Secret Service

Biography

Secret Service is a Swedish pop band formed in Stockholm in 1979.

History

In 1979, Ola Håkansson, former vocalist of Ola & the Janglers and then a publishing manager at Sonet Records, teamed up with Tim Norell and Ulf Wahlberg as Ola+3 to perform at the 1979 Melodifestivalen, a contest which is the Swedish qualification to the Eurovision Song Contest. Ola+3 did not win but the members decided to continue working together and recorded an LP as Ola+3. Besides Ola Håkansson (vocals), Tim Norell and Ulf Wahlberg (keyboards), the original lineup also included Tonny Lindberg (guitars), Leif Paulsen (bass) and Leif Johansson (drums). Norell, who along with lyricist Björn Håkanson penned most songs of the band, did not however appear with them on stage or on the band photos.
Song number two on that Swedish LP-release, "Oh Susie (Bara vi två vet)," was released as a single with English lyrics, and the band changed its name to Secret Service. "Oh Susie×Oh Susie1979 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 9 tracksA1Ten O'Clock Postman3:42A2Hey Johnny4:22A3Give Me Your Love3:40A4Oh Susie4:39B1Darling, You're My Girl3:44B2She Wants Me3:09B3Why Don't You Try to Phone3:27B4Angel on Wheels3:04B5Family Delight3:24" became number 1 in Sweden and, after Radio Luxembourg played the song, it charted in different countries worldwide, including South America and Australia. In Germany alone it sold a million units, and Wahlberg stated in 2017 that "Oh Susie" went to number 1 in 29 countries.
Their follow-up single, "Ten O'Clock Postman×Ten O'Clock Postman21 April 1980 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracksATen O'Clock Postman3:38BHey Johnny4:21", also went gold in Sweden and became a top 5 single both in Germany and Japan.
Following the success of the soca-tinged single "Ye-Si-Ca×Ye-Si-Ca1980 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracksAYe-Si-Ca3:11BCrossing a River3:40" in Colombia, the band went to a two-week promotional tour of the South American continent.
Secret Service brought in new synthesizers into their sound; they had the first LinnDrum-machine that had just arrived in Sweden, and more successes followed, with their synthpop single "Flash in the Night×Flash in the Night1981 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracksAFlash in the Night3:47BWatching Julietta3:43," released in December 1981, hitting charts all over continental Europe. In May 1982 Secret Service released their third album Cutting Corners×Cutting Corners1982 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracksA1Over Town4:00A2Fire Into Ice3:55A3Cutting Corners3:25A4Flash in the Night5:13A5Cry Softly (Time Is Mourning)3:37B1If I Try4:10B2Like a Morning Song3:25B3When the Dancer You Have Loved Walks Out the Door3:50B4Rainy Day Memories3:09B5Watching Julietta3:25 and their first Greatest Hits album was also released before Christmas.
The album Jupiter Sign×Jupiter Sign3 April 1984 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracksA1Jupiter Sign4:52A2Love Cannot Be Wrong2:53A3Visions of You3:13A4Heart Companion3:06A5Jo-Anne, Jo-Anne3:39B1Do It3:33B2Night Café3:20B3All I Wanna Do3:35B4Will You Be Near Me4:11B5Mrs. Marple3:34 released in 1984, marked a new direction for the band, moving on from synthesizers to the use of new technology like sampled sounds and sequenced beats. Ola Håkansson also took over lyric writing under the alias Oson.
With the album When the Night Closes In×When the Night Closes In1985 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracksA1Night City3:41A2Let Us Dance Just a Little Bit More4:30A3Special Songs3:35A4Do You Remember?3:31A5Walking4:09B1When the Night Closes In4:10B2How I Want You3:53B3Closer Every Day3:14B4Feel You Near Me3:08B5Just a Friend for the Night3:11 and the single "Night City×Night City1985 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 3 tracks1Night City (Remix)7:462When The Night Closes In (Razormaid Mix)5:213When The Night Closes In (New Single Mix)3:52," the band helped launch the sound of the Hi-NRG movement. When the Night Closes In was also the last album recorded with the original line up. Jonas Frick directed a 18-minute promotional video featuring 6 of the songs.
In 1986 Ola Håkansson released a duet with ex-ABBA member Agnetha Fältskog, "The Way You Are", which went gold in Sweden. In 1987 Håkansson, Norell and Wahlberg released Aux Deux Magots, their last album as Secret Service. New members were multi-instrumentalist Anders Hansson and bassist Mats A. Lindberg. Håkansson lost interest in being the singer and front man, and would become Norell's partner with Army of Lovers' Alexander Bard in what would be known as the Megatrio, the Swedish equivalent of Stock-Aitken-Waterman known as Norell Oson Bard.
In 1992, Håkansson and his associates established Stockholm Records as a joint venture with PolyGram.
In 2012, Secret Service released The Lost Box, an album with forgotten and unreleased recorded songs from the 1980s and early 1990s, such as "Different" and "Satellites×Satellites21 December 2010 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Satellites3:33".
Norell, Wahlberg, Hansson and Lindberg had begun to tour as Secret Service mostly in Russia with a new singer Mikael Erlandsson. Later it was Johan becker who took over the microphone. They also released a single, Secret Mission, in 2020. On 18 November 2022, a new album with new material was released.
Tim Norell died on December 16th 2023 in Stockholm. He was 68.