Barbro Margareta Svensson (9 March 1938 – 3 April 2018), known by her stage name Lill-Babs, was a Swedish singer, actress and television host. From the early 1950s until her death in 2018, she was one of Sweden's best-known and popular singers. She represented Sweden in the 1961 Eurovision Song Contest in

Cannes Cannes ( , , ; oc, Canas) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a communes of France, commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions I ...

with the song "

April, april Sweden chose their entrant for the Eurovision Song Contest 1961 through Melodifestivalen 1961. The song "April, april", performed once with Siw Malmkvist, once with Gunnar Wiklund, won. However, none of them was considered acceptable for singing ...

". She was also well known for the song "

Är du kär i mej ännu Klas-Göran? "Är du kär i mej ännu Klas-Göran?" ("Are you still in love with me, Klas-Göran?") is a song written by Stig "Stikkan" Andersson in 1959. A recording by singer Lill-Babs from 1959 became a major hit song and solid gold record in Sweden in 196 ...

" ("Are You Still in Love with Me, Klas-Göran?").

Early life and career

Lill-Babs was born Barbro Svensson in Järvsö, north of Stockholm. She lived with her parents, Ragnar and Britta Svensson, for nine years in a small cottage without running water. She first sang in a church at age 11. Her first public appearance was with a colleague of her father accompanying her on the accordion. Svensson's first public performance was at Barnens dag in

Järvsö Järvsö (), locally known as ''Jarse'' (), is a locality and a parish situated in Ljusdal Municipality, Gävleborg County, Sweden with 1,407 inhabitants in 2010. From Järvsö, people commute to Ljusdal, Färila, Bollnäs, and Gävle. The ...

1953. Soon after, she started singing with Lasse Schönning's orchestra. She was "discovered" when she sang on the radio program ''Morgonkvisten'' ("Early Morning") in 1954.

Simon Brehm Simon Brehm (31 December 1921 – 11 February 1967) was a Swedish double-bass player and, later in life, a record producer and owner of Karusell Records. He was the manager of the singer Lill-Babs and was the leader of the orchestra that play ...

, a musician and record producer, liked her and took her to Stockholm where she made her professional singing debut at the Bal Palais restaurant. Brehm was Svensson's manager until his death in 1967. He gave Svensson her stage name "Lill-Babs", a play on words as a connection to the older, and at that time better known, singer

Alice Babs Hildur Alice Nilsson (26 January 1924 – 11 February 2014), known by her stage name Alice Babs, was a Swedish singer and actress. She worked in a wide number of genres – Swedish folklore, Elizabethan songs and opera. While she was best known i ...

. She released her first music album in 1954, a gramophone record with two songs: "Min mammas boogie" ("My Mamma's Boogie") and "Svar till 'Ung och kär'" ("Answer to 'Young And In Love'"). Soon afterwards, finding herself pregnant, she returned to Järvsö and gave birth to a daughter Monica. The Beatles and Lill-Babs 1963

Lill-Babs made her television debut in 1957 and her first

folkpark In Sweden, a folkpark (approximately "peoples park" in English) is a public recreation space, usually featuring large grassed areas, trees, children's play facilities, etc. Most towns and cities have a folkpark. These parks were originally created b ...

show using her birth name in 1958. She visited every folk park in Sweden during her long career In 1959, Lill-Babs performed Stikkan Anderson's song "

" ("Are You Still in Love with Me, Klas-Göran?"); her recording of it became a major hit. She made her theater debut in 1958 in the play ''Fly mig en greve'' ("Fly Me a Count") at Nöjeskatten theater. She also appeared in the films ''Svenska Floyd'' and ''En nolla för mycket'' ("One Zero Too Many").

Eurovision and later career

Lill-Babs represented

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 ...

in the 1961 Eurovision Song Contest with the song "

". It had been performed by

Siw Malmkvist Siw Gunnel Margareta Malmkvist (born 31 December 1936) is a Swedish schlager singer and actress popular in Scandinavia and West Germany. She had a number one hit in West Germany in 1964 with "''Liebeskummer lohnt sich nicht''" (''"Lovesickness ...

in the national final, but Lill-Babs was selected to perform the song in

. She participated in

Melodifestivalen Melodifestivalen (; literally "the Melody Festival") is an annual song competition organised by Swedish public broadcasters Sveriges Television (SVT) and Sveriges Radio (SR). It determines the country's representative for the Eurovision Song ...

three times in 1960,

1961 Events January * January 3 ** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and consular relations with Cuba ( Cuba–United States relations are restored in 2015). ** Aero Flight 311 ...

