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[The Lonely Boys - album cover]
(The "normal" release in Sweden, Germany and Japan.)

The first time I ever saw The Lonely Boys was at the Bessin Club in Malmö, Sweden. I was to write a piece about Ola & the Janglers but got my head full of lonely boys - The Lonely Boys, five young lads from Malmö no one ever heard of before.

In a very short period of time the Lonely Boys have gone from copying the Kinks, the Beatles and the Animals to a sound of their very own - rhythmpop'nblues.

In a very short period of time Richard, Thomas, Roland, Lasse & Kalle have conquered Skåne, put the very picky Stockholm on its knees, made themselves a name in Copenhagen and even in Hamburg, where the Malmö-lads have an open invitation to come back anytime.

They were the loneliest boys in the world until they met and found out they were lonely and said that the loneliness was a strength that would unite them... and Richard packed his harmonica, Thomas shook his hair, Roland buffed his guitar pick, Lasse wrestled his bass guitar and Kalle lifted his drums with one arm...together they were not lonely, together they were powerful, together they became THE LONELY BOYS.

In the Lonely Boys' world Sonny Boy Williamson, the Searchers, the Kinks, Lazy Lester, Lennon & McCartney, Chuck Berry, Jagger & Richards, Slim Harpo eat breakfast together with Richard and Thomas.
I have followed the pop music since it started but I've never seen a band like the Lonely Boys, where Thomas Nyberg stands up front making the girls scream while Richard Andersson alternately makes the blue notes of blues come out of his harmonica or is wildly crawling around on his knees, it's a rare experience, or as they say these days, a "freak out".

"That's the psychedelic thing about it", Richard says, "there are no limits today, we can play pop, blues and rhythm'n'blues".
"We've listened to all the music there is and when we write ourselves this is what comes out, it's a mixture of everything", Thomas says.

Sometimes people talk about where the pop music is heading, but with the creativity the Lonely Boys show there's no doubt that the pop music is heading south.

"It's just fair that the people in Stockholm get to look our way, we've looked at them for so long", Richard says.
"The guys up there only seem to follow the latest fad, we're on our own", Thomas says.

This is a work of love. Love of the music, love of rock'n roll, pop, blues and rhythm & blues and love of all the girls who have helped the Lonely Boys to bigger and bigger success.

"What no one else understands, girls do", Thomas says.

I'm proud of that the Lonely Boys asked me to write these simple lines. I'm also envious of all those that still haven't put the album on, the ones that still haven't heard the Lonely Boys.

Put the album on!

HAZZE ROOZ, reporter, fan, friend.

(Taken from the promo version of "The Lonely Boys")
Translation © by Thomas Evensson 1995