Joakim Thåström

1977–1989: Ebba Grön and Imperiet

Thåström grew up in Högdalen and Rågsved, working class suburbs south of Stockholm, where he from 1977 to 1982 was the singer of punk band Ebba Grön. When Ebba Grön went in hiatus in 1981 due to bassist Lennart "Fjodor" Eriksson having to serve time in jail for refusing military service, the three remaining members (Thåström, drummer Gunnar "Gurra" Ljungstedt and keyboardist Anders "Stry Terrarie" Sjöblom) formed side-project Rymdimperiet (Galactic Empire).

When Ebba Grön officially disbanded in 1983, Rymdimperiet was renamed Imperiet (The Empire). With a then-modern sound firmly set in the 80s and a more focused leftist political stance combined with easily accessible songs, Imperiet became one of the biggest Swedish bands of the 1980s.

In an attempt to cross over to international audiences, Imperiet also recorded an album with some of their songs translated to English.

1989–1997: First solo releases and Peace Love & Pitbulls

In 1989 Thåström started a solo career as a rock singer-songwriter with progg influences. He began his solo career with the release of two solo albums, the self-titled 'Thåström' in 1989 and then "Xplodera mig 2000" (Xplode Me 2000) in 1991. The later was extremely computer-based and led to the development of the band Peace Love & Pitbulls.

In 1992, he started the heavy industrial rock band Peace Love & Pitbulls, with lyrics in English. The band existed until 1997 and released three studio albums.

1999–2005: Focus on solo career

The Swedish audience longed for a new rock album so when Thåström in 1999 released the album Det är ni som e dom konstiga, det är jag som e normal (You're the Strange Ones, I am the One Who's Normal) it became a very big success. Once again with Swedish lyrics and less computerized music Thåström had gone back to his original rock'n'roll-roots.

In 2002 Thåström released the album "Mannen som blev en gris" (The Man Who Became a Pig) which was a dark and 'filthy' album with a lot of dusty sounds.

In late 2005 Thåström released the album "Skebokvarnsv. 209" (Skebokvarn Street 209). The title refers to Thåström's childhood home address. The album is the most biographical album Thåström has ever released. It contains several songs with extremely personal lyrics and the music is mostly based on acoustic guitars.

2007–2012: Sällskapet and recent work

In 2007, Thåström presented a new band called Sällskapet. The band had been kept a secret since 2003 and was revealed together with their self-titled debut album. Sällskapet is commonly seen upon as a one time thing and in 2008 Thåström announced that he's working on a new solo album and that he is going to share two shows with the Swedish band Kent, play at the Peace & Love-festival in Borlänge and also play at the Beatday-festival in Copenhagen in the beginning of August.

On 13 March 2009 he released a new album called Kärlek är för dom (Love is for them [or those]).

On 15 February 2012 his latest album was released, Beväpna dig med vingar (Arm yourself with wings), and he is currently on tour in Sweden supporting this release. A large portion of the proceeds from the merchandise sold on this tour is donated to the cause of the homeless people in Sweden.

Back-up band

Discography