Bobbysocks!

Bobbysocks!
Background information
Origin	Norway
Genres	Pop music, Europop, Schlager
Years active	1984–1988,2010-present
Labels	Bahama Records Sonet Records
Website	Hannekrogh.com/bobbysocks.htm
Members	Hanne Krogh Elisabeth Andreassen

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").

Background

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).^[1]

The duo's debut single was "I Don't Wanna Break My Heart" in 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, but partially abandoned on the 2 subsequent albums, which had more pop sound instead of swing.

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 charts on 25 May 1985, and rose to a high of Nº 44; it remained in the charts for 4 weeks.^[2] It was also pressed in countries such as Germany, Japan and Australia. There were plans to release the single in USA, but it didn't happen at the end.

Due to their ESC victory, Bobbysocks! were awarded with the Peer Gynt Prize in 1985, which is awarded by the Stortinget, Norway's parliament.

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 huge success in Norway, peaking at Nº 1 on the Norwegian singles and album charts. Walkin' on Air, was recorded in L.A. in 1987 and produced by Bill Maxwell. It went Gold in only 4 days, becoming their 3rd 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.

Bobbysocks disbanded in 1988 after 4 successful years. However, Krogh and Andreassen still appear time to time together on stage in Norway. They also did an appearance at Congratulations, the 50th anniversary Eurovision concert in Copenhagen, Denmark in October 2005.

During 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 2 newly recorded songs and peaking at Nº 13 on the Norwegian album charts, helping to gain brand new fans not only in Norway, but also in other countries all over the world.

Discography

Singles

• 1984: "I Don't Wanna Break My Heart"
• 1984: "Radio" (re-released in 1985)
• 1985: "Let It Swing" / "La Det Swinge"
• 1985: "Midnight Rocks"
• 1986: "Waiting for the Morning"
• 1986: "Johnny And The Dancing Girls"
• 1987: "Swing It, Magistern"
• 1987: "If I Fall"
• 1987: "Don't Leave Me Here Without You"
• 2010: "Thank You" (feat. Alexander Rybak)

Albums

• 1984: Bobbysocks! (re-released in 1985 with "Let It Swing")
• 1986: Waiting for the Morning (re-edited in 1994)
• 1987: Walkin' on Air

Compilation albums

• 2010: Let it Swing - The Best of Bobbysocks!

See also

• Europride
• Eurovision Song Contest 1985
• Melodi Grand Prix
• Melodifestivalen

References

1. O'Connor, John Kennedy. The Eurovision Song Contest - The Official History. Carlton Books, UK. 2007 ISBN 978-1-84442-994-3
2. Rice, Tim; Rice, Jonathan; Gambaccini, Paul (1990), Guinness Book of British Hit Singles & Albums, Enfield, Middlesex: Guinness World Records and Guinness Publishing, ISBN 0-85112-398-8