· Debut release
Debut release: Vad pojkar vill ha
First documented Single in the MusicBrainz discography.
source: musicbrainz
no image
Timeline
17 events▣ Album 7− Member leaves 5+ Member joins 2★ Debut release 1◆ Formed 1◇ Disbanded 1
1980s
· Member leaves
Mats Borg leaves the band
source: musicbrainz
· Member joins
Gunnar Ljungstedt joins the band
source: musicbrainz
· Member joins
Per Hägglund joins the band
source: musicbrainz
· Member leaves
Stry Terrarie leaves the band
source: musicbrainz
· Member leaves
Gunnar Ljungstedt leaves the band
source: musicbrainz
· Member leaves
Per Hägglund leaves the band
source: musicbrainz
· Member leaves
Christian Falk leaves the band
source: musicbrainz
1990s
Biography
English biography445 words · 5 sectionssource: wikipedia-en · licence CC BY-SA 4.0 · revision 1302967681
Biography
Imperiet was a Swedish post-punk band that was founded in 1981 in Stockholm as Rymdimperiet. In the spring of 1983, the band changed its name to Imperiet, and was then active until December 1988.
History
Imperiet started as Rymdimperiet, a side project to the Swedish punk band Ebba Grön, and included three of its members. When Ebba Grön broke up in 1983, Rymdimperiet re-emerged as Imperiet; with Joakim Thåström (lead vocals, guitar), Anders "Stry" Sjöholm (vocals, guitar) and Gunnar "Gurra" Ljungstedt (drums), all three originally from Ebba Grön. They were joined by Christian Falk (bass) and Per Hägglund (sax, keyboards). Stry left in 1984 and Gurra the following year. Gurra was replaced by Fred Asp on the drums. In 1987 Per Hägglund left and Imperiet disbanded in 1988.
Imperiet's sound was inspired by punk, rock and synthpop. Their lyrics were left-wing and anti-imperialist; songs like "C. C. Cowboys", "Alltid rött, alltid rätt
Alltid rött, alltid rättSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracks1Alltid rött, alltid rätt2Den nya dansmusiken" (Always Red, Always Right), and "Var e vargen" (Where's the wolf) were inspired by Russian Communist poet Mayakovsky.
Mainly successful in Sweden and Scandinavia, Imperiet also toured overseas, playing in the United States, Cuba, Central America and South America. In 1988, Imperiet released their only English language album, called Imperiet. It featured translated versions of their old songs. The album had an intensive promotional European tour, but was only popular in Sweden. This put an end to plans for an international career.
Their original name Rymdimperiet (The Galactic Empire, literally "The Space Empire"), was taken from the Star Wars movie The Empire Strikes Back (1980), the Swedish title being Rymdimperiet slår tillbaka.
Members
Christian Falk – bass, backing vocals (1983–1988; died 2014)
Joakim Thåström – lead vocals, lead guitar (1983–1988)
Per Hägglund – synthesizer, saxophone (1983–1987)
Gunnar Ljungstedt – drums (1983–1985)
Stry Terrarie – lead vocals, organ, guitar (1983–1984)
Fred Asp – drums (1985–1988)
Albums
1983 – Rasera
1984 – Imperiet (Mini-LP)
1985 – Blå himlen blues
1985 – 2:a augusti 1985 (Live album)
1986 – Synd
1988 – Imperiet
1988 – Tiggarens tal
1988 – Live/Studio (Live album/compilation)
1990 – Kickar (Compilation)
1995 – Greatest Hits (Compilation)
2002 – Alltid rött alltid rätt (Compilation)
2009 – Silver, guld & misär (Compilation)
Singles
1981 – "Vad pojkar vill ha
Vad pojkar vill haSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracks1Vad pojkar vill ha4:492Bikinipop3:31" (as Rymdimperiet)
1982 – "Alltid attack" (as Rymdimperiet)
1983 – "Felrättsnettheltfelrättsnett" (as Rymdimperiet)
1983 – "Alltid rött alltid rätt"
1984 – "Du ska va president
Du ska va presidentSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracksADu ska vara president4:15BKom Kom3:14"
1984 – "Fred"
1985 – "Märk hur vår skugga
Märk hur vår skuggaSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracks1Märk hur vår skugga2Balladen om briggen Blue Bird av Hull"
1985 – "C. C. Cowboys"
1986 – "Var e vargen"
1986 – "Peace
PeaceSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracks1Peace2The Wild World"
1986 – "Österns röda ros & Café Cosmopolite"
1987 – "Saker som hon gör
Saker som hon görSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracks1Saker som hon gör2Offret"
1987 – "19hundra80sju
19hundra80sjuSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracksA19hundra80sju3:18BRock'n roll é död3:45"
1988 – "Be the President"
1988 – "I hennes sovrum"
1988 – "...Som eld"
Discography & profile
Normalised profile
Percentiles are computed over every artist in the database, so a tier-3 artist can still sit in the 95th percentile on a single axis.
