the band.
In 1974, Lill-Babs played the lead in the Swedish cast of musical Annie Get Your Gun
, directed by writer and TV-personality Åke Falck. The show was performed at the Scandinavium hockey arena in Gothenburg
for a total of 12 performances - with more than one hundred thousand tickets sold. She received excellent reviews overall and was after twenty years in show business finally acknowledged for her talent as an allround entertainer, singing, acting and dancing. In the following three decades she would go on to play sold-out cabarets at venues like Berns Salonger and Hamburger Börs in Stockholm, often with material written especially for her by renowned Swedish writers such as poet Lars Forssell and singer and lyricist Barbro Hörberg.
Having three daughters - all with different fathers, and having married several times as well, Lill-Babs has also unwillingly been a permanent feature in the Swedish tabloid press for the past four decades.
At the age of 73 Lill-Babs is still going strong, often affectionately referred to as Sweden's "grand old lady" in show business and still frequently touring Sweden.
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
singer and actress.
Biography
Lill-Babs was born in JärvsöJärvsö
Järvsö is a locality and a parish situated in Ljusdal Municipality, Gävleborg County, Sweden with 1,385 inhabitants in 2005. From Järvsö, people commute to Ljusdal, Färila, Bollnäs, and Gävle....
, Gävleborg County
Gävleborg County
Gävleborg County is a county or län on the Baltic Sea coast of Sweden. It borders to the counties of Uppsala, Västmanland, Dalarna, Jämtland and Västernorrland. The capital is Gävle.- Administration :...
, as the first daughter of Britta and Ragnar Svensson. At the age of fifteen, she sang on the radioshow Morgonkvisten as a "young talent." The Swedish band leader and talent scout Simon Brehm had heard the show and contacted her that very same evening and invited her to audition in his studio in Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
. The audition went well, and she moved to Stockholm to begin her career in show business.
In 1954, she recorded her first record "Min mammas boogie" under the name "Lill-Babs.", a combination of the Swedish word 'little' and the Anglicized nickname for Barbro/Barbara. Just as her fame was beginning to grow, the unmarried Lill-Babs became pregnant - a potential public scandal in Sweden of the mid-1950s. She continued to work as long as she was able to hide her pregnancy, then went home to Järvsö to give birth to a girl, Monica.
After some time at home, she returned to focus on her career. However, Simon Brehm had by then found a new vocalist to take her place and no longer required her services. Lill-Babs received an offer to tour with Brehm's competing band leader Kettil Olsson. After the tour and a couple of concerts at jazz club Nalen in Stockholm, she received a call from Simon asking for her to come back to work for him. She accepted his offer and went on to perform many concerts at dance palace Bal Palais and other tours.
In 1958, she went on her first self-produced tour and was cast in the movie Fly mig en greve with comedian Carl-Gustaf Lindstedt
Carl-Gustaf Lindstedt
Carl-Gustaf Lindstedt was a Swedish actor. He grew up in Kungsholmen in Stockholm, where there now is a street named after him....
. She made many recordings, such as the novelty song "Är Du Kär I Mig Ännu Klas-Göran?", "Leva Livet" and "En tuff brud i lyxförpackning", all of which became big sellers, Svensktoppen
Svensktoppen
Svensktoppen is a record chart at Sveriges Radio. Until January 2003, the songs had to be in the Swedish language. Svensktoppen has aired since 1962, except for the years 1982-1985. Svensktoppen airs once a week...
entries and schlager
Schlager
Schlager music is a style of popular music prevalent in Central and Northern Europe and the Balkans and also in France and Poland. In Portugal, it was adapted and became pimba music...
standards in Sweden. "Är Du Kär I Mig Ännu Klas-Göran" was composed by the then relatively unknown Stig Anderson
Stig Anderson
Stig 'Stikkan' Erik Leopold Anderson was born in Hova, Sweden, and is best known as the manager of the pop group ABBA.- Polar Music:Anderson was the founder of the Polar Music record label in 1963...
. Anderson would go on to write several of Lill-Babs' hits in the 1960s and in the early 1970s he would gain international fame and success as the manager of ABBA
ABBA
ABBA was a Swedish pop group formed in Stockholm in 1970 which consisted of Anni-Frid Lyngstad, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson and Agnetha Fältskog...
.
In the 1960s, Barbro's own fan-club Splorr was created and became the largest in Sweden with 17,000 members. The number of members however became too cumbersome to handle and the growing costs forced the club to go into bankruptcy.
