The Rock Gang

The Rock Gang is a Swedish rock group formed in 1982 by singer, guitarist Gustav Martinsson, guitarist Jan Löfgren and drummer Jonas Lisstorp in the town of Ronneby. The band is popular in Europe but has also found a following in the USA, Canada and Latin America. They play rock, country, blues and sometimes folk rock.

History

The Rock Gang formed in 1982 and first became famous in 1983 when the record Bad Train was released. It reached #20 in the Swedish charts. Shortly after the album had been released, the band toured in Sweden. In 1984 they moved to the United States and did an American release of Bad Train. It reached #178 on the Billboard 200 but when it was re-released in 1985 it reached #81 and the band performed a North American Tour. That same year, the band recorded a new album called We Like Rock and Roll Music which was released in Sweden, Norway and Denmark in June of 1986. In early 1988 the band went to New York to record a new album entitled The Rock Gang's Third which was released in July 1988 and reached #13 on the Billboard 200; the band soon became one of the most popular rock bands in the USA. In 1990 the album More of the Rock Gang was released and also found great success, reaching to #15 on the Billboard 200. The band now stopped recording albums and instead toured almost all the time.

It was a hard time for the band and Martinsson got into drugs; a bit later Lisstorp and Löfgren did too. In 2002 a new album called Rock was released and reached #1 in eight European countries; #6 on the Billboard 200. Soon after the album was released they went on to have a long tour through the USA, Canada, Europe and also parts of Asia. In 2008 Jan Löfgren had to leave the band because of a disagreement with Martinsson. In 2008 they released the Music DVD Bad Train. In early January 2012 Gustav Martinsson announced that the band would be splitting up sometime in the summer of 2012. He also said that a new album have been recorded. The album was released on 13 January and was named The Rock Gang's Last For Now. It later reached #1 in Sweden and four other countries; #15 at the Billboard 200. A single called "Let's Do It All Tonight" was released the same day and reached #3 in Sweden; #39 at the Billboard hot 100. In February 2012 a new single "Our Time" was released and reached many charts around Europe. The B-side "A New Kind of Blues" also hit the charts in some countries. A book about the band called The Rock Gang's Life will also be released in March 2012.

Dammsugarsaxofon

The drummer Jonas Lisstorp came up with a thing called Dammsugarsaxofon in the spring of 2008. The Dammsugarsaxofon is Swedish and means "Vacuum cleaner saxophone". The Dammsugarsaxofon is just a normal Vacuum Cleaner played like a saxophone; it sounds like a Didgeridoo.

Members

Gustav Martinsson (Born 1965) vocals, guitar, harmonica Jonas Lisstorp (Born 1963) drums

Former members

Jan Löfgren (Born 1964) guitar

Albums

• Bad Train (1983)
• We Like Rock and Roll Music (1986)
• The Rock Gang's Third (1988)
• More of the Rock Gang (1990)
• The Rock Gang's Last For Now (2012)

Singles

• "Bad Train" (1983)
• "We Like Rock and Roll Music" (1986)
• "Rock On "(Cover of David Essex's song) (1988)
• "Traffic Jam" (1988)
• "Gimme More" (1990)
• "Walking on the street" (1990)
• "Welcome to Scandinavia" (1991)
• "ROCK" (2002)
• "Do It There" (2002)
• "Let's Do It All Tonight" (2012)
• "Our Time" (2012)
• "A New Kind of Blues" (2012)