The Act
Encyclopedia
The Act was a popular and critically acclaimed Norwegian rock band in the mid 1980s. They toured extensively and released the album September Field.
and advertised in the music paper Nye Takter for other players into late 1970s new wave
and classic 1960s pop
and rock
.
Kulseth and Rune Krogseth (b. 1963) both sang lead and backing vocals, played guitars and wrote songs. Bass player Trond Ihlen (b. 1956) and drummer Dag Bøgeberg (b. 1957) had been kicking around the Oslo music scene since the mid 1970s. Both had been in the band Jydske Rev (one album; Nyt det in 1981) though not at the same time.
Wham Bam! quickly become a popular live act, playing both original songs and covers of artists like Elvis Costello
, Nick Lowe
, The Blasters
, Creedence Clearwater Revival
, Smokey Robinson
etc. To avoid associations with the new UK teenybop duo Wham!
, the band name was altered to The Act in November 1983.
After playing the Oslo club Ratz in January 1984, The Act took on keyboards and guitar player Stein Ramberg (b. 1961) as an associated member. Ramberg was a veteran of bands like Kollaps, Front Page, Saturday Cowboys and Ghostriders.
By both headlining shows around the country and supporting likeminded, visiting bands like Green on Red
and R.E.M., The Act built a reputation as an exiting new live band. In December 1984 they were voted "Best Unsigned Band" in the annual readers poll in the music paper Nye Takter. Wannskræk, soon to become DumDum Boys
, came in fourth.
. Padovani had been the first guitarist in The Police
and was by now the European Vice President of I.R.S. Records
: The leading UK and US independent label of the time with acts like R.E.M., The Cramps
, The Fleshtones
, The Go-Go's
, Wall of Voodoo
, The Alarm
, The Lords of the New Church
etc.
"Dream Talk" sold well, got impressive airplay for an independent release and secured the band a coveted live spot on "Zting", the only pop show on national TV. Having already been championed for some time by both of the Norwegian music papers Nye Takter and Puls (see Quotes below), The Act now found themselves being courted by several record companies. In the spring of 1985, they signed a three album deal with EMI
and started preparing to record the first one. A number of potential producers were approached.
Drummer Dag Bøgeberg had wanted to quit because of work and family obligations, but agreed to stay on temporarily after several auditions for a replacement had proved fruitless. In June 1985, the original quartet played one of their best gigs ever as support for US band The Textones at a beach club outside Oslo.
Recording of the debut album began in August 1985 in Oslo’s top studio Bel, with veteran house engineer Ingar Helgesen and US saxophone player Steve Berlin
producing. Berlin had played with the LA-bands The Plugz
and The Blasters
and arrived in Oslo fresh from sessions with his new band Los Lobos
for the milestone Paul Simon
album Graceland (not released until August 1986).
It soon became obvious that the sessions could not be timed around Bøgeberg’s other commitments, so about half of the drum tracks were laid down by top session player Per Hillestad (Lava
, a-ha
etc.) In tune with Berlin’s ambitions for a professional "state-of-the-art" album, session players were also brought in for some guitar parts and only one song by Rune Krogseth ended up on the album. All in all the more upbeat and snappy side of the band - one writer had labelled them "pop 'n' roll" - was toned down in favour of their moodier, more dramatic side.
which was held outdoors in the port of Oslo. This was their first gig with new drummer Bjørn Juliusson as an associated member (The Young Lords, Saturday Cowboys, Ghostriders, Fra Lippo Lippi
, The Monroes
etc.).
When the album September Field and the single "Coming Closer" were released in January 1986, the bands name had been shortened to simply Act.
Expectations were high all over. Both the Puls (by now called BEAT) and Nye Takter music papers had put the band on their cover and reviews were good to great.
A video of "When You Find Love" had even been produced, with financial and promotional support from sponsor Levi Strauss Norway, and in February the band went to Holland for ten days to play gigs and TV and radio shows.
Totto Hansen (The Monroes, Marius Müller’s Funhouse etc.) stepped in on short notice and playing regularly night after night the band now got tighter than ever.
Three months after its release, September Field had sold 10.000 copies in Norway and 2.000 in Scandinavia and Benelux. In today's market this would probably have been judged a commercial success, but at the time both band and record company were disappointed. The break even point was several thousand copies above the number sold.
