(Per-Inge) Anders Töpel (16 January 1947 – 10 April 2014) was a Swedish guitarist, best known for being the lead guitarist of the Swedish rock group Tages.

Early life

Töpel was born in

Gothenburg Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

. He befriended

Tommy Blom Tommy Albert Blom (3 March 1947 – 25 May 2014) was a Swedish singer, songwriter and musician. He was a member of the band Tages in the 1960s. In the mid 1990s, he started hosting Vinyl 107. In 2008, he lost that job because "he was too old", but ...

as a child. Töpel received his first acoustic guitar while in his early teens. He graduated from school in June 1965, while his career in Tages was in full action.

Tages

Töpel formed Tages together with his friend

during the summer of 1963 when they performed with acoustic guitars during a

regatta Boat racing is a sport in which boats, or other types of watercraft, race on water. Boat racing powered by oars is recorded as having occurred in ancient Egypt, and it is likely that people have engaged in races involving boats and other wate ...

in Hovås, south of

. Because of popular reception, the duo quickly recruited guitarist

Danne Larsson Dan "Danne" Tage Bexér (né Larsson; born 11 January 1948) is a Swedish singer-songwriter, guitarist and businessman who is best known for being the rhythm guitarist in the Swedish rock band Tages (band), Tages, and subsequently Blond, between 196 ...

and

Göran Lagerberg Göran Bertil Lagerberg (; born 20 September 1947) is a Swedish musician and singer-songwriter, best known as the bass guitarist and co-lead vocalist in Swedish rock band Tages and later progressive rock act Kebnekajse. In the 1990s, he was a ...

on washboard (later bass guitar) while starting to play skiffle together. After recruiting drummer Freddie Skantze to the line-up, the band quickly turned electrical and started performing in the style of the Beatles. Tages 1965

The name Tages comes from the middle name of the groups guitarist,

. The band chose Larsson’s because they thought it was “the cheesiest name”. Töpel was present during the Västkustens Beatles (West Coast Beatles) contest in August 1964, which propelled the band into stardom. Their first single, which became "

Sleep Little Girl "Sleep Little Girl" is the debut single by the Swedish rock band Tages. It was written by Tommy Blom and released on 16 October 1964. The initial recording was made at a Youth center at Nylöse, a neighborhood of Gothenburg, Sweden's second biggest ...

" (1964), was written by Blom. Töpel's playing is present on all tracks Tages recorded between 1964 and 1968, primarily on lead guitar. Most of his compositions for the group were co-written with other group members, which included; "Tell Me You're Mine", "Hey Mama" and the hit "

Don't Turn Your Back "Don't Turn Your Back" is a song written by bass guitarist Göran Lagerberg and guitarist Anders Töpel, first recorded by their band Tages in 1965. Produced by the Violents Rune Wallebom, the song would be featured as the lead track from their d ...

". "Don't Turn Your Back" was the only hit record by the band that Töpel sang a lead vocal on. Töpel left Tages (now going under the name Blond) in 1969.

Personal life and death

After exiting Tages, Töpel went through his mandatory military service within the Swedish Air Defence Regiment until he was discharged in 1970. Following his discharge from the military, he joined another band called Fyran, with Freddie Skantze. After Fyran split, he retired from the music industry and worked as a harbourmaster in the Port of Gothenburg. Töpel was diagnosed with blood cancer during the early 2000s. He recovered, however, the cancer returned a few years later and Töpel eventually died on 10 April 2014, aged 67. At the time he was living in Kullavik, south of Gothenburg.

References

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Early life

Tages

Personal life and death

References

Sources

See also