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Band Info
Artist
ACT
Country
( )
Genre
Heavy / Power Metal
Active 1983-1985
Media
Photos
Members
Tony Johansson - Vocals (Akt, Savages, Masquerade)
Jan "Janne" Strandh - Guitar (Akt, Verdict, Zanity, Peterson, ACT/Peterson, Steel Breeze, Master Massive, Sobre Nocturne, Twilight, Beyond Twilight, Notre Dame)
Tim "Thim" Sköld - Bass (Verdict, Shylock, ACT/Peterson, Savages, Kingpin, Shotgun Messiah, Skold, Marilyn Manson, Not My God, Psyclon Nine, Doctor Midnight & The Mercy Cult, KMFDM, MDFMK, ohGr, The Newlydeads)
Christer "Rispan" Rispling - Drums (Verdict, Shylock, Peterson, Steel Breeze, Voiceless, Master Massive)
Former / Past Members
Pekka "StixxG" Ollinen - Drums ( Peterson, ACT/Peterson, House of Heavy, Shotgun Messiah) Jonny Peterson - Vocals
Act - The Story (from 2022 compilation booklet)
In 1982 guitarist Jan Strandh was playing together with Roger Petersson in the band Steel Breeze. They had great problems finding a good bassist and drummer in their hometown of Skövde. Finally drummer Christer" Rispan" Rispling joined the two. At a concert with local band Savages, Jan discovered bass player Tim Sköld and guitarist Tony Johansson. He thought Tony was a solid guitarist and Tim had the right stage presence and attitude. He got hold of Tim's number and gave him a call. Well worth noting is that Jan was 18 at the time and Tim was just a brat of 15. At least that's what the rest of the guys felt when Tim entered the rehearsal room the first time. But they did approve when they saw he could actually do it. The result was that Savages was no more and a new band with Tim on bass saw the light of day. About a year later, Jan heard Tony sing for the first time and was surprised he was such a great singer! So, he asked Tony to try out for the band as singer, and he did a great job! Now the band featured Jan Strandh on guitar, Tim Sköld on bass, Christer Rispan" Rispling on drums and Tony Johansson on vocals. They were all into bands like Iron Maiden and Manowar, and Jan and Rispan, who were slightly older were also into more progressive bands like Rush, Genesis and King Crimson. It's probably this mix that made them sound a bit different and they wanted to explore Some more unusual stuff. The band rehearsed at the Karlsborg fortress, which is an enormous old army fortress. As Jan did his military service at the time, they rehearsed on Sundays only, from 11am to 6pm. They did their first (and only) gig at the Ungt Forum, which became legendary. They proclaimed they were the first real heavy metal band in Skövde and with Tony's falsetto vocals and Tim's very professional stage presence they made a great impression on the young crowd. The show was talked about for a long time. In July 1984, they recorded their nine-track demo at Studio Vanäs. However, since there was a surplus of singers, but not that many drummers and bass players, Tim and Rispan were also involved in some other bands and projects, such as Shylock. Jan then decided he didn't want to wait for the other guys to finish their stuff with other bands, so in 1985 he and Tony left Act and formed the new band Akt (with a "k", Jan still doesn't know why). Jan and Tony agreed they did NOT want to be another slick Europe style band - they wanted to be heavy! They were really disappointed with Judas Priest and where they went with 'Turbo Lover', and instead they wanted to sound more like Manowar and Dio/Black Sabbath. They recorded a three-track demo at the end of 1985/beginning of 1986. At the same time, Jan was also involved with the band Peterson, together with his old buddy Roger Peterson, a band that later changed its name to Verdict. Jan also knew bass player Yngve Frank, who was really a guitarist, and the two of them started jamming guitar in their rehearsal space.. Yngve knew a guy named Tony Niva, but what he didn't know was that he was an outstanding singer! He overheard him in their rehearsal space and told Jan they should try him out. Since Akt was falling apart, Yngve switched to guitar, and they went looking for a new bass player and drummer. This band went by the new name Zanity. In 1987 Zanity started recording their first demo and played regularly in their hometown. In 1988 they recorded an 8-track demo, but before it was time to record the vocals, Niva said he didn't want to play heavy music, actually not even hard rock, so he left the band. Jan however convinced him to finish at least three of the remaining songs for the demo, but since there really wasn't a solid band, not much happened. Jan then brought in a new singer and the band became Master Massive, which is a different story.