Even though Norwegian music back then had nothing like the international standing it enjoys today, there was some hope for something happening for Act outside Norway. A representative from EMI America had come to Oslo to see the band in a special showcase and a deal had recently been made with a Swedish booking company.
In June 1986 the band went to Stockholm to headline at a club and support Eldkvarn
in the garden of The Museum of Modern Art
.
In the fall of 1986, they started demoing new songs, determined that the next record would be built more on their live sound.
The next thing on the agenda was a two week tour of northern Norway in December. For the most part the tour was a disaster, with gigs being postponed or cancelled while they were on the road, driving up to 12–14 hours a day in the arctic climate.
Back in Oslo, after thawing out over Christmas, Bjørn Kulseth decided to disband and look into the possibilities of working as a solo artist.
The following year Kulseth released the solo album Away under the project name Hi-Yo Silver!
and started the roots rock band The Contenders
which released three albums between 1989 and 1994.
Band members
- Bjørn Kulseth – vocals, guitars
- Rune Krogseth – vocals, guitars
- Trond Ihlen – bass guitar
- Dag Bøgeberg – drums (1983–1985)
Associated members
- Stein Ramberg – keyboards & guitars (1984)
- Bjørn "Julle" Juliusson – drums (1985–1986)
- Totto Hansen – drums (1986–1987)
History
The Act formed under the name Wham Bam! in February 1983, after Bjørn Kulseth (b. 1962) had moved to the capital OsloOslo
Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...
and advertised in the music paper Nye Takter for other players into late 1970s new wave
New Wave music
New Wave is a subgenre of :rock music that emerged in the mid to late 1970s alongside punk rock. The term at first generally was synonymous with punk rock before being considered a genre in its own right that incorporated aspects of electronic and experimental music, mod subculture, disco and 1960s...
and classic 1960s pop
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...
and rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
.
Kulseth and Rune Krogseth (b. 1963) both sang lead and backing vocals, played guitars and wrote songs. Bass player Trond Ihlen (b. 1956) and drummer Dag Bøgeberg (b. 1957) had been kicking around the Oslo music scene since the mid 1970s. Both had been in the band Jydske Rev (one album; Nyt det in 1981) though not at the same time.
Wham Bam! quickly become a popular live act, playing both original songs and covers of artists like Elvis Costello
Elvis Costello
Elvis Costello , born Declan Patrick MacManus, is an English singer-songwriter. He came to prominence as an early participant in London's pub rock scene in the mid-1970s and later became associated with the punk/New Wave genre. Steeped in word play, the vocabulary of Costello's lyrics is broader...
, Nick Lowe
Nick Lowe
Nicholas Drain "Nick" Lowe , is an English singer-songwriter, musician and producer.A pivotal figure in UK pub rock, punk rock and new wave, Lowe has recorded a string of well-reviewed solo albums. Along with vocals, Lowe plays guitar, bass guitar, piano and harmonica...
, The Blasters
The Blasters
The Blasters are a rock and roll music group formed in 1979 in Downey, California, by brothers Phil Alvin and Dave Alvin , with bass guitarist John Bazz and drummer Bill Bateman. Phil Alvin explained the origin of the band's name: "I thought Joe Turner’s backup band on Atlantic records – I had...
, Creedence Clearwater Revival
Creedence Clearwater Revival
Creedence Clearwater Revival was an American rock band that gained popularity in the late 1960s and early 1970s with a number of successful singles drawn from various albums....
, Smokey Robinson
Smokey Robinson
William "Smokey" Robinson, Jr. is an American R&B singer-songwriter, record producer, and former record executive. Robinson is one of the primary figures associated with Motown, second only to the company's founder, Berry Gordy...
etc. To avoid associations with the new UK teenybop duo Wham!
WHAM!
Wham! were a short-lived British musical duo formed by George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley in the early 1980s. They were briefly known in the United States as Wham! UK due to a naming conflict with an American band....
, the band name was altered to The Act in November 1983.
After playing the Oslo club Ratz in January 1984, The Act took on keyboards and guitar player Stein Ramberg (b. 1961) as an associated member. Ramberg was a veteran of bands like Kollaps, Front Page, Saturday Cowboys and Ghostriders.
