Tommy Nilsson
Encyclopedia
Erik Tommy Nilsson is a Swedish
rock
singer and composer. Swedish critics state that he has one of the best voices of Sweden.
In the late 70's, the artist was the singer of Swedish heavy metal band Horizont. The group released two albums but a French producer, Yves Accary, contacted Nilsson and signed him to a French record company. The singer enjoyed his first big hit in France in 1981 with the song No Way No How. The single sold one million copies and the album 200 000 copies. No Way No How, his first album, included disco tracks and ballads. A follow up LP Tommy Nilsson was released in 1982 and this time the songs were composed by Tommy Nilsson and Alex R Contanstinos. This was a rock album, recorded in Stockholm and Los Angeles, but it did not sell very well and after two years of travelling between France and the United States, Nilsson decided to go back to Sweden.
He first joined another metal band, Easy Action
, and they released two albums. The group eventually split up and Nilsson started a solo career. He represented Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest 1989
with the ballad En dag
(One day) and placed fourth. He has also made several Swedish hits in Sweden; Allt som jag känner (Everything that I feel) (a duet with Tone Norum
) in 1987, Öppna din dörr (Open your door) in 1994, Dina färger var blå (Your colours were blue) in 1996, and Amelia in 2005. In 1988, he was given an award for best Swedish male artist and in 1990 received a gold disc for his album Follow the Road.
In 1997, Harry co-starred with Mary Wilson
of the Supremes
in "SupremeSoul", the story of a black singer who arrives in Sweden to do a show with a white singer. The show consisted of music, as well as humorous moments that highlighted culture differences between Sweden and the United States of America.
In 2001, a compilation of his songs En samling 1981-2001, went platinum in Sweden. Nilsson has also collaborated with Swedish television, dubbed cartoons, and acted in several plays. In 2005, his album Tiden före nu reached # 2 on the Swedish sales chart just after its release.
Tommy Nilsson took part in the Swedish national Eurovision Song Contest
selection again in 2007. He performed the power ballad Jag tror på människan (I believe in man) in Melodifestivalen 2007
's first semi final in Jönköping
on 3 February 2007, and qualified for the final round, along with Anna Book
. The song placed tenth and last in the final after failing to receive any points from the judges or the televoting audience. Nevertheless Jag tror på människan reached #9 on the Svensktoppen
.
The singer played the part of Captain von Trapp in the musical The Sound of Music
that ran in Stockholm beginning 29 September 2007, ending with a tour and the last performance in Örebro
in May 2008.
Tommy Nilsson was married to Swedish actress Malin Berghagen, daughter of Lars Berghagen.
Nilsson is also known for his dubbing
work for animated films and series, including Top Cat
, Batman: The Animated Series
, The Busy World of Richard Scarry
, among others. He dubbed Mel Gibson
's voice of John Smith in Pocahontas
.
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....
rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
singer and composer. Swedish critics state that he has one of the best voices of Sweden.
In the late 70's, the artist was the singer of Swedish heavy metal band Horizont. The group released two albums but a French producer, Yves Accary, contacted Nilsson and signed him to a French record company. The singer enjoyed his first big hit in France in 1981 with the song No Way No How. The single sold one million copies and the album 200 000 copies. No Way No How, his first album, included disco tracks and ballads. A follow up LP Tommy Nilsson was released in 1982 and this time the songs were composed by Tommy Nilsson and Alex R Contanstinos. This was a rock album, recorded in Stockholm and Los Angeles, but it did not sell very well and after two years of travelling between France and the United States, Nilsson decided to go back to Sweden.
He first joined another metal band, Easy Action
Easy Action (band)
Easy Action is a glam metal band that was formed in 1982 by Kee Marcello and Alex Tyrone . The two played together in the Swedish glam act Noice when they decided to start the ultimate glam rock band, mixing their influences of 70's glam with a punk/metal attitude. They met the singer Zinny J...
, and they released two albums. The group eventually split up and Nilsson started a solo career. He represented Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest 1989
Eurovision Song Contest 1989
The Eurovision Song Contest 1989 was the 34th Eurovision Song Contest and was held on 6 May 1989 in Lausanne, Switzerland. Switzerland gained the hosting rights after Celine Dion's victory in Dublin the previous year. The presenters were Lolita Morena and Jacques Deschenaux. Riva was the winner of...
with the ballad En dag
En dag
"En dag" is a ballad, which was the Swedish Melodifestivalen 1989 winning song and entry to the Eurovision Song Contest 1989, where it finished 4th...
(One day) and placed fourth. He has also made several Swedish hits in Sweden; Allt som jag känner (Everything that I feel) (a duet with Tone Norum
Tone Norum
Tone Norum is a Swedish pop singer who gained popularity in the 1980s and 1990s. She is the younger sister of John Norum, the Europe guitarist.-Biography:Her debut album, One of a Kind, was released in 1986...
) in 1987, Öppna din dörr (Open your door) in 1994, Dina färger var blå (Your colours were blue) in 1996, and Amelia in 2005. In 1988, he was given an award for best Swedish male artist and in 1990 received a gold disc for his album Follow the Road.
In 1997, Harry co-starred with Mary Wilson
Mary Wilson (singer)
Mary Wilson is an American singer, formerlymember of the Motown female singing group The Supremes during the 1960s and 1970s. Wilson was the only singer to be a consistent member of the group in its eighteen-year tenure...
of the Supremes
The Supremes
The Supremes, an American female singing group, were the premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s.Originally founded as The Primettes in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959, The Supremes' repertoire included doo-wop, pop, soul, Broadway show tunes, psychedelic soul, and disco...
in "SupremeSoul", the story of a black singer who arrives in Sweden to do a show with a white singer. The show consisted of music, as well as humorous moments that highlighted culture differences between Sweden and the United States of America.