During this time Lill-Babs did much of her work in West Germany
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
, where many of her records, television shows, and movies were produced. As a result of this she became a big star in Germany, considered as popular as TV-artist Caterina Valente
Caterina Valente
Caterina Valente is a singer, dancer, and actress. She was born into an Italian artist family; her father Giuseppe was a well-known accordion player, her mother, Maria Valente, a musical clown...
. In 1961 she represented Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest
Eurovision Song Contest
The Eurovision Song Contest is an annual competition held among active member countries of the European Broadcasting Union .Each member country submits a song to be performed on live television and then casts votes for the other countries' songs to determine the most popular song in the competition...
with "April, april
April, april
"April, april" is a song by Swedish singer Lill-Babs, that represented Sweden at the Eurovision Song Contest 1961, performed in Swedish.The song was the winner of Melodifestivalen 1961, where it was performed by both Siw Malmkvist and Gunnar Wiklund...
" in Cannes
Cannes
Cannes is one of the best-known cities of the French Riviera, a busy tourist destination and host of the annual Cannes Film Festival. It is a Commune of France in the Alpes-Maritimes department....
and she would go on to participate several times in the national preselections for the contest both in Sweden and Norway.
One of the more unusual merits in Lill-Babs' career took place in October 1963 as she guested on Swedish TV show Drop In, broadcast live, and afterwards signed autographs for a starstruck and at the time up and coming British band from Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
making one of their first international TV appearances on the same show; the name of the band was The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
.
Melodifestivalen
Melodifestivalen is an annual music competition organised by Swedish public broadcasters Sveriges Television and Sveriges Radio . It determines the country's representative for the Eurovision Song Contest, and has been staged almost every year since 1959...
of that year, is of special significance in the history of ABBA since it was written and produced by Björn Ulvaeus
Björn Ulvaeus
Björn Kristian Ulvaeus is a Swedish songwriter, composer, musician, writer, producer, a former member of the Swedish musical group ABBA , and co-composer of the musicals Chess, Kristina från Duvemåla, and Mamma Mia!...
and Benny Andersson
Benny Andersson
Göran Bror "Benny" Andersson is a Swedish musician, composer, a former member of the Swedish musical group ABBA , and co-composer of the musicals Chess, Kristina från Duvemåla, and Mamma Mia!...
and it is also one of the earliest recordings to feature backing vocals by all four future members of the band.
In 1974, Lill-Babs played the lead in the Swedish cast of musical Annie Get Your Gun
Annie Get Your Gun (musical)
Annie Get Your Gun is a musical with lyrics and music written by Irving Berlin and a book by Herbert Fields and his sister Dorothy Fields. The story is a fictionalized version of the life of Annie Oakley , who was a sharpshooter from Ohio, and her husband, Frank Butler.The 1946 Broadway production...
, directed by writer and TV-personality Åke Falck. The show was performed at the Scandinavium hockey arena in Gothenburg
Gothenburg
Gothenburg is the second-largest city in Sweden and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated on the west coast of Sweden, the city proper has a population of 519,399, with 549,839 in the urban area and total of 937,015 inhabitants in the metropolitan area...
for a total of 12 performances - with more than one hundred thousand tickets sold. She received excellent reviews overall and was after twenty years in show business finally acknowledged for her talent as an allround entertainer, singing, acting and dancing. In the following three decades she would go on to play sold-out cabarets at venues like Berns Salonger and Hamburger Börs in Stockholm, often with material written especially for her by renowned Swedish writers such as poet Lars Forssell and singer and lyricist Barbro Hörberg.
Having three daughters - all with different fathers, and having married several times as well, Lill-Babs has also unwillingly been a permanent feature in the Swedish tabloid press for the past four decades.
At the age of 73 Lill-Babs is still going strong, often affectionately referred to as Sweden's "grand old lady" in show business and still frequently touring Sweden.
Sources and references
- Barbro Svensson & Anna Wahlgren: Lill-Babs - Hon Är Jag: Minnen Av Ögonblick, Bra Böcker 1996 ISBN 91-7133 184 0.
- Carl Magnus Palm: Bright Lights - Dark Shadows, Omnibus Press UK 2001, ISBN 0-7119.8389.5
- Carl Magnus Palm: ABBA - The Complete Recording Sessions, Century 22 Limited UK, 1994. ISBN 0-907938-10-8