Björn Afzelius / Biography

Origin: Huskvarna, Jönköping

Decades: 1970-1999

Björn Svante Afzelius (born 27 January 1947 in Huskvarna, Jönköping County, died 16 February 1999 in Gothenburg) was a Swedish singer, song writer and guitar player. Politically he was a socialist. His songs are about love, politics and joys in life. His father was an engineer and his mother was a housewife. His only sibling is his brother Bengt (b. 1952) who is a music teacher. He came into contact with music from a very young age, because his mother and her side of the family were largely into music. In 1970, Afzelius formed the progg group Hoola Bandoola Band together with Mikael Wiehe. Wiehe and Afzelius became very close friends and worked together long after Hoola Bandoola had dissolved in 1975.

Afzelius released his first solo album in 1974, his last one in 1999. Some of his most popular songs are "Ikaros", "Tusen bitar" (Thousand pieces), "Sång till friheten" (Song for Freedom - which was originally recorded by Cuban Silvio Rodriguez as "El Día Feliz Que Está Ilegando"), "Kungens man" (The king's man), "Tankar i Havanna" (Thoughts in Havanna) and "Till min kära" (For my dear). He died from lung cancer in 1999, 52 years old, but he remains one of the most beloved artists in Scandinavia.

He wrote about 150 songs and sold over two and a half million albums.

Biography from Wikipedia