Mikael Rickfors
Mikael Rickfors (born December 4, 1948 in Stockholm ) is a Swedish rock musician . The musician, who played briefly as a singer with The Hollies in the early 1970s , has appeared both as a solo artist and as a songwriter .
Career
Rickfors started his musical career in 1968 as a singer and bass guitarist for the Swedish band Bamboo , which split up in 1970 after the release of two singles . A year later he succeeded singer Allan Clarke on The Hollies, who started a solo career. The band became aware of the musician during a joint tour in Scandinavia. With the single "The Baby", the band's first record on Polydor , the band had a minor chart success. In 1972 Rickfors, who also played piano , guitar and bass guitar with the band, released his first long player with the band, "Romany" , which however did not go beyond number 84 in the pop charts. For the follow-up album "Out on the Road", the band's management no longer had any great commercial expectations and the record was finally only released in Germany. After Clarke's solo career failed to be more successful, he returned to the band in 1973 and replaced Rickfors.
Rickfors then started a solo career. In 1975 CBS released his solo debut album, the self-titled "Mikael Rickfors", which contained exclusively his own pieces and songs that were created in collaboration with Hasse Huss , with whom he would also work frequently in the following years. The title "Daughter of The Night" was later to be put on as a cover version by artists such as Carlos Santana , Jim Capaldi and Richie Havens . With his third album, “Kickin 'A Dream”, he achieved chart success in Sweden and the title “Yeah Yeah” from his fourth album “Tender Turns Tuff” achieved international fame as a cover version by Cyndi Lauper .
After he released an album with “Rickfors” in 1986, which only contained cover versions, he had a big hit in Scandinavia with his tenth album “Vingar” and the record received platinum status in his home country.
Around 1990 Rickfors formed the supergroup Grymlings with his compatriots Göran Lagerberg , Magnus Lindberg and Pugh Rogefeldt . The group celebrated a chart success in Sweden with the title “Mitt bästa för dig”. In the following years he also worked on several publications by Swedish artists such as Carla Olson or Marie Fredriksson as a studio musician, but also collaborated with international musicians such as Percy Sledge .
Discography
Solo releases
- Mikael Rickfors , 1975
- The Wheel , 1976
- Kickin 'A Dream , 1979
- Tender Turns Tuff , 1981
- Rickfors Live , 1981
- Skin Is Thin , 1982
- Blue Fun , 1983
- Hearthunters , 1985
- Rickfors , 1986
- Vingar , 1988
- Judas River , 1991
- Happy Man Don't Kill , 1997
- Greatest Hits , 1999
- Lush Life , 2004
- Away Again , 2009
The Hollies
- Romany , 1972
- Out on the Road , 1973
Grymlings
- Grymlings , 1990
- Grymlings II , 1992
Web links
- Official Rickfors website
- Mikael Rickfors at Allmusic (English)
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Rickfors, Mikael |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Swedish musician |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 4th December 1948 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Stockholm |