V/A - Rock-SM: The Stamp It Tour 1991 (1991)

AOR / Female Fronted / Glam Rock / Hard Rock / Melodic Hard Rock / Melodic Rock / Pop / Rock

Compilation cassette featuring the finalists of Rock-SM 1991, along with "Stamp Artists" who did not compete. Sponsored by Posten Sverige (Swedish Postal Service).

At an early stage, it was written in the evening press that the final would take place in Globen but in the end it was Solnahallen that was the venue. The final was broadcast live on TV2 in the program Kosmopol on Good Friday (29 March) (watch here).

Only Solid Blue’s lineup is listed on the cover. The lineups for the other bands are sourced from the TV broadcast where they were introduced.

The first prize winners in both classes each received a recording and release of an LP

Group Class Placements
Solid Blue, Uppsala (1st Place)
Forecast, Gränna (2nd Place)
Mystery, Sundsvall (3rd Place)

Soloist Placements
Cia Lindberg, Uppsala (1st Place)
Peter Kisch, Malmö (2nd Place)
Erica Alexandersson, Grästorp (3rd Place)

1. Solid Blue "Midnight Special"
Text & Music: Hasse Fröberg

2. Johan Boding "You're The Voice"
Text & Music: Maggie Ryder, Andy Qunta, Keith Reid, Christopher Thompson, John Farnham
(Sweden Music AB, Sonet Music AB, Polygram Music Publishing AB)

3. Forecast "Stormy Weather"
Text: Peter Gustavsson, Music: Niclas Andersson

4. Annika Hultman "Black Velvet"
Text & Music: David Tyson, Christopher Ward (EMI Songs Scandinavia AB)

5. Glamour Boys "Into Someting Good"
Text & Music: Per Lidén, Urban Olsson

6. Tina Siel "Det er ikke det du si'r"
Text: Anne Linnet, Music: Jan Juul Gläsel

7. Tension "Let Me Out"
Text & Music: Tension

8. Peter Kisch "When A Man Loves A Woman"
Text & Music: Calvin Lewis, Andrew James Wright  (Warner Chappell Music Scandinavia AB)

9. Cia Lindberg "Like The Way I Do"
Text & Music: Melissa Etheridge (Sweden Music AB)

10. No Buts "Dancing To The Rythm
Text: No Buts, Music: Krister Karlsson

11. Erica Alexandersson "Once In My Life"
Text & Music: Håkan Johansson

12. Mystery "Swinging Man"
Text: Roger Lindroth, Music: Mystery

13. Lili & Susie "Evelyn" Text: Oson/Bard
Music: Lili & Susie (Cloudberry Songs)

14. Lili & Susie, Tommy Nilsson, Dr Alban, Mark Sorrone "Purple Rain"
Text & Music: Prince (Warner Chappell Music Scandinavia AB)

The Stamp Artists
15. Lena Ph "006"
Text & Music: Lena Philipsson (CMM AB)

16. Jerry Williams "It Started With A Love Affair"
Norell/Oson Bard (Cloudberry Songs)

The solo artists are accompanied by: Tommy Lydell - bandleader & keyboards, Hans Gardemar - keyboards, Göran Elmquist - guitar & choir; Thomas Varàdi - bass & choir, Bengan Andersson - drums & choir.

Background
The Rock-SM was held for the first time eight years ago. At that time, Europe won. Since then, they have sold more than 12 million records, done several world tours and been number one on the charts in 25 countries. The man behind Rock-SM at that time was Thomas Erdtman, who later became Europe's manager. Thomas also held this year's competition, where Posten was the sole sponsor. New for this year was that the competition was divided into two classes: one for solo artists and one for groups. The competition was open to all artists/groups active in Sweden who do not have a record or management contract and it really showed how many talented young musicians there are around the country today. Pop and rock engage young people today more than anything else. The music movement in Sweden is actually bigger than ice hockey and football today. Together!

95% of all young people are interested in music, 70% have music as their main interest, 72% go to concerts regularly

Why Posten?
Posten is a young people's company. Many jobs within Posten are suitable for young people. Being the sole sponsor of Rock-SM was an effort to make young people aware of what Posten has to offer, both the services provided and the jobs available within Posten. Posten is a very personnel-intensive company. Around 8,000 new people are recruited every year. Against this background, young people are naturally a very important target group.

