Philemon Arthur and the Dung | |
---|---|
Origin | Scania, Sweden |
Genres | Outsider music, lo-fi |
Years active | 1962–present |
Labels | Silence Records |
Philemon Arthur and the Dung is a music group from Scania, Sweden, consisting of two members known only by their pseudonyms Philemon Arthur and the Dung. The band formed in the early 1960s under the name The Popbeams, which they changed before the release of their first album in 1972. The duo's true identities are most likely known only to a few individuals at Silence Records, the record label that the band has worked with since 1971. Philemon Arthur and the Dung do not want their identities to be known, lest those who live in their small village find out who they are.
The band's music is recorded on reel-to-reel tape decks with crackling microphones and is played on untuned guitars, accordion and a home-made drum kit built of tin cans and trays, with the occasional accompaniment of household objects such as saucepans, radiators and toy instruments. The lyrics vary from utter nonsense, to profoundly whimsical observations about everyday life, to satire concerning social phenomena such as homelessness, pollution, and hunting. [1]
Despite their outsider-persona, the band has received much notice across Sweden. Their surrealistic self-titled debut won a Swedish Grammy for the best Swedish LP of 1972, which came to the dismay of many. [1]
Modern Swedish bands like Stockholm band bob hund have been greatly inspired by Philemon Arthur and the Dung, [1] and it was this eccentric duo who discovered and forwarded bob hund's demo tape to Silence Records.
Their songs have been covered by several Swedish artists including bob hund, Träd, Gräs och Stenar (even before PA&tD released their debut album) and Dom Dummaste. [2] Their identities have not been revealed, but Magnus Uggla's 1987 cover of "In Kommer Gösta" was credited to Mats Larsson. [3]
The obscure progressive band "Anna Koka 5 Ägg Jag Är Värd I Huset", hailing from the same area as PA&tD, has recently been the subject of speculations as after their 2022 reunion they have frequently played Philemon covers live and hinted that the band members and brothers Mats and Rolf Svensson are the same age as the members of Philemon Arthur and the Dung. [4]
Per Allan Magnus Claësson Uggla is a Swedish artist, composer, actor, and occasional radio host. He is known for his satirical lyrics.
Errol Leonard Norstedt, better known by his stage name Eddie Meduza, previously known as E. Hitler, was a Swedish composer and musician working mainly in the rockabilly genre.
Bob Hund is an indie rock band from Sweden. Their music has been described as "what you might expect if you managed to merge Pere Ubu and Pixies with a touch of Kraftwerk". bob hund have performed mostly in Scandinavia as well as in Poland and England. Some of their performances include Roskilde, Hultsfred, Ruisrock and Quart music festivals.
Maria Magdalena Filipsson, known by her stage name Lena Philipsson, is a Swedish singer, songwriter and media personality. She represented Sweden in the 2004 Eurovision Song Contest, finishing fifth. As of 2024, Philipsson is the female lead vocalist of the Swedish duo Roxette.
Sci-Fi SKANE is a musical collaboration of Swedish musicians Thomas Öberg and Jonas Jonasson, members of Swedish rock groups bob hund and Bergman Rock.
"Ack Värmeland, du sköna" or "Värmlandsvisan" is a Swedish popular song, best known in the English-speaking world as "Dear Old Stockholm".
bob hund is the Swedish band bob hund's first full-length studio album and second self-titled release. The album peaked at number 11 on the Swedish Albums Chart.
Svenne & Lotta was a pop duo composed of Svenne Hedlund and Lotta Hedlund. They met in 1967, when Svenne Hedlund was the vocalist in the band Hep Stars and a black woman Charlotte Jean Walker, which was Lotta Hedlund's name at that time, toured in Sweden with the all-girl US R&B trio The Sherrys.
Wizex is a Swedish dansband formed in Osby in 1973. It purchased the rights to the name from a band that started as Ulrik Wittmans Kvintett in 1957. When Ulrik Wittman left the band in 1963 they started to use the name Wizex. When read out the name sounds like "The Six of Us", "vi sex", in Swedish, and it was six persons left in the band when they changed the name. Today's band had six founders and was allowed to purchase the name, and hence use 1973 as the starting point.
Gert Anders Glenmark is a Swedish singer, songwriter, musician and record producer. He is the brother of singer Karin Glenmark and nephew of band leader Bruno Glenmark.
Allting som ni gör kan jag göra bättre is the eighth studio album by Swedish pop and rock artist Magnus Uggla. It was released in 1987. The album consists only of cover songs. The title is a reference to both the fact that the entire album is cover songs, "you" being the original artists, and also a call-back to the musical Annie Get Your Gun. Most of the songs are famous recordings from the progg era.
Barbro Lindgren is a Swedish writer of children's books and books for adult readers. For her lasting contribution as a children's writer, Lindgren was a finalist for the biennial, international Hans Christian Andersen Award in 2004. Ten years later, she won the annual Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award. The biggest cash prize in children's and young-adult literature, it rewards a writer, illustrator, oral storyteller, or reading promoter for its entire body of work.
Silence, is a Swedish record company located outside Koppom, Värmland in Sweden.
Svante Thuresson was a Swedish jazz musician. He started his career as a drummer before joining the band Gals and Pals in 1963. Svante won the national selection and represented Sweden in the Eurovision song contest in 1966 with Nygammal vals and came in second place; he performed with Lill Lindfors.
Veronica Sandra Karin Maggio is a Swedish singer and songwriter.
Conny Nimmersjö is a Swedish musician most known for playing guitar with bob hund and Bergman Rock.
Monica Kristina Ingeborg Törnell is a Swedish singer and songwriter. She was discovered by Cornelis Vreeswijk in 1971, triggering a career spanning several decades in various genres, mainly folk and rock music. With Lasse Holm, she represented Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest 1986 in Bergen, Norway.
Christer Eric Sandelin is a Swedish singer, songwriter and musician. He has been a part of two groups. In 1978, he was in the Swedish group Freestyle with Tommy Ekman, Joakim Hagleitner, Gigi Hamilton, Diane Söderholm and Anders Uddbergand, and after the break-up of the band in 1983, he continued with Ekman and Hamilton to form the Swedish band trio Style.
Mats Rådberg was a Swedish country singer, guitarist, composer and architect scoring several chart successes in Sweden during the 1970s/80s. He is well known for working together with the country band Rankarna under the name Mats Rådberg & Rankarna. He also participated at Melodifestivalen 1977 with the song "Du och jag och sommaren", written by Tomas Ledin, which ended up 10th.
Anna-Clara Beatrice Tidholm is a Swedish children's writer and illustrator. She grew up on Djurgården in Stockholm. Since 1970, she lives at a small farm in Arbrå.