Though the Beathovens debuted at the Gillet club in Motala, Sweden in 1963, they were already skilled musicians, having belayed classical music for some time. The Beathovens were a band that were ahead of their time, coming, as they did, from small-town Sweden; among other things, they experimented with light-shows on stage, and music from Bach to the Stones. The people in Motala weren’t always impressed, and they found the group's name somewhat offensive. However, the band worked hard to get record contracts, and to help them, they had an energetic manager, Per Månson. They recorded a demo of "Let Me Go," and a producer at Triola, Beppo Gräsman (a former member of Gals & Pals), became interested. The problem for The Beathovens was that they didn’t come from the "big city," and as such they were never really given a chance to show what they could do. In interviews from the time they complained about how booking agents in Stockholm froze out all the groups who didn’t live there, gave them poor wages, and treated them unfairly. The band released three 45s — the classic, Zombies-inspired "Summer Sun" being their third — before breaking up in late '66.
Download: "Summer Sun" (45 a-side, Triola Records)
* Text adapted from a Swedish article,
originally published in Stora Popboken.
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