Lars "Lasse" Nils Berghagen (born 13 May 1945) is a

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

singer, songwriter and actor. Berghagen is a well known singer-songwriter in Sweden. He released his first record in 1965, aged just 19. Four years later, in 1969, he released the single '' Teddybjörnen Fredriksson'' ("The Teddybear Fredriksson"), which has become a classic. Other hits include '' Sträck ut din hand'', ''

En kväll i juni En kväll i juni ("An Evening in June"), also called "Han tog av sig sin kavaj" ("''He Took Off His Blazer''"), is a Swedish summer song written by Lasse Berghagen and is now one of Berghagen's most famous songs. Berghagen wrote the song a midsumm ...

'' and ''

Stockholm i mitt hjärta Stockholm i mitt hjärta ("Stockholm In My Heart") is a Swedish vispop song by Lasse Berghagen who wrote it when Ulf Adelsohn wanted a new song about Stockholm when he became List of Stockholm Governors, governor of Stockholm County in 1992. Bergh ...

''. Berghagen won the Swedish 1975 Melodifestivalen with the song ''

Jennie, Jennie Thanks to ABBA's victory the preceding year, Sweden hosted the Eurovision Song Contest 1975. Their entry was chosen in Melodifestivalen 1975, and the winner was last year's runner up, Lasse Berghagen, with the song "Jennie, Jennie", which he had ...

''. He also participated in

Melodifestivalen 1974 The Swedish national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest was called Melodifestivalen 1974. It was, by far, won by the group ABBA, consisting of Anni-Frid Lyngstad, Agnetha Fältskog, Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus. Their song was call ...

with the song '' Min kärlekssång till dig'' ("My Lovesong For You"), taking second place (after

ABBA ABBA ( , , formerly named Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Anni-Frid or Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Frida) are a Swedish supergroup formed in Stockholm in 1972 by Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. The group's ...

). He hosted the popular summer TV show ''

Allsång på Skansen ''Allsång på Skansen'' (''Sing-along at Skansen'') is a Swedish show held at Skansen, Stockholm, every summer on Tuesdays between 8pm and 9pm. The audience is encouraged to sing along with musical guest stars to well-known Swedish and internati ...

'' (''Singalong at Skansen'') from 1994 to 2003. During his time as host the show increased its ratings from 600,000 to 2,000,000 viewers, which by Swedish standards is considered an impressive rating (Sweden has approximately 10,000,000 inhabitants). He was married to singer Barbro "Lill-Babs" Svensson from 1965 to 1968. He is the father of actress and TV personality

Malin Berghagen Malin Birgitta Berghagen (born 11 May 1966; called Berghagen Nilsson when she was married to Tommy Nilsson) is a Swedish actress and singer. She is daughter of Lasse Berghagen and Lill-Babs and half-sister to the TV host Kristin Kaspersen. In 1 ...

, and the ex father-in-law of

Tommy Nilsson Erik Tommy Nilsson (born 11 March 1960) is a Swedish singer, songwriter and actor. Career In the late 1970s, Nilsson was the singer of Swedish heavy metal band Horizont. The group released two albums but a French producer, Yves Accary, cont ...

. Berghagen also holds the official world record for hitting a golf ball the longest distance, from one country, through another and into a third. This was done at

Treriksröset The Three-Country Cairn ( fi, Kolmen valtakunnan rajapyykki, se, Golmma riikka urna, no, Treriksrøysa, sv, Treriksröset) is the point at which the international borders of Sweden, Norway and Finland meet, and the name of the monument that ...

, when he hit a golf ball from Norway, through Sweden, and into Finland. He was awarded the

Illis quorum ''Illis quorum'' (''Illis quorum meruere labores'') (English: "For Those Whose Labors Have Deserved It"), is a gold medal awarded for outstanding contributions to Swedish culture, science or society. The award was introduced in 1784 by King Gust ...

by the government of Sweden in 2003.

Discography

*1969 ''Lars Berghagen'' *1972 ''Min värld i toner'' *1973 ''Ding Dong'' *1975 ''

'' *1975 ''Hålligång på krogen'' *1976 ''Jag ville bli någon'' *1977 ''Tacka vet jag logdans'' *1978 ''Det är jul'' *1980 ''Tillsammans igen'' *1983 ''Dagboksblad'' *1988 ''Nära naturen'' *1991 ''På begäran'' *1995 '' Sträck ut din hand'' *1997 ''Inte bara drömmar'' *1999 ''Till sommaren och dig'' *2001 ''Som en blänkande silvertråd'' *2001 ''Det bästa med Lasse Berghagen'' (4-disc box) *2002 ''Stockholm, mina drömmars stad'' *2003 ''Lasses favoriter from "Allsång på Skansen"'' (3-disc box) *2004 ''Lars Berghagen 20 klassiker'' *2004 '' Jul i vårt hus'' *2009 ''Lasse Berghagen och Sveriges Radios Symfoniorkester'' *2011 ''Bara lite längtan''

Filmography

*1972: ''Firmafesten'' *1978: ''Dante akta're för Hajen'' *1995: ''Bert – den siste oskulden''

References and sources

*
Swedish Media DatabaseOfficial website
1945 births Living people Singers from Stockholm Swedish songwriters 20th-century Swedish male singers Eurovision Song Contest entrants of 1975 Eurovision Song Contest entrants for Sweden Melodifestivalen contestants Melodifestivalen winners Swedish television personalities Swedish male actors 21st-century Swedish male singers Recipients of the Illis quorum {{Sweden-musician-stub