The Hoola Bandoola Band was a music group from Sweden in the 1970s. The group supported left-wing ideas. Important members included Mikael Wiehe and Björn Afzelius.
History
Hoola Bandoola Band, along with Nationalteatern, was the most popular band in the Swedish progg movement. Nationalteatern combined rock music with lyrics that showed real-life social issues, while Hoola Bandoola used rock music to express stronger political messages and sounded more different from traditional rock.
The band’s name likely comes from the fake language used by ants in a Donald Duck cartoon called "Tea for Two Hundred."
Hoola Bandoola was formed in 1970. In 1971, they released their first radio hit and quickly received offers from two record companies: one traditional and one alternative called MNW. During the 1970s, choosing a record company was very important because of the political situation. By selecting an alternative company, Hoola Bandoola became the most famous band on the alternative side in Sweden.
Their first album, Garanterat individuell (Guaranteed Individual), was released in 1971 and was called the start of a new era for Swedish pop music. It was voted the best album of the year. This album had few political messages, but their next album, Vem kan man lita på? (Whom Can One Trust?), released the following year, had stronger socialist themes. This album included popular songs like "Keops pyramid."
In 1974, the band released På Väg (On the Way), which used a balalaika orchestra. This album made them one of Sweden’s best-selling groups. In 1975, they released Fri information (Free Information), where their socialist messages became even more clear. On this album, Björn Afzelius wrote half of the songs, while earlier albums mostly had songs written by Lasse Mårtenson Wiehe.
In 1975, the alternative movement opposed a tennis match between Sweden and Chile, which was under the rule of General Pinochet. For this event, Hoola Bandoola released the song "Stoppa matchen" (Stop the Match) as a single. This was their last studio recording. In 1976, the band broke up, and Wiehe and Afzelius began successful careers as singer-songwriters, both together and separately.
After 20 years of being inactive, Hoola Bandoola reunited in 1996. They performed as a warm-up act for Bob Dylan and later toured nationwide, playing over 50 shows with more than 200,000 people attending. Recordings from this tour were released in 1999, after Afzelius’s death, on the album För dom som kommer sen (For Those Who Come Later). Every year on the anniversary of Afzelius’s death, an award is given to someone who has worked in the spirit of Björn Afzelius.
In August 2011, the band performed at the Malmö festival to promote their new double CD.
Discography
- 1971: Hoola Bandolla Export
- 1971: Garanterat individuell
- 1972: Vem kan man lita på?
- 1973: På väg
- 1975: Stoppa matchen
- 1975: Fri information
- 1996: Country Pleasures
- 1996: Ingenting förändras av sig själv – 5 cd box
- 1987: Hoola Bandoola Band 1971 – 1976
- 2011: Hoola Bandoola Band 1971 – 2011
- 1999: …För dom som kommer sen – live