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Bobbysocks | |
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![]() Bobbysocks (1985) | |
Background information | |
Origin | Norway |
Genres | |
Years active | 1983–1988, 2010–present |
Labels |
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Members | Hanne Krogh Elisabeth Andreassen |
Website | hannekrogh |
Bobbysocks is a Norwegian pop duo consisting of Norwegian Hanne Krogh and Swedish-Norwegian Elisabeth Andreassen. They won the Eurovision Song Contest 1985 with the song "La det swinge" ("Let it swing"). [1] Elisabeth went by the surname Andreasson until 1994.
The duo was formed in 1983. Both Krogh and Andreassen were frequent Eurovision contestants. Krogh has appeared three times, all for Norway: in 1971 as a soloist, with Bobbysocks in 1985 and as part of Just 4 Fun in 1991. Andreassen sang for Sweden as one half of Chips in 1982 and after winning with Bobbysocks, teamed up with Jan Werner Danielsen in 1994 and sang solo in 1996. According to John Kennedy O'Connor's The Eurovision Song Contest - The Official History Andreassen is one of only five lead artists to sing in the contest on four occasions and is also one of only four artists to finish both first and second in Eurovision (1985 & 1996). [2]
The duo's debut single was "I Don't Wanna Break My Heart" (1984), released in a pink colored vinyl. The concept behind Bobbysocks! was to bring up-to-date songs from the 1950s with a swing mood, adding them a "modern" 1980s sound. That idea was fully applied on their first LP Bobbysocks! , which was a mixture of covers and brand new songs.
The scheduled next single was going to be "Radio", but the plans were changed when the duo won the Eurovision Song Contest. "Let It Swing" topped the Norwegian singles chart, as well as it did in Belgium. It was a Top 10 in Sweden and Ireland, and a Top 20 in The Netherlands and Austria. It entered the UK Singles Chart on 25 May 1985, and rose to a high of No. 44; it remained in the charts for four weeks. [3] It was also pressed in countries such as Germany, Japan and Australia.
In 1985, due to their ESC victory, Bobbysocks! were awarded the Peer Gynt Prize, which is awarded by the Stortinget, Norway's parliament. [4]
Another ESC consequence was the re-release of the Bobbysocks! LP with "Let It Swing" on it, reaching the gold status. Their next album, Waiting for the Morning , was released in April 1986, preceded by the single of the same name, both becoming a success in Norway, peaking at number 1 on the Norwegian singles and album charts. Walkin' on Air , was recorded in Los Angeles in 1987 and produced by Bill Maxwell. It went gold in only four days, becoming their third and final LP. Just before the release of "If I Fall", the album's lead single in Norway, the duo wanted to do something "decently crazy" as they revealed at the time, so they did a cover of "Swing it, magister'n", a song from 1940 originally sung by the Swedish singer and actress Alice Babs, releasing it as single in the summer of 1987.[ citation needed ]
In 1988, Bobbysocks disbanded, after four successful years.
Krogh and Andreassen still appeared from time to time together on stage in Norway. They appeared at Congratulations , the 50th anniversary Eurovision concert in Copenhagen, Denmark, in October 2005, and Eurovision Song Contest's Greatest Hits, the 60th anniversary concert in London. [5] [6] In May 2010, Bobbysocks did a short comeback to celebrate their 25th anniversary since their ESC victory in 1985, launching a compilation album called Let It Swing - The Best Of Bobbysocks!, which included two newly recorded songs and peaking at number 13 on the Norwegian albums chart.
The 1985 edition of A Song for Europe was held at the BBC Television Centre in Studio 1 on 9 April, hosted by a suited Terry Wogan. The theme music was Te Deum. The BBC Concert Orchestra under the direction of John Coleman as conductor accompanied all the songs, but despite performing live, the orchestra was off-screen, behind the set.
Secret Garden is an Irish-Norwegian band specialised in new instrumental music, led by the duo consisting of Irish violinist and singer Fionnuala Sherry and Norwegian composer, arranger and pianist Rolf Løvland.
Elisabeth Gunilla Andreassen, also known simply as Bettan, is a Norwegian-Swedish singer who has finished both first and second in the Eurovision Song Contest.
