Ebbot Lundberg & The Indigo Children at Slussens Pensionat and a Reflection on the Importance of the Stunning Venue

Ebbot Lundberg & The Indigo Children at Slussens Pensionat

When Sweden's Psych-Rock legends The Soundtrack of Our Lives sadly called it a day in December 2012 there were many things I was dreading losing out on. It goes without saying that I would miss the music and their incendiary live shows but there was also the travel, the social life with the great friends and acquaintances that I had made along the way since I first saw the band. It’s not overstating things to say that TSOOL pretty much changed my life, or at the very least, set it on a different course. After all, they re-energised my passion for music and inspired me to recreate my old-school 1980’s cut and paste fanzine "Out of Step" which I renamed "Retro Man" after my favourite TSOOL song. However, it was the thought that there would no longer be any more gigs at the beautiful Slussens Pensionat that most filled me with regret. TSOOL first started playing at the stunning waterside location run by the lovely couple Vibs and Robert Sohlberg on the island of Orust in 2001 and word quickly spread that these were gigs and a music venue like no other. 

Slussens Pensionat by Paul Slattery

Ebbot at Slussens Pensionat with The Soundtrack of Our Lives by Paul Slattery

The band used these shows at Slussens Pensionat as a kind of summer break for themselves; you could sense they were a release from what was possibly a very stressful time. Their profile was getting higher internationally due to the breakthrough album “Behind The Music” and they had to deal with all the pressures that success can bring - major record labels, PR, management and such like. The Slussens Pensionat shows stripped away all the corporate bullshit and just allowed the band to relax and enjoy themselves. I was to get my first taste back in August 2003 and was immediately hooked, travelling over as many times as I could after that initial mind-blowing experience. It was a fan's dream. The band played sprawling sets that could last over three hours stretching into the early hours of the morning. They would play obscure album tracks, B-sides, cover versions and try out brand new, often unfinished songs alongside their more familiar numbers. Sometimes, they played whole LPs in their entirety, such as the Winter Lucia show in December 2008 promoting the release of “Communion” where we were treated to each song in sequence. 

Ebbot at Slussens Pensionat with The Soundtrack of Our Lives by Paul Slattery

Slussens Pensionat by Paul Slattery

The Slussens shows usually started rather sedately, with the audience enjoying dinner while the band sat on stools playing acoustic guitars. However, the nights would inevitably end in drunken chaos with tables moved out of the way and the crowd getting up to dance. Vocalist Ebbot Lundberg would climb over tables, sending drinks, bottles, glasses (and sometimes people!) flying all over the place. Microphone leads would often get wrapped around people’s legs and necks and mic stands went crashing all over the place. It was always great fun. One year I was there, they were filming the fantasy/documentary “Ebbot the Movie” and I make a fleeting appearance in it. It’s a great film that really captures the true essence of the Slussens Pensionat experience, as well as highlighting some rather suspect acting from the band members themselves. Another year, Ebbot invited my Retro Man Blog colleague photographer Paul Slattery along and he documented the proceedings with some superb photos, which you can see in the archive here. I met other TSOOL fans from all over the world, not just from Sweden or England but also from Norway, America, Scotland and as far away as Peru. I even met the actor Lars Melin, who appeared in one of my favourite Swedish TV shows, “Wallander” and he seemed a bit surprised that his fame had spread over to the U.K. There are many other great memories, for example, I saw Ebbot duetting with the fantastic singer songwriter Martin McFaul and on separate occasions interviewed both Ebbot and Ian Person for Retrosonic Podcast on the terrace overlooking the beautiful Orust scenery. 

