Svenne & Lotta

Svenne & Lotta

Svenne & Lotta (in some countries Sven & Charlotte) is a pop duo with Svenne Hedlund and Lotta Hedlund. They met in 1967, when (along with ABBA's Benny Andersson) Svenne Hedlund was the vocalist in the band Hep Stars. Charlotte Walker, which was Lotta Hedlund's name at that time, toured Sweden with the all-girl American trio The Sherrys. The Hep Stars' phenomenal success within Scandinavia is well documented, and as an authentic, American soul group, the Sherrys were a European touring success story.

It was at Jerry Williams' 'Hamburger börs' show that the couple met, after which they spent time together during the Swedish leg of Lotta's concert tour with the Sherrys. Upon Lotta's return to America, the pair missed each other so greatly that Lotta soon travelled back to Sweden; this time with her three children. Seeking parental approval, Lotta also brought her mother to meet Svenne.

With the Hep Stars' popularity diminishing, Lotta was brought in as a new member of the band, along with Benny's songwriting colleague, Björn Ulvaeus. This constellation released two studio albums on their own record label Romance Records, Compromise and Tillsammans. The new line-up didn't last long however, with Benny and Björn setting their sights on international stardom with their fiancés, Anni-Frid Lyngstad and Agnetha Fältskog. Aiming to follow in ABBA's victorious footsteps, Svenne and Lotta competed in the Swedish heats for the Eurovision Song Contest, Melodifestivalen 1975, with the song "Bang en boomerang", but finished 3rd. The song however became their breakthrough in Scandinavia, and the duo became especially popular in Denmark. In the early 1980s they even took the very unusual step of recording a Danish language version of their Swedish hit "När Dagen Försvinner" (a cover of Alan Sorrenti's "Tu sei l'unica donna per me"), retitled "Når Dagen Forsvinder".

As artists on the Polar Music International record label, owned by ABBA's manager Stig Anderson, Svenne & Lotta released various singles and albums produced by Benny and Björn. These mainly consisted of covers of 1960s hits, later on their own material. Throughout the years they got more songs delivered by their producers, like "If We Only Had the Time" and "Roly Poly Girl", both previously recorded in Swedish by Björn and Benny as "Tänk om jorden vore ung" and "Kära gamla sol" respectively on their 1970 album "Lycka". Most notable of all is arguably "Funky Feet", included on Svenne & Lotta's 1976 album Letters; originally written for ABBA's Arrival album, Benny and Björn felt it was too similar to the already-recorded "Dancing Queen"; the only officially released recording of the track is consequently Svenne & Lotta's, produced by ABBA sound engineer Michael B. Tretow. In 1974 the group released a cover of ABBA's "Dance (While the Music Still Goes On)" as a single in Australia, backed with a version of "He Is Your Brother". The single was produced by ABBA's Björn and Benny and the duo subsequently also recorded a Swedish language version of the A-side, entitled "Kom ta en sista dans med mig", which became a major Svensktoppen hit in 1975.

In 1980 Svenne & Lotta signed with Sonet Records and released three albums produced by Ola Håkansson, at the time lead singer with the band Secret Service. The albums featured material written by among others Håkansson, Peo Thyrén, Tim Norell and Alexander Bard, who also went on to find international success with Army of Lovers in the 1990's.

While most husband and wife teams with close connections to ABBA eventually separated, Svenne and Lotta have remained together. Since the early 1980s the couple resides in Sävsjö, Småland and since the early 1990s they have frequently toured Scandinavia, occasionally under the moniker The Hep Stars. After year 2000 Sven teamed up with some other Swedish 1960s male singers as the act Idolerna (The Idols).

In 2000 the duo returned to Melodifestivalen, as they sang "Bara du och jag" with Swedish rappers Balsam Boys (Gustav Eurén and Stefan Deak). In 2005 they also made a special anniversary appearance in the show, performing "Bang-A-Boomerang" 30 years after they first competed with the song.

Svenne & Lotta, or Sven & Charlotte, are still releasing music, and have released records in Swedish, English, and Danish.