The Who in Sweden

[GACoelho@aol.com]

I must second Mike Westbrook’s strong endorsement of The Who in Sweden. I
bought my copy at the Convention too and for me this is the best Who book
to-date. Of course the best is still to come. We’ll just have to wait for
John’s books...

The Who in Sweden concentrates on a particular time period and on the
experiences in one country. None of the other books concentrate. They are a
great read (the Barnes and Marsh books) but they are not bibles. I won’t run
them down but they are weak on detail, especially on John. Remember there
were two guitarists in The Who and one of them always get far more copy. Now
I think Pete is great too, but it's always too much Pete. There is a limit.
“Do you think it’s alright?” The Who in Sweden is wonderful enough to put a
picture of John and Roger on the cover. They represent the Who as much as the
others. Thanks to the Swedes to break the silence on this.  

The Who were always the most visual of groups and The Who in Sweden is
primarily a picture book, with a ton of unique, never before seen photos.
This is really where this book outclasses the others. Olle Lundien, a nice
humble person, has pulled off such a coup and produced such a bargain work of
art. He is really to be commended. In addition ample coverage is given to all
members of the group with splendid coverage of John.

Then there are the wonderful articles in a non-pretentious good-natured
Swedish manner. Stories like : “I had four Englishmen in my livingroom" and ”
The history of a tone knob," and  the ultimate Who joke: Sag du The Who?
Vilka da? The Who. Vilka Da? The Who.  More than anything else, this book
takes you back to the innocent, (?) simpler, heady days of the late 60’s,
early 70’s, which some of you will remember. You can imagine yourself on tour
with them in this time, and Olle captures the enthusiasm of the Swedish fans.

A special treat was meeting the Swedish contingent in London. Olle, Svante
and gang, a friendly, fun-loving bunch of lads. They were somehow the hit of
the party. And I have my book autographed by all of them to prove it.

Thank God for the Swedes, and for Volvos, (I still have my 10-year old 740
with 175,000 miles on it), and Saabs, especially the Draken, Viggen and
Gripen ( a shameless plug for the Swedish defence industry).

Sverige!

Regards, George

P.S. Sorry Svante, I can’t get the accents down right in the email program.