Tomas Ledin (born 25 February 1952, in Rätan, Sweden) is a Swedish singer, songwriter, guitarist, and producer. He grew up in the town of Sandviken.
He started his career in 1972 when his first single, “Då ska jag spela”, was a big hit. Other successful songs followed: “Blå, blå känslor” (1973), (covered by Björn Skifs), “Knivhuggarrock” (1975), “Festen har börjat” (1976), and “I natt är jag din” (1977). At the beginning of the 70s, Ledin was influenced by hippie fashion and demonstrated against the Vietnam war. He also took part in a Swedish stage production of the musical Gospell in 1975 and performed in 140 concerts in the Swedish folkparks in 1977.
In 1979, ABBA member Benny Andersson offered him a chance to record for the group’s company Polar Music. The singer joined ABBA on their 1979-1980 tour as a backing vocalist, but also got the opportunity to sing his own composition “Not Bad at All” during the show. Tomas Ledin also appeared on the ABBA Live DVD and on the Super Trouper Video.
He won the Swedish Melodifestivalen in 1980 and represented Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest that year with “Just nu!”. The song was a big hit in Scandinavia, but also in Greece and Portugal since Ledin recorded an English version, “Right Now!”.
In 1982, he released the duet “Never Again” with Agnetha Fältskog of ABBA fame; the song reached number one in Chile (in its Spanish version “Ya nunca más”) and was popular across Europe. Ledin also composed “Take Good Care of Your Children”, which Fältskog released in 1983 on her album Wrap Your Arms Around Me. Another composition by the singer, “I Got Something”, was released by Anni-Frid Lyngstad of ABBA on her album Something’s Going On.
In the 80s, Ledin was very successful in Scandinavia but his career abroad failed to reach the same level. He nevertheless toured Germany and the Netherlands on a small scale in 1982, and the following year, he played in front of 60,000 people at the Olympic stadium in Berlin, in a show with other international acts.
He decided to put an end to his career in 1984 and started to act as a producer for Record Station, his wife’s record company. He discovered other singers and successfully produced artists such as Pugh Rogefeldt and Magnus Uggla. In 1985, he organized a concert for ANC featuring several Swedish artists.
Three years later, Tomas Ledin started to compose again and wrote songs in English. The album Down on the Pleasure Avenue was released but was not successful. Ledin was very disappointed but started to compose again, in Swedish this time. He started to enjoy success again in 1990 when he released a compilation and a new album, Tillfälligheternas spel, and has been one of the best selling artists in Sweden since then.
In 2000, 260,000 copies of his compilation album Festen har börjat (samlingsalbum) were sold in Sweden, which meant he was awarded three platinum records there. The same year he was also awarded a gold record in Finland for the first time. In 2002, he went on the biggest tour ever planned in Scandinavia and performed in 27 shows in Sweden and 8 shows in the rest of Scandinavia. More than 250,000 people saw this show in Northern Europe.
He has been married since 1983 to record company president Marie Ledin, daughter of Stig Anderson.
See more about Tomas Ledin at his official website.
Selected Discography
Restless Mind
Universal Music 2012
Tracks: Too Many Days, I’ve Been Waiting For The Summer, Follow The Highway, Lay It All Down, Wait For Me, Both Sides Of The River, Come Home To Me, What Would You Do, Black Knight – The Faker, Restless Mind, That's No Way To Say Goodbye (Bonus Track), Lay Me Your Body Down (Bonus Track) & Get Back To The Truth (Bonus Track).
Musicians on the Restless Mind album: Tomas Ledin and others.
Down The Pleasure Avenue
Polydor Records 1992
Tracks: Lovers Come Easy, Crazy About You, Another Summernight, Body, If We Could Do It All Over, Who’s That Lucky Guy, The Only One, Heaven Tonight, Red Lips, It’s So Hard To Keep That Fire Burning, CD Bonus Tracks: Music From The Film Istanbul:The Istanbul Tribute, Keep Your Eyes Open, Welcome To Harlem Otel, The Istanbul Theme & A Bedroom Conversation.
Musicians on the Down On The Pleasure Avenue album: Tomas Ledin, Marie Fredriksson, Henrik Janson, Peter Ljung, Per Lindvall, Anders Glenmark, Janne Schaffer, Sanne Salomonsen, Sam Bengtsson, Åke Sundqvist.