TSOOL with Robert from Slussens Pensionat by Paul Slattery

The last photo of TSOOL together at Slussens Pensionat by Paul Slattery

Yes, indeed, when TSOOL split up you can probably now understand why I was so sad at the thought that I might never get the opportunity to return. However, the good news is that Ebbot has continued the tradition and has since returned to play at Slussens Pensionat for his own TV show “Ebbot’s Ark” as well as with his current band The Indigo Children. Therefore, in August I found myself once again returning to what had almost become my spiritual home and the weather was thankfully perfect, it was so great to be back. Since TSOOL split up, Ebbot has become a bit of a TV celebrity in Sweden, appearing in the popular music show “Så Mycket Bättre” and his own show “Ebbot’s Ark”, as well as various daytime programmes and cooking/travel shows and the audience demographic on the night probably reflected this somewhat. Ebbot appears and is in a cheerful and suitably summery mood, wearing a brightly striped nightshirt, shorts, crocs and a Hawaiian flower garland around his neck. 

Albert, Billy & Ebbot of The Indigo Children by Retro Man Blog

Anton of The Indigo Children by Retro Man Blog

There has been a slight change in The Indigo Children line-up again, following last year’s shift from the members of Side Effects to members of fellow Stockholm based band, EKEN. There are some familiar faces from my Retro Man Blog night for Ebbot & The Indigo Children in London last October - Oskar Nylén and Billy Cervin on guitars, Alfred Holmgren on bass and the powerhouse drummer Anton Fernandez. Then, there is the latest recruit, newcomer Albert Lorenz on keyboards. We have already featured the incredible story of Billy Cervin, who was barely in his teens when he started taking guitar lessons off a neighbour who just happened to be TSOOL’s Mattias Bärjed. Under Mattias’ tutelage, Billy quickly graduated to forming his own band, Side Effects (named like this Blog, after a TSOOL song) and this led to him standing in for Mattias at some TSOOL live shows to eventually teaming up with Ebbot in the Indigo Children. Billy was also recruited into the Union Carbide Productions line-up for their amazing reunion gigs last year and has proven himself to be the perfect foil and ally to Ebbot and his musical adventures. 

Ebbot, Billy Cervin (guitar) & Albert Lorenz (keyboards) by Retro Man Blog

Albert Lorenz of The Indigo Children by Retro Man Blog

But back to the new keyboard player Albert, who has a similar fairy-tale story to Billy. A few years ago, I met up for a beer with him at Pustervik in Gothenburg; he was a big TSOOL fan from Spain who had just landed a dream job at ex-TSOOL bassist Kalle’s Svenska Grammofonstudion, now Sweden’s most sought after recording studio. We also went along to see Ebbot at Slussens Pensionat and one of my lasting impressions was of Albert, a few beers down, enthusiastically joining in on backing vocals after an impromptu ‘stage’ invasion! This could have been an early audition and I think Albert was as surprised as me to find out he would end up as an official member of The Indigo Children. Albert admitted to me that he was a bit concerned about following in the footsteps of previous keyboard player Elias, but he did just fine. He brought an energetic stage presence, encouraging people to join in and clap their hands, wading into the audience with his tambourine. 

Alfred & Oskar of The Indigo Children by Retro Man Blog

EKEN by Retro Man Blog

Although I was nervous when I found out that the Indigo Children line-up had changed literally days before my show with the band in London last year – the new recruits did a superb job at such short notice. Thanks in main to Billy’s organisation, they did not let me, Ebbot or the London crowd down and I was really looking forward to seeing them again. However, let’s get back to the Ebbot’s Slussens Pensionat gig, and what followed was a mammoth set crammed full of The Soundtrack of Our Lives songs, yes, this was definitely a night for all TSOOL fans. Ebbot always throws in a few TSOOL numbers into in his solo sets but I don’t think he has ever played so many of their songs at one gig and I am transported back to all those great TSOOL Slussens shows over the years. For example, there’s the classic “Galaxy Gramophone” from the “Homo Habilis Blues” EP along with “Rest In Piece” and “Century Child” and songs cherry picked from every TSOOL LP.