Bio (from Metal Knights The Resurgence Of Swedish Steel 1983-85)The band was formed in 1983 by Tony Johansson (vocals), Jan Strandh (guitar), Tim Sköld (bass) and Christer Rispling (drums). The influences came from both the NWOBHM scene as well as progressive rock. Tim and Christer also played with Shylock at the same time. In the summer of 1984 the band recorded a nine-song demo. Unfortunately Tony left the band after this. The band hooked up with singer Roger Petersson. Roger had had his own band, simply called Peterson (note the spelling with just one "S" though), going for a couple of years by then. Roger wanted to still use that name and the others rather wanted to use their name, therefor they compromised and called themselves Act/Peterson. They did a few gigs under that name. Roger later came up with the new name Verdict. The band dide a new (five-song) demo late 1984 as a trio (Roger, Jan and Christer). All the material was written by Roger. This demo usually goes under the name Verdict, a name that only was used for a short while. In face they only got to do one gig as Verdict before they split. Jan and Tony decided to get Act together in 1985. They recruited new bassist Yngve Frank and drummer Fredrik Sköld. However they decided to spell their name Akt with a "K" from now on. A new three-song demo was recorded in 1985. However this didn't last very long either and the band finally split up in 1986. Jan formed the band Zanity after this, that did some demo recordings in 1987-88. In the 1990s he played with the band Master Massive that worked for a few years on an album (that still remains unreleased) before they split. Recently he's been playing with Notre Dame, but he's not a member of the band any longer. Tony joined the band Masquerade in the late 1980's, a band that has done several albums and is still around. Roger later did a solo demo in 1989. Later on he became a born again christian and don't want anything to do with his past as a heavy metal singer. And for Tim and Christer, see Shylock for more info about them.
Act - The Story (from 2022 compilation booklet)
In 1982 guitarist Jan Strandh was playing together with Roger Petersson in the band Steel Breeze. They had great problems finding a good bassist and drummer in their hometown of Skövde. Finally drummer Christer" Rispan" Rispling joined the two. At a concert with local band Savages, Jan discovered bass player Tim Sköld and guitarist Tony Johansson. He thought Tony was a solid guitarist and Tim had the right stage presence and attitude. He got hold of Tim's number and gave him a call. Well worth noting is that Jan was 18 at the time and Tim was just a brat of 15. At least that's what the rest of the guys felt when Tim entered the rehearsal room the first time. But they did approve when they saw he could actually do it. The result was that Savages was no more and a new band with Tim on bass saw the light of day. About a year later, Jan heard Tony sing for the first time and was surprised he was such a great singer! So, he asked Tony to try out for the band as singer, and he did a great job! Now the band featured Jan Strandh on guitar, Tim Sköld on bass, Christer Rispan" Rispling on drums and Tony Johansson on vocals. They were all into bands like Iron Maiden and Manowar, and Jan and Rispan, who were slightly older were also into more progressive bands like Rush, Genesis and King Crimson. It's probably this mix that made them sound a bit different and they wanted to explore Some more unusual stuff. The band rehearsed at the Karlsborg fortress, which is an enormous old army fortress. As Jan did his military service at the time, they rehearsed on Sundays only, from 11am to 6pm. They did their first (and only) gig at the Ungt Forum, which became legendary. They proclaimed they were the first real heavy metal band in Skövde and with Tony's falsetto vocals and Tim's very professional stage presence they made a great impression on the young crowd. The show was talked about for a long time. In July 1984, they recorded their nine-track demo at Studio Vanäs. However, since there was a surplus of singers, but not that many drummers and bass players, Tim and Rispan were also involved in some other bands and projects, such as Shylock. Jan then decided he didn't want to wait for the other guys to finish their stuff with other bands, so in 1985 he and Tony left Act and formed the new band Akt (with a "k", Jan still doesn't know why). Jan and Tony agreed they did NOT want to be another slick Europe style band - they wanted to be heavy! They were really disappointed with Judas Priest and where they went with 'Turbo Lover', and instead they wanted to sound more like Manowar and Dio/Black Sabbath. They recorded a three-track demo at the end of 1985/beginning of 1986. At the same time, Jan was also involved with the band Peterson, together with his old buddy Roger Peterson, a band that later changed its name to Verdict. Jan also knew bass player Yngve Frank, who was really a guitarist, and the two of them started jamming guitar in their rehearsal space.. Yngve knew a guy named Tony Niva, but what he didn't know was that he was an outstanding singer! He overheard him in their rehearsal space and told Jan they should try him out. Since Akt was falling apart, Yngve switched to guitar, and they went looking for a new bass player and drummer. This band went by the new name Zanity. In 1987 Zanity started recording their first demo and played regularly in their hometown. In 1988 they recorded an 8-track demo, but before it was time to record the vocals, Niva said he didn't want to play heavy music, actually not even hard rock, so he left the band. Jan however convinced him to finish at least three of the remaining songs for the demo, but since there really wasn't a solid band, not much happened. Jan then brought in a new singer and the band became Master Massive, which is a different story.
