User:FacesSmall/Simon Hellström
Simon Hellström | |
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| Born | Simon Anders Hellström 27 August 1944 Sollentuna, Sweden |
| Disappeared | 3 June 1966 (aged 21) Oldwick, New Jersey |
| Status | Declared dead in absentia 23 October 1979 (aged 35) |
| Nationality | Swedish |
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| Years active | 1961–1966 |
| Partner | Matilda Pål (1963–1966) |
| Parent(s) | Jim and Karin Hellström |
| Musical career | |
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Simon Anders Hellström (27 August 1944 – disappeared 3 June 1966), was a Swedish musician who is notable of being the drummer of Smooth Monday, and briefly the bassist, occasional songwriter, and lead singer of Swedish rock band The Prelude and drummer of British group Smooth Monday. He was known for his eccentric and odd stage acts, which, combined with an paranoid and introverted character, has assured him cult status within modern rock. Due to this he is often cited as one of the influents of the punk rock movement in the mid-1970s by individuals such as Glen Matlock, Mick Jones, Joey Ramone and Bruce Foxton, who all were members of notable punk bands at the time.
His most well known and praised song is most likely "In the City", which he composed while a member of the Prelude for their second studio album Next! in 1965. This song marked the start of proto-punk and is often thought to be one of the heaviest and rawest rock songs of the 1960s. It has also found fame as it is one of the earlier compositions to feature the bass guitar as prominent instrument, as opposed to it's usual place in the background. It has gained noteriety and has been covered by acts such as Sex Pistols, the Clash, MC5 and the Jam.
On 3 June 1966, Hellström disappeared after driving away from his girlfriend outside of a bed and breakfast in Oldwick, New Jersey, close to where his ranch was located. It became one of the first majorily televised searches of all time. Despite these large efforts, no trace of Hellström was ever unveiled and by 1979, 13 years after his last confirmed sighting, he was declared death in absentia and his disappearance has since been investigated by several detectives and was featured on a lot of television shows. He was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1981 as a former member of the Prelude.
Early life
[edit]First years (1944–1950)
[edit]Simon Hellström was born at his residence in Sollentuna Municipality, Uppland, Sweden on 27 August 1944. His parents were Jim (4 July 1924–30 December 2001) and Karin (13 September 1926–) Hellström, his father was a respected lawyer in the county, while his mother worked as a nurse at Karolinska University Hospital. In 1945, the Hellström family relocated to Grindvägen 2 in Solna Municipality due to its close proximity to central Stockholm, where Jim had recently recieved a new employment offer. At the age of just 2 years old, Simon showed signs of social withdrawal to the other children at the daycare he attended, which promptly led to him frequently visting a psychiatrist for the main part of his childhood. In retrospect, his behavior have been studied, and was concluded as most likely symptons of Asperger syndrome, which was not a standard diagnosis in the 1940s and 50s.
Musical interests and move to Manchester (1950–1961)
[edit]I remember Simon being very ecstatic, but at the same time relatively obnoxious in elementary school. He'd always carry out pranks on our teachers much to their dismay and would be punished by the principal at regular intervals.
— William Hoang, Time interview, 1966
In 1950, at the age of six, his interest for music had sparked since his father would play records by acts such as Benny Goodman and Charlie Parker, the latter would become on of the sole inspirations for his songwriting. On his birthday on the same year, he recieved a ukulele as a gift by his uncle, reportedly, he would quickly learn chords on it, which are reminiscent of the chords played by bass guitarists. In 1951, he started elementary school and attended Råsunda Skola in Råsunda, Solna Municipality. There, he first met William Hoang, who quickly became one of his dearest friends, in 1953, both boys participated in a talent show, in which Hellström played the drum kit while Hoang resorted to playing the piano.
Hoang, would however move to Tullinge, Södermanland in 1954, with Hellström picking up drum lessons shortly after, in 1955 he composed his first song, a wild instrumental track, simply titled "Råsunda". It was played live just once, on 3 November 1965 with the Prelude. After a few altercations with the police for breaking and entering into an abandoned property, he was suspended from his school, but was eventually readmitted. By 1960, he had graduated compulsory elementary school and had started working at a local brick-laying firm at the age of sixteen. During this time, he had started to get involved within the underground music scene, and had gained notability in his wild drum solos that lasted for several minutes. He quit his job in 1961 and moved to Manchester, where he enrolled at the the Regent Street Polytechnic. There he would meet Denny Laine for the first time.