Captured
Polydor Records 1992
Tracks: Don´t Touch That Dial, Captured, There´s No End To Our Love, Russian Roulette, Lovemaker, What Are You Doing Tonight, Action, Take Good Care Of Your Children, Forget About Dancing, Everybody Wants To Hear It (only at CD version), Living With The Bomb (only at CD version), Move A Little Closer (only at CD version), What Are You Doing Tonight (Super Dance Music Mix) (only at CD version), Don´t Touch That Dial (Remixed Dance Music Maxi Mix) (only at CD version) & Everybody Wants To Hear It (Extended Remixed Dancefloor Version) (only at CD version).
Musicians on the Captured album: Tomas Ledin and others.
The Human Touch
Polydor Records 1992
Tracks: I Love You, I´Ve Got Something, Never Again, She´s In Love With My Best Friend, Listen To Your Heart, Loving You Is Like Chasing A Dream, Keep It Up, Taken By Surprise, Love Me Like You Used To Do, In The Middle Of Nowhere, Agent Of Love (only at CD version),Y Me Sortrendo (only at CD version) & Ya Nunca Mas (only at CD version).
Musicians on the Human Touch album: Tomas Ledin, Marie Fredriksson, Henrik Janson, Peter Ljung, Per Lindvall, Anders Glenmark, Janne Schaffer, Sanne Salomonsen, Sam Bengtsson & Åke Sundqvist.
Lookin` For A Good Time
Polydor Records 1992
Tracks: Lookin´ For a Good Time, A Little Love, Open Up!, Something´s Missing, Right Now!, The Sun´s Shinin´ In Middle Of The Night, Just Another Fool, We Are The Rock´n Roll Brothers, What Are You Waiting For, Just Nu (Bonus Track), Det Är Säkert Värt Ett Försök (Bonus Track), It's Sure Worth Giving A Try (Bonus Track) & You've Got To Be Kidding (Bonus Track).
Musicians on the Lookin` For A Good Time album: Tomas Ledin and others.
Down The Pleasure Avenue
The Record Station 1988
Tracks: Lovers Come Easy, Crazy About You, Another Summernight, Body, If We Could Do It All Over, Who’s That Lucky Guy, The Only One, Heaven Tonight, Red Lips & It’s So Hard To Keep That Fire Burning.
Musicians on the Down On The Pleasure Avenue album: Tomas Ledin, Marie Fredriksson, Henrik Janson, Peter Ljung, Per Lindvall, Anders Glenmark, Janne Schaffer, Sanne Salomonsen, Sam Bengtsson, Åke Sundqvist.
Captured
Polydor Records 1983
Tracks: Don´t Touch That Dial, Captured, There´s No End To Our Love, Russian Roulette, Lovemaker, What Are You Doing Tonight, Action, Take Good Care Of Your Children & Forget About Dancing.
Musicians on the Captured album: Tomas Ledin and others.
The Human Touch
Polydor Records 1982
Tracks: I Love You, I´Ve Got Something, Never Again, She´s In Love With My Best Friend, Listen To Your Heart, Loving You Is Like Chasing A Dream, Keep It Up, Taken By Surprise, Love Me Like You Used To Do & In The Middle Of Nowhere.
Musicians on the Human Touch album: Tomas Ledin, Marie Fredriksson, Henrik Janson, Peter Ljung, Per Lindvall, Anders Glenmark, Janne Schaffer, Sanne Salomonsen, Sam Bengtsson & Åke Sundqvist.
Lookin´ For a Good Time
Polydor Records 1980
Tracks: Lookin´ For a Good Time, A Little Love, Open Up!, Something´s Missing, Right Now!, The Sun´s Shinin´ In Middle Of The Night, Just Another Fool, We Are The Rock´n Roll Brothers & What Are You Waiting For.
Musicians on the Lookin` For A Good Time album: Tomas Ledin and others.
Restless Mind
RCA Victor 1972
Tracks: Too Many Days, I've Been Waiting For The Summer, Follow The Highway, Lay It All Down, Wait For Me, Both Sides Of The River, Come Home To Me, What Would You Do, Black Knight - The Faker & Restless Mind.
Musicians on the Restless Mind album: Tomas Ledin and others.