Pelle Almqvist | |
---|---|
Background information | |
Birth name | Per Almqvist |
Also known as | Howlin' Pelle Almqvist |
Born | Fagersta, Sweden | 29 May 1978
Genres | |
Occupations |
|
Instruments |
|
Years active | 1993–present |
Per "Pelle" Almqvist (born 29 May 1978), also known as Howlin' Pelle Almqvist, is a Swedish singer and songwriter. He is the lead singer of garage rock band The Hives.
Almqvist was born to a doctor father and a teacher mother. Almqvist and his brother Nicholaus Arson formed the band in 1993, and, according to a fictional biography about the band, attracted the attention of promoter/manager/songwriter Randy Fitzsimmons. [1] Prior to success with the Hives he worked as a postman and a sixth-grade teacher. [2]
Almqvist is known for being particularly animated during live shows, and his onstage antics have earned the band the title of "The best live band in the world" from Spin Magazine , who also put Almqvist in their list of the "50 Greatest Frontmen of All Time". Some of his onstage antics include regularly mixing with the crowd, climbing on amps and other equipment, and banter between songs that is often nonsensical and seemingly arrogant.
Almqvist was previously in a relationship with Maria Andersson, lead vocalist of the Swedish rock band Sahara Hotnights, until a 2006 breakup. Since May 2010 he has been in a relationship with Catrin Nilsson.
In January 2007, Almqvist led the awards show for the radio station P3 Guld.
In 2016, he presented Musikhjälpen which was broadcast from Örebro.
In 2021, he took part in the sixth season of the Swedish game show Alla mot alla med Filip och Fredrik [sv] , with teammate Little Jinder. [4]
Almqvist collaborated with Swedish rock artist Moneybrother on a cover of the Operation Ivy song "Freeze Up". They used Swedish lyrics and called it "Jag skriver inte på nåt", which translates as "I Won't Sign Anything". He was also featured on the single "Dance to our Disco" by the DJ duo Punks Jump Up.
The Hives are a Swedish rock band formed in Fagersta in 1993. After gaining traction in Sweden through the 1990s, they rose to worldwide prominence in the early 2000s during the garage rock revival. The band's line-up—consisting of Howlin' Pelle Almqvist (vocals), Nicholaus Arson, Vigilante Carlstroem, Dr. Matt Destruction (bass), and Chris Dangerous (drums)—remained unchanged from 1993 until 2013, when Matt Destruction retired for health reasons and was replaced by The Johan and Only, the former Randy bassist.
Veni Vidi Vicious is the second studio album by Swedish rock band the Hives. The album was released on 10 April 2000 through Burning Heart and Epitaph. It was later re-released on 30 April 2002 through Sire and Gearhead. The Japanese release included several extra tracks and other bonus features. The album's title is a play on words which refers to the sentence written by Julius Caesar after conquering Asia Minor in 47 B.C.: "Veni, vidi, vici." The album received universal acclaim from music critics, earning an average critic score of 84/100 on Metacritic.
Sahara Hotnights are a Swedish rock band from Robertsfors. Since its inception, the band has been composed of lead singer Maria Andersson, drummer Josephine Forsman and sisters Jennie and Johanna (bass) Asplund. Their style incorporates elements of garage rock, power pop and punk rock. The band scored two top-ten singles and five top-ten albums in their native Sweden during their initial run between 1992 and 2011. The band reformed in 2019, releasing their seventh album Love in Times of Low Expectations in 2022.
Tyrannosaurus Hives is the third studio album by Swedish rock band the Hives, released on 19 July 2004 through Polydor Records internationally and Interscope Records in the United States. As of 2006 the album has sold 176,000 copies in United States.
Lars Filip Hammar and Fredrik Wikingsson, commonly known as Filip och Fredrik, are two Swedish writers, television hosts and journalists both known for their youthful, though intellectual, humor and unconventional journalism. Since 2002, Filip and Fredrik have produced eleven different TV shows together and, in the aftermath of the shows' successes in Sweden, written books. The duo owns, and works within, the company "Framgångsfabriken", which started in 2001 and takes credit for their media appearances. In 2024, they released their film The Last Journey, becoming the highest-grossing Swedish documentary in history, later it was selected as the Swedish entry for the Best International Feature Film at the 97th Academy Awards.
Barely Legal is the debut studio album by Swedish rock band the Hives, released on 22 September 1997 through Burning Heart Records. The album's second track, "A.K.A. I-D-I-O-T", had a video produced, but it was not commercially released until it was included as an extra on some pressings of Your New Favourite Band. The band later recorded an EP by the same name. The album sleeve features three quotations from fake newspaper reviews. These quotations are originally from British newspapers referring to the Aldous Huxley novel Brave New World.