| Metric | Value | Percentile |
|---|---|---|
| Wikipedia language versions | 8 | 49.7th |
| Spotify monthly listeners | — | no data |
| Release groups in DB | 29 | 90.1th |
| Studio albums | 7 | 87.5th |
| Awards recorded | 0 | 0th |
| Timeline events | 17 | 92.4th |
| Recording span (years) | 7 | 21th |
| Genres | 6 | 91th |
Percentiles are computed at render time; missing values mean the artist has no data on that axis.
Discography (29 release groups · 7 studio albums)
Albums · 7
1983 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 10 tracks · 36:06
1Rasera3:372Tusentals händer4:113Vita febern3:174Sjung inte falskt3:035Silver, guld och misär4:156Kom ihåg (den fria världen)2:277Guld och döda skogar2:598Blå från Berlin4:169Kontroll i Stockholm3:4710Höghus, låghus, dårhus4:141984 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 6 tracks · 24:14
1Det glittrar4:022Dekadanser3:343Kickar5:064Kriget med mej själv4:275Gigolo blues3:296Jag kan inte leva utan dej3:361985 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 9 tracks · 42:07
1C.C. Cowboys4:062Århundradets brott5:223Sura-baya-Johny3:484Holländskt porslin4:405Tonårs Jesus3:106Blå himlen blues6:247Fat City4:098Moderna män4:009Fred6:281986 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 9 tracks · 40:21
1Österns röda ros4:352Cosmopolite4:123D*D*D*D (Dum-dum dollar djungel)3:444Saker som hon gör5:415Vykort1:226Tennsoldat och eldvakt4:177Bibel7:508Offret4:549Innan himlen faller ner3:461988 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 9 tracks · 40:27
1Be the President4:102C.C. Cowboys3:133Message for the Boys Squad3:344Blue Heaven Blues5:325Wild World3:456Peace6:147Running in the Rain4:228Bible6:19921st Century Sign3:181988 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 11 tracks · 42:10
A1Jag är en idiot4:43A2Du är religion3:57A3Party5:04A4Kanonsång2:16A5Ballad om en amerikansk officer5:06B1...som eld4:07B2I hennes sovrum2:40B3Kung av jidder4:22B4Tiggarens tal (Jag vill ha allt)3:30B5Erotisk politik3:18B6...när vodkan gjort oss vackra3:071992 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 16 tracks · 1:00:51
1Det glittrar4:022Dekadanser3:363Kickar5:084Kriget med mig själv4:295Gigolo blues3:306Jag kan inte leva utan dig3:387Rasera3:398Tusentals händer4:129Vita febern3:1910Sjung inte falskt3:0411Silver, guld och misär4:2312Kom ihåg (den fria världen)2:3113Guld och döda skogar3:0114Blå från Berlin4:1715Kontroll i Stockholm3:5016Höghus, låghus, dårhus4:12
Single · 13
| Cover | Year | Title | Notes | First release |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | Vad pojkar vill haSearch SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 2 tracks · 8:201Vad pojkar vill ha4:49 2Bikinipop3:31 | 1981 | ||
| 1983 | FelrättsnetthelträttsnettSearch SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 2 tracks · 5:441Felrättsnettheltfelrättsnett2:58 2Afrika2:46 | 1983 | ||
| 1983 | Alltid rött, alltid rättSearch SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 2 tracks1Alltid rött, alltid rätt 2Den nya dansmusiken | 1983 | ||
| 1984 | Du ska va presidentSearch SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 2 tracks · 7:29ADu ska vara president4:15 BKom Kom3:14 | 1 June 1984 | ||
| 1984 | FredSearch SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 2 tracks · 11:37AFred7:53 BMin maskin3:44 | 1 December 1984 | ||
| 1985 | Märk hur vår skuggaSearch SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 2 tracks1Märk hur vår skugga 2Balladen om briggen Blue Bird av Hull | 1985 | ||
| 1985 | CC CowboysSearch SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 2 tracks1CC Cowboys 2Blå himlen blues | 1985 | ||
