Harpo is a Swedish 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...

 star

Celebrity

A celebrity, also referred to as a celeb in popular culture, is a person who has a prominent profile and commands a great degree of public fascination and influence in day-to-day media...

 known under the stage name Harpo. He was popular in Sweden

Sweden

Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

 and around Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

 in the 1970s and is best known for his worldwide hit "Moviestar", which reached number 24 in the UK Singles Chart

UK Singles Chart

The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...

, and number 2 in the Australian Singles Chart

ARIA Charts

The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June...

 in 1976. Harpo has continued to work in the music business, releasing an album

Album

An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...

 of new material as recently as 2005 and continues to tour to this day. He remains popular in Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 and toured there throughout 2007.

Career

Harpo started his career in the late 1960s as an actor

Actor

An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...

 in children's theatre. While touring around Sweden, he started to write song

Song

In music, a song is a composition for voice or voices, performed by singing.A song may be accompanied by musical instruments, or it may be unaccompanied, as in the case of a cappella songs...

s. In 1972, he signed a recording contract

Recording contract

A recording contract is a legal agreement between a record label and a recording artist , where the artist makes a record for the label to sell and promote...

 with Stig Anderson

Stig Anderson

Stig 'Stikkan' Erik Leopold Anderson was born in Hova, Sweden, and is best known as the manager of the pop group ABBA.- Polar Music:Anderson was the founder of the Polar Music record label in 1963...

 at Polar Music

Polar Music

Polar Music is a Swedish record company founded in 1963 by Stig Anderson and his friend Bengt Bernhag. The first act that it signed was the Hootenanny Singers featuring Björn Ulvaeus. Polar eventually gained prosperity producing Ulvæus' next group, international superstars ABBA...

. Anderson assigned him to in-house record producer

Record producer

A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...

s, Benny Andersson

Benny Andersson

Göran Bror "Benny" Andersson is a Swedish musician, composer, a former member of the Swedish musical group ABBA , and co-composer of the musicals Chess, Kristina från Duvemåla, and Mamma Mia!...

 and Björn Ulvaeus

Björn Ulvaeus

Björn Kristian Ulvaeus is a Swedish songwriter, composer, musician, writer, producer, a former member of the Swedish musical group ABBA , and co-composer of the musicals Chess, Kristina från Duvemåla, and Mamma Mia!...

.

The plan was that Andersson and Ulvaeus would work with Harpo on an album of his child

Child

Biologically, a child is generally a human between the stages of birth and puberty. Some vernacular definitions of a child include the fetus, as being an unborn child. The legal definition of "child" generally refers to a minor, otherwise known as a person younger than the age of majority...

ren's songs in Swedish. The collaboration did not work out and Anderson released Harpo from his contract. Harpo then signed 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 formed a successful creative partnership with producer Bengt Palmers.

Harpo released his first two singles

Single (music)

In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...

 in 1973 - "Honolulu" and "Sayonara". Both were hits and reached the Top Ten on the Tio-i-topp chart. "Sayonara" held the number one spot for five consecutive weeks between January and February 1974.

On 27 February 1975, Harpo recorded

Sound recording and reproduction

Sound recording and reproduction is an electrical or mechanical inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of sound recording technology are analog recording and digital recording...

 the song for which he would become most famous - "Moviestar". One of the backing vocalist

Backing vocalist

A backing vocalist or backing singer is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists...

s on that day was Anni-Frid Lyngstad

Anni-Frid Lyngstad

Anni-Frid Prinzessin Reuss von Plauen , is a Norwegian-born Swedish pop singer...

 (Frida) from ABBA

ABBA

ABBA was a Swedish pop group formed in Stockholm in 1970 which consisted of Anni-Frid Lyngstad, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson and Agnetha Fältskog...

. It has sometimes been reported that Agnetha Fältskog

Agnetha Fältskog

Agnetha Åse Fältskog is a Swedish recording artist. She achieved success in Sweden after the release of her début album Agnetha Fältskog in 1968, and reached international stardom as a member of the pop group ABBA, which to date has sold over 375 million records worldwide, making it the fourth...

 also sang on the song but this is incorrect. The second female singer is Lena Ericsson. Frida also provided backing vocals on the song "Pin Up Girl" on Harpo's second album, Harpo & Bananaband.

"Moviestar" went on to become a huge hit. It reached number 1 in Sweden and Germany, number 3 in Australia and number 24 in the UK. A Swedish language version was also released in Sweden which went to number 1 on the Svensktoppen radio chart

Record chart

A record chart is a ranking of recorded music according to popularity during a given period of time. Examples of music charts are the Hit parade, Hot 100 or Top 40....

. He made many radio

Radio

Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...

 and TV

Television

Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...

 appearances around Europe.

Harpo released a number of follow up singles, notably "Motorcycle Mama" (number 9 in Germany) and "Horoscope" (number 1 in Denmark

Denmark

Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...

 and number 3 in Germany).

In 1977, Harpo travelled to Los Angeles

Los Angeles, California

Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...

, U.S.

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 with his wife and producer Bengt Palmers. The result was the album The Hollywood Tapes which spawned the hit single "Television". Also, in 1977, Harpo made the news when he refused to take part in the Swedish Military Service. As a result, he went to prison

Prison

A prison is a place in which people are physically confined and, usually, deprived of a range of personal freedoms. Imprisonment or incarceration is a legal penalty that may be imposed by the state for the commission of a crime...

 for one month.

In 1978, Harpo revisited the songs he was originally going to work on with Andersson and Ulvaeus in 1972. The result was the children's album Jan Banan och hans flygande matta. He followed this with an album of his favourite rock and roll

Rock and roll

Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...

 songs. Both these projects were in the Swedish language.

In 1980, Harpo was ready to get back into mainstream pop music

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...

