The Spotnicks

The Spotnicks are a Swedish instrumental group, founded in 1958 in Gothenburg, which was successful with her twang - guitar sound, especially in the 1960s and is mentioned in one breath with groups such as the Shadows or the Ventures. The Spotnicks live mainly from the characteristic guitar playing their lead guitarist Bo Winberg.

Band Members

  • Lead Guitar: Bo Winberg ( since 1958 )
  • Rhythm Guitar: Bob Lander (aka Bob Star Ander ), Göran Samuelsson, Lennart Hermannson, Bent Andersson, John 's hall, Matz Nilsson, Douglas Möller, inter alia,
  • Bass Guitar: Björn Thelin, Magnus Hellberg, Stefan Ericsson, among others
  • Drums: Ove Johansson, Derek Skinner, Tommi Tausis, Jimmie Nicol, Claes Paetterson, Peter Wiberg, inter alia,
  • Keyboard Instruments: Peter Winsnes, Juri Wiik, Bo Mariette among others

Over the years, the band recorded a total of more than 100 members, the only Bo Winberg are the founders of the band and inventor of the Spotnicks sounds and Bob Lander since 1958 there. The majority of this used -down musicians were highly doped studio musician.

Biography

Among the founders of the Spotnicks were Bo Winberg, Bo Star Ander (who later called himself Bob Lander ), Björn Thelin and Ove Johansson. The group initially called itself "The Frazer ", announced in 1961 the name after it was launched on October 4, 1957 with the Soviet Sputnik 1, the first artificial satellite of the Earth, and had begun the era of space travel. The band gave, therefore, a certain Spaceman Image: The band members joined in futuristic costumes as astronauts on - original: Live performances with foxtrot dance steps. This image was further strengthened by a for that time, and superior to others of its time comparable guitar bands modern and subtle sound, which was made possible by Bo Winbergs homemade backline ( guitar and bass amplifier). In particular, the guitar rig of the lead guitarist Winberg was designed by conceived in homemade tube technology as a high-end ( stereo ) amplifier. Meanwhile generated so bright, distortion-free and produced with perfectly reverb and echo effects, guitar sound was known as "Space - Sound" ( Space Sound ).

My first manager Stikkan " Stig " Anderson ( later manager of the pop group Abba ) could not initially help to success the Spotnicks. During one of their early performances, (the Spotnicks were at a gala event hosted by the pirate radio station " Radio Nord " and the Stockholm Label carousel at ) noticed their future manager Roland distance Borg after the concert: "You're probably the best band I 've ever heard - but your stage show is pretty much the worst thing I've ever seen " He introduced the group his holiday home available, so that they could work on their choreography..

There was then a two- month engagement at Casa Leon- Club in Berlin, during which even their first single "Orange Blossom Special " was released, which was a hit in most of Europe - except in their home country Sweden. Immediately after the concerts in Berlin launched the Spotnicks in a world tour that took them to almost all continents except Australia.

As an anecdote is told that was modified at a concert in Paris in 1962 Bo Winberg his guitar so that he could play in the midst of the audience wirelessly. It was when switching on the guitar all of a sudden the police radio in the speakers eavesdrop. After another switch, the police had come to enjoy the concert. A wireless connection between the artist and the amplifier was in the early 1960s, a revolutionary innovation, which also Bo Winberg was ahead of his time. This, however, remained undiscovered going on and the artists of the 1960s and 1970s were content to continue with the cable connections. It was only towards the mid-1980s came radio systems industrially produced in the market.

As 1962 ( in the UK) the Beatles appeared on the music scene, began the fame of the twang bands, thus the Spotnicks, to wane gradually in Europe; in Japan, however, the success rate was initially continued - and even be expanded. Which at this time particularly quickly and seriously changing zeitgeist in pop and rock music but eventually had to be taken into account by the group disbanded after a short experimental phase towards the end of the decade. A comeback, however, was heralded by new appointments to Bo Winberg and slight stylistic change towards Country, in 1972 with another hit. A particular success was one in Germany. For the Olympic broadcasts in the ARD, the Spotnicks for the Olympic Quiz took 6 × 6 the Gordon Lightfoot - title "If You Could Read My Mind " as an instrumental on which vorarbeitete in the charts at # 2 and on 3 March 1973 with was awarded the Bronze Lion from Radio Luxembourg.

Other well-known and successful titles include " Amapola ", " Bonanza", "Ghost Riders in the Sky ", " Johnny Guitar ", " Telstar ", " Hava Nagila ", "If You Could Read My Mind " or the Bo - Winberg 's own composition " Cape Kennedy ".

After successful re- formation it had become quiet again from the mid-1970s to the Swedes. In the early 1990s, the group was disbanded due to health reasons Bo Winbergs again, but finished by his recovery towards the end of the 1990s, together with the former founding member Bob Lander, and various younger musicians again. The group has since still active today and deny successful tours. She belongs with her 50 - year anniversary of the oldest guitar formations in the world. In the anniversary tour, she also traveled to Germany and made on 12 and 13 January, 2008 Dortmund station.

Known pieces (excerpts)

  • Orange Blossom Special (1960 )
  • Hava Nagila (1960 )
  • Amapola (1962 )
  • The Spotnicks ' Theme ( 1962)
  • Happy Guitar (1963 )
  • Johnny Guitar (1963 )
  • Western Guitar (1963 )
  • If You Could Read My Mind (1972 )
  • If I Were a Carpenter (1973 )

Discography

  • Ghost Riders in the Sky / Le Dernier Train de L' Espace (Single, Polydor 52 939 )
  • Space Ship Rendezvous / Drina March ( Single, Polydor 52 206 )
  • Amapola / Cape Kennedy (Single, Polydor 52 925 )
  • If You Could Read My Mind / Last Date (Single, Polydor 2121 131)
  • The Spotnicks in Paris - Vol 1962 ( re-release on CD)
  • The Spotnicks - Back to the Roots ( CD re-release of 1962)
  • The Spotnicks - Rare French 60 ' Tapes ( CD)
  • The big four from The Spotnicks (2 singles in the hinged album, 1964 Polydor 2607 006)
  • The Spotnicks in Stockholm (LP, 1966, Polydor 237637 )
  • The Spotnicks Around the World (LP, Polydor 623 018 )
  • Something Like Country (LP, 1971, Polydor 2485 207)
  • Bo Winberg & The Spotnicks - Today (LP, 1973, Polydor 2480 164)
  • The Spotnicks Live in Berlin 1974 ( re-release on CD)
  • The Spotnicks - 20th Anniversary Album ( LP, 1980, Polydor 2344 156)
  • The Spotnicks ( CD re-release of an LP from 1964 )
  • The Very Best of - Spotnicks (CD, Koch Media 1991)
  • The Spotnicks Millennium Collection ( Double CD, 1999, MM Millennium 20.4028 mi)
  • Spotnicks Live 1999 ( CD)
  • The Spotnicks: Never Trust Robots / Chart Toppers (CD with recordings from 2 LPs )
  • The Spotnicks Vol 1 -Vol. 6 ( six single CDs )
  • The ' Real ' Amapola (CD, 2011)
  • Chart Toppers ( Recorded 1977)
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