Smooth Monday
[edit]Origins (1961–1962)
[edit]In late 1961, Laine and Hellström met at a local club in Manchester, where Laine was to perform. In need of a drummer, Hellström quickly accepted the gig and played the set, which consisted of rhythm and blues. After the performance, Laine bought Hellström a beer and bonded. Hellström suggested forming a group together. They invited two acquaintances of Laine, Clint Warwick and Pete Townshend whom accepted the roles of bassist and lead guitarist respectively. The group became locally well-known for their extensive rhythm and blues covers of tracks such as "Spoonful" and other blues standards such as "Baby, Please Don't Go". The group was eventually discovered throughout the Manchester area, and on January 30, 1962, they signed a two-year contract with Decca Records.
I remember the time we signed to Decca Records, in about 1962 I believe. After all, the group was pretty well known in a local sense, we had a residence at a particular club, it was called Brockton, or something like that. That's where some bloke from Decca found us and signed. Hellström went ecstatic once we were signed, and I and him went out to a local night club in the vicinity and had a rave until midnight.
— Denny Laine, Time interview, 1967
Popularity peak (1962–1963)
[edit]Early singles (1962)
[edit]During September of 1962, while at a residence at the Marquee Club in London, England, the group was given permission to record their debut single. After hours of discussion, it was concluded that their debut single was going to be "Back Door Man", with an original titled "Lovin'" on the flip side. The track was a commercial failure and did not reach the UK singles chart. Shortly after that release the quartet became a trio, after Townshend left the group to join the Detours, later known as the Who. Regarding his departure, Townshend stated: "I don't fucking care If they were successful or not; they were fucking horrible, the only redeeming point of them is, or was Hellström, excellent drummer and bassist. Don Arden, the group's manager at the time, considered dropping the act from Decca if the follow-up single became equally unpopular. On January 2, 1963 the group recorded "You're All I Need", a Hellström composition, which he claims was the third song he ever wrote. On the flip side was "Why", which was credited to the entire trio. Released on January 25, the track would go on to reach number 5 on the UK singles chart, fueled by their appearance in the 1962 film Good Lovin', in which they play a battle of the bands.
Peak (1963)
[edit]Shortly after the success, the group would go on to appear on several TV-shows in the UK alone, and in March they went on a tour in Sweden. In April they released "Ready, Steady, Go!" as a single. It became the groups most successful single release, reaching number 1 in the UK, 4 in Sweden, 2 in West Germany, 3 in France and number 1 in Norway. It was also their only release to reach the Billboard Hot 100, where it peaked at number 15, becoming among the first British groups to have a top-20 single there, way before Beatlemania struck. It would also reach number 8 on Cashbox. The title has been suggested as a great inspiration for British television show Ready Steady Go!
In June, the group went on a worldwide tour in order to promote the single, and Warwick, who felt quite ill, temporarily left the trio. Hellström persuaded Laine to let him become the group's new bassist, which he allowed. Hellström was replaced by Laine's brother Michael on drums, and in July Warwick announced his permanent departure from the group. The new line-up released the Hellström-Laine penned track "Can't Stop" as their fourth official single. The track was a slight chart disappointment, reaching only number 10 in the UK.
Ready Steady Go! incident and breakup (1963–1964)
[edit]Incident (1963)
[edit]Controversy struck for the group when they appeared on Ready Steady Go! on 5 November. The group was performing "Why" in front of the cameras, when suddently Hellström started smashing an amplifier with his bass guitar while shouting "Fuck!" repeatedly. The remainder of the show was cancelled after that. Hellström has since stated that the reasoning behind this was due to the amplifier misfunctioned, and started producing static, which fueled Hellströms rage. Nonetheless, the incident sparked outrage throughout Britain, making headlines in several popular magazines. The group was subsequently banned from performing on any British television show after that.
Breakup (1964)
[edit]In January 1964, the group released a fifth single "Tired", backed with "Dancing on the Street" to a huge commercial disappointment, it did not reach the top 20 in the UK, peaking at number 26. The aforementioned Ready Steady Go! incident had sparked feuds between Hellström and Michael Laine, and during the recording of a sixth single in March, Hellström had made some snarky remarks about Michael, which led to a fight between the pair. Michael rendered Hellström unconsious before fleeing the studio. Hellström had to get six stitches on his arm, which left him temporarily unable to perform
Shortly after, Hellström was caught with marijuana by the police, and was subsequently deported back to Sweden. Laine announced the band's breakup shortly after. Decca Records would on 5 August 1964 release a posthumous studio album titled Monday which contained various outtakes recorded by the group between 1963 and 1964. The album reached number 10 on the Album Chart.