All That Jazz...
INTRO: Yes! I have finally gotten around to making a tribute page for the band that in essence pushed me to make this website (80's sections) and that band is...drum roll please... All That Jazz! Who else? What do I mean by pushed me essentially? Back in early 2002 I was thinking about this song Even The Trees, now I have no idea why I was thinking of this song as I had not heard it in years, to be precise since 1987/88 ...yeah a long time. It got stuck in my head and it was driving me mad as I couldn't remember who sang it not to mention 90% of the proper lyrics! I had the main line running through my head over and over. Finally I broke down and searched through boxes and boxes of old tapes. Now what is scary is I remembered what the tape looked like that I had initially recorded the song on from radio back in 1988! Well I found it and would listen to it over and over trying to decipher the correct lyrics. Not an easy task especially from a 15 yr. old radio recording! After this I did internet searches to no avail, talking to friends and other DJ's most of whom had no clue and a few of which vaguely remembered the song but that was it. This lead me to music shares where I would ask in chat rooms and any other place I could if anyone had any idea and no one of course did. After about 6 months of this I finally got a hold of Steve Masters the DJ who had played them back in 1988 and an 80's guru if there ever was one! He did remember them! He ended up searching for his old album hidden under his stairs and played it during a rewind show for me. I was ecstatic!!! Still I could not locate any of the albums till one day I came across yet another rare music find store (located in Scotland) on the internet they had it and a friend of mine in Scotland went, bought and shipped it to me! (Thank you Marty!!!) Anyways... because of all this I ended up putting together a website to help those searching for rare and hard to find 80s music as I knew from first hand experience just how much of a pain in the ass it could be! This lead me to search for more rare music and talking to more DJ's who helped immensely (thank you Mike!). So yes people and those of you grateful for this site you can thank not only myself but All That Jazz cause if it weren't for them I would have never made it!
I would personally like to thank Per Birger Ejnelind for all the help and information he has provided that has enabled me to make this tribute page of a wonderful band that I wish were still producing more music!
Band Members: Peter Lööf vocals and guitar , Patrik Willard bass, Per Birger Ejnelind guitar, Pontus Wärmhed drums, Niklas Hellberg keyboards and Marie Lindbäck vocals. Most of the band members were born in 1964 save for Pontus and Marie who were born in 1965
Even the Trees Lyrics:
the snow is on it's way and nothing has been changed/the wind in your hair still seduces me
winter can always pass/those pale moons are floating a blaze of colour falling/since summer was stolen away
even the trees are freezing -love lost in lies was never meant to be -even the trees are freezing - a broken heart leaves faded memories
the wind has lost it's strength and waves are washed away so haul down our sail and moor for winter
like silent seas under ice/not a word was spoken you know when summer returns/I wish to set sail again
the snow is on its way and nothing has been changed/the wind in your hair still surrounds me
this country stands so alone/where pale moons are floating a blaze of colour falling/since summer was stolen away
chorus + And its cold and it's dark and you're alone in the park!
The original lyrics were written in Swedish and have been translated. Originally the 3rd verse was: this country stands so alone/like a skin that lost it's soul, which worked very well in Swedish but apparently British producers found too "corny".
BIO:
After playing in various punk bands, Peter, Patrik and Per formed All That Jazz in the autumn of 1981. Strong influences at that time were British post punk bands such as Joy Division, The Cure, Bauhaus and so on. In January 1983 All That Jazz released 12" single The Banner of Love, 1000 copies on Wire Records. On the b side was the Beatles Norwegian Wood from Rubber Soul and our own My Blue Heaven, recorded on an 8 tracks in Niklas Hellbergs dads garage.
After being signed to virgin records America, All That Jazz released the self entitled album All That Jazz in 1987 and toured Japan, Britain, Sweden, Norway, Holland, Denmark and Finland. the us tour was cancelled because one member was denied a visa for the US. Producers of the album were Langer/Winstanley who also produced Madness, Dexys Midnight Runners, Elvis Costello, Teardrop Explodes among others. Shortly after, a band called Johnny Hates Jazz was signed to Virgin Records and had two monster hits. Virgin told All That Jazz to change their name and ATJ told them to bugger off, which they did. In 1991 All That Jazz released a full length album called Colourblind in Scandinavia and Finland. Patrik and Marie had left before this and things were getting out of hand. tours for that album were cancelled and All That Jazz never played again as a band.
NOTE: This bio has been taken from a letter to myself from Per and I was given permission to use all information for this dedication page. I have fixed some grammar errors to make it easier to read. My own personal opinion is I wish they could get back together and perform once again, All That Jazz has beautiful and haunting melodies and lyrics and was a wonderful group which I am pleased to say I play an 80s rewind show every Friday at 6-8pm EST on Tazworldradio. (also new country on Tuesdays 6-8pm est) Tune in for the rare 80s rewinds if interested!
