Secret Service (band)
Encyclopedia
Secret Service is a Swedish
pop
/New Wave
band, popular in the early 1980s. In 1979, Ola Håkansson
, a former vocalist of Ola & the Janglers
and then a publishing manager at Sonet Records
, teamed up with Tim Norell and Ulf Wahlberg to write a few songs that they submitted to the Melodifestivalen
, a popular Swedish
song contest. They did not win but decided to continue working together and changed their band's name from Ola+3 to Secret Service. Besides Ola Håkansson (vocals), Tim Norell and Ulf Wahlberg (keyboards), the original lineup included Tony Lindberg (guitars), Leif Paulsen (bass) and Leif Johansson (drums).
Norell, who penned along with Håkansson most songs of the band, however, did not appear with them on stage or on the album covers. Secret Service's first single "Oh Susie" became a hit in Sweden
and several other countries of Europe
, South America
and Australia
(#1 in Sweden, #6 in Norway
, #9 in Germany
, #27 in France
, etc.). The same titled album that included another hit, "Ten O'Clock Postman" (#4 in Germany, #8 in Austria
, #18 in Sweden, etc.), went gold in Sweden. Other successes followed, with their synthpop
number "Flash in the Night" (1982, their greatest success) hitting the charts all over continental Europe (#5 in France
, #6 in Norway, #9 in Switzerland
, #12 in Italy
, #12 in Sweden, #23 in Germany, etc.). In the mid-'80s Norell and Håkansson started writing and producing songs for other artists. Ola Håkansson's duet with ex-ABBA
's Agnetha Fältskog
, "The Way You Are
," became a gold single in Sweden.
In 1987, Håkansson, Norell, and Wahlberg released Aux Deux Magots, their last album as Secret Service. The other members of the band had quit by then and were replaced by multi-instrumentalist Anders Hansson and bassist Mats A. Lindberg. Håkansson would become Norell's partner with Army Of Lovers
' Alexander Bard
in what would be known as the Megatrio, a Swedish equivalent to Stock-Aitken-Waterman
known as Norell Oson Bard
. In 1992, Håkansson and his associates established Stockholm Records
as a joint venture with PolyGram
. They produced such artists as Army Of Lovers
and The Cardigans
, among others.
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....
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...
/New Wave
New Wave music
New Wave is a subgenre of :rock music that emerged in the mid to late 1970s alongside punk rock. The term at first generally was synonymous with punk rock before being considered a genre in its own right that incorporated aspects of electronic and experimental music, mod subculture, disco and 1960s...
band, popular in the early 1980s. In 1979, Ola Håkansson
Ola Håkansson
Ola Håkansson is a Swedish singer, composer and producer.Ola Håkansson was born in Stockholm. He was the singer of the band Ola and the Janglers and later Secret Service. In 1986 he recorded the duet "The Way You Are" with Agnetha Fältskog.He was part of the songwriting trio Norell Oson Bard...
, a former vocalist of Ola & the Janglers
Ola & the Janglers
Ola & the Janglers were a garage rock and beat group from Sollentuna, Sweden, founded in 1962. Its lead member was Ola Håkansson.Among the hits they scored in their native country are "No, No, No" , "Love Was on Your Mind", "Poetry in Motion", "Alex Is the Man" , "I'm Thinking Of You" , "Strolling...
and then a publishing manager at Sonet Records
Sonet Records
Sonet Records is a jazz record label operating as an imprint of Universal Music Sweden. It was founded in Sweden in 1956.Sonet Records was established by Sven Lindholm and Gunnar Bergström, who managed the label into the 1980s. Dag Haeggqvist, the owner of Gazell Records, became an executive of the...
, teamed up with Tim Norell and Ulf Wahlberg to write a few songs that they submitted to the Melodifestivalen
Melodifestivalen
Melodifestivalen is an annual music competition organised by Swedish public broadcasters Sveriges Television and Sveriges Radio . It determines the country's representative for the Eurovision Song Contest, and has been staged almost every year since 1959...
, a popular Swedish
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....
song contest. They did not win but decided to continue working together and changed their band's name from Ola+3 to Secret Service. Besides Ola Håkansson (vocals), Tim Norell and Ulf Wahlberg (keyboards), the original lineup included Tony Lindberg (guitars), Leif Paulsen (bass) and Leif Johansson (drums).
Norell, who penned along with Håkansson most songs of the band, however, did not appear with them on stage or on the album covers. Secret Service's first single "Oh Susie" became a hit 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 several other countries of 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...
, South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
and Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
(#1 in Sweden, #6 in Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
, #9 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...
