Editing Blue Swede

{{Short description|Swedish rock band}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name         = Blue Swede
| image        = Blue Swede 1974.jpg
| caption      = The band in 1974
| image_size   =
| origin       = [[Stockholm]], Sweden
| genre        = [[Pop rock]], [[glam rock]]
| years_active = 1973–1979
| label        = [[EMI Records|EMI]]
| past_members = Michael Areklew<br>[[Anders Berglund]]<br>Tommy Berglund<br>Hinke Ekestubbe<br>Jan Guldback<br>Bosse Liljedahl<br>[[Björn Skifs]]
}}
'''Blue Swede''' ({{langx|sv|Blåblus}}) were a Swedish [[Rock music|rock]] [[Musical ensemble|band]] fronted by [[Björn Skifs]] which was active between the years 1973–1979. Blue Swede released two albums of [[cover version]]s, including a rendition of  "[[Hooked on a Feeling (song)|Hooked on a Feeling]]", which brought them international chart success.<ref name=billboard_gotg>{{cite news| last1= Caulfield| first1= Keith|title=Blue Swede's 'Hooked On a Feeling' Sales Soar Thanks To 'Guardians of the Galaxy' Trailer| url= http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/5915510/blue-swedes-hooked-on-a-feeling-sales-soar-thanks-to-guardians-of-the-galaxy|accessdate=3 August 2014| work=Billboard.com |date=20 February 2014}}</ref> The band consisted of Anders Berglund (piano), Björn Skifs (lead vocals), Bosse Liljedahl (bass), Hinke Ekestubbe (saxophone), Jan Guldbäck (drums), Michael Areklew (guitar), and Tommy Berglund (trumpet).<ref>[http://www.discogs.com/artist/258997-Blue-Swede Listing] on Discogs.com.</ref> They disbanded after Skifs decided to embark on his solo career.

==Career==
Blue Swede was first formed in 1973, when [[Björn Skifs]], a top vocalist in Sweden, was looking for a band to accompany him during his concerts.<ref name="The Book of Golden Discs">{{cite book
| first= Joseph
| last= Murrells
| year= 1978
| title= The Book of Golden Discs
| edition= 2nd
| publisher= Barrie and Jenkins Ltd
| location= London
| pages= [https://archive.org/details/bookofgoldendisc00murr/page/325 325]
| isbn= 0-214-20512-6
| url-access= registration
| url= https://archive.org/details/bookofgoldendisc00murr/page/325
}}</ref>

The band was originally called "Blåblus" (Swedish for "blue blouse" [could be made out of denim], a pun on the word "blues"<ref>{{cite web|publisher=NPR|work=SoundCheck|title=That Was a Hit?!?: Blue Swede, 'Hooked On a Feeling'|first=John|last=Schaefer|url=http://soundcheck.wnyc.org/story/that-was-a-hit-hooked-feeling-blue-swede/|date=April 1, 2014|access-date=February 2, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150618193437/http://soundcheck.wnyc.org/story/that-was-a-hit-hooked-feeling-blue-swede/|archive-date=June 18, 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref>) and featured Skifs singing the lead vocals. The band got their international breakthrough in 1974 with their cover of the 1968 [[B. J. Thomas]] song "[[Hooked on a Feeling (song)|Hooked on a Feeling]]".<ref name="LarkinGE">{{cite book|title=[[Encyclopedia of Popular Music|The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music]]|editor=[[Colin Larkin (writer)|Colin Larkin]]|publisher=[[Guinness Publishing]]|date=1992|edition=First|isbn=0-85112-939-0|page=281}}</ref> Blue Swede recorded Thomas's song in 1973, but based its rendition of the song on a 1971 version released by British pop eccentric [[Jonathan King]], which created the "ooga-chaka" introduction.{{clarification needed|reason=The grammar is unclear: which song has the "ooga-chaka" introduction?  If both, clarify further.  One of them at least repeats it as a chorus throughout.|date=May 2024}} The producer at the recording sessions was [[Bengt Palmers]]. Blue Swede released "Hooked on a Feeling" in Sweden in May 1973 and in the United States in February 1974. The song reached [[chart-topper|number one]] in the U.S. for one week in April 1974 and stayed in the [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]] [[record chart|chart]] for 18 weeks. The track also topped charts in Australia, Canada, and the [[Netherlands]], where it reached a peak chart position of 26.<ref name="The Book of Golden Discs"/> To capitalize on the success of the song, Blue Swede released the album ''[[Hooked on a Feeling (Blue Swede album)|Hooked on a Feeling]]'' that same year.