Billy & Ebbot of The Indigo Children by Retro Man Blog

Anton & Alfred of The Indigo Children by Retro Man Blog

Tonight though, there is just the one new unreleased song “Comfort Zone” from the forthcoming Indigo Children LP, it’s pretty much the good old familiar favourites all the way. There is a break half way through and Eken come on and play two excellent songs, I love this band and played a track in an early Retrosonic Podcast episode about my favourite Swedish music at the time. After this nice unexpected bonus, Ebbot then appears on his own with an acoustic guitar and runs through a long story, humorous apparently to those that can understand Swedish! He plays his first solo single “Wishing Well” and we all join in on the Burt Bacharach style-backing vocals. There’s Union Carbide Productions “Can’t Slow Down” and great versions of The Beatles’ “Day In The Life” and Bowie’s “Five Years”. The band come back and run through another set packed full of great songs from all aspects of Ebbot’s career that include the cover versions “Don’t Blow Your Mind” and “Calling From Heaven” which the band have made their own. Of course, there’s the stunning singles “To Be Continued” and “Backdrop People” that all feature on the excellent debut Indigo Children LP “For The Ages To Come”. The set draws to a close with raucous attacks on “Bigtime” and “Mantra Slider” and despite the clock approaching 2am, they still come back for more. The encores are a blur, Ebbot climbs over me to stand on the table, I do remember “Sister Surround”, “Firmament Vacation” and what must surely be Sweden’s unofficial national anthem, “Instant Repeater ‘99”. The show finally draws to a close with an emotional and moving singalong of “The Passover” and it proved to be a truly memorable night that lived up to all those old classic Soundtrack of Our Lives shows at Slussens Pensionat. If you ever get chance to visit this magical venue then please don’t hesitate, you might end up like me, hooked for life.
 

Ebbot Lundberg & The Indigo Children by Retro Man Blog

Ebbot has been busy provided vocals once again for the ‘super-group’ 5 Billion In Diamonds who will be releasing their second alum early next year. The band is masterminded by Garbage drummer and Nirvana producer Butch Vig, James Grillo and Andy Jenks and features Damian O’Neill from The Undertones, David Schelzel, Damon Reece and Helen White among other special guests. Ebbot also spearheaded the Union Carbide Productions reunion last year with Billy joining original band members Patrick Caganis, Per Helm, Adam Wladis and Henrik Rylander and we were lucky enough to see a stunning show in Gothenburg which you can read about in the Blog archive here. There’s also good news that a documentary on the band is currently in production. The other members of TSOOL have been equally as busy. Following one superb album of classic Rock with the band Free Fall, Mattias Bärjed has become a critically acclaimed movie and TV soundtrack composer and has combined this with touring with Refused. Along with Martin Hederos, he got Nymphet Noodlers back with original members Mattias Hellberg, Jesper Karlsson and Jan Martens, who has also recently released his own debut solo LP “Voices”. Martin Hederos has also just simultaneously released two brand new albums, one of piano music “Era Spår” under his own name and another “Master of Fog” with Tonbruket. Ian Person is currently in the excellent Punk Rock band Pablo Matisse with Per from Division of Laura Lee and has also been working on a TV soundtrack with Kalle. Ian also produced and played on the “Ghostrider” album by Swedish Rock ‘n’ Roll legend Jerry Williams along with TSOOL’s drummer Fredrik Sandsten.

The Soundtrack of Our Lives at Slussens Pensionat by Paul Slattery

So, there is plenty of great new music from all the ex-TSOOL members to fill that void left since the band finished. With sincere thanks to Hasse & Liselott, Vibs & Robert and best regards to Ebbot, Albert, Billy, Anton, Alfred and Oskar. You can check out the Retro Man Blog Facebook page for more photos of the show and there are also videos up on our YouTube channel here. Check the Blog archive for loads of Soundtrack of Our Lives related features including the band’s last ever London and Slussens shows. There’s features on the Nymphet Noodlers and Union Carbide Productions reunions and don’t forget our Retrosonic Podcast special editions featuring interviews with Ebbot, Ian Person, Fredrik Sandsten, Mattias Barjed and Mattias Hellberg and much more. Thank you to Paul Slattery for his photos, copyright Paul Slattery or Retro Man Blog where stated.