In 2001, a compilation of his songs En samling 1981-2001, went platinum in Sweden. Nilsson has also collaborated with Swedish television, dubbed cartoons, and acted in several plays. In 2005, his album Tiden före nu reached # 2 on the Swedish sales chart just after its release.
Tommy Nilsson took part in the Swedish national 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...
selection again in 2007. He performed the power ballad Jag tror på människan (I believe in man) in Melodifestivalen 2007
Melodifestivalen 2007
Melodifestivalen 2007 was the selection for the 47th song to represent Sweden at the Eurovision Song Contest. It was the 46th time that this system of picking a song has been used. Five semifinals took place to select the ten songs for the final, in Jönköping, Gothenburg, Örnsköldsvik, Gävle and a...
's first semi final in Jönköping
Jönköping
-Notable people:*Lillian Asplund, RMS Titanic survivor*John Bauer, illustrator, painter*Amy Diamond, singer*Agnetha Fältskog, ABBA*Carl Henrik Fredriksson, editor-in-chief and co-founder of Eurozine*Anders Gustafsson, kayaker, Olympian...
on 3 February 2007, and qualified for the final round, along with Anna Book
Anna Book
Anna Book is a Swedish pop singer. She participated in Let's Dance, the Swedish version of Dancing With The Stars, in 2006 and finished in 2nd place....
. The song placed tenth and last in the final after failing to receive any points from the judges or the televoting audience. Nevertheless Jag tror på människan reached #9 on the 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...
.
The singer played the part of Captain von Trapp in the musical The Sound of Music
The Sound of Music
The Sound of Music is a musical by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II and a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. It is based on the memoir of Maria von Trapp, The Story of the Trapp Family Singers...
that ran in Stockholm beginning 29 September 2007, ending with a tour and the last performance in Örebro
Örebro
-Sites of interest:Örebro's old town Wadköping is located on the banks of Svartån . It contains many 18th and 19th century wooden houses, along with museums and exhibitions....
in May 2008.
Tommy Nilsson was married to Swedish actress Malin Berghagen, daughter of Lars Berghagen.
Nilsson is also known for his dubbing
Dubbing (filmmaking)
Dubbing is the post-production process of recording and replacing voices on a motion picture or television soundtrack subsequent to the original shooting. The term most commonly refers to the substitution of the voices of the actors shown on the screen by those of different performers, who may be...
work for animated films and series, including Top Cat
Top Cat
Top Cat is a Hanna-Barbera prime time animated television series which ran from September 27, 1961 to April 18, 1962 for a run of 30 episodes on the ABC network. Reruns are played on Cartoon Network's classic animation network Boomerang.-History:...
, Batman: The Animated Series
Batman: The Animated Series
Batman: The Animated Series is an American animated series based on the DC Comics character Batman. The series featured an ensemble cast of many voice-actors including Kevin Conroy, Mark Hamill, Efrem Zimbalist, Jr., Arleen Sorkin, and Loren Lester. The series won four Emmy Awards and was nominated...
, The Busy World of Richard Scarry
The Busy World of Richard Scarry
The Busy World of Richard Scarry is a Canadian/French animated children's television series, produced by CINAR Animation and France Animation in association with Paramount Television, which aired from 1994 to 1997, first on Showtime, later on Nickelodeon, and ran for 65 episodes...
, among others. He dubbed Mel Gibson
Mel Gibson
Mel Colm-Cille Gerard Gibson, AO is an American actor, film director, producer and screenwriter. Born in Peekskill, New York, Gibson moved with his parents to Sydney, Australia when he was 12 years old and later studied acting at the Australian National Institute of Dramatic Art.After appearing in...
's voice of John Smith in Pocahontas
Pocahontas (1995 film)
Pocahontas is the 33rd animated feature in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series. It was produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and was originally released to selected theaters on June 16, 1995 by Walt Disney Pictures...
.
Albums
- 1982 - Tommy Nilsson
- 1988 - It!
- 1990 - Follow the Road
- 1994 - En kvinnas man
- 1996 - Så nära
- 1999 - Fri att vara här
- 2005 - Tiden före nu
- 2010 - I År är Julen Min
Singles
- 1981 - In The Mean Meantimes / No Way No How
- 1981 - Radio Me
- 1987 - Allt som jag känner (with Tone Norum)
- 1987 - My Summer With You (with Tone Norum)
- 1988 - Miss My Love
- 1988 - Maybe We're About To Fall In Love
- 1989 - En dagEn dag"En dag" is a ballad, which was the Swedish Melodifestivalen 1989 winning song and entry to the Eurovision Song Contest 1989, where it finished 4th...
- 1989 - Time (with Zemya Hamilton)
- 1990 - Too Many Expectations
- 1990 - Looking Through the Eyes of a Child
- 1990 - Don't Walk Away
- 1991 - Long Lasting Love
- 1994 - Öppna din dörr
- 1994 - En kvinnas man
- 1994 - Lämnar du mig
- 1994 - Marianne
- 1996 - Dina färger var blå
- 1996 - Om jag är den du vill ha
- 1996 - Å så nära
- 1996 - Du är för mig
- 1999 - Här är jag nu
- 1999 - Din skugga på mitt täcke
- 2001 - När du är här
- 2002 - Nu är tid att leva (with Åsa JinderÅsa JinderÅsa Jinder is a player of the nyckelharpa , and composer, producer, journalist, author and lecturer...
) - 2005 - Amelia
- 2005 - Allt ditt hjärta är
- 2006 - Vi brann
- 2007 - Jag tror på människan