Over to Sweden tonight for a set by Weeping Willows, recorded at The Tivoli in Helsingborg on March 12, 1999 and preserved for posterity by Sveriges Radio P3 in Stockholm.
Weeping Willows formed in 1995. The group has become known for their thoughtful, emotional songs, strongly influenced by frontman Magnus Carlson’s voice.
The band was originally Stefan Sundström’s backing band Apache. After seeing a cover band with singer Magnus Carlson and Thomas Sundgren (who mainly consisted of bartenders and waiters from the restaurant Kvarnen on Södermalm in Stockholm), the bands joined forces. Weeping Willows was formed in 1995 as a cover band that performed romantic ballads by, among others, Roy Orbison . In addition to Carlsson and Sundgren, Stefan Axelsen, Mats Hedén, Anders Hernestam and Ola Nyström from Apache participated. Singer Magnus Carlson has also released albums as a solo artist.
Carlson and the other band members began writing their own music and debuted in 1997. Singer Magnus Carlson’s emotional singing voice was reminiscent of the kind of music from the 1950s and 1960s that the music was inspired by. The band was interviewed in 1998 in the magazine Vi when they had just released their first album. Even then, they were called “Sweden’s most interesting music group”. With the third album Into the Light, however, the band changed their profile a bit and was inspired more by groups such as Depeche Mode, not least through the use of synthesizers and effects. With the following album, Presence, the band developed a more modern sound with influences from Morrissey, among others, for example by using distorted guitars to a greater extent than before.
Their biggest hit to date is “Touch Me”. The group’s songs often deal with classic song topics, such as unrequited love, loneliness and heartbreak. Over the years, the band has placed well on the Trackslistan , with a peak position of 5th on the list of groups in 2002. In 2004, the band came in 8th place with the song “Stairs”. At the end of August 2006, they were in 99th place on the list of the most successful bands in Sweden since 1985.
The song “Blue and Alone” from the album Broken Promise Land is the theme song for the Swedish comedy series Pistvakt – A Winter’s Tale .
Weeping Willows participated in the film Offside in 2006 at Stenfors BK’s after-party where they performed the songs “Heart of Hearts” and “Try It Once Again”.
Press Play and check them out, if you haven’t already.
