Tages were a Swedish rock band formed in 1963, initially as a skiffle group. Their line-up during their breakthrough in 1964 consisted of Tommy Blom, Göran Lagerberg, Danne Larsson, Anders Töpel and Freddie Skantze. When they split up in 1970 during the name Blond, they consisted of Lagerberg, Lasse Svensson, Björn Linder, Björn Töpel and Mats Landahl.
History Tages originally formed as a duo between childhood friends Tommy Blom and Anders Töpel, who would get together and play guitar to positive reactions from acquaintances. Guitarist Danne Larsson was soon recruited on banjo that summer before Larsson himself only a few weeks later in turn recommended Göran Lagerberg to join the band. Influenced by the Beatles, they set out to play beat music. In doing so, they recruited drummer Freddie Skantze who debuted on stage with the group on 23 December 1963. Being a few years older than the group, he acted as their official kapellmeister in formal situations.
This was the lineup that played on the group's breakthrough single "Sleep Little Girl" in 1964, and would last until the early summer of 1966, when Skantze decided to quit the band that June. His successor, Tommy Tausis, was initiated on 16 July 1966 during an episode of Popside where he and Skantze trade places during the song "In My Dreams". Tausis stayed in group very briefly, playing and singing only on three releases by the band between August and November of that year. In January 1967 he was invited to join the Spotnicks to replace Jimmie Nicol, which he promptly accepted. Lasse Svensson from the Hi-Balls was urgently called and accepted a role in the band; he stayed with them until they broke up in 1970.
The line-up of Blom, Lagerberg, Larsson, Töpel and Svensson stayed together until 31 August 1968, when Blom decided to leave the group for personal reasons. The remaining quartet continued performing under the name Tages for the remainder of that year. In May 1969, they changed their name to Blond and recorded the album The Lilac Years before Larsson and Töpel left the band during that summer due to the mandatory conscription Sweden had at the time. Lagerberg instead recruited Björn Lindér on lead guitar, along with Anders Nordh who had already contributed to the recording sessions of The Lilac Years. This line-up had the time for a formal photo session, though lasted less than half a year and split around the time that the album reached the markets.
After taking a brief hiatus from the band for a month, Nordh decided to leave as he felt that the chemistry between him and the other members didn't work. Lagerberg, Lindér and Svensson then recruited Anders Töpel's brother Björn as a rhythm guitarist and Mats Landahl on keyboards and harmonica, debuting this line-up in December 1969. This line-up would record only one single, "Lost Child" (1970) before embarking on a tour of West Germany. However, this tour proved unsuccessful, prompting the band to split up in July 1970, officially ending their career with a televised performance on Sveriges Television's channel TV 1.
Members ImageNameYears activeInstrumentsRelease contributionsGöran LagerbergTommy BlomDanne LarssonAnders TöpelFreddie SkantzeTommy TausisLasse SvenssonBjörn LinderAnders NordhBjörn TöpelMats Landahl
Timeline
Lineups LineupMembersContributionsMay – June 1963 Tommy Blom – guitar, vocals Anders Töpel – guitar, vocalsNoneJune – July 1963 Tommy Blom – guitar, vocals Anders Töpel – guitar, vocals Danne Larsson – banjo, vocalsJuly – 23 December 1963 Tommy Blom – guitar, vocals Anders Töpel – guitar, vocals Danne Larsson – banjo, vocals Göran Lagerberg – washboard, vocals23 December 1963 – 16 July 1966 Tommy Blom – vocals, rhythm guitar, harmonica Anders Töpel – lead guitar, rhythm guitar, vocals Danne Larsson – rhythm guitar, keyboards, vocals Göran Lagerberg – vocals, bass guitar Freddie Skantze – drums, percussionAll releases from "Sleep Little Girl" (1964) to Tages 2 (1966)16 July 1966 – January 1967 Tommy Blom – vocals, rhythm guitar Anders Töpel – lead guitar, rhythm guitar vocals Danne Larsson – rhythm guitar, keyboards, vocals Göran Lagerberg – vocals, bass guitar Tommy Tausis – vocals, drums, percussion Tages 2 (1966) "Miss Mac Baren" (1966) Extra Extra (1966)January 1967 – 31 August 1968 Tommy Blom – vocals, rhythm guitar Anders Töpel – lead guitar, rhythm guitar Danne Larsson – rhythm guitar, keyboards, vocals Göran Lagerberg – vocals, bass guitar Lasse Svensson – drums, percussionAll releases from "Every Raindrop Means Alot" (1967) to "I Read You Like An Open Book" (1968)31 August 1968 – July 1969 Anders Töpel – lead guitar, rhythm guitar, vocals Danne Larsson – rhythm guitar, keyboards, vocals Göran Lagerberg – vocals, bass guitar Lasse Svensson – drums, percussionThe Lilac Years (1969)July – August 1969 Göran Lagerberg – vocals, bass guitar Lasse Svensson – drums, percussion Björn Linder – lead guitar, keyboards vocals"Balladen om killen" (1969)September – November 1969 Göran Lagerberg – vocals, bass guitar Lasse Svensson – drums, percussion Björn Linder – lead guitar, vocals Anders Nordh – rhythm guitar, vocalsNoneHiatus November – December 1969December 1969 – 29 July 1970 Göran Lagerberg – vocals, bass guitar Lasse Svensson – drums, percussion Björn Linder – lead guitar, vocals Björn Töpel – rhythm guitar, vocals Mats Landahl – keyboards, harmonica, vocals"Lost Child" (1970)
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