The Boppers are a Swedish band formed in 1977 who found fame with cover versions of 1950s and 1960s songs.[1]
The Boppers | |
|---|---|
 The Boppers at Gröna Lund 2004; from left to right Ingemar Wallén, Matte Lagerwall and Peter Jezewski | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | Hässelby, Sweden |
| Genres | |
| Years active | 1977–present |
| Labels |
|
| Members |
|
| Website | www |
History
editThe band was formed by two brothers, Michel and Peter Jezewski (then 22 and 20 years old) and Ville and Ingemar Wallén (then 19 and 22 years old respectively), as well as their friends Mats Lagerwall (then 20 years old) and Lasse Westerberg (then 18 years old). They soon got a large number of gigs. Their debut album Number 1 in 1978 was originally only a minor, but went on to become one of the best-selling albums in Sweden, selling over 420,000 copies. They gained mainstream success in 1979 with their second album Keep On Boppin', which topped the charts and has sold a similar number of copies.[1][2] At the same time, the group slimmed down and got their standard line-up in Ingemar Wallén (vocals, guitar), Mats Lagerwall (vocals, guitar), Peter Jezewski (vocals, bass) and Ville Wallén (vocals, drums).
Already from the second album, the Boppers started touring around the world. Their album was even released in Spanish and they had some success in Japan, where one of their albums, Live 'n' roll, was recorded there in 1981. However, soon Wallén left and was replaced by Kenneth Björnlundh, who has been performing with them since. The group's popularity waned in the mid-1980s . The album Black Label, which came out in 1983, for example, did not sell very well. Jezewski tried his hand at a solo career in the mid-1980s, but did not find success.[3]
However, the band returned to the limelight largely due to Jerry Williams. The Boppers performed at Williams' successful concert at the Hamburger Börs and accompanied him on his tour of Sweden in the late 1980s. The band made a new record deal with Sonet and had a hit in 1991 with the song "Jeannie's Coming Back " and have since released several records. Their last album, Great Kicks, was released in 2017 on Warner Music.
In 1993, Peter Jezewski left the band shortly after the release of the album Tempted, to pursue his own solo career. In 2001, the Boppers got an unexpected collaboration in Markoolio whom they met on a tour. They recorded the song "Rocka på" together, and got their first big hit since "Jeannie's Coming Back". With the help of Markoolio's more youthful audience, the group gained more record buyers and a new wave of success. In 2002, all the original members, Ville Wallén, Mats Lagerwall, Ingmar Wallén, Peter Jezewski and Lasse Westerberg, were reunited in the television program Bingolotto. In the autumn of 2003, the Boppers played in the show Jerka at Stora Teatern, Gothenburg together with Jerry Williams.
Drummer Ville Wallén passed away on 26 November 2003.[4]
Discography
editAlbums
editStudio albums
edit| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SWE [5] |
FIN [6] |
NOR [7] | ||
| Number 1 | 2 | 14 | — | |
| Keep On Boppin' |
|
1 | 6 | 36 |
| Fan-Pix |
|
8 | — | — |
| News |
|
45 | — | — |
| High Fidelity |
|
— | — | — |
| Black Label |
|
— | — | — |
| The Boppers | 4 | — | — | |
| Tempted |
|
17 | — | — |
| Back on Track |
|
— | — | — |
| På andra sidan stan |
|
— | — | — |
| Happy Birthday – 50 Years of Rock 'n' Roll |
|
— | — | — |
| Jingle Bell Rock |
|
21 | — | — |
| 30 |
|
19 | — | — |
| Vibrations |
|
7 | — | — |
| Great Kicks |
|
17 | — | — |
| White Lightning |
|
40 [8] |
— | — |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory. | ||||
Live albums
edit| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions |
|---|---|---|
| SWE [5] | ||
| Live 'n' Roll |
|
— |
| Unplugged Favourites |
|
10 |
| At the Hop! Live at Akkurat |
|
— |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart. | ||
Compilation albums
edit| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions |
|---|---|---|
| SWE [5] | ||
| 20 Rock 'n Boppin' Greats |
|
— |
| Special Selection |
|
— |
| Best of the Boppers |
|
— |
| Rock 'n' Roll Music |
|
— |
| Greatest Hits |
|
— |
| The Best of the Boppers |
|
— |
| 68 Songs with the Boppers |
|
— |
| The Best of the Boppers Volume 2 |
|
— |
| The Best of the Boppers Volume 3 |
|