The Soundtrack of Our Lives - Update on the Band's ex-members for 2016 with Photos by Nellie Selander

Ebbot Lundberg with The Soundtrack of Our Lives - Photo by Nellie Selander

It's going to be a busy year for fans of The Soundtrack of Our Lives who have been missing the band since their split at the end of 2012. Lead singer Ebbot Lundberg will be releasing two albums, one with his new band The Indigo Children and the other will be a collaboration with Nirvana and Sonic Youth producer (and drummer with Garbage) Butch Vig and various musicians that include members of Portishead and Spiritualized. You can hear Ebbot talking to us about these two exciting projects in our Retrosonic Podcast special here. 2016 will also hopefully see Ebbot playing his first solo show in the U.K. and we will be sure to keep you updated on all the news as soon as possible.

Ian Person is also working on his first solo album via a Pledgemusic campaign and this is due to be released in the Autumn with an E.P. preceding it sometime in Spring. You can join in the campaign here, contribute and get lots of exclusive goodies such as demos, videos and the chance to bid for various packages in the build up to the album's release. His superb collaboration album with Jerry Williams "Ghostrider" is out now and features ex-TSOOL bandmates Fredrik Sandsten and Kalle Gustafsson. The album is a kind of Johnny Cash style reinvention of the Swedish Rock & Roll legend where Jerry performs covers of tracks by bands such as The Stooges and Suicide. "Ghostrider" is available via CD-On or you can download it via iTunes. Ian and Fredrik also talk to us about their work with Jerry, their time in TSOOL and of course what they have been up to since the band finished in our Retrosonic Podcast special edition here.

Martin Hederos has been busy as always, not only as a member of Tonbruket and touring with Ane Brun but he has just released an enchanting Xmas album with Sofia Karlsson entitled "Stjärnenätter" which has been extremely well received in Sweden and is also avaialble to order now from CD-On. He has also played some acoustic shows with Nina Persson from The Cardigans recently and you can see some photos and a feature on the gig in Ystad in the Blog archive here. Nina and Martin will play at the beautiful Södra Teatern in Stockholm on February 22nd, tickets are available here.

Ebbot & fans at Slussens Pensionat - Photo by Nellie Selander

Mattias Bärjed has been touring with legendary Swedish Punk band The Refused while Free Fall has been on hold. He is also establishing a critically acclaimed reputation as a film score composer with work on successful Swedish movies "Gentlemen", "Upp Till Kamp" and "Call Girl". Here's another Retrosonic Podcast special from the archive when we spoke to Mattias before The Soundtrack of Our Lives' last ever shows at the Södra Teatern in Stockholm.

Thank you to Nellie Selander for the photographs. Nellie has a company The Nellie Selander Fusion which covers her main job as a make-up artist along with her great photographic work, you can check it out at the official Facebook page here or at the Blog.

Mattias, Ebbot & Ian at Slussens Pensionat by Nellie Selander

Ebbot Lundberg & The Indigo Children at Slussens Pensionat, Orust, Sweden on Friday July 10th

Ebbot Lundberg by Anders Magnusson

When The Soundtrack of Our Lives split up, one of the things I would come to miss the most of all would be the annual trips to the beautiful Slussens Pensionat on the island of Orust. These nights became legendary; a chance to see the band up close and personal, often playing up to three hour shows which started off as laid back semi-acoustic takes on a wealth of rarely played album tracks and B-sides from throughout their career. The band would also try out new unreleased material as well as showcasing whole albums in their entirety. The Slussens shows were unpredictable and exciting and often ended up in complete mayhem as the initial laid back approach would quickly turn into a full-on Rock ‘n’ Roll freak out with Ebbot climbing on tables, bottles, glasses and bodies flying in all directions. These were great social occasion too, a chance to chat to the band, drink rather too much and meet other fans, some travelling from as far afield as America, Scotland, England, Norway and even Chile to sample the unique Slussens atmosphere. You can see a great example of the Slussens experience in the trailer to the superb "Ebbot the Movie" here.

