Östen Warnerbring was a Swedish singer, musician, composer and lyrics writer who mastered several musical genres. He started out as a jazz musician but over the years, he had huge successes both in the area of popular music and as a singer of Swedish poetry, put into music by himself. In the 1970s, he became one of the first Swedish artists to use his native accent, of the province of Scania in the south of Sweden, also while singing.

He represented his country at the Eurovision Song Contest 1967

Eurovision Song Contest 1967

The Eurovision Song Contest 1967 was the twelfth Eurovision Song Contest. The presenter became confused whilst the voting was taking place, and declared the United Kingdom's entry to be the winner before the last country, Ireland, had announced its votes...

 with the song Som en dröm

Som en dröm

"Som en dröm" was the Swedish entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1967, performed in Swedish by Östen Warnerbring, the winner of Melodifestivalen 1967. The runner-up in the pre-selections was Warnerbring himself with his second entry, "En valsfan"...

, written by Marcus Österdahl & Curt Pettersson with lyrics by Patrice Hellberg.

Melodifestivalen - Swedish heat of the Eurovision Song Contest

Warnerbring made several appearances in the Swedish heats of Eurovision. His first was in the 1959 qualifying competition with the song Kungsgatans blues which finished in fourth place. In 1960 he tried again and although he won with Alla andra får varann

Alla andra får varann

"Alla andra får varann" is a song by Swedish singer Siw Malmkvist, that represented Sweden at the Eurovision Song Contest 1960, performed in Swedish....

, SR

Sveriges Radio

Sveriges Radio AB – Swedish Radio Ltd – is Sweden's national publicly funded radio broadcaster. The Swedish public-broadcasting system is in many respects modelled after the one used in the United Kingdom, and Sveriges Radio - like Sveriges Television - shares many characteristics with...

 decided to send Siw Malmkvist

Siw Malmkvist

Siw "Siwan" Gunnel Margareta Malmkvist is a Swedish singer who is popular in Scandinavia and Germany...

 to the Eurovision final in London. Warnerbring performed two songs in the 1962 final. Lolo Lolita was placed fourth and Trollen ska trivas sixth.

Following his 1967 victory, Warnerbring defended his title in 1968 by teaming up with Svante Thuresson

Svante Thuresson

Svante Thuresson is a Swedish jazz music musician and singer. He started his career as a drummer, before joining the band Gals and Pals in 1963...

 and together they took fifth place with Här kommar pojkar. His next appearance, in 1972, saw him finish in second place above a song submitted by 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!...

. Warnerbring's song, Så’n e’ du så’n e’ jag finished seven points behind the eventual winning group Family Four

Family Four

Family Four were a Swedish pop group who recorded during the 1960s and 1970s. They were made up of Berdnt Öst, Marie Bergman, Agnetha Munther and Pierre Isacsson. They won Melodifestivalen twice, in 1971 with "Vita vidder" and in 1972 with "Härliga sommardag". They went on to represent Sweden in...

. His final attempt at the Eurovision title in 1974 was also his least successful. En mysig vals was placed tenth and last.

Later life

Warnerbring died in San Augustin, Canary Islands

Canary Islands

The Canary Islands , also known as the Canaries , is a Spanish archipelago located just off the northwest coast of mainland Africa, 100 km west of the border between Morocco and the Western Sahara. The Canaries are a Spanish autonomous community and an outermost region of the European Union...

.