By both headlining shows around the country and supporting likeminded, visiting bands like Green on Red
Green on Red
Green on Red was an American rock band, formed in the Tucson, Arizona punk scene, but based for most of its career in Los Angeles, California, where it was loosely associated with the Paisley Underground...
and R.E.M., The Act built a reputation as an exiting new live band. In December 1984 they were voted "Best Unsigned Band" in the annual readers poll in the music paper Nye Takter. Wannskræk, soon to become DumDum Boys
DumDum Boys
DumDum Boys is a Norwegian rock band from Trondheim. They started up in the late 1970s as a punk band under the name "Wannskrækk", and released a few singles under that name before they reinvented themselves with a new name and a somewhat new sound in 1985....
, came in fourth.
Recording artists
In March 1985, The Act released their first record on their own label with distribution by Sonet Records. The single "Dream Talk" had been recorded in Oslo and mixed in London by engineer Steve Smith and producer Henry PadovaniHenry Padovani
Henry Padovani is a French musician from Corsica, who is noted for having been the original guitarist for The Police...
. Padovani had been the first guitarist in The Police
The Police
The Police were an English rock band formed in London in 1977. For the vast majority of their history, the band consisted of Sting , Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland...
and was by now the European Vice President of I.R.S. Records
I.R.S. Records
I.R.S. Records was a record label, started in the United States in 1979 by Miles Copeland III along with Jay Boberg and Carl Grasso. Miles was also the manager of Wishbone Ash, The Police, and later, Sting, as well as other bands. I.R.S. was the sister label of Copeland's Illegal Records .I.R.S...
: The leading UK and US independent label of the time with acts like R.E.M., The Cramps
The Cramps
The Cramps were an American rock band, formed in 1976 and active until 2009. The band split after the death of lead singer Lux Interior. Their line-up rotated much over their existence, with the husband and wife duo of Interior and lead guitarist Poison Ivy the only permanent members...
, The Fleshtones
The Fleshtones
The Fleshtones are an American garage rock band from Queens, New York formed in 1976.- 1976-1979 :The Fleshtones were formed in 1976 in Whitestone, New York by Keith Streng and Marek Pakulski The Fleshtones are an American garage rock band from Queens, New York formed in 1976.- 1976-1979 :The...
, The Go-Go's
The Go-Go's
The Go-Go’s are an all-female American rock band formed in 1978. They made history as the first all-female band that both wrote their own songs and played their own instruments to top the Billboard album charts....
, Wall of Voodoo
Wall of Voodoo
Wall of Voodoo was an American New Wave group from Los Angeles best known for the 1983 hit "Mexican Radio". The band had a sound that was a fusion of synthesizer-based New Wave music with the spaghetti western soundtrack style of Ennio Morricone.-Formation:...
, The Alarm
The Alarm
The Alarm are an alternative rock band that emerged from North Wales in the late 1970s. They started as a mod band and stayed together for over ten years. As a rock band, they displayed marked influences from Welsh language and culture...
, The Lords of the New Church
The Lords of the New Church
The Lords of the New Church were an English/American post-punk supergroup with a line-up consisting of four musicians from prominent 1970s punk bands...
etc.
"Dream Talk" sold well, got impressive airplay for an independent release and secured the band a coveted live spot on "Zting", the only pop show on national TV. Having already been championed for some time by both of the Norwegian music papers Nye Takter and Puls (see Quotes below), The Act now found themselves being courted by several record companies. In the spring of 1985, they signed a three album deal with EMI
EMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
and started preparing to record the first one. A number of potential producers were approached.
Drummer Dag Bøgeberg had wanted to quit because of work and family obligations, but agreed to stay on temporarily after several auditions for a replacement had proved fruitless. In June 1985, the original quartet played one of their best gigs ever as support for US band The Textones at a beach club outside Oslo.