Joacim of The Indigo Children by Anders Magnusson

So, when I heard the news that Ebbot was going to play a show at Slussens Pensionat it was a dream come true to have a reason to return to my all time favourite venue. Ebbot has certainly been busy working on a wide selection of eclectic projects since TSOOL split. From the ambient art Psychedelia of The New Alchemy to solo acoustic performances and Johnny Cash tributes to the blistering, relentless Kingdom of Evol along with the legendary Freddie Wadling, artist and musician Per Svensson (who designed the iconic 'death masks' album cover for "Behind The Music") and his ex-Union Carbide Productions colleagues Henrik Rylander and Adam Wladis. Then there was a cameo role in the Swedish TV drama “Viva Hate” which featured music by Ian Person and not to mention Ebbot's appearance in the hugely popular music reality TV show "Så Mycket Bättre" which has elevated him to household name celebrity status in Sweden, "I’m a lot more known, I'm suddenly doing a lot more selfies..." he told me in our Retrosonic Podcast interview. Then there was the news that Ebbot was working on new material with the excellent Stockholm based band Side Effects and ex-Broder Daniel member Daniel Gilbert backing him under the name The Indigo Children. Things were looking promising and we went to see them play a tremendous show at Gothenburg’s Stora Teatern back in March. I think seeing him perform that night with The Indigo Children was the closest he has come to capturing the energy and excitement of The Soundtrack of Our Lives live. 

Hugo of The Indigo Children by Anders Magnusson

The set that night was crammed full of rare treats harking back to Union Carbide Productions and some unusual Soundtrack of Our Lives songs too. This time round unfortunately Daniel Gilbert couldn’t make the Slussens show so Rebekah from Those Dancing Days was drafted in on rhythm guitar – she was certainly thrown in the deep end, evident by the pages of notes with guitar chords scrawled on them strewn on the floor at her feet. But she did a really great job especially as working with Ebbot involves a fair bit of musical flexibility; you never quite know where he is going to lead you. So, the remainder of the band is, as mentioned earlier, Side Effects, who were named (like this Blog...) after a TSOOL song. In fact guitarist Billy Cervin is no stranger to Ebbot’s musical demands, he has already played live with The Soundtrack of Our Lives during Mattias Bärjed’s paternity leave, indeed he was taught guitar by Mattias. You can read all about Billy's experiences in the Blog feature "How To Join Your Favourite Band" here. The band are all in their early 20’s and their talents are quite extraordinary, they started off as kind of school project in Stockholm and have already signed to a major label for their last album release, the stunning "A Walk In The Space Between Us", which I can't recommend highly enough. At Stora Teatern I was amazed at the likeness of their mentors, a kind of "mini-TSOOL", complete with all the moves and confidence. 

Billy of The Indigo Children by Anders Magnusson

They are all great musicians and tonight as I am quite literally sitting on the stage (well floor as is the case with Slussens Pensionat...) with them, it’s certainly fascinating to watch them so close. Billy is an excellent guitarist and all smiles under his mop of hair, wind-milling his Gibson SG just like his mentor. Bassist Joacim is the quiet one of the band on stage, just letting his understated but impressive bass playing do all the talking. Keyboard player Elias plays standing up, adding backing vocals and bringing an additional visual element very much like Martin Hederos did. However, it’s drummer Hugo who gets most of the crowd’s plaudits and on an extended and wired version of TSOOL’s classic "Grand Canaria" he really comes into his own. Fredrik Sandsten himself would have been very impressed with the way Hugo tackled his mind-blowing drum fills. Then of course we get to Ebbot, invigorated by the energy of his young backing band he is in good humour and in mighty fine voice. He takes the stage alone at first and treats us to a "little appetizer" which turns out to be a superb acoustic version of Union Carbide's "Down on The Farm" which goes down a storm. Then he introduces The Indigo Children one-by-one and we are off and away on a perfectly compiled set-list that begins with "You Are The Beginning", one of the highlights of TSOOL's final album. "Killing My Darlings" from the new Indigo Children "Homo Futurus" E.P. is a sort of whimsical, almost Country, song which lyrically could well allude to the decision to call time on The Soundtrack of Our Lives. While we're on the whimsical theme this leads into the early Pink Floyd Psychedelic fairy-tale "The Gnome", it's the sort of off-the-wall humorous track that Ebbot delights in. 