. He signed to Mickie Most

Mickie Most

Mickie Most was an English record producer, with a string of hit singles with acts such as The Animals, Arrows, Herman's Hermits, Donovan, Suzi Quatro and the Jeff Beck Group often issued on his own RAK Records label....

's label, RAK

RAK

RAK or rak can refer to:*Marrakech-Menara Airport, IATA airport code*PM-63 RAK, a Polish 9 mm submachine gun*Ras Al Khaimah, the northern-most emirate in the United Arab Emirates*Rak, a creature in the Wizard of Oz books...

 and released one single, "She Loves It Too". In fact, Harpo had the chance to be on RAK as far back as 1973. He met with Most in London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

, but decided not to move to London at that time.

Harpo had an accident in August 1980. As well as being a musician

Musician

A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....

, he is also a horse trainer and one of his horses, Starter, suddenly lashed out and kicked Harpo in the face several times. The injuries were so severe that Harpo lost his sense of smell and the sight in one eye. To show there were no hard feelings, Harpo dedicated his next album to his horse, Starter.

Harpo continued to record throughout the 1980s and into the early 1990s. During 1985, he produced several Swedish groups including Shanghai

Shanghai

Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...

, Suzzies Orkester and +1. In 1987, he set up his own record company, Igloo Records.

After his 1992 album, things were quiet on the recording front. He released a single, "Sounds Like Love", in Germany only in 1994. In 1997, Harpo contributed two new songs to a greatest hits compilation album

Compilation album

A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...

, Harpo Hits!

Harpo released his latest album of new material, Jan Harpo Svensson 05 in April 2005. He had an extensive tour of Germany in 2007.

Singles

• "Honolulu" (1973)
• "Sayonara" (1973)
• "My Teenage Queen" (1974)
• "Baby Boomerang" (1974)
• "Rock 'n' Roll Maskin" (1975)
• "Moviestar" (English version) (1975)
• "Moviestar" (Swedish version) (1975)
• "Motorcycle Mama" (1975)
• "Horoscope" (1976)
• "Rock 'n' Roll Clown" (1976)
• "Dandy" (1977)
• "In The Zum-Zum-Zummernight" (English version) (1977)
• "Som ett zom-zom-zommarbi" (Swedish version) (1977)
• "Television" (1977)
• "San Franciscan Nights
  San Franciscan Nights
  "San Franciscan Nights" is a 1967 song performed by Eric Burdon and The Animals, with words and music by the group's members, Eric Burdon, Vic Briggs, John Weider, Barry Jenkins, and Danny McCulloch...
  
  " (1977)
• "With A Girl Like You" (1978)
• "Djungel-Jim" (1978)
• "Bianca" (1978)
• "Hjälp mig Rune" (1979)
• "Johanssons boogie woogie vals" (1979)
• "She Loves It Too" (1980)
• "Yes I Do" (1981)
• "Records And Tapes" (1981)
• "Rain And Thunder" (1982)
• "Light A Candle" (1983)
• "Summer Of '85" (1985)
• "På andra sidan Atlanten" (1986)
• "Living Legends" (1987)
• "Tear Gas" (1987)
• "Moviestar '90" (new version with updated lyrics
  Lyrics
  Lyrics are a set of words that make up a song. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist or lyrist. The meaning of lyrics can either be explicit or implicit. Some lyrics are abstract, almost unintelligible, and, in such cases, their explication emphasizes form, articulation, meter, and symmetry of...
  
  ) (1990)
• "Down At The Club" (1991)
• "Lycka" (duet
  Duet (music)
  A duet is a musical composition for two performers. In classical music, the term is most often used for a composition for two singers or pianists; with other instruments, the word duo is also often used. A piece performed by two pianists performing together on the same piano is referred to as...
  
   with Ted Gärdestad
  Ted Gärdestad
  Ted Gärdestad , internationally known as Ted Gardestad, Ted Gaerdestad or just Ted was a Swedish singer, songwriter and musician.-Early career:...
  
  ) (1992)
• "Sounds Like Love" (1994)
• "Christmas" (1997)
• "Sayonara" (remix
  Remix
  A remix is an alternative version of a recorded song, made from an original version. This term is also used for any alterations of media other than song ....
  
  ) (1999)
• "Honolulu" (2000)
• "Love Is Just A Game" (2001) (unreleased)
• "Här är ängarna" (2005)

Albums

• Leo The Leopard (1974)
• Harpo & Bananaband (1975)
• Moviestar (1976)
• Smile (1976)
• The Hollywood Tapes (1977)
• Jan Banan och hans flygande matta (1978)
• Råck änd råll rätt å slätt (1979) (credited to Jan Harpo Svensson)
• The Fool Of Yesterday (Will Be The Fool Of Tomorrow) (1981)
• Let's Get Romantic (1984)
• Harpo (1988) (sometimes incorrectly referred to as Igloo or London)
• Hemliga låden (1990) (credited to Harpo Show)
• Harpo (1992) (not to be confused with the 1988 album of the same name)
• Jan Harpo Svensson 05 (2005) (credited to Jan Harpo Svensson)

Compilation albums

• Harpo Hits (1977)
• 20 Bästa (1980)
• Portrait of Harpo (1991)
• Moviestar Greatest Hits (1993)
• Samlade Hits (1995) (CD
  Compact Disc
  The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
  
   that contains the whole Let's Get Romantic album plus four other hits)
• Moviestar (1996)
• Harpo Hits! (1997)
• Premium Gold Collection (1999)
• Moviestar: The HitStory of Harpo (1999)
• The Collection (2001)
• Klassiker (2003)

External links

• Jan Harpo Torsten Svensson - fan site (in German)
• Harpo Fan - fan site (in German)