Wildliw became Bedlam
Unfortunately, the drummer did not follow the move from Kalix.
The Kalix boys had to immediately start looking for a replacement. A number of drummers were tested, but none seemed to fit. Then guitarist Thomas Jakobsson thought they should test a drummer who had played in the group Attack. He was also a real hitmaker, given the great success that “Ooa all night” had given Attack. The drummer’s name was Åke Eriksson and was already a respected name in music circles.
He had played with a. EGBA and Wasa Express, where he had shown that he belongs to the best drummers in Europe. His amazing drum solos were widely known.
Would he really want to join the musicians of WILDLIW?
Time to test… There were already some new songs to write that were to be tested with Åke. At their first musical meeting in the rehearsal room, everything went smoothly. Now they had found their new drummer and Åke was satisfied with the new songs. …that’s how BEDLAM was created.
- Peter Carlson
- Bernt Oak
- Åke Eriksson
- Thomas Jakobsson
Musically, the songs were then built primarily from Thomas’ riffs and Åke’s lyrics, often with a humorous twist. Åke also showed a soft and nice side when he wanted to be heard for his thoughts and ideas about the music the band would play.
Thomas, who had good persuasiveness, wanted the band members to have English-sounding stage names, and as always, he got his way.
- Guitar: Thomas Jakobsson – Jackie Thompson
- Guitar/keyboard: Peter Karlsson – Pete Carzon
- Drums: Åke Eriksson – Bedlam Erikxon
- Bass: Bernt Ek – Jack Davy
So began a time with a lot of touring and BEDLAM quickly became one of the big names in Swedish heavy rock.
When all the Swedish rock bands got together in 1985 and created Swedish Metal Aid, to raise money for the starving in Ethiopia, the singer from BEDLAM got to be one of those who got a prominent role next to Joey Tempset and Tommy Nilsson during the recording of the song “Give a helpin’ hand”.
The singer’s name was Björn Lodin.
This is what happened when all the rock bands in Sweden gathered in a TV studio in Stockholm and performed “Give a helpin’ hand”, in the program Nöjesmassakern.
Click on the link
However, there was good song material on the record that was never released.
One of these songs found its way to the band Talisman, who were looking for new material. One of BEDLAM’s unreleased songs could fit them, if they had to make some adjustments.
After 25 years, the BEDLAM boys met again and made two new songs, one of which became the musical intro in the documentary film about the actor Micke Nyqvist. The song was called “Farenheit 541”, and it was the first time that Thomas Jakobsson sang the song.
It sounded like this…
The second song was called “Hot Rocking”
It sounded like this…
BEDLAM did, for the first time in over 30 years, a gig in Stockholm. It sounded better than they ever did before, so maybe there will be a sequel…