The Hounds were a Swedish pop rock band from Stockholm formed in 1965 by vocalist Jan Ahlén, rhythm guitarist Henrik Salander, lead guitarist Lasse Wallander, bass guitarist Jan Bråthe and drummer Janne Önnerud. During the band's original tenure between 1965 and 1968, they released two studio albums, two extended plays and ten singles in Sweden. Between November 1966 and April 1968, the Hounds were considered one of the most popular bands in Sweden, with six of their singles reaching the top-10 of national record chart Tio i Topp. Their 1967 cover of "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" reached number one on both Tio i Topp and sales chart Kvällstoppen for most of that summer, and has such been labelled the Swedish summer hit of that year. Their two studio albums, The Lion Sleeps Tonight and From the Hounds with Love (both 1967) featured "topical songs" such as The Times They Are a-Changin'" or freakbeat in "Hi Ho Silver Lining", the former of which was a charting album in Finland. By the summer of 1968, the members raised speculation about dissolving the band, and they performed their final gig in September 1968 after which they pursued separate personal interests.
Being a fledling and unexperienced pop band, the Hounds started their career by recording cover versions of contemporary pop songs which were released on a string of low-budget compilation extended plays. These covers included "Till the End of the Day" (the Kinks) and "Sloop John B" (the Beach Boys). The group were signed to Telefunken for their debut single "Very Last Day", which was their first recording to receive any attention. After recording an experimental EP against their will for the Jet label, the Hounds signed with Sonet sub-label Gazell, who released nine singles by the band alongside their two studio albums. The Hounds final Gazell single was recorded and released in 1972 after a brief reunion. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, tracks by the group appeared on several compilation albums of music by Swedish pop artists, before their work were collected on the compilations Hounds by Sonet in 1991, and The Lion Sleeps Tonight: The Best of the Hounds by Universal Music in 2003.
Albums Studio albums +YearTitleAlbum detailsPeak chart positionsSwedish releaseFIN1967The Lion Sleeps Tonight Released: 7 April 1967 Label: Gazell 7From the Hounds with Love Released: 4 December 1967 Label: Gazel —"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory. Notes
Compilation albums +YearTitleAlbum details1991Hounds Released: 1991 Label: Sonet 2002The Lion Sleeps Tonight: The Best of the Hounds Released: 2002 Label: Universal Notes
EPs +List of Swedish EPs with selected chart positionsYearTitleEP detailsPeak chart positionsSWE (Kvällstoppen)1966Now! Released: 17 June 1966 Label: Jet —Exodus Released: 1966 Label: Gazell 11"—" denotes releases that did not chart. Notes
Singles + YearSingle detailsPeak chart positionsAlbum or EP SWE (Kvällstoppen) SWE (Tio i Topp) FIN DEN1966"Very Last Day"b/w "The Same Again" Released: 19 May 1966 Label: Telefunken ——xx"Exodus"b/w "Sloop John B" Released: 14 July 1966 Label: Gazell ——xx"Exodus"b/w "A Car, A Boat, A House, A Girl Like You" Released: 6 October 1966 Label: Gazell 113xx1967"Sealed with a Kiss"b/w "My World Fell Down" (from The Lion Sleeps Tonight) Released: 24 March 1967 Label: Gazell 42xxThe Lion Sleeps Tonight"The Lion Sleeps Tonight"b/w "I Like The Rhythm" (from The Lion Sleeps Tonight) Released: 31 May 1967 Label: Gazell 1178"A Summer Song"b/w "Never Try to Catch the Sun" (from From the Hounds with Love) Released: 23 August 1967 Label: Gazell 186xx"I'll Take You Where The Music's Playing"b/w "The Office Girl" (from From the Hounds with Love) Released: 5 November 1967 Label: Gazell 194xxFrom the Hounds with Love1968"The Gipsy Cried"b/w "Old Man in New York" (from From the Hounds with Love) Released: 7 January 1968 Label: Gazell 174xx"Portrait of My Love"b/w "Summertown" Released: 21 March 1968 Label: Gazell ——xx1972"Dum-De-Da"b/w "En värld av fantasi" (from From the Hounds with Love) Released: 1972 Label: Gazell ——xx"—" denotes releases that did not chart. "x" denotes single not released in that territory.
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