Swedish Meatballs

The Seventies were a swinging time and no one swung with greater abandon than the bloody Swedes. The blond-haired, satin-panted dancing queens of ABBA® were the rage 'round the globe, whilst in their native land, bands of hurriedly-assembled Scandanavian noisemakers hoped to follow suit — or rather, pantsuit — synchronizing their sound, their open-collared costumes and mutton-chopped dans moves in the neighborhood discotheques, their piercing blue eyes set on stardom. Groups like Norrland Spöjrkarna, Kjell Brööz Orkester and the Inge Lindqvists each took their turn in the spotlight, but ‘twas The Gert Jonnys whose cassette tape recordings captivated the citizenry in countries where chunky, wood block shoes are manufactured and worn. Alas, when founder and fashion designer Gert Jonny Hansson left the band bearing his name, many assumed the remaining members would pack up their colorful stretch trousers, their glockenspiels, accordians and keytars and take their talentry in-house at IKEA. ‘Twasn’t so. Today, Björn Bitters, Eugen Torgny, Olaf Petersson and new recruit Lars Lundqvist (pictured), are making music, touring and charting in the south of Sweden, Denmark and the Canary Islands — wherever those might be — with a stirring re-imagining of the Australian smash "Forever Young." "Do You Really Hope to Live Forever (Given Your Lackluster Hygienic and Calisthenic Regimens)?" pines the plaintive Lundquist. 'Tis a question that should give us all pause in this time of the spreading Corona® beer brand viral contagion. Be well, citizens.