Ainbusk
Encyclopedia
Ainbusk are a pop
/folk
vocal group from Gotland
, Sweden
. Formed in 1983, Ainbusk are best-known for their single "Jag mötte Lassie" ("I Met Lassie
") - frequently referred to simply as "Lassie" - which was the Christmas chart-topper in Sweden in 1990. They have released four studio albums, one live album and one compilation. Their music mixes pop with traditional Swedish influences; they have also recorded Swedish versions of English-language songs. In 2008, they participated unsuccessfully in the Swedish Eurovision Song Contest
selection, Melodifestivalen.
. They spent the remainder of the 1980s touring and establishing their reputation. Their breakthrough came in 1990 when band member Marie Nilsson Lind collaborated with former ABBA
member Benny Andersson
to write several songs, with Andersson providing the music for Lind's lyrics. The first single issued, "Jag mötte Lassie", with its touching lyrics about a lonely little girl, struck a chord with record buyers and became the Christmas/New Year #1 on the Swedish singles chart. The follow-up, "Älska mej", also sold well and both tracks remain popular.
". The group's first studio album, the self-titled Ainbusk, was released in 1998, followed by Stolt (Proud) in 2000. A Christmas album, I midvintertid: En jul på Gotland came out in 2001 and included versions of "Fairytale of New York
", "Fields of Gold
" and "Forever Young
". The group's fourth album, Skynda att älska (Rush to Love) appeared in 2002 and Ainbusk celebrated their 20th anniversary in 2003 with the release of En samling, a career retrospective also featuring three new tracks.
on 23 February, but a sixth-place finish meant they were eliminated from the competition.
Live
Compilation
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
/folk
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
vocal group from Gotland
Gotland
Gotland is a county, province, municipality and diocese of Sweden; it is Sweden's largest island and the largest island in the Baltic Sea. At 3,140 square kilometers in area, the region makes up less than one percent of Sweden's total land area...
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
. Formed in 1983, Ainbusk are best-known for their single "Jag mötte Lassie" ("I Met Lassie
Lassie
Lassie is a fictional collie dog character created by Eric Knight in a short story expanded to novel length called Lassie Come-Home. Published in 1940, the novel was filmed by MGM in 1943 as Lassie Come Home with a dog named Pal playing Lassie. Pal then appeared with the stage name "Lassie" in six...
") - frequently referred to simply as "Lassie" - which was the Christmas chart-topper in Sweden in 1990. They have released four studio albums, one live album and one compilation. Their music mixes pop with traditional Swedish influences; they have also recorded Swedish versions of English-language songs. In 2008, they participated unsuccessfully in the Swedish Eurovision Song Contest
Eurovision Song Contest
The Eurovision Song Contest is an annual competition held among active member countries of the European Broadcasting Union .Each member country submits a song to be performed on live television and then casts votes for the other countries' songs to determine the most popular song in the competition...
selection, Melodifestivalen.
Early Career and "Lassie"
Formed on the island of Gotland, Ainbusk first attracted attention in 1984 when they won a talent show, Talang-84, in StockholmStockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
. They spent the remainder of the 1980s touring and establishing their reputation. Their breakthrough came in 1990 when band member Marie Nilsson Lind collaborated with former ABBA
ABBA
ABBA was a Swedish pop group formed in Stockholm in 1970 which consisted of Anni-Frid Lyngstad, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson and Agnetha Fältskog...
member Benny Andersson
Benny Andersson
Göran Bror "Benny" Andersson is a Swedish musician, composer, a former member of the Swedish musical group ABBA , and co-composer of the musicals Chess, Kristina från Duvemåla, and Mamma Mia!...
to write several songs, with Andersson providing the music for Lind's lyrics. The first single issued, "Jag mötte Lassie", with its touching lyrics about a lonely little girl, struck a chord with record buyers and became the Christmas/New Year #1 on the Swedish singles chart. The follow-up, "Älska mej", also sold well and both tracks remain popular.
Later career
Ainbusk spent the early 1990s honing their stage act - they became known for injecting elements of humour into their performances - and the result was a 1993 live album Från när till fjärran (From Near and Far), including a version of "Every Breath You TakeEvery Breath You Take
"Every Breath You Take" is a song by The Police on the band's 1983 album Synchronicity, written by Sting and Andy Summers . The single was one of the biggest hits of 1983, topping the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart for eight weeks and the UK Singles Chart for four weeks. It also topped the...
". The group's first studio album, the self-titled Ainbusk, was released in 1998, followed by Stolt (Proud) in 2000. A Christmas album, I midvintertid: En jul på Gotland came out in 2001 and included versions of "Fairytale of New York
Fairytale of New York
"Fairytale of New York" is a song by the Irish rock group The Pogues, released in 1987 and featuring the British singer Kirsty MacColl. The song is an Irish folk style ballad, written by Jem Finer and Shane MacGowan, and featured on The Pogues' album If I Should Fall from Grace with God...
", "Fields of Gold
Fields of Gold
"Fields of Gold" is a 1993 song by Sting from his album Ten Summoner's Tales. "Fields of Gold" and all the other album tracks were recorded at Lake House, Wiltshire, mixed at The Townhouse Studio, London, England and mastered at Masterdisk, New York. The harmonica solo is played by Brendan Power...
" and "Forever Young
Forever Young (Alphaville song)
"Forever Young" is the title track from German rock/synthpop group Alphaville's 1984 debut album of the same name. Though it was not the group's highest-charting European hit and failed to reach the American Top 40 despite three separate U.S...
". The group's fourth album, Skynda att älska (Rush to Love) appeared in 2002 and Ainbusk celebrated their 20th anniversary in 2003 with the release of En samling, a career retrospective also featuring three new tracks.
Melodifestivalen
In 2008, Ainbusk were announced as one of the participants in Melodifestivalen with the song "Jag saknar dig ibland" ("I Miss You Sometimes"). They took part in the third semi-final, held in LinköpingLinköping
Linköping is a city in southern middle Sweden, with 104 232 inhabitants in 2010. It is the seat of Linköping Municipality with 146 736 inhabitants and the capital of Östergötland County...
on 23 February, but a sixth-place finish meant they were eliminated from the competition.
Albums discography
Studio- 1998: Ainbusk
- 2000: Stolt
- 2001: I midvintertid: En jul på Gotland
- 2002: Skynda att älska
Live
- 1993: Från när till fjärran
Compilation
- 2003: En samling (reissued in 2008 with additional track)