Björn Skifs

Björn Skifs
Skifs in 2014
Born
Björn Nils Olof Skifs

(1947-04-20) 20 April 1947 (age 77)
Vansbro, Sweden
Occupations
  • Singer
  • songwriter
  • musician
  • actor
Years active1966–present
Spouse
Pernilla Hulting
​
(m. 1988)​
Musical career
Genres
Instruments
  • Vocals
  • guitar
  • keyboards
Labels
Formerly of

Björn Nils Olof Skifs (Swedish: [ˈbjœːɳ ˈɧɪfs] ⓘ; born 20 April 1947) is a Swedish singer, songwriter, actor, and screenwriter.[1][2][3]

Career

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Björn Skifs formed his first musical group, Slam Creepers, in 1962. Slam Creepers split in 1969 and Skifs went on to form a new band, Blåblus (a farmer's or workman's shirt (blus, blouse) made from blue (blå, blue) fabric - a pun (blues)) in 1972. As the lead singer of Blue Swede (another pun - blue + suede), the band had a No. 1 hit on Billboard Hot 100 in 1974 with a cover of Mark James's "Hooked on a Feeling".

Skifs embarked on a solo career after Slam Creepers broke up in 1969 and previously he had recorded the duet Med varann with Anni-Frid Lyngstad for his 1975 album Schiffz!.[4] Skifs appeared as The Arbiter on the original studio album for Chess, released in 1984. A single and video, The Arbiter (I Know the Score), was released in 1985. Skifs also recorded several demos for the album, including One Night in Bangkok, later performed by Murray Head. Skifs did not perform the role on stage (in the original London production the character was played by Tom Jobe).

Povel Ramel gave Skifs the Karamelodiktstipendiet award in 1984.

Skifs has represented Sweden twice in the Eurovision Song Contest, in the 1978 contest and in the 1981 contest. In 2000, he hosted Melodifestivalen, the Swedish heat of the Eurovision Song Contest, along with nine other presenters.

In 2002, he had a major hit with the song "Håll mitt hjärta" (Hold My Heart), which is a Swedish version of Peter Hallström's song Same Ol' Story. It stayed on Svensktoppen from 27 April 2003 until 8 January 2006, for a total of 142 weeks.[5][6] In April 2020, Skifs performed at the Swedish live-show En kväll tillsammans, broadcast on SVT, which aimed to bring in money to the Swedish COVID-19 risk groups. Skifs performed the song "Håll Mitt Hjärta" at the end of the show.[7]

Skifs was the opening act of the final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2024 on 11 May, performing "Hooked on a Feeling".[8]

Discography

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Albums

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Title Year Peak chart positions
SWE
[9]
Every Bit of My Life 1969 —
From Both Sides 1970 —
Opopoppa (English: "Up'n Pop") 1971 —
Blåblus (English: Blue Suede) 1972 —
Pinewood Rally (with Blåblus) 1973 —
Out of the Blue (with Blåblus) 1974 —
Schiffz! 1975 2
Watch Out! 1977 2
Split Vision 1979 ─
Zkiffz (album artist "Zkiffz") [10] 1980 —
SPÖK! (English: "Haunting") 1981 41
If... Then...[A][11] 1983 —
Paris – Dakar – Köpenhamn (English: Paris – Dakar – Copenhagen) 1984 —
Chess —
Vild honung (English: Wild Honey) 1985 21
Zick Zack 1987 31
Back on track 2001 8
Ingen annan (English: Nobody Else) 2002 19
Decennier – Sånger från en annan tid (English: Decades – Songs from a Different Time) 2005 1
Andra decennier (English: Other Decades) 2006 1
i2i (Eye to Eye) 2007 2
Da Capo 2010 3
Break the Spell 2011 1
It's Christmas 2021 4
[12]

EP/Singles

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Collections

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  • 1978 – Björns bästa / Björn Skifs' Greatest Hits
  • 1981 – Björns ballader
  • 1989 – Collection
  • 1990 – Björn Skifs
  • 1991 – Songs for you
  • 1997 – 50/50
  • 2004 – Skifs Hits!

Filmography

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  • Drömkåken (1993) a.k.a. The Dream House
  • Joker (1991)
  • Strul (1988) a.k.a. Framed
  • Smugglarkungen (1985) a.k.a. King of Smugglers
  • Chess Moves
  • Privatdeckarna: Uppdrag Gran Canaria (1984)
  • Prima Veras saga om Olav den hellige (1983)
  • En flicka på halsen (1982) a.k.a. Saddled with a Girl
  • Sverige åt svenskarna (1980) a.k.a. Battle of Sweden, a.k.a. Sweden for the Swedes, a.k.a. The Drinking Man's War
  • Toy Story (Swedish voice of Woody)
  • Toy Story 2 (Swedish voice of Woody)

Notes

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  1. ^ Each of the two words "If" and "Then" are followed by strange symbols. These characters are in fact PETSCII characters (special graphics building blocks) from the Commodore 64 home computer. If spelled out, the full title becomes If itreallyhappens Then itmustbepossible

References

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  1. ^ "Förbannad Skifs går på knockout". Aftonbladet.se. Archived from the original on 15 February 2020. Retrieved 15 February 2020.
  2. ^ "Billboard". Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 6 October 1973. p. 85 – via Google Books.
  3. ^ "Billboard". Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 9 March 1974. p. 56 – via Google Books.
  4. ^ "Björn Skifs Biography & History". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 22 July 2019. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
  5. ^ "Svensktoppen 2003-04-27". Svensktoppen. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
  6. ^ Svensktoppen 2006-01-08. Svensktoppen. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
  7. ^ "En kväll tillsammans" (Forward to 2:32:03 in the video). SVT Play. 11 April 2020. Archived from the original on 9 April 2020. Retrieved 19 April 2020.
  8. ^ "Björn Skifs öppnar Eurovision och jag älskar det". Aftonbladet. 10 May 2024. Archived from the original on 12 May 2024. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
  9. ^ "Björn Skifs discography". swedishcharts. Archived from the original on 12 February 2012. Retrieved 4 May 2020.
  10. ^ "Zkiffz". Discogs. Archived from the original on 5 July 2019. Retrieved 11 September 2021.
  11. ^ "If... Then..." Discogs. Archived from the original on 10 February 2016. Retrieved 11 September 2021.
  12. ^ "Veckolista Album, vecka 48". Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved 4 December 2021.
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Media related to Björn Skifs at Wikimedia Commons

Awards and achievements
Preceded by Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest
1978 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest
1981 		Succeeded by
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