Throughout the rest of 1974, two follow-up singles from the same LP were released: "Silly Milly", which peaked at position 71 in the U.S., and a cover of [[The Association]]'s "[[Never My Love]]", which made the [[Top 40|Top Ten]] by peaking at position 7.<ref name="LarkinGE"/> From the band's 1974 follow-up album, ''Out of the Blue'', they recorded a [[Medley (music)|medley]] of "[[Hush (Billy Joe Royal song)|Hush]]" by [[Deep Purple]] and "I'm Alive" by [[Tommy James and the Shondells]] (not [[The Hollies]]' song of the same name), peaking at position 61 in the U.S., and achieving its greatest chart success in [[Scandinavia]]. Skifs left the band in 1975 and the band continued as Blåblus, releasing a further two albums.

==Discography==
===Albums===
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"
! rowspan="2" scope="col" style="width:15em;" |Title
! rowspan="2" scope="col" style="width:15em;" |Album details
! colspan="4" |Peak chart positions
|-
! scope="col" style="width:2em;font-size:90%;" |[[Sverigetopplistan|SWE]]<br/><ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title=Björn Skifs Och Blåblus - Se alla låtar och listplaceringar|url=https://www.nostalgilistan.se/bjorn-skifs-och-blablus-14329|access-date=2022-01-17|website=NostalgiListan|language=sv}}</ref>
! scope="col" style="width:2em;font-size:90%;" |[[Kent Music Report|AUS]]<br/><ref name="aus2">{{cite book|last=Kent|first=David|title=Australian Chart Book 1970–1992|publisher=Australian Chart Book|year=1993|isbn=0-646-11917-6|edition=illustrated|location=St Ives, N.S.W.|page=39|authorlink=David Kent (historian)}}</ref>
! scope="col" style="width:2em;font-size:90%;" |[[RPM (magazine)|CAN]]<br/><ref>{{Cite web|date=2013-07-17|title=Image : RPM Weekly|url=https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/films-videos-sound-recordings/rpm/Pages/image.aspx?Image=nlc008388.5012b&URLjpg=http%3a%2f%2fwww.collectionscanada.gc.ca%2fobj%2f028020%2ff4%2fnlc008388.5012b.gif&Ecopy=nlc008388.5012b|access-date=2022-01-17|website=www.bac-lac.gc.ca}}</ref>
! scope="col" style="width:2em;font-size:90%;" |[[Billboard 200|US]]<br/><ref>{{Cite magazine|title=Blue Swede|url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/blue-swede/chart-history/tlp/|url-status=live|access-date=2022-01-17|magazine=Billboard|language=en-US|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220117015725/https://www.billboard.com/artist/blue-swede/chart-history/tlp/ |archive-date=2022-01-17 }}</ref>
|-
! scope="row" |''Pinewood Rally''
|
* Released: December 1973
* Label: [[EMI]]
* Formats: [[LP record|LP]], [[Cassette tape|MC]]
|5
|—
|—
|—
|-
! scope="row" |''[[Hooked on a Feeling (Blue Swede album)|Hooked on a Feeling]]''
|
* Released: March 1974
* Label: EMI
* Formats: LP, MC, 8-track
* International revised version of ''Pinewood Rally''
|—
|53
|84
|80
|-
! scope="row" |''Out of the Blue''
|
* Released: October 1974
* Label: EMI
* Formats: LP, MC, [[8-track tape|8-track]]
|4
|—
|—
|—
|-
! scope="row" |''Better Days Are Coming''
|
* Released: 1976
* Label: EMI
* Formats: LP, MC
|—
|—
|—
|—
|-
! scope="row" |''De' e vi som spelar på skivan''
|
* Released: 1978
* Label: EMI
* Formats: LP, MC
|—
|—
|—
|—
|-
| colspan="6" style="font-size:8pt" |"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory.
|}