, #27 in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, etc.). The same titled album that included another hit, "Ten O'Clock Postman" (#4 in Germany, #8 in Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
, #18 in Sweden, etc.), went gold in Sweden. Other successes followed, with their synthpop
Synthpop
Synthpop is a genre of popular music that first became prominent in the 1980s, in which the synthesizer is the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s and early 1970s by the use of synthesizers in progressive rock, electronic art rock, disco and particularly the "Kraut rock" of...
number "Flash in the Night" (1982, their greatest success) hitting the charts all over continental Europe (#5 in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, #6 in Norway, #9 in Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
, #12 in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, #12 in Sweden, #23 in Germany, etc.). In the mid-'80s Norell and Håkansson started writing and producing songs for other artists. Ola Håkansson's duet with ex-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...
's 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...
, "The Way You Are
The Way You Are
"The Way You Are" is a pop song that was recorded by Agnetha Fältskog and Ola Håkansson of the band Secret Service in 1986. The song was used to promote Falun, Sweden as a candidate for hosting the 1992 Olympic Winter Games...
," became a gold single in Sweden.
In 1987, Håkansson, Norell, and Wahlberg released Aux Deux Magots, their last album as Secret Service. The other members of the band had quit by then and were replaced by multi-instrumentalist Anders Hansson and bassist Mats A. Lindberg. Håkansson would become Norell's partner with Army Of Lovers
Army Of Lovers
Army of Lovers are a Swedish dance music group formed in 1987.The name of the band alludes to a documentary Armee der Liebenden oder Revolte der Perversen about the German gay rights activist Rosa von Praunheim, the title of which in turn alludes to the Theban Band.-History:The founding members,...
' Alexander Bard
Alexander Bard
Alexander Bengt Magnus Bard is a Swedish artist, music producer and writer.-Background and education:Bard was born Alexander Bengt Magnus Bard in Medevi, Motala Municipality, Sweden. After he had completed his upper secondary education, Bard studied in the United States and in Amsterdam, Netherlands...
in what would be known as the Megatrio, a Swedish equivalent to Stock-Aitken-Waterman
Stock Aitken Waterman
Stock Aitken Waterman, sometimes known as SAW, were a UK songwriting and record producing trio consisting of Mike Stock, Matt Aitken and Pete Waterman. They had great success during the mid to late 1980s and early 1990s...
known as Norell Oson Bard
Norell Oson Bard
Norell Oson Bard, a Swedish songwriting and production trio made up of Tim Norell, Ola Håkansson and Alexander Bard. They have been called Sweden's answer to Stock Aitken Waterman....
. In 1992, Håkansson and his associates established Stockholm Records
Stockholm Records
Stockholm Records is a Swedish subsidiary of Universal Music Group.The boutique label was originally launched in 1992 as an independent record company by its Swedish founders Ola Håkansson and Alexander Bard in partnership with the original distributor and investor Polygram in London.Håkansson and...
as a joint venture with PolyGram
PolyGram
PolyGram was the name of the major label recording company started by Philips from as a holding company for its music interests in 1945. In 1999 it was sold to Seagram and merged into Universal Music Group.-Hollandsche Decca Distributie , 1929-1950:...
. They produced such artists as Army Of Lovers
Army Of Lovers
Army of Lovers are a Swedish dance music group formed in 1987.The name of the band alludes to a documentary Armee der Liebenden oder Revolte der Perversen about the German gay rights activist Rosa von Praunheim, the title of which in turn alludes to the Theban Band.-History:The founding members,...
and The Cardigans
The Cardigans
The Cardigans are a Swedish rock band formed in the town of Jönköping in October 1992.Their debut album Emmerdale gave them a solid base in their home country and enjoyed some success abroad, especially in Japan. It was not until their second album Life that an international reputation was secured...
, among others.
Personnel
- Ola HåkanssonOla HåkanssonOla Håkansson is a Swedish singer, composer and producer.Ola Håkansson was born in Stockholm. He was the singer of the band Ola and the Janglers and later Secret Service. In 1986 he recorded the duet "The Way You Are" with Agnetha Fältskog.He was part of the songwriting trio Norell Oson Bard...
- vocals - Ulf Wahlberg - keyboards
- Tonny Lindberg - guitar
- Leif Paulsén - bass guitar
- Leif Johansson - drums
Discography
- Oh Susie, 1979
- Ye Si Ca, 1980
- Cutting Corners, 1982
- Jupiter Sign, 1984
- When the Night Closes in, 1985
- Aux deux Magots, 1987
- Top Secret - Greatest Hits, 2000