Lars Olof "Olle" Gustaf Ljungström (12 August 1961 – 4 May 2016) was a Swedish singer, songwriter, and musician. Ljungström grew up in

Vaxholm Vaxholm is a city, urban area and the seat of Vaxholm Municipality, Stockholm County, Sweden. It occupies the islands of Vaxön and Kullö in the Stockholm archipelago. The name Vaxholm comes from Vaxholm Fortress, which was constructed in 154 ...

. He was vocalist and guitarist in the group Reeperbahn from 1979 to 1984; since the early 1990s he performed solo.

Reeperbahn

Ljungström began his musical career as vocalist and guitarist in the Swedish rock group

Reeperbahn The Reeperbahn () is a street and entertainment district in Hamburg's St. Pauli district, one of the two centres of Hamburg's nightlife (the other being Sternschanze) and also the city's major red-light district. In German, it is also n ...

. The group, which initially also consisted of Dan Sundquist (bass), Eddie Sjöberg (guitar) and Peter Korhonen (drums), made their self-titled debut album in 1979. On their first LP, Reeperbahn used both Swedish and English lyrics, but later on settled for only Swedish songs. The group made three more full-length albums, ''Venuspassagen'' (1981), ''Peep-Show'' (1983) and ''Intriger'' (1983) before splitting up in 1984.

Heinz and Young

After Reeperbahn, Ljungström briefly formed a duo named Heinz & Young with Heinz Liljedahl (from the band Ratata). The duo released only one album entitled ''Buzzbuzzboys...'' in 1984, with only English lyrics. The album included compositions by both artists with the double A-side single "No Matter at All" / "California dreamin'" released as a 7" single. Liljedahl has also collaborated with Ljungström on the latter's first six solo albums 1993-2002.

Solo career

In 1993, Ljungström made his debut as a solo performer with a self-titled album. He was first signed to MNW and later on to

Metronome A metronome () is a device that produces an audible click or other sound at a uniform interval that can be set by the user, typically in beats per minute (BPM). Metronomes may also include synchronized visual motion, such as a swinging pendulum ...

. As a solo performer, Ljungström sang in Swedish. Ljungström has also appeared on songs by other artists from time to time; he contributed to the group

Wilmer X Wilmer X is a Swedish rock band formed in Malmö in 1978. The group's original line-up comprised Nisse Hellberg, Clas Rosenberg, Jalle Lorensson and Mats Thorin. Rooted in rock and punk, their sound incorporated elements of pop, country, disco ...

's record ''Hallå Världen'', with the song "Jag är bara lycklig när jag dricker" (translates to "I'm only happy when I'm drinking"). He was found dead in his home in

Alingsås Alingsås () is a urban areas of Sweden, locality and the seat of Alingsås Municipality in Västra Götaland County, Sweden. It had 24,482 inhabitants in 2010. Geography Geographically the city is situated by the outlet of the small rivulet Säv ...

on 4 May 2016.

Discography

Albums

;Solo albums ;Compilation albums ;with

*1979: ''Reeperbahn'' *1980: ''No / Time / Outside Wall / Flowers'' (EP / maxi-single) *1981: ''Venuspassagen'' *1982: ''Samlade singlar'' (compilation album) *1983: ''Peep-Show'' *1983: ''Intriger'' *1993: ''79-83'' (compilation album) ;with Stry Terrarie *2006: ''R U Sockudåpad?''

EPs

*1997: "Nåt för dom som väntar"

Bibliography

* ''Jag är både listig och stark'' (Norstedts, 2011)

References

1961 births 2016 deaths Swedish male musicians Swedish-language singers English-language singers from Sweden Swedish pop singers Swedish pop guitarists People from Vaxholm Municipality {{sweden-musician-stub