This is post number 8 in the series “30 Days of Tales from the Loop,” a celebration of the game set in an 80s that never was.
While I feel I have a solid knowledge of American 80s pop music, the fact that Tales from the Loop is set in Sweden made me curious about native Swedish songs from the period. So I dug up this sampling of popular Swedish-language 80s songs. I really like all of them, and I hope you do too.
“Just nu!” (“Right Now!”) by Tomas Ledin (1980). “Just nu!” was the Swedish entry in the Eurovision Song Contest of that year. Watch for Ledin’s microphone to come unplugged between verses! (Spoiler alert: he recovered without incident.)
“När vi två blir en” by Gyllene Tider (1980). A song about young love.
This song had an English re-release called “Beating Heart,” by the same band, but calling themselves Modern Times.
“Vill ha dej” (“I Want You”) by Freestyle (1980). Also about young love, with mentions of school.
“Dover–Calais” by Style (1986). A love ballad set on the English Channel.
“Joey Killer” by Magnus Uggla (1986). About a heavy metal superstar and his mom.
“Tänd ett ljus” (“Light a Candle”) by Triad (1987). This is a Christmas song that has become a standard of the season in Sweden.
“Canelloni, Macaroni” by Lasse Holm (1986). Let’s finish this up with a very popular, very silly song featuring pasta. (Thanks to Nils Karlén for introducing me to this one! Nils says the song also made a cameo appearance in Simon’s Tales from the Loop art book.)
Know of any Swedish-language songs from the 80s that belong on this list? Let me know!