Svenne & Lotta

Svenne & Lotta
Svenne and Lotta perform at Stockholm Pride 2008 with the Hep Stars.
Background information
Origin	Sweden
Genres	Rock Pop
Years active	1969-2014
Labels	Olga Records Cupol EMI Polar Music Sonet Records Gazell Records PolyGram Universal Music
Associated acts	The Hep Stars, The Sherrys, ABBA
Members	Svenne Hedlund Lotta Hedlund

Svenne & Lotta (in some countries Sven & Charlotte) was 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 fiancées, 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".