Elias of The Indigo Children by Anders Magnusson

Three brand new tracks follow, "For the Ages to Come", "Beneath The Winding Waterway" and "In Subliminal Clouds", demo versions of which can be heard on the "Immaculate Concept" album. All three sound superb played by the band tonight and I am really looking forward to hearing them in all their recorded glory on the next album. What I thought was the intro to TSOOL's "Lone Summer Dream" turns out to be "Royals", not a tribute to my favourite football team unfortunately, but an unexpected cover version of New Zealand pop star Lorde's international hit. Somewhat surrealistically this is quickly followed by one of Union Carbide's most uncompromising tracks "Glad to Have You Back", which is brilliantly played by The Indigo Children, and really raises the roof of Slussens Pensionat. Another unusual cover is next, "Cerca de las Estrellas" by the 1960's Spanish band Los Pekenikes with lyrics changed to English and re-named as "Calling From Heaven". It's a brilliant Love style piece of obscure Psychedelia that apparently Ebbot has recorded with The Indigo Children for inclusion on the new album. There's a nice touch when they let an excitable Spanish fan introduce the song and join in on backing vocals. The Soundtrack of Our Lives rarity "Room Without a View" is a nice surprise, originally this was released as a fan club only web-single before being included on the B-Sides and rarities compilation "A Present From The Past", it's a beautiful song that deserves to be tracked down. The first set ends with a raucous take on Pink Floyd's "Arnold Layne" and we get to catch our breath and re-charge our batteries for the next part of the show.

Ebbot Lundberg by Anders Magnusson

For the second set Ebbot is joined by the solo artist Martin McFaul (whose superb album "Pop Mansion" I would really like to take the opportunity to recommend) and they play a version of Simon & Garfunkel's "April Come She Will". Martin has played quite a few acoustic shows with Ebbot over the past few years, especially at his Club Revolution No. 9 which was started up by Ebbot with help from Hans Selander the bassist from early 80’s Gothenburg Punk band Tre Muskler, a band that also included Per Svensson. There was a nice surprise to see Martin's friend, Wallander actor Lars Melin, in the crowd and I’d like to think he wasn’t too freaked out to be accosted by a couple of strange and excited foreigners telling him he was their “favourite ever Martinsson!” He’s even cooler now after discovering he has quite an impressive musical pedigree himself. I would have liked to have heard a few songs by Ebbot and Martin but that's all we get and Ebbot plays another rarity "Swim Like a Bird" before the Indigo Children return and slam into the tremendous "To Be Continued" from the new E.P. which segues into an extended version of the classic "Grand Canaria". This in turn leads quickly into another Soundtrack of Our Lives classic, "Instant Repeater '99", or “Sweden's unofficial national anthem” as I have heard it described. "Backdrop People”, the lead track from the "Homo Futurus E.P." must be one of the best songs that Ebbot has ever written; it certainly ranks up there amongst the very best of his impressive back catalogue. At the sinewy slow intro of Union Carbide's "Chameleon Ride" you can sense the crowd drawing a collective breath, the anticipation is palpable just waiting for the part where the powerful guitar chords come crashing in and the song tales off into another dimension like The Stooges "Sick Of You", it's a truly stunning moment.