Recording of the debut album began in August 1985 in Oslo’s top studio Bel, with veteran house engineer Ingar Helgesen and US saxophone player Steve Berlin
Steve Berlin
Steve Berlin is an American saxophonist, keyboardist and record producer, best known as a member of the rock group Los Lobos and, before that, Top Jimmy & The Rhythm Pigs, The Blasters, and The Flesh Eaters...
producing. Berlin had played with the LA-bands The Plugz
The Plugz
The Plugz were a Mexican-American punk rock band from Los Angeles, California that formed in 1977. They and The Zeros were among the first Chicano punk bands, although several Latino garage rock bands, such as Thee Midniters and Question Mark & the Mysterians, predated them...
and The Blasters
The Blasters
The Blasters are a rock and roll music group formed in 1979 in Downey, California, by brothers Phil Alvin and Dave Alvin , with bass guitarist John Bazz and drummer Bill Bateman. Phil Alvin explained the origin of the band's name: "I thought Joe Turner’s backup band on Atlantic records – I had...
and arrived in Oslo fresh from sessions with his new band Los Lobos
Los Lobos
Los Lobos are a multiple Grammy Award–winning American Chicano rock band from East Los Angeles, California. Their music is influenced by rock and roll, Tex-Mex, country, folk, R&B, blues, brown-eyed soul, and traditional Spanish and Mexican music such as cumbia, boleros and norteños.-History:The...
for the milestone Paul Simon
Paul Simon
Paul Frederic Simon is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist.Simon is best known for his success, beginning in 1965, as part of the duo Simon & Garfunkel, with musical partner Art Garfunkel. Simon wrote most of the pair's songs, including three that reached number one on the US singles...
album Graceland (not released until August 1986).
It soon became obvious that the sessions could not be timed around Bøgeberg’s other commitments, so about half of the drum tracks were laid down by top session player Per Hillestad (Lava
Lava
Lava refers both to molten rock expelled by a volcano during an eruption and the resulting rock after solidification and cooling. This molten rock is formed in the interior of some planets, including Earth, and some of their satellites. When first erupted from a volcanic vent, lava is a liquid at...
, a-ha
A-ha
A-ha were a Norwegian pop band formed in Oslo in 1982. The band was founded by Morten Harket , Magne Furuholmen , and Pål Waaktaar...
etc.) In tune with Berlin’s ambitions for a professional "state-of-the-art" album, session players were also brought in for some guitar parts and only one song by Rune Krogseth ended up on the album. All in all the more upbeat and snappy side of the band - one writer had labelled them "pop 'n' roll" - was toned down in favour of their moodier, more dramatic side.
September Fields
On August 31. 1985, The Act played in front of tens of thousands at Rock On The Dock, the Norwegian version of Band AidBand Aid (band)
Band Aid was a charity supergroup featuring British and Irish musicians and recording artists. It was founded in 1984 by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise money for famine relief in Ethiopia by releasing the song "Do They Know It's Christmas?" for the Christmas market that year. The single...
which was held outdoors in the port of Oslo. This was their first gig with new drummer Bjørn Juliusson as an associated member (The Young Lords, Saturday Cowboys, Ghostriders, Fra Lippo Lippi
Fra Lippo Lippi (band)
Fra Lippo Lippi is a New Wave band from Norway. They had several hits in the 1980s, such as "Shouldn't Have to Be Like That", "Everytime I See You" and "Light and Shade", and recorded a new album as late as 2002...
, The Monroes
The Monroes
The Monroes can represent any of the following:* The Monroes , 1966-67 ABC series starring Michael Anderson, Jr. and Barbara Hershey * The Monroes , 1995 ABC series starring Susan Sullivan and William Devane...
etc.).
When the album September Field and the single "Coming Closer" were released in January 1986, the bands name had been shortened to simply Act.
Expectations were high all over. Both the Puls (by now called BEAT) and Nye Takter music papers had put the band on their cover and reviews were good to great.
A video of "When You Find Love" had even been produced, with financial and promotional support from sponsor Levi Strauss Norway, and in February the band went to Holland for ten days to play gigs and TV and radio shows.
Aftermath
As the Norwegian tour in support of September Field was about to start, it was discovered that the drummer Bjørn Juliusson had double booked himself.Totto Hansen (The Monroes, Marius Müller’s Funhouse etc.) stepped in on short notice and playing regularly night after night the band now got tighter than ever.
Three months after its release, September Field had sold 10.000 copies in Norway and 2.000 in Scandinavia and Benelux. In today's market this would probably have been judged a commercial success, but at the time both band and record company were disappointed. The break even point was several thousand copies above the number sold.
