Euroboys

The Euroboys, or Kare & the Cavemen as they were originally named, first shot to fame as the regular band on a popular Norwegian television show. They played a mixture of early-'60s instrumental pop such as the Shadows, surf, Burt Bacharach-inspired easy listening, and soundtracks from detective series and action movies from the '60s and '70s. Their role in the TV show earned them a record deal with Virgin.

The group members had played together in various bands ever since their school days in Harestua, a small town not far from Oslo. As a trio, they released the vinyl single "In the Mood" in 1996 without getting much attention. After adding a fourth member, percussionist Anders Møller, and landing the job on TV, things started to happen.

Their debut album, Jet Age, was hailed as a masterpiece by music journalists in Norway, and did quite well in the charts, very unusual for an instrumental album at the time. The band had also become media darlings, always willing to give interviews. Leader and guitar hero Knut Schreiner made bombastic and often arrogant comments whenever he had the opportunity, acting as if the Euroboys were already superstars. This helped make them a band to either be loved or hated.

After being virtually silent for well over a year, the band returned with another album, Long Days Flight Til Tomorrow, in early 1999. Although it was mainly instrumental, it was different from Jet Age. It was a great deal darker, and less accessible and poppy than their debut, adding new member Per "The Kid" Øydir on organ. Now, it seemed, they were influenced by acts such as Black Sabbath and they had become much more willing to experiment and include all sorts of instruments on the recording. Although not a commercial record, it spawned the instant classic hit single "Filadelfia," which featured vocals from the band for the first time.

Upon the end of recording their third album, inner tensions led to three of the members leaving the band. Drummer Kare Pedersen, keyboardist Per Øydir, and bass player Dag F. Gravem left just before the record was finished. Knut Schreiner managed to recruit three replacements quite quickly, and recorded the album's last track "Come on in, Your Time Is Up" with a brand new group. Following the album release they committed to touring throughout Europe.