Rebekah of The Indigo Children by Anders Magnusson

Next up is the laid-back Burt Bacharach lounge styling of the Ebbot solo single "Wishing Well" which allows a welcome breather and we all join in on the "La La La La" backing vocals before a crunching version of Alice Cooper's old 60's Garage Psych band Spider's "Don't Blow Your Mind" slaps us round the face and gets the tempo going again. The it’s one of my highlights of the whole night, a song entitled "I See Forever" which I later found out was co-written by Ebbot and his old UCP/TSOOL colleague Björn Olsson but is as yet unrecorded. It's an achingly beautiful yet simple song based on one of those minimalistic Erik Satie style piano motifs that Martin Hederos did so well in Soundtrack songs such as "Tonight". The second set ends with "Second Life Replay", the complex baroque masterpiece that despite being buried on the 24 song 2008 double album "Communion" fast became a fan favourite. For the inevitable encores we get a batch of cover versions starting with "Riders On The Storm" and the Beatles "A Day In The Life" which breaks down into a knock-about "Act Naturally" and somehow morphs into Donna Summers "I Feel Love" via The Trashmen's "Surfin' Bird"! The night draws to a close with a faithful cover of Johnny Cash's version of "Hurt", rather than the Nine Inch Nails original and we finish with an emotional singalong of "The Passover". And that's it, it's sadly all over, the end of yet another amazing experience at Slussens Pensionat and I can only sincerely hope that Ebbot makes this a regular date in the future.

Ebbot Lundberg and fan by Anders Magnusson

The next day we managed to have a little chat with Ebbot for Retrosonic Podcast where he gives us the low-down on two forthcoming album releases and explains what he has planned for the future. You can download/listen to the Podcast for free at our Soundcloud page or subscribe for free at iTunes. For more photos of both the Stora Teatern and Slussens Pensionat shows please head on over to our Retro Man Blog Facebook page and, if you are not already following, hit “Like” for access to the exclusive photo albums. You can see lots of exclusive photographs and features on TSOOL including reports on the band’s last ever show at Slussens with exclusive Paul Slattery photos here. We also have Retrosonic Podcasts featuring exclusive interviews with Ian Person, Mattias Bärjed and Fredrik Sandsten available in the Retrosonic Archive. There's also The Soundtrack of Our Lives fan's forum on Facebook here. With thanks to Ebbot, Hans Selander, Liselott, Robert and Vibs.

Special thanks to Anders Magnusson for contributing the excellent photographs as credited above.

The Soundtrack of Our Lives - Exclusive and previously un-seen Paul Slattery Photos Part 1: Slussens Pensionat

The Soundtrack of Our Lives at Slussens Pensionat by Paul Slattery

Ebbot Lundberg, the ex-Soundtrack of Our Lives front-man, has just announced a Scandinavian tour with his new backing band The Indigo Children to promote his forthcoming solo album. The tour kicks off in Gothenburg on March 26th and takes in various cities including Stockholm, Malmo, Bergen and Oslo. For a full list of dates and further information please check out this link.

Ebbot Lundberg by Paul Slattery

To celebrate this news I thought I'd publish some of Paul Slattery's excellent photographs from our Blog reports on the last two nights at Slussens Pensionat in Orust back in 2012. These photos didn't make the features but I think you'll agree they are just too good to be stuck away unseen in the Blog's basement. To see the original features please click here for Part 1 and here for Part 2.

Fredrik and Ian work out the set list backstage - Photo Paul Slattery

Martin Hederos by Paul Slattery

Kalle Gustafsson Jerneholm by Paul Slattery

Ian Person by Paul Slattery

Fredrik Sandsten by Paul Slattery

Mattias Bärjed by Paul Slattery

Ebbot Lundberg by Paul Slattery

The Soundtrack of Our Lives by Paul Slattery

Ebbot amongst the crowd by Paul Slattery

With thanks to Paul Slattery, Hans Selander, Robert and Vibeke and all at Slussens Pensionat. Don't forget our special Retrosonic Podcast episodes with Ian Person and Mattias Bärjed which are available to download for free at our Soundcloud site. We also have a Soundtrack of Our Lives Fan's Facebook group which you can join here to share photos, videos, memorabilia and stories.

All photos are strictly copyright Paul Slattery and may not be copied or shared without permission.

