1987 was the year for the solo debut by John Norum and the release date for "Total Control", he is most known as the guitarist in the Swedish hard rock band EUROPE.
The album features two cover songs, "Back on the Streets", written by former KISS guitarist Vinnie Vincent with country artist Richard Kinky Friedman and originally recorded by the band 3-Speed for a 1984 movie soundtrack, and "Wild One" by THIN LIZZY.
The album´s producer Thomas Witt is/was Norum´s stepfather, a former drummer for Eddie Meduza and a high-ranking manager at CBS/Sony in Sweden at the time.
"Total Control" is dedicated to Tommy Östervik, one of John's friends and heroes, who died in a drowning accident the same night as EUROPE played a concert that later was broadcast on Swedish television.
Norum toured Scandinavia in early 1988 with a line-up consisting of himself, Edman, Jacob, keyboardist Mats Olausson (Yngwie Malmsteen, TALISMAN) and ex-TRASH drummer Hempo Hildén. After the tour, a collaboration with PHENOMENA and DEEP PURPLE singer/bassist Glenn Hughes was announced and Edman and Jacob were let go. The collaboration was short-lived and resulted only in a short televised live performance from Gothenburg. Edman and Jacob replaced Hughes for the booked summer tour but were let go once again when Norum and Hildén were recruited by Don Dokken for his solo album and tour.
Today's tune "Love Is Meant To Last Forever" is taken from "Total Control", on vocals we can hear and see Göran Edman, great tune indeed!
Eclipse is the fifth studio album by guitarist Yngwie Malmsteen, released in 1990 through Polydor Records. The album contains a competent set of
neo-classical rockers including today's tune "What do you want" that I play as a memory to the recent loss of Mats Olausson who was the keyboard player on this album.
Yngwie Johan Malmsteen; born Lars Johan Yngve Lannerbäck, 30 June 1963) is a Swedish guitarist, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and bandleader. Malmsteen became known for his neo-classical playing style in heavy metal.
Personnel on Eclipse album:
Yngwie Malmsteen – guitar, guitar synthesizer, Moog Taurus, arrangement, background vocals, production
Göran Edman – lead vocals
Mats Olausson – keyboard, background vocals
Michael Von Knorring – drums
Svante Henryson – bass, background vocals
Tom Fletcher – engineering, mixing
Keith Rose – engineering assistance
Roger Hughes – engineering assistance
Bob Ludwig – mastering
Little over a week ago I heard the sad news that Mats Olausson have passed away. He was is best known as the keyboard player in Yngwie Malmsteen band throughout the ‘90s, he died in Thailand. He was 54.
The Bangkok Post reports that Olausson was found dead in his hotel in Rayong on Thursday (Feb. 19) by an employee who noted that Olausson had not paid for his room or been seen in the hotel dining room. Upon entering, he found Olausson’s body along with numerous empty bottles of whiskey and cans of beer. He was identified by his passport.
Upon investigating the scene, police found no evidence of a struggle and believed that he had been dead for at least 24 hours. Olausson’s body will be sent to the Institute of Forensic Science in Bangkok for an autopsy.
According to his bio, Olausson was born in Gothenburg, Sweden in 1961 and received formal, classical piano training. Influenced by prog, he moved to Stockholm in the ‘80s and found work as a session musician. This included a stint working with Jean Beauvoir of the Plasmatics, performing on his 1988 album Jacknifed and embarking on a tour where they opened for the Eurythmics. Towards the end of the decade, he joined forces with Malmsteen and was a member of his band for nearly 12 years.
From there, he was in a succession of groups, including a cover band in Thailand, before leaving the road and returning to session work in Sweden.
Today's tune "What Do You Want" is in memory of Mats Olausson, R.I.P.
Listen to "Yngwie Malmsteen- What do you want" on Spotify