Bio (from Metal Knights The Resurgence Of Swedish Steel 1983-85)The band was formed in 1983 by Tony Johansson (vocals), Jan Strandh (guitar), Tim Sköld (bass) and Christer Rispling (drums). The influences came from both the NWOBHM scene as well as progressive rock. Tim and Christer also played with Shylock at the same time. In the summer of 1984 the band recorded a nine-song demo. Unfortunately Tony left the band after this. The band hooked up with singer Roger Petersson. Roger had had his own band, simply called Peterson (note the spelling with just one "S" though), going for a couple of years by then. Roger wanted to still use that name and the others rather wanted to use their name, therefor they compromised and called themselves Act/Peterson. They did a few gigs under that name. Roger later came up with the new name Verdict. The band dide a new (five-song) demo late 1984 as a trio (Roger, Jan and Christer). All the material was written by Roger. This demo usually goes under the name Verdict, a name that only was used for a short while. In face they only got to do one gig as Verdict before they split. Jan and Tony decided to get Act together in 1985. They recruited new bassist Yngve Frank and drummer Fredrik Sköld. However they decided to spell their name Akt with a "K" from now on. A new three-song demo was recorded in 1985. However this didn't last very long either and the band finally split up in 1986. Jan formed the band Zanity after this, that did some demo recordings in 1987-88. In the 1990s he played with the band Master Massive that worked for a few years on an album (that still remains unreleased) before they split. Recently he's been playing with Notre Dame, but he's not a member of the band any longer. Tony joined the band Masquerade in the late 1980's, a band that has done several albums and is still around. Roger later did a solo demo in 1989. Later on he became a born again christian and don't want anything to do with his past as a heavy metal singer. And for Tim and Christer, see Shylock for more info about them.
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ACT PÅ RÄTT SPÅR MOT GENOMBROTT? (Skövde Nyheter, 22 juni 1984) På väg mot internationellt genombrott? Åtminstone är det vad medlemmarna i skövdegruppen ACT hoppas på. - Det gäller att sikta högt annars lär man aldrig komma någonstans, förklarar sångaren Tony Johansson. ACT representerar den tyngsta formen av hårdrock, den som i dagligt tal går under benämningen Heavy Metal. Men skövderockarna har lyckats hitta en egen stil och funnit ett tämligen originellt sound, och väljer att gå sin egen väg trots alla trender. -Jag har sysslat och lyssnat på hårdrock så länge jag minns, så musikvalet var faktiskt inte speciellt svårt. Dessutom tror jag att det finns en framtid för just den här musiktypen. Det mesta går visserligen i vågor, men jag har en känsla av att hårdrocken aldrig kommer att dö ut, fortsätter Tony. ACT har nu funnits i åtta månader, men har framträtt mycket sparsamt. - Vi har valt att ta det lite lugnt på just den fronten. Vi vill först se till att det finns tillräckligt med bra låtar innan vi går ut för att möta publiken. En liten smygpremiär har man dock haft på "Ungt Forum" och skall man dömma efter publikens reaktioner där så har bandet en framtid. De satsar också mycket seriöst på sin musik och målet är som tidigare nämnts att slå igenom internationellt. Bakgrundshistorien till ACT är lång och komplicerad, men kortfattat så hade Tony Johansson och Thim Sköld tröttnat på alla tillfälliga konstellationer. De hade varit medlemmar i åtskilliga grupper, men ingen hade lett dem in på rätt väg rent musikaliskt. De båda grabbarna tog sig därför en räjäl funderare på hur framtiden borde te sig och beslutade sig till sist för att hitta ytterliggare två musiker med samma inställning och vilja att satsa på allvar. Valet föll på Jan Strand och Christer Rispling. ACT började tillsammans jobba fram egna låtar och idag har de en ganska stor repertoar. - Det är emellertid svårt att säga hur bra låtarna egentligen är och därför har vi bestämt oss för att gå in i studion och göra en demo-tape under sommaren. Först då vet vi riktigt var vi står, säger Tony. Drygt hälften av alla låtar har gitarristen Jan Strand komponerat och resten är resultatet av samarbetet mellan Tony och Thim. Mellan 40 och 50 timmar i inspelningsstudion skall alltså så småningom resultera i en demo-tape på sex låtar och sedan är det dags för turné! - Vi skall försöka att komma ut och spela en hel del i höst, men mycket hänger på hur arbetet med inspelningen går, förklarar Tony. Han tror emellertid på en framtid för ACT. Tidigare har medlemmarna haft skolan att tänka på. Förhoppningsvis lyckas nu samtliga skaffa sig ett jobb och då öppnas helt andra perspektiv. - Nu har vi inte läxorna att tänka på efter skolan, ler han. Mer tid till att öva och mer tid till att satsa seriöst på sin musik... Det är oerhört svårt att sia om framtiden för en grupp som en ACT. Finns det överhuvudtaget plats för deras råa form av hårdrock framöver. Medlemmarna själva tror det dock och undertecknad likaså.