Even though Norwegian music back then had nothing like the international standing it enjoys today, there was some hope for something happening for Act outside Norway. A representative from EMI America had come to Oslo to see the band in a special showcase and a deal had recently been made with a Swedish booking company.
In June 1986 the band went to Stockholm to headline at a club and support Eldkvarn
Eldkvarn (band)
Eldkvarn is a Swedish rock band formed in Norrköping in 1971, consisting of brothers Plura Jonsson and Carla Jonsson . The third original member is the bass player Tony Thorén, who has produced a number of albums by Eldkvarn, as well as other artists...
in the garden of The Museum of Modern Art
Moderna Museet
Moderna museet, the Museum of Modern Art, Stockholm, Sweden, is a state museum located on the island of Skeppsholmen in central Stockholm, that was first opened in 1958. Its first manager was Pontus Hultén...
.
In the fall of 1986, they started demoing new songs, determined that the next record would be built more on their live sound.
The next thing on the agenda was a two week tour of northern Norway in December. For the most part the tour was a disaster, with gigs being postponed or cancelled while they were on the road, driving up to 12–14 hours a day in the arctic climate.
Back in Oslo, after thawing out over Christmas, Bjørn Kulseth decided to disband and look into the possibilities of working as a solo artist.
The following year Kulseth released the solo album Away under the project name Hi-Yo Silver!
Hi-Yo Silver!
Hi-Yo Silver! was a musical solo project by Bjørn Kulseth, the former lead singer and songwriter of the Norwegian rock band The Act. The only Hi-Yo Silver! album was entitled Away and was released in 1988.- History :...
and started the roots rock band The Contenders
The Contenders (band)
The Contenders were one of the most popular Norwegian roots rock bands of the early 1990s, playing more than 200 gigs and releasing three albums.-Band members:*Bjørn Kulseth – vocals & guitars*Stein Kulseth – vocals, piano, accordion, guitar & mandolin...
which released three albums between 1989 and 1994.
Singles
- "Dream Talk" b/w "When You Find Love" - (Tarted Up 1985)
- "Coming Closer" b/w "Storyteller" - (EMI Odeon 1986)
Quotes
- "To see a band like The Act is an affirmation that there is something good going on"
- R.E.M. guitarist Peter BuckPeter BuckPeter Lawrence Buck , is an American rock guitarist who is best known for playing in and co-founding alternative rock band R.E.M....
interviewed by Karin Westrheim in the "Roxrevyen" radioshow on NRK, after being supported by The Act at Circus in Oslo on December 6. 1984.- "They're good, they're really good. They've got strong tunes and they've got style"
- The Nomads' singer/guitarist Nick Vahlberg in Nye Takter #125 July 17. 1985, on seeing The Act support Green on RedGreen on RedGreen on Red was an American rock band, formed in the Tucson, Arizona punk scene, but based for most of its career in Los Angeles, California, where it was loosely associated with the Paisley Underground...
at Kollingsborg in Stockholm on September 9. 1984.- "They remind me of a band from L.A. called The PlimsoulsThe PlimsoulsThe Plimsouls are an American rock band formed in Paramount, California in 1978.-Formation:Formed by singer, guitarist and songwriter Peter Case , the Plimsouls began as a trio in 1978 which included Case, bassist Dave Pahoa and drummer Louie Ramírez...
and they're really good"
- "They remind me of a band from L.A. called The Plimsouls
- Textones singer Carla Olson on The Act in Nye Takter #122 June 26. 1985, after being supported by the band at "The White Elephant" outside Oslo.
- "Our best pop group"
- Music writer Kurt Hanssen in Nye Takter #90 1984
- "The most uplifting Norwegian band I've heard in a long time"
- Editor Tore Olsen in Puls #4 1984.
- "They won my heart! Look out for The Act"
- Music writer Espen Hansen in Nye Takter May 22. 1984.
- "For God's sake – but mostly for your own – go see them live"
- Music writer Kurt Hanssen in Nye Takter July 3. 1984.
Sources
- Norwegian pop and rock encyclopaedia. Vega Forlag, 2005. ISBN 978-82-92-48909-3.
- G-STRENG website.