— |
| 14 Ballads |
|
— |
| Jukebox Hits |
|
— |
| Det bästa med Jerry Williams & Boppers |
|
— |
| The Very Best 1978–1996 |
|
50 |
| Goodnight Sweet Heart |
|
— |
| 16 Hits |
|
— |
| Bästa |
|
— |
| 25 Years Still Boppin' |
|
5 |
| Pärlor |
|
— |
| Best of 40 Years 1977–2017 |
|
48 |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory. | ||
Video albums
edit| Title | Album details |
|---|---|
| 30 Years 'n Almost Grown – Live in Västerås |
|
EPs
edit| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions |
|---|---|---|
| SWE [9] | ||
| Back to the Hop |
|
5 |
| 4 Track EP |
|
— |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart. | ||
Singles
edit| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| SWE [9] | |||
| "Remember Then" | 1978 | — | Number 1 |
| "Who Put the Bomp" (Spain-only release) | 1979 | — | |
| "At the Hop" (Germany-only release) | — | ||
| "I'm in Love All Over Again" | — | Keep On Boppin' | |
| "White Christmas" | 11 | Non-album single | |
| "TV Hop" / "Do That Boppin' Jive" | 1980 | — 16 |
Fan-Pix |
| "Tick Tock" (Spain-only release) | — | Keep On Boppin' | |
| "Más, dáme más amor (I'm in Love All Over Again)" (Spain-only release) | — | ||
| "Angela" (Japan-only release) | — | ||
| "Listen to the Music" | 1981 | — | Fan-Pix |
| "Rama Lama Ding Dong" | — | ||
| "C'-mon and Dance" (Japan-only release) | — | ||
| "Umbrella" (Japan-only release) | — | Best of the Boppers | |
| "Turn Me Loose" | — | Non-album single | |
| "The Night for Love" (Japan-only release) | 1982 | — | Rock 'n' Roll Music |
| "She'd Rather Be with Me" (Netherlands-only release) | — | Non-album single | |
| "Holy Cow (What's Goin' On Around Here)" (Japan-only release) | — | Live 'n' Roll | |
| "Mr. Bassman" (Japan-only release) | — | Keep On Boppin' | |
| "Kissing in the Moonlight" | 1990 | — | The Boppers |
| "The Mix" | — | Non-album single | |
| "Gonna Find My Angel" | 1991 | 29 | The Boppers |
| "If You See Her" (with Jerry Williams) | 28 | Non-album single | |
| "Jeannie's Coming Back" | 21 | The Boppers | |
| "All I Have to Do Is Dream" | — | ||
| "Wake Up Little Susie" | 1992 | — | Unplugged Favourites |
| "Runaround Sue" | — | ||
| "Hold Me Now" | 1993 | — | Tempted |
| "Tempted" | — | ||
| "Your Sister Told Me" | 1994 | — | |
| "Twang" | — | ||
| "Why Did You Break My Heart" | 1997 | — | Back on Track |
| "Pretty Little Angel" | — | ||
| "My Love 4 You" | — | ||
| "Kärlek vill väl alla ha" (promo-only release) | 1998 | — | Non-album single |
| "Dagny" (promo-only release) | 2000 | — | På andra sidan stan |
| "Ge mig ett tecken" (promo-only release) | — | ||
| "Himlen för mig" (promo-only release) | — | ||
| "Rocka På!" (with Markoolio) | 2001 | 1 | Tjock och lycklig |
| "Baby Come Back to Me (Morse Code of Love)" (promo-only release) | 2002 | — | 25 Years Still Boppin' |
| "Surfin' Bird" (promo-only release) | 2005 | — | Non-album single |
| "Blue Blue Moon" | 2007 | — | 30 |
| "They Never Know" (with Eva Eastwood) | 2015 | — | Non-album single |
| "Wanna Be Your Man" | 2017 | — | Great Kicks |
| "2 Fools in Love" | — | ||
| "It's Christmas in Las Vegas" | 2019 | — | Non-album single |
| "Boom Boom" | 2020 | — | |
| "Please Come Home for Christmas"/"Dig That Crazy Santa Claus" | — | ||
| "I Surrender" (featuring Brolle & Rockabilly Fabulous) | 2021 | — | |
| "The Way" | 2024 | — | Non-album single |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory. | |||
References
edit- ^ a b "The Boppers Biography, Songs, & Albums". AllMusic. Retrieved 2022-03-25.
- ^ "swedishcharts.com - Swedish Charts Portal". swedishcharts.com. Retrieved 2022-03-25.
- ^ Boppers, The. "The Boppers - Biografi". boppers.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 2022-03-25.
- ^ "The Boppers will keep on boppin' forever". Angelfire. Retrieved 2022-03-25.
- ^ a b c "swedishcharts.com - Swedish Charts Portal". swedishcharts.com. Retrieved 2022-03-25.
- ^ "Sisältää hitin: Levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1960: Artistit BO - BOY". Sisältää hitin. 13 August 2015. Retrieved 2022-03-25.
- ^ "norwegiancharts.com - Norwegian charts portal". norwegiancharts.com. Retrieved 2022-03-25.
- ^ "Veckolista Album, vecka 29". Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved 29 July 2022.
- ^ a b "swedishcharts.com - Swedish Charts Portal". swedishcharts.com. Retrieved 2022-03-25.