ACT PÅ RÄTT SPÅR MOT GENOMBROTT? (Skövde Nyheter, 22 juni 1984) På väg mot internationellt genombrott? Åtminstone är det vad medlemmarna i skövdegruppen ACT hoppas på. - Det gäller att sikta högt annars lär man aldrig komma någonstans, förklarar sångaren Tony Johansson. ACT representerar den tyngsta formen av hårdrock, den som i dagligt tal går under benämningen Heavy Metal. Men skövderockarna har lyckats hitta en egen stil och funnit ett tämligen originellt sound, och väljer att gå sin egen väg trots alla trender. -Jag har sysslat och lyssnat på hårdrock så länge jag minns, så musikvalet var faktiskt inte speciellt svårt. Dessutom tror jag att det finns en framtid för just den här musiktypen. Det mesta går visserligen i vågor, men jag har en känsla av att hårdrocken aldrig kommer att dö ut, fortsätter Tony. ACT har nu funnits i åtta månader, men har framträtt mycket sparsamt. - Vi har valt att ta det lite lugnt på just den fronten. Vi vill först se till att det finns tillräckligt med bra låtar innan vi går ut för att möta publiken. En liten smygpremiär har man dock haft på "Ungt Forum" och skall man dömma efter publikens reaktioner där så har bandet en framtid. De satsar också mycket seriöst på sin musik och målet är som tidigare nämnts att slå igenom internationellt. Bakgrundshistorien till ACT är lång och komplicerad, men kortfattat så hade Tony Johansson och Thim Sköld tröttnat på alla tillfälliga konstellationer. De hade varit medlemmar i åtskilliga grupper, men ingen hade lett dem in på rätt väg rent musikaliskt. De båda grabbarna tog sig därför en räjäl funderare på hur framtiden borde te sig och beslutade sig till sist för att hitta ytterliggare två musiker med samma inställning och vilja att satsa på allvar. Valet föll på Jan Strand och Christer Rispling. ACT började tillsammans jobba fram egna låtar och idag har de en ganska stor repertoar. - Det är emellertid svårt att säga hur bra låtarna egentligen är och därför har vi bestämt oss för att gå in i studion och göra en demo-tape under sommaren. Först då vet vi riktigt var vi står, säger Tony. Drygt hälften av alla låtar har gitarristen Jan Strand komponerat och resten är resultatet av samarbetet mellan Tony och Thim. Mellan 40 och 50 timmar i inspelningsstudion skall alltså så småningom resultera i en demo-tape på sex låtar och sedan är det dags för turné! - Vi skall försöka att komma ut och spela en hel del i höst, men mycket hänger på hur arbetet med inspelningen går, förklarar Tony. Han tror emellertid på en framtid för ACT. Tidigare har medlemmarna haft skolan att tänka på. Förhoppningsvis lyckas nu samtliga skaffa sig ett jobb och då öppnas helt andra perspektiv. - Nu har vi inte läxorna att tänka på efter skolan, ler han. Mer tid till att öva och mer tid till att satsa seriöst på sin musik... Det är oerhört svårt att sia om framtiden för en grupp som en ACT. Finns det överhuvudtaget plats för deras råa form av hårdrock framöver. Medlemmarna själva tror det dock och undertecknad likaså.
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