Norway has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 61 times since making its debut in 1960 and has only been absent twice since then. In 1970, the country boycotted the contest over disagreements about the voting structure, and in 2002, they were relegated. The contest is broadcast in Norway by NRK, which also broadcasts Norway's national selection competition, Melodi Grand Prix.
Congratulations: 50 Years of the Eurovision Song Contest was a television programme organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) to commemorate the Eurovision Song Contest's fiftieth anniversary and to determine the contest's most popular entrant of its fifty years. Hosted by Katrina Leskanich and Renārs Kaupers, the event took place at Forum, in Copenhagen on 22 October 2005. The host was Danish broadcaster DR. Fourteen songs from the contest's first half-century, chosen through an internet poll and by a jury, contested the event.
Hanne Krogh is a Norwegian singer and actress from Haugesund and Oslo. Krogh is among the most selling record artists in Norway ever and is internationally well known for winning the Eurovision Song Contest 1985 with Elisabeth Andreassen in the group Bobbysocks!.
"La det swinge" is a Norwegian-language song by the pop duo Bobbysocks!. It was the winner of the Eurovision Song Contest 1985 and Norway's first victory in the contest. The song is a tribute to dancing to old rock 'n' roll heard on the radio. Befitting the subject matter, the song itself is written in an old-fashioned style, with a memorable saxophone melody starting the song. The melody arrangement is in retro style, containing elements of contemporary 1980s music and throwbacks to the 1950s. Following their win, the single peaked at number one in the Norwegian and Belgian singles chart, and entered the charts in various countries, including Denmark, Sweden, Switzerland, Austria, Ireland and the United Kingdom.
"Ein bißchen Frieden" is a German-language song, written by prolific German Eurovision-writing duo Ralph Siegel (music) and Bernd Meinunger (lyrics) for the Eurovision Song Contest 1982, held in Harrogate, United Kingdom. It was performed by 17-year-old German high-school student Nicole Hohloch, resulting in Germany's first win at the Eurovision Song Contest by a record margin of 61 points, setting a new record for the largest winning margin that lasted until the Eurovision Song Contest 1997. Nicole's single is still the only Eurovision entry to top the sales charts in every territory it was released in.
"Diggi-Loo Diggi-Ley" was the winning song in the Eurovision Song Contest 1984 performed in Swedish by the trio of brothers Herrey's, representing Sweden. Lyrics were written by Britt Lindeborg, and the tune by Torgny Söderberg. It was produced by Anders Engberg and Torgny Söderberg.
"Nocturne" is a song performed in Norwegian by Secret Garden and the winning entry for Norway at the Eurovision Song Contest 1995. It was the second time Norway won the contest, after it had won in 1985 with Bobbysocks! song "La det swinge". For their performance at the contest, the Secret Garden duo of Fionnuala Sherry and Rolf Løvland featured three guest musicians: Norwegian vocalist Gunnhild Tvinnereim, Hans Fredrik Jacobsen on penny whistle, and Swedish nyckelharpist Åsa Jinder.
Bobbysocks! was the first album from Norwegian pop duo Bobbysocks!. The album was released in 1984 and in a new version in 1985. The re-release became popular in many parts of the world, and by early 1986 the album had sold around 75,000 copies in Norway. In 2012, the album reached viral popularity when popular YouTube user Nigahiga featured the track "Don't Bring Lulu" in one of his videos. Album sales are estimated to have been at least 12,000 in the following month alone.
Walkin' on Air is a 1987 album from Norwegian pop duo Bobbysocks. Within four days, the album sold 50,000 copies, and was certified gold in Norway. It was to be the duo's final album.
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Norway was represented by Bobbysocks!, with the song "La det swinge", at the 1985 Eurovision Song Contest, which took place on 4 May in Gothenburg, Sweden. "La det swinge" was chosen as the Norwegian entry at the Melodi Grand Prix on 30 March, and went on to bring Norway a famous first Eurovision victory after decades of being the butt of jokes about their status as Eurovision's perennial also-rans. It was admitted that the lyrics of "La det swinge" had been written with the specific intention of avoiding those Norwegian consonant combinations which had been said to sound harsh in song to non-Scandinavian ears.
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