Why Rock-SM?
It's about talking to young people in a young person's way and nothing engages young people as much as music. It's about trying unconventional ways and Rock-SM reached a very important target group: people aged 16-26. Director General Ulf Dahlsten: "Rock-SM was the perfect channel to spread information to young people about Posten's services and different professions. Through our involvement in Rock-SM, we have succeeded in getting young people to perceive Posten as a forward-looking company that takes young people seriously and that speaks their language".

The Campaign
Ahead of the 1991 Rock-SM, a call was made. Rock-SM postcards were sent out to all the country's young people, who were encouraged to participate in the competition and buy a Demo-Kit at the nearest post office. At the same time, a huge marketing campaign was carried out. Posters and information were sent out to schools, studio associations, music stores, record stores and other meeting places for music enthusiasts. Advertising in various newspapers and commercials on TV3 and MTV were running during November 1990. The magazine "Hjälp Fram Vår Nästa Världsartist!" was sent directly to the homes of postal staff. It contained information about the entire Rock-SM event, and the staff were encouraged to help make the Rock-SM a success. Which they did. Posters and signs were put up at the Post Office and Demo-Kits were sold in large quantities.

The Entries
The call for entries for the Rock-SM ran until 1 December 1990. The results were fantastic. 4200(!) cassettes and competition entries were received, equally from solo artists and bands. And the quality of the entries was consistently good. It was not easy to select those who would go on to the semi-finals.

The Tour
The Rock-SM consisted of 14 semi-finals, two semi-finals and a final. During the tour, the Post Office set up an information centre at each venue. The information centre housed the postal ambassadors, young postal employees from the competition regions who had been appointed to represent and be responsible for the Post Office's hosting. They did a fantastic job. Among other things, they sold lots of T-shirts and caps and handed out pre-stamped postcards. The postcards became very popular with the audience, who took the opportunity to send greetings from the competition. The ambassadors also provided information about what it is like to work at Posten and talked about the Youth Card, which is only sold through Posten.

Totalshow
The partial competitions and semi-finals were held as disco nights, where the competition itself was inserted in the middle of the program. Not many people sat still when Sweden's largest mobile disco, Starlight Disco, started. The disco was set up at each location and gave a real show in sound and light. The Rock-SM jury consisted of both "professionals" and "amateurs". The judge was Thomas Erdtman. The presenter for the competition was entertainer Peter Wahlbeck, known from TV's "Listan", among others. The competition ended with an acclaimed show by Lili & Susie.

The Final
The grand final was broadcast live on TV2 from Solnahallen in Stockholm. It was a huge show in front of a large, happy and expectant audience. The twelve competitors, six soloists and six groups, who had advanced took their places on stage. Lili & Susie, Dr. Alban, Tommy Nilsson, Erika and Go For It were responsible for the final night's closing show. The host of the evening was Peter Wahlbeck, flanked by the Cosmopol duo Jan Trolin and Ellinor Persson. All postal ambassadors, thank you for their fine efforts during the competitions, were invited to the final evening from around the country, which was much appreciated. The winner in the soloist class was Cia Lindberg, 24 years old, a beautiful singing girl from Uppsala. The winners in the group class, Solid Blue, consisting of Hasse Fröberg, Sören Cederberg, Rickard Zander, Janne Olander and Palle Isaksson, also came from Uppsala.

What did the audience think?
Jonas Fredriksson and Jennie Elwer, Ljungby: "I really hope there will be a Rock-SM next year so we can go again"

Kjell Sjöberg, Uppsala: "The whole thing is very professionally organized and when such a big company like Posten is behind the project, it feels stable and good"

Sofia Enell, Gränna: "I have been to three semi-finals and think this is a really great event"

Therese Sjöqvist and Alexandra Johansson, Uppsala: "We came here for the final, so many friends talked about Rock-SM so we wanted to see for ourselves what it was like and we are pleasantly surprised"

Ulrika Nyström, Waxholm: "When you think about how well Europe has done since they won Rock-SM, it is extra fun to see the new artists because they have a chance to become something"

Rock-SM in the media
A total of 572 articles were written about Rock-SM in the Swedish press. A total of 35,552 column centimeters were used. 22 features were broadcast on radio and TV about Rock-SM. The final, broadcast live on TV2, was repeated on Easter Eve. Much was written about Posten as a sponsor of the competition.