| 1986 | Café CosmopoliteSearch SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 2 tracks1Café Cosmopolite 2Österns röda ros | 1986 | ||
| 1986 | PeaceSearch SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 2 tracks1Peace 2The Wild World | 1986 | ||
| 1986 | Var é vargenSearch SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 2 tracks · 8:06AVar é vargen4:15 BDe é inget under3:51 | 1 April 1986 | ||
| 1987 | Saker som hon görSearch SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 2 tracks1Saker som hon gör 2Offret | 1987 | ||
| 1987 | 19hundra80sjuSearch SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 2 tracks · 7:03A19hundra80sju3:18 BRock'n roll é död3:45 | 1 June 1987 | ||
| 1988 | ... som eldSearch SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 2 tracks1Som eld 2Kanonsång | 1988 |
EP · 1
| Cover | Year | Title | Notes | First release |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | Rymdimperiet E.P.Search SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 4 tracks · 13:23A1Alltid attack3:13 A2Kandidat3:32 B1Golva mig3:54 B2Vad tror du hon vill ha2:44 | 1982 |
Album · 8
| Cover | Year | Title | Notes | First release |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | 2:a augustiSearch SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 10 tracks · 44:59A1Du ska va president4:43 A2C.C. Cowboys3:21 A3Guld och döda skogar3:39 A4Vad tror du hon vill ha3:37 A5Fred6:53 B1Kickar3:37 B2Blå himlen blues6:51 B3Sura baya Johny4:08 B4Cold Turkey4:02 B5Roadhouse Blues4:08 | Live | 1985 | |
| 1988 | Live/StudioSearch SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 25 tracks · 1:37:14Disc 1 1Rock'n Roll e' död3:34 2Surabaya-Johny3:15 3Tiggarens tal3:29 4...som eld3:54 5Kanonsång3:01 6Århundradets brott5:05 7Jag är en idiot4:18 8Personliga Person2:29 9Kickar4:03 10Party4:21 11Bibel7:23 Disc 21Alltid rött alltid rätt3:15 2Kriget med mig själv4:27 319hundra80sju3:12 4Rasera3:39 5Det glittrar3:40 6Höghus, låghus, dårhus4:18 7Vit jul3:52 8Var e' vargen4:20 9Vykort1:21 10Cosmopolite4:12 11Kom ihåg2:30 12Saker som hon gör4:58 13Märk hur var skugga4:01 14Balladen om briggen Blue Bird av Hull4:37 | Live | 1988 | |
| 1990 | KickarSearch SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 17 tracks · 1:05:011Vad pojkar vill ha4:53 2Alltid attack3:12 3Felrättsnettheltfelrättsnett3:01 4Alltid rött - alltid rätt3:17 5Du ska va president4:17 6Fred5:04 7Min maskin3:46 8Kom kom3:43 9Var é vargen4:18 10Saker som hon gör...4:58 1119hundra80sju3:13 12Rock 'n Roll är död3:47 13Golva mig3:52 14Vad tror du hon vill ha2:44 15Afrika2:49 16Den nya dansmusiken4:14 17De e' inget under3:53 | Compilation | 1990 | |
| 1995 | Greatest HitsSearch SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 17 tracks · 1:11:571C.C. Cowboys4:01 2Jag är en idiot4:22 3Var é vargen4:32 4Sura baya Johny3:47 5Party4:17 6Du ska va president4:17 7Kickar5:06 8Alltid rött alltid rätt3:17 9Kriget med mig själv4:29 10Österns röda ros4:36 1119hundra80sju3:11 12Guld och döda skogar3:40 13Det glittrar4:04 14Fred6:30 15Café Cosmopolite4:14 16Märk hur vår skugga3:59 17Rock'n'roll é död3:35 | Compilation | 1995 | |
| 2002 | Alltid rött, alltid rätt: En samling 1983-88Search SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 17 tracks · 1:16:021Alltid rött, alltid rätt3:15 2Du ska va president4:15 3CC Cowboys (remix -95)4:00 4Var e vargen (remix -95)4:33 5Blå himlen blues6:25 6Jag är en idiot (remix -95)4:22 7Surabaya Johnny (live)4:04 8Kickar5:07 9Saker som hon gör5:41 10Kriget med mig själv4:29 11Österns röda ros4:35 1219hundra80sju3:11 13Guld och döda skogar (live)3:24 14Fred6:30 15Balladen om briggen Blue Bird av Hull4:38 16Märk hur vår skugga3:57 17Rock 'n' Roll e död (live)3:36 | Compilation | 2002 | |