(her own two songs did not win) and in 1973 without winning. In 1969, she participated in the Norwegian

Melodi Grand Prix Melodi Grand Prix (), commonly known as Grand Prix and MGP, sometimes as Norwegian Melodi Grand Prix ( no, Norsk Melodi Grand Prix), is an annual music competition organised by Norwegian public broadcaster Norsk Rikskringkasting (NRK). It det ...

without winning. Soon after Eurovision, she launched a career in West Germany, where she acted in several films. She also released two English-language solo singles for the United States market. Lill-Babs met

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

in 1963 when she was the main guest star on the teen music show ''Drop-In'' broadcast on

Sveriges Television Sveriges Television AB ("Sweden's Television Stock Company"), shortened to SVT (), is the Sweden, Swedish national public broadcasting, public television broadcaster, funded by a public service tax on personal income set by the Riksdag (national ...

(SVT). The then-unknown band asked for her autograph. Lill-Babs performed several shows in bars at Berns in Stockholm, Trädgår'n 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 ...

and Kronprinsen in

Malmö Malmö (, ; da, Malmø ) is the largest city in the Swedish county (län) of Scania (Skåne). It is the third-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg, and the sixth-largest city in the Nordic region, with a municipal populat ...

Björn Ulvaeus Björn Kristian Ulvaeus (; born 25 April 1945) is a Swedish singer, songwriter, producer, a member of the musical group ABBA, and co-composer of the musicals ''Chess'', '' Kristina från Duvemåla'', and '' Mamma Mia!'' He co-produced the films ...

and

Benny Andersson Göran Bror Benny Andersson (; born 16 December 1946) is a Swedish musician, singer, composer and producer best known as a member of the musical group ABBA and co-composer of the musicals ''Chess'', '' Kristina från Duvemåla'', and '' Mamma M ...

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 ...

wrote and produced her 1971 hit song "Welcome to the World". The four future members of ABBA sang on it. Also in the 1970s she played in a Kar de Mumma revue at Folkan, and played

Annie Oakley Annie Oakley (born Phoebe Ann Mosey; August 13, 1860 – November 3, 1926) was an American sharpshooter who starred in Buffalo Bill's Wild West show. Oakley developed hunting skills as a child to provide for her impoverished family in western ...

in the musical '' Annie Get Your Gun'' at

Scandinavium Scandinavium () is an indoor arena located in Gothenburg, Sweden. Construction on Scandinavium began in 1969 after decades of setbacks, and was inaugurated on 18 May 1971. Scandinavium has been selected as a championship arena at least fifty t ...

arena in Gothenburg.

Television

Lill-Babs was the main guest on ''Här är ditt liv'' (Swedish version of "This Is Your Life") on 26 December 1983 when the host Lasse Holmqvist surprised her in the studio with a long line of ex-boyfriends. She was the presenter on several TV shows like ''Hemma hos Lill-Babs'' (1987) ("At Home with Lill-Babs"), ''Morgonlust'' (1988) ("Morning Desire"), ''Vem tar vem'' (1990) ("Who Takes Whom"), and ''Cocktail'' (1991) all on SVT. In 2010, she participated in the television show ''

Så mycket bättre Så mycket bättre (, "So Much Better") is a Swedish reality television show that airs on TV4 (Sweden), TV4. The basic premise is that each artist attempts to do their own version of another artist's well-known songs, with each person getting an ...

'' ("That Much Better"), broadcast on

TV4 TV4 or TV 4 may refer to: *TV4 (Poland), a private Polish television station *TV4 (Sweden), a Swedish television network **TV4 Group, owners of the Swedish television station *South African Broadcasting Corporation TV4, a channel operated by the st ...