Prizes
The first prize winners in both classes each received a recording and release of an LP. Second prizes were a home studio consisting of an eight-channel tape recorder with an accompanying mixing desk. The third prize winners were awarded a cassette mixer.

Posten's Youth Initiative
Thanks to everyone's commitment, Rock-SM was a huge success. Young people have opened their eyes to Posten in a completely new way. But Rock-SM is not a one-off event. The management has decided that Posten will have a youth strategy and continue to invest in young people. Posten will continue this autumn. On October 5th, pop and rock stamp naut will be released, featuring Lena Philipsson, Jerry Williams (a taste of these artists can be enjoyed at the end of the cassette) and Roxette. It will be a day dedicated to music. A specially recorded music cassette with the three artists will be available for sale. And much more! It is with these kinds of initiatives that Posten will continue to reach out to Sweden's young people in the future and make them discover all the advantages of Posten.

Info (from Wikipedia)
At the end of 1989, Thomas Erdtman, together with his partners Benny Hedlund and C-G Langenskiöld, announced plans for a new nationwide talent show. It was tentatively to be called Rock-SM and, just like in 1982 when Erdtman was last involved, the final was to be decided on St. Lucia's Eve 1990 and preferably broadcast on TV. Nothing came of the initial plans. Instead, plans for a new Rock-SM 1991 were presented in July 1990. Erdtman had been given the Swedish Post Office as the main sponsor and in mid-October approximately 1.5 million letters were sent out to all "Sweden's young people between the ages of 15 and 26" inviting them to the show. A "Demo-Kit" containing an application form and a cassette with recorded instructions was available for purchase for 25:- at the country's post office. The deadline for entries was December 1. New for this edition was that solo artists were now also welcome to participate, but the prize was the same as in 1982, to record an LP. A total of 4,000 entries were received, and from these, 56 groups and 56 solo artists were to be selected, but in the end, 64 groups and 57 solo artists were selected. Lili & Susie were featured as headliners throughout the tour, which also boasted "the largest mobile disco in the Nordic region.

The preliminary rounds were 14 in number: 18/1 Eskilstuna, 19/1 Nyköping, 25/1 Gothenburg, 26/1 Skövde, 1/2 Gävle, 2/2 Stockholm, 8/2 Karlskoga, 9/2 Malung, 15/2 Kristianstad, 16/2 Nässjö, 22/2 Östersund, 23/2 Lycksele, 1/3 Ljungby and 2/3 in Lund. From these, the following bands and solo artists advanced to the semi-finals:

Semifinal in Linköping 15/3 – Bands: Acacia, Brilliant Mistakes, Fourecast, JOJ, Masquerade, No Buts and Tension. Solo artists: Anna Käll, Annika Hultman, Edyta Skwarzynska, Frida Möller, Peter Kisch and Susanne Davidsson.

Semifinal in  Hudiksvall 15/3 – Band: Ant Mansson, Captain Heart, Dog House, Eldsjäl, Glamour Boys, Mystery and Solid Blue. Solo artists: Angelice Seipel, Christine Lindberg, Cia Lindberg, Johan Boding, Jonas Nyman, Karoline Johansson and Tina Siel Hansen.

Hosts
Peter Wahlbeck
Ellinor Persson
Jan Trolin

Head Judge
Thomas Erdtman

Rock-SM Backing Band
Conny Blom - Guitar
Göran Elmqvist - Guitar
Thomas Varadi - Bass
Bengan Andersson - Drums
André Ferrari - Percussion
Tommy Lydell - Keyboards
Hans "Den Misserable" Gardemar - Keyboards
Michael Stenberg - Backing Vocals
Karina Larsson - Backing Vocals
Malin Bäckströn - Backing Vocals

Editorial Staff
Janne Nilsson
Tomas Erdtman
Peter "P J" Jägerhult
Göran Winberg
Bosse Westlund