| 2007 | MNW KlassikerSearch SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 28 tracks · 2:02:58Disc 1 1Alltid rött, alltid rätt3:14 2Du ska va president4:16 3CC Cowboys3:59 4Blå himlen blues6:49 519hundra80sju3:12 6Var e vargen4:33 7Fred6:30 8Saker som hon gör5:41 9Kriget med mig själv4:28 10Jag är en idiot4:22 11...som eld4:08 12I hennes sovrum2:42 13Märk hur vår skugga3:59 14Balladen om briggen Blue Bird av Hull4:36 Disc 21Rock'n'Roll e död3:35 2Surabaya Johnny4:10 3Århundradets brott5:04 4Party4:17 5Guld och döda skogar3:42 6Kickar5:07 7Österns röda ros4:36 8Cosmopolite4:13 9Tennsoldat och eldvakt4:18 10Offret4:53 11Det glittrar4:03 12Rasera3:39 13Höghus låghus dårhus4:12 14Holländskt porslin4:40 | Compilation | 7 June 2007 | |
| 2009 | Silver, guld & misärSearch SpotifySearch YouTube Music | Compilation | 10 June 2009 | |
| 2011 | 4 Original-AlbumSearch SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 47 tracks · 3:15:28Disc 1 1Rasera3:40 2Tusentals händer4:12 3Vita febern3:19 4Sjung inte falskt3:04 5Silver, guld och misär5:36 6Kom ihåg (den fria världen)2:30 7Guld och döda skogar3:01 8Blå från Berlin4:17 9Kontroll i Stockholm3:50 10Höghus, låghus, dårhus4:17 11Det glittrar4:02 12Dekadanser3:34 13Kickar5:09 14Kriget med mig själv4:28 15Gigolo blues3:30 16Jag kan inte leva utan dig3:40 Disc 21C.C. Cowboys4:06 2Århundradets brott5:22 3Sura-baya-Johny3:48 4Holländskt porslin4:40 5Tonårs Jesus3:10 6Blå himlen blues6:24 7Fat City4:09 8Moderna män4:00 9Fred6:28 Disc 31Österns röda ros4:36 2Cosmopolite4:12 3D-D-D-D (Dum-dum-dollar-djungel)3:44 4Saker som hon gör5:40 5Vykort1:22 6Tennsoldat och eldvakt4:18 7Bibel7:50 8Offret4:54 9Innan himlen faller ner3:48 10Märk hur vår skugga (Epistel 81)3:59 11Balladen om briggen Blue Bird av Hull4:39 Disc 41Jag är en idiot4:43 2Du är religion3:57 3Party5:04 4Kanonsång2:16 5Ballad om en amerikansk officer5:06 6...som eld4:07 7I hennes sovrum2:40 8Kung av jidder4:22 9Tiggarens tal (Jag vill ha allt)3:30 10Erotisk politik3:18 11...när vodkan gjort oss vackra3:07 | Compilation | 18 May 2011 |
Stats & PK
Percentile within all 23,672 published artists.Put Imperiet head-to-head →
| Metric | Value | Percentile |
|---|---|---|
| Wikipedia language versions | 8 | 49.7th |
| Spotify monthly listeners | — | no data |
| Release groups in DB | 29 | 90.1th |
| Studio albums | 7 | 87.5th |
| Awards recorded | 0 | 0th |
| Timeline events | 17 | 92.4th |
| Recording span (years) | 7 | 21th |
| Genres | 6 | 91th |
Awards & honours
Line-up
| Name | From | To | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gunnar Ljungstedt | 1983 | 1985 | |
| Per Hägglund | 1983 | 1987 | |
| Christian Falk | — | 1988 | |
| Fred Asp | — | present | |
| Mats Borg | — | 1983 | |
| Stry Terrarie | — | 1985 | |
| Thåström | — | present | |
| Thåström | — | present |
Where this record comes from
aliases/urls—musicbrainz · CC0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://musicbrainz.org/artist/695e75b5-c6db-43ee-abeb-2f3e50d96c3ediscography—musicbrainz · CC0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://musicbrainz.org/artist/695e75b5-c6db-43ee-abeb-2f3e50d96c3ecore—wikidata · CC0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1781599genre—wikidata · CC0 · retrieved 11 October 2026
https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1781599seed-list—wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imperietbiography—wikipedia-en · CC BY-SA 4.0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imperiet
Why this artist is in the database
- List of Swedish musicians
Tier rule: curated genre/region list
Image: no portrait (not displayed: the licence credit is missing)
Wikidata: Q1781599 · MusicBrainz: 695e75b5-c6db-43ee-abeb-2f3e50d96c3e
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