===Singles===
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"
! rowspan="2" scope="col" style="width:18em;" |Title
! rowspan="2" scope="col" style="width:2em;" |Year
! colspan="10" |Peak chart positions
! rowspan="2" |Album
|-
! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;" |[[Sverigetopplistan|SWE]]<br/><ref name=":0"/>
! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;" |[[Kent Music Report|AUS]]<br/><ref name="aus2" />
! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;" |[[Ultratop|BE (FLA)]]<br/><ref>{{Cite web|title=ultratop.be - ULTRATOP BELGIAN CHARTS|url=https://www.ultratop.be/nl/search.asp?cat=s&search=blue+swede|access-date=2022-01-17|website=www.ultratop.be}}</ref>
! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;" |[[RPM (magazine)|CAN]]<br/><ref>{{Cite web|date=2013-07-17|title=Results: RPM Weekly|url=https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/films-videos-sound-recordings/rpm/Pages/list.aspx?OCRText=blue+swede&ChartEn=Top+Singles&|access-date=2022-01-17|website=www.bac-lac.gc.ca}}</ref>
! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;" |[[GfK Entertainment charts|GER]]<br/><ref>{{Cite web|title=Suche - Offizielle Deutsche Charts|url=https://www.offiziellecharts.de/suche|access-date=2022-01-17|website=www.offiziellecharts.de}}</ref>
! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;" |[[Dutch Single Top 100|NL]]<br/><ref>{{Cite web|title=Dutch Charts - dutchcharts.nl|url=https://dutchcharts.nl/search.asp?search=blue%20swede&cat=s|access-date=2022-01-17|website=dutchcharts.nl}}</ref>
! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;" |[[New Zealand Listener|NZ]]<br/><ref>{{Cite web|title=flavour of new zealand - search listener|url=http://www.flavourofnz.co.nz/index.php?qpageID=search%20listener&qartistid=1457#n_view_location|access-date=2022-01-17|website=www.flavourofnz.co.nz}}</ref>
! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;" |[[UK Singles Chart|UK]]<br/><ref>{{Cite web|title=BLUE SWEDE {{!}} full Official Chart History {{!}} Official Charts Company|url=https://www.officialcharts.com/artist/25521/blue-swede/|access-date=2022-01-17|website=www.officialcharts.com}}</ref>
! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;" |[[Billboard Hot 100|US]]<br/><ref>{{Cite magazine|title=Blue Swede|url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/blue-swede/chart-history/hsi/|url-status=live|access-date=2022-01-17|magazine=Billboard|language=en-US|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220117015722/https://www.billboard.com/artist/blue-swede/chart-history/hsi/ |archive-date=2022-01-17 }}</ref>
! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;" |[[Adult Contemporary (chart)|US AC]]<br/><ref>{{Cite magazine|title=Blue Swede|url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/blue-swede/chart-history/asi/|url-status=live|access-date=2022-01-17|magazine=Billboard|language=en-US|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220118182424/https://www.billboard.com/artist/blue-swede/chart-history/asi/ |archive-date=2022-01-18 }}</ref>
|-
! scope="row" |"[[Hooked on a Feeling (song)|Hooked on a Feeling]]"
| rowspan="3" |1973
|2
|4
|18
|2
|22
|26
|7
|90{{Efn|Charted in 2014.|group=upper-alpha}}
|1
|31
| rowspan="2" |''Pinewood Rally'' / ''Hooked on a Feeling''
|-
! scope="row" |"Silly Milly"
|9
|—
|—
|50
|—
|—
|—
|—
|71
|—
|-
! scope="row" |"[[Half-Breed (song)|Half Breed]]"
|—
|—
|—
|—
|—
|—
|—
|—
|—
|—
|''Pinewood Rally''
|-
! scope="row" |"Sally var en reko brud"
| rowspan="3" |1974
|—
|—
|—
|—
|—
|—
|—
|—
|—
|—
|{{N/A|Non-album single}}
|-
! scope="row" |"Doctor Rock 'n Roll"
|—
|—
|—
|—
|—
|—
|—
|—
|—
|—
|''Out of the Blue''
|-
! scope="row" |"[[Never My Love]]"
|—
|52
|—
|7
|—
|—
|—
|—
|7
|—
|''Pinewood Rally'' / ''Hooked on a Feeling''
|-
! scope="row" |"[[Hush (Billy Joe Royal song)|Hush]]"/''"''[[I'm Alive (Tommy James and the Shondells song)|I'm Alive]]" <small>(medley)</small>
|1975
|—
|—
|—
|90
|—
|—
|—
|—
|61
|—
|''Out of the Blue''
|-
! scope="row" |"Boo, Boo Don't Cha Be Blue"
|1976
|—
|—
|—
|—
|—
|—
|—
|—
|—
|—
|''Better Days Are Coming''
|-
! scope="row" |"Låt mej lära känna dej"
| rowspan="2" |1977
|—
|—
|—
|—
|—
|—
|—
|—
|—
|—
|''De' e vi som spelar på skivan''
|-
! scope="row" |"Har jag gjort bort mig nu igen?"
|—
|—
|—
|—
|—
|—
|—
|—
|—
|—
|{{N/A|Non-album single}}
|-
! scope="row" |"[[Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye]]"/"Galaxy Take-Off" <small>(medley)</small>
| rowspan="2" |1978
|—
|—
|—
|—
|—
|—
|—
|—
|—
|—
| rowspan="2" |''De' e vi som spelar på skivan''
|-
! scope="row" |"Då dansar Angela"
|—
|—
|—
|—
|—
|—
|—
|—
|—
|—
|-
! scope="row" |"[[We Don't Talk Anymore (Cliff Richard song)|När inga ord räcker till]]"
|1979
|—
|—
|—
|—
|—
|—
|—
|—
|—
|—
|{{N/A|Non-album single}}
|-
| colspan="13" style="font-size:8pt" |"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory.
|}

== See also ==
*[[List of Swedes in music]]
*[[Dancing baby]], a.k.a. The ooga-chaka baby

==Notes==
{{notelist-ua}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Musical groups established in 1973]]
[[Category:Musical groups disestablished in 1975]]
[[Category:EMI Records artists]]
[[Category:Swedish pop rock music groups]]
[[Category:English-language singers from Sweden]]
[[Category:Musical groups from Stockholm]]