Blue Swede Biography
Vocalist Bjorn Skifs was already well known in Sweden when he and EMI Records record producer, Bengst Palmers, decided that an offensive on the English-speaking market in 1973 would be feasible. Forming Blue Swede, they listened hard to Slade's rowdy singalong style and, as they had no compositions of their own, the sextet covered B.J. Thomas's 1969 hit single "Hooked On A Feeling". After a successful testing in domestic charts, it was issued in the USA and reached number 1 - doing likewise in Canada, Australia and Holland. In the UK, however, it was eclipsed by Jonathan King's original version, but this was only a petty dampener on Blue Swede's triumph. Following another US Top 10 entry (with a revival of the Association's "Never My Love"), a medley of Deep Purple's "Hush" and the Hollies' "I'm Alive", and other subsequent releases, were confined mainly to Scandinavia. A sample from the band's version of "Hooked On A Feeling" later appeared in the late 90s TV series Ally McBeal.
Source: The Encyclopedia of Popular Music by Colin Larkin. Licensed from Muze.
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