Welfare Problems is an album by Randy, released in 2003 by Burning Heart Records. It contains twelve tracks, including the single "X-Ray Eyes," which, alongside the closing track "Dirty and Cheap," also appears on the soundtrack of the Swedish black comedy Smala Sussie.
"Walk Idiot Walk" is the first single released from Swedish band the Hives' third album, Tyrannosaurus Hives (2004). It was written by Randy Fitzsimmons and produced by the Hives with Pelle Gunnerfeldt. Upon its release in June 2004, the song reached number 13 in the United Kingdom, number 15 in Sweden, and number 18 in Norway. It also reached number 19 on the US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart. In Australia, the song was ranked number 55 on Triple J's Hottest 100 of 2004.
"Two-Timing Touch and Broken Bones" is the second single from the album Tyrannosaurus Hives by The Hives. Released as an Enhanced CD with B-side tracks in 2005, "Two-Timing Touch and Broken Bones" was considered a hit for The Hives, and appeared on several compilations.
"Throw It on Me" is a song performed by American producer, songwriter and rapper Timbaland featuring Swedish band The Hives from Timbaland's second studio album Shock Value (2007). The song was released as a promotional single on August 4, 2007 only in Australia.
Niklas Almqvist, better known by his stage name Nicholaus Arson, is the lead guitarist and backup vocalist of the Swedish garage rock band The Hives, of which his brother Howlin' Pelle is the lead singer.
The Black and White Album is the fourth studio album by Swedish rock band the Hives, released on 8 October 2007 through A&M/Octone and Polydor Records. The Hives recorded 20 to 30 songs for this album from which they finally chose the best. Other tracks were produced by Jacknife Lee and Dennis Herring. Sessions were held with Timbaland, with whom the band produced the song "Throw It On Me", but took place too late for any of the resulting tracks to be on the album. They hoped to use these songs as B-sides. It is the band's longest album and the only one over the length of 32 minutes.
Christian Grahn, known professionally by his stage name Chris Dangerous, is the drummer of Swedish rock band, The Hives.
"A Christmas Duel" is a Christmas duet recorded by the Swedish rock band the Hives and American singer-songwriter Cyndi Lauper. It was available as a single on 19 November 2008. It debuted at No. 6 on the Swedish Singles Chart published on 28 December, and later reached a peak at No. 4. It was released as a vinyl one-sided 7", a CD 5" single, and as download.
Lex Hives is the fifth studio album by Swedish rock band the Hives, released on 1 June 2012 through Disques Hives, Universal Music, and Columbia Records. It was self-produced by the Hives and mixed by Andrew Scheps, with two additional tracks mixed by Dave Sardy and Joe Zook. The deluxe version features bonus tracks produced by Queens of the Stone Age frontman Josh Homme. It became the last album from the band to feature bassist Dr. Matt Destruction as he left for health reasons in late 2013 and was replaced by Randy bassist Johan Gustafsson, who adopted the stage name "The Johan and Only."
"Go Right Ahead" is a song by Swedish rock band the Hives, released as a single in 2012. It is the first single taken from their fifth full-length album Lex Hives and is the second listed track from that album. "Go Right Ahead" was released on 3 April 2012 through digital download platforms such as iTunes and Spotify. It was also released as a limited edition 7" vinyl for Record Store Day on 21 April 2012, however, it was available for purchase at the Zia Records tent during the first weekend of the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival on 15 April where they were signing records for fans. A live recording of the track was featured on the Adult Swim Singles Program 2012
Västanfors is a district (stadsdel) of Fagersta and is located in Fagersta Municipality, Sweden.
Lotta Mari Johansen Lundgren née Bergqvist is a Swedish television presenter and food writer. Lundgren was born and raised in Tuve, a Gothenburg suburb. Lundgren has written a cook book. She has hosted the shows Landet Brunsås and currently Historieätarna along with Erik Haag both on SVT. In 2015, the duo presented Tusen år till julafton a Christmas calendar which was broadcast on SVT. The same production team is also behind Bye bye Sverige about the Swedish-American emigration 1850–1910 which premiered on Swedish Television on 7 December 2017. In 2020, Lotta and Erik Haag participated in Filip and Fredrik's Alla mot alla, where they won the final against Gry Forssell and Mikael Tornving. The team also won the season the following year by Alla mot alla.
Erik Haag is a Swedish television presenter who hosted one of the semifinals of Melodifestivalen 2005 and Historieätarna both on SVT. He presents Historieätarna along with Lotta Lundgren. He has been married to actress and author Martina Haag.
The Death of Randy Fitzsimmons is the sixth studio album by Swedish rock band The Hives, released on 11 August 2023 through the band's Disques Hives label. The album marks the first studio release in over 11 years, since 2012's Lex Hives, marking the longest gap between two Hives albums.