Björn Skifs

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

Björn Skifs
Skifs in 2014
Background information
Birth nameBjörn Nils Olof Skifs
Born (1947-04-20) 20 April 1947
Vansbro, Dalarna, Sweden
GenresPop, rock, schlager
Occupation(s)Singer, songwriter, actor, screenwriter
LabelsEMI, Capitol, Roxy Recordings
Associated actsSlam Creepers, Blue Swede

Career

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, both 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]

Discography

Albums
Title Year Peak chart positions
SWE
[8]
From both sides now 1969 —
Every bit of my life 1970 —
Opopoppa (English: "Up'n Pop") 1971 —
Blåblus (English: Blue Suede) 1972 —
Pinewoord rally 1973 —
Out of the blue 1974 —
Schiffz 1975 2
Watch out! 1977 2
Zkiffz! 1980 —
SPÖK! (English: "Haunting") 1981 41
Björns ballader —
If itreallyhappens Then itmustbepossible[upper-alpha 1] 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
Eye to Eye 2007 2
Da Capo 2010 3
Break the Spell 2011 1

EP/Singles

Collections
  • 1972 – Björns ballader
  • 1978 – Björns bästa
  • 1989 – Collection
  • 1990 – Björn Skifs
  • 1991 – Songs for you
  • 1997 – Björn Skifs 50/50
  • 2004 – Skifs Hits!

Filmography
  • 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
  1. Only "If" and "Then" in the title is written in normal letters. The rest is written in a special wingding like font from the commodore 64 computer.

References
  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. Retrieved 19 April 2020.
  8. "Björn Skifs discography". swedishcharts. Retrieved 4 May 2020.

Media related to Björn Skifs at Wikimedia Commons

Awards and achievements
Preceded by
Forbes
with "Beatles"		 Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest
1978		 Succeeded by
Ted Gärdestad
with "Satellit"
Preceded by
Tomas Ledin
with "Just nu!"		 Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest
1981		 Succeeded by
Chips
with "Dag efter dag"'
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