BBC HomeExplore the BBC
Just to let you know, we're no longer updating this site. More information here

17 July 2009
Accessibility help
Text only
     
     
Watch Show Clips
Watch full videos
 
Top Of The TM
Pops

BBC Homepage
Entertainment


Contact Us

Like this page?
Send it to a friend!

 


We spoke to top songwriter and producer Tomas Ahlund who's worked with a whole myriad of top pop talent including Boy*d Upp and Jamie Kane.

TOTP: When you started out as a songwriter, what would you say your biggest influence was?
Thomas: My desire to get out of Pajala. It was very cold and very, very empty. Fear of frostbite made me practice very hard at the piano. I even made the ballads high tempo simply to keep my fingers moving.

TOTP: Sweden has produced a wealth of pop writers and performers, beginning with Abba and continuing today with the Soundtrack of Our Lives, the Wannadies and the Hives, and Max Martin who's worked with Britney and The Backstreet Boys among others. Why is it such a musically rich place?
Thomas: Funny, but I don't think of myself as Swedish. I'm from Pajala, which is almost Finland; right up in the north, where Father Christmas lives - or where he would live if he existed and was also dumb-ass enough to choose to live somewhere so cold and sparsely populated. The others you mentioned are all proper Swedes. Except for the Wannadies. They're from Skelleftea, which is depressingly like Pajala.

Interview picture
TOTP: Your songs have had enormous chart success with a wide variety of artists. Is it a wrench handing over your babies for others to perform?
Thomas: Only until the royalty cheque comes. That soothes the pain. The truth is that if I sang as beautifully as George Michael and looked as gorgeous as Jamie Kane, I wouldn't hand my songs over; I'd sing them myself.

TOTP: You mention Jamie Kane. He's the man you've enjoyed the most success with. That partnership has ended now. Was that a mutual decision?
Thomas: It depends who's asking the question. To the wider world I say the relationship had run its course and we parted on the best of terms. To my intimate circle I say something else.

TOTP: And what's that?
Thomas: No disrespect to them, but I have no desire to include all the visitors to your website in my intimate circle so let's just say he made a promise over a business deal then let me down.

TOTP: Finally, if you hadn't been musically gifted, what do you think you'd be doing now?
Thomas: Probably a five-to-ten stretch in Junosuando Prison. There isn't too much to do in Pajala apart from chop down trees and ice-fish. As a kid you look for other diversions and I'd have probably ended up like my brothers. They got involved with biker gangs and they're both in jail now.

Interview picture
TOTP: Would it be impolite to ask why?
Thomas: They're bikers for God's sake; they're not doing time for helping old ladies cross the street.

TOTP: We're sorry to hear that.
Thomas: It's not all bad. It gives me plenty of dark material to inspire my music. And to tell my therapist.

TOTP: Thank you, Thomas Ahlund.
Thomas: Thank you.