The Soundtrack of Our Lives: The Last Slussens Pensionat Shows. Exclusive Paul Slattery Photographs

As the saying goes...all good things must come to an end. And so it is that fans of one the greatest Rock 'n' Roll groups of recent years, The Soundtrack of Our Lives, are still coming to terms with the news that the band have decided to split up after their final shows at Stockholm's beautiful Södra Teatern at the end of the year. Starting off on December 17th with their debut "Welcome To The Infant Freebase", The Soundtrack of Our Lives will then run through all six of their albums on consecutive nights, up to the last stand on December 22nd, where there will be, no doubt an emotional, run through of the latest, and the last, album "Throw It To The Universe", and then that will be it...! The band will then fragment into their various side projects, studio production work, solo albums and movie soundtracks...so there will still be plenty for fans to look forward to.

However, one of the saddest things to come to terms with the band splitting up, is the realisation that there will be no more of their now customary gigs at the stunningly beautiful Slussens Pensionat. The Soundtrack of Our Lives have turned these shows into a regular annual tradition ever since they first played at The Pensionat over ten years ago. And so it was that September 14th and 15th 2012 were fixed as the last ever dates the band would play here. I must admit to feeling quite sad about it, Slussens had become somewhere very special, so many great experiences and friendships, and of course so much great music. The band have always utilised the relaxed atmosphere to the maximum, and it was often the chance to do something completely different from their usual full-on tour dates.

Whether it was a run through of an album in it's entirety, the chance to try out brand new songs or an opportunity to plunder their immense back catalogue to play B-sides, album tracks and rarities, the Slussens shows were always a Fan's dream. Often playing three hour sets right on into the small hours of the morning, the shows usually ended up with the audience engulfing the band, joining in on tambourines and backing vocals. Ebbot would, by that time have dispensed with the semi-acoustic niceties, and be leaping across the tables, scattering beer bottles and wine glasses in his wake. At the thrilling climax of a Slussens show, it was often hard to imagine that a few hours earlier diners were sitting peacefully, enjoying the wonderful food in the relaxed and friendly restaurant.

The band would appear through those famous red drapes, usually while food was still being served, and take their places, Martin far left and the others seated on bar stools crammed around Fredrik's drums. They would start off with some laid back semi-acoustic run throughs of their more quieter numbers. "Not Kinda Worried", "All For Sale", "Reality Show" maybe, certainly songs that suited the mood. However, as the final plates were being cleared and more (and more...) pints of Ebbot Ale were consumed, tables were pushed back and the band and audience let loose. Occasionally, over the years, I witnessed other unsuspecting Hotel guests look on in consternation as this "Slussens fever" took hold and they realised their quiet romantic dinner for two was quickly coming to an end. Such was the growing reputation of these live extravaganzas that Fans from many countries, including Norway, England, Scotland, America and even as far afield as Chile, have made the pilgrimage to Slussens.

It was great chance to hear those rarely played old favourites and obscurities, to chat to the band, stock up on merchandise and meet other like-minded music fans too. Back in 2004, the band even chose Slussens Pensionat, and the beautiful surrounding countryside on Orust, as the location for the filming of the superb mock documentary fantasy film, "Ebbot The Movie" that was broadcast on Swedish TV. The film includes lots of footage from those shows, and the Director did a great job in perfectly captured the whole experience. So, we can live in hope that The Soundtrack of Our Lives may just feel that emotional pull and one day decide to reconvene at Slussens Pensionat once more... Photographer Paul Slattery was invited by the band to document the last ever Slussens shows, and we are delighted to be able to share some of his excellent and exclusive photos on the Retro Man Blog. You can also see Paul's photos from the last ever London show HERE.

The band with Robert Sohlberg of Slussens Pensionat

All photos above copyright Paul Slattery 2012.  

Both myself and Paul would like to sincerely thank Ebbot, Martin, Ian, Fredrik, Kalle and Mattias from The Soundtrack of Our Lives, Vibs and Robert Sohlberg from Slussens Pensionat, Hans Selander, Wayne Lundqvist-Ford, Anders Magnusson and Daniel Eriksson.

Ebbot with Photographer Paul Slattery - Photo by Hans Selander

Typical Slussens Audience Participation - Photo by Nellie Selander

Thanks to Hans and Nellie Selander for contributing the great Photos.