. In 2012, Lill-Babs appeared on '' Stjärnorna på slottet'' ("Stars at the Palace"), broadcast on SVT, where she spoke about her career. In 2017 and 2018, she acted as a lesbian character Gugge in two seasons of the SVT series '' Bonusfamiljen''; the series' script had to be changed following her death. A two-part documentary was broadcast on TV4 in 2017 called ''Lill-Babs, Leva livet'' ("Lill-Babs, to Live Life"), which presented her life and career.

Death and tributes

Lill-Babs died on 3 April 2018, following

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

and heart failure. On the day of her death, both SVT and TV4 changed their programming so that programs about Lill-Babs could air. SVT broadcast the 2004 biographical documentary ''Lill-Babs i 50 år'' ("Lill-Babs for 50 Years"), including the TV4 documentary from 2017. Her funeral was at Järvsö Church on 28 May the same year and she was buried in the churchyard there.

Personal life

Lill-Babs was married to the singer

Lasse Berghagen Lars "Lasse" Nils Berghagen (born 13 May 1945) is a Sweden, Swedish 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 ...

1965–1968. She was then married to Norwegian footballer Kjell Kaspersen 1969–1973. She had three daughters: Monica Svensson (born 1955),

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 ...

(born 1966), and

Kristin Kaspersen Kristin Kaspersen (born 30 September 1969) is a Swedish-Norwegian television host who is working for the Swedish media company TV4 Group, which is the owner of the television channel TV4 (Sweden), TV4. She is the daughter of Lill-Babs and Kjell ...

(born 1969). Her younger brother Lasse Svensson used to be the drummer for rock group

Tages Tages was claimed as a founding prophet of Etruscan religion who is known from reports by Latin authors of the late Roman Republic and Roman Empire. He revealed a cosmic view of divinity and correct methods of ascertaining divine will concerni ...

(and subsequently Blond) 1967–1969. She released her autobiography ''Hon är jag'' ("She Is I") in 1996. In 2017, she was inducted into the Swedish Music Hall of Fame. Lill-Babs was a known supporter of

AIK AIK Fotboll (), more commonly known simply as AIK (), an abbreviation for Allmänna Idrottsklubben (meaning ''the public'' or ''general sports club''), is a Swedish football club competing in Allsvenskan, the top flight of Swedish football. The ...

Discography

Albums

(Source: Discogs artist page) * 1962: ''Splorr'' * 1964: ''Svensson hyllar Alpertsson'' * 1967: ''Lill-Babs'' * 1968: ''Lill-Babs'' * 1971: ''Välkommen till världen'' * 1972: ''Jag ska sjunga för dig'' * 1973: ''Hurra hurra'' * 1975: ''Det våras för Barbro'' * 1976: ''Lev mänska lev'' * 1977: ''På scen'' * 1979: ''Till mina vänner'' * 1982: ''Lill-Babs i en show av Lars Forssell'' * 1982: ''Det är ju min show! (på cd 1998)'' * 1984: ''Barbro'' * 1998: ''Who's Sorry Now'' * 2005: ''Här är jag''

Filmography

(Source: Swedish Film Database) * 1956: ''Suss gott'' * 1959: ''Fly mej en greve'' * 1961: ''Svenska Floyd'' * '' The Turkish Cucumbers'' (1962) * 1962: ''En nolla för mycket'' * 1965: ''Pang i bygget'' * 1965: ''Calle P'' * 1989: ''Imorron och imorron och imorron'' * 1990: ''Vem tar vem'' (TV show) * 1998: ''Mulan'' (Swedish voice and singing as Grandmother Fa) * 2002: ''

Rederiet ''Rederiet'' (''High Seas'' or ''The Shipping Company'') was a (318 episodes) Swedish soap opera that aired on Sveriges Television between August 1992 and April 2002. The cast featured many popular and renowned Swedish actors. The 45-minute epi ...

'' (guest role) * 2012: ''Den sista dokusåpan'' * 2017: '' Bonusfamiljen'' (TV series)

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lill-Babs 1938 births 2018 deaths People from Ljusdal Municipality Swedish film actresses Eurovision Song Contest entrants for Sweden Eurovision Song Contest entrants of 1961 Melodifestivalen contestants Melodifestivalen winners Melodi Grand Prix contestants Deaths from cancer in Sweden Swedish autobiographers Women autobiographers 20th-century Swedish women singers