Interview by: Edward R
19/05/2003

 
The Complete List
  365  Go!  
  Brad: "Well, we've just got up so most of us are in our boxers."  
  Lucie Silvas  Go!  
  "If I flap my arms hard enough, I can get some inches, and actually go up in the air."  
  Akon  Go!  
  "Ah...a lot of times, it's most likely... the ass."  
  Alesha  Go!  
  "Think of the amount of clothes you could get in Top Shop for 2,000 pounds!"  
  Tom McFly  Go!  
  "I hope you know the Uranus line took years of planning."  
  McFly's Hair Drama  Go!  
  Tom: "Straightening his hair for all those years has actually made his hair fall out. And as a result, he now has curly pube hair."  
  Girls Aloud  Go!  
  Nicola: "We've got a good facial thing that we do, but we're not gonna tell you what it is, just in case..."  
  Nylon  Go!  
  Camilla: "Maybe one day I'll draw some stockings on me. In gravy."  
  Karen Louise  Go!  
  "I once tried headbanging to a Nickelback track and put my neck out, so I try to avoid that one."  
  Oskar  Go!  
  Ignorance is still bliss when it comes to music. Ever tried un-learning something?  
  Upper Street  Go!  
  Bradley: "Stevie's voice,... Rick James's haircut. R Kelly's...what? R Kelly's bottom half."  
  Misha Williams  Go!  
  "I think the more important question is, why does Donald Duck wear a tunic? He's a duck!"  
  US5  Go!  
  Richie: "I'd prepare my bits... Just make sure everything was in place, looking right..."  
  Mike Rosenberg Band  Go!  
  Mike: "My family wouldn't be surprised to hear me er, drop a few."  
  Chris Lake  Go!  
  "It was all about the singles really. I would buy any old crap."  
  Lil' Chris  Go!  
  "I was going to say 'Throw the puppy out of the window', but I think that's a bit mean!"  
  The Young Knives  Go!  
  Oli: "I'd make a story up - It was an accident and he'd got rear-ended."  
  Gym Class Heroes  Go!  
  Travis: "He's a friend of mine, but he's definitely not the kid you wanna dissect a pig with."  
  Jet  Go!  
  Cam: "Through no fault of your own, you end up having to turn your pants inside out sometimes to wear them again."  
  The Fratellis  Go!  
  Jon: "Bill Oddie is sleeping in a caravan next to a cliff, and somebody pushes the caravan off the cliff."  
  Stacie Orrico  Go!  
  "I don't miss the whole bussing thing. You've got people's half-eaten food all over your hands."  
  Duncan James  Go!  
  "If it's a question of spending thousands on vapour or sending a text message for 10p, I'd go with the text message."  
  Betty Curse  Go!  
  "Well you know, Death's going to need someone who doesn't take themselves too seriously... he needs a bit of relief."  
  Matt Willis  Go!  
  "I was like, 'What? I'm from Kingston! I'm just common, I'm not cockney.'"  
  Alesha  Go!  
  "I still refer to everything as 'we'. It's really strange but I think that will change over time."  
  Orson  Go!  
  Johnny: "So it seemed like I was always the one who got in with the kids who lit things on fire, or threw lizards at girls."  
  Ronan Keating  Go!  
  "I don't think I stole anything from anybody, it's a very bizarre award."  
  Maria Lawson  Go!  
  "Occasionally, I'll wake up in the morning and I'll see a sandwich or something, and I'm like, 'God, how did that get there?'"  
  James Morrison  Go!  
  "It would be OK if you knew what was in the bush of doom, y'know? If it was a lady pirate, you might whack it in there."  
  McFly  Go!  
  Danny: "That's my way of arguing, a quick dead arm."  
  Frank  Go!  
  Bryony: "I always have to try and gross my boyfriend out by trumpeting really loudly."  
  James Morrison  Go!  
  "You know, water's cool, but milk - you've always got to check that."  
  Lemar  Go!  
  "Obviously there's a bit of romance there because she likes me and I'm this super...great guy."  
  Rogue Traders (Part 2)  Go!  
  James: "I think that's the quote of the day! 'We'll have to make sure we're not pokeable'."  
  Belle  Go!  
  "That's a brilliant question! I'd have to steal it, I'd have to fight off her mum and deal with it."  
  Rogue Traders (Part 1)  Go!  
  Natalie: "I've got denty boobs! It's actually all of my lucky charms in my bra!"  
  Wolfmother  Go!  
  Andrew: "They look like roadkill. Any form of dead animal. Any animal. But dead."  
  Paolo Nutini  Go!  
  "I had the pop socks, skirt, school uniform... my legs are a bit hairy, mind."  
  Get Cape Wear Cape Fly  Go!  
  Sam: "I don't really know what real skills you need to be a spy, but typing 40 words a minute is a good start."  
  Rooster  Go!  
  Luke: "I'm worried about my tackle, yeah. Imagine getting it bashed on the hurdle."  
  Wolfmother  Go!  
  Chris:"We'd miss the ability to pee freely and clean each other at will..."  
  Shayne Ward  Go!  
  "I think it was a sailor's outfit...and a blue wig. It just wasn't a good look."  
  Razorlight  Go!  
  Carl: "I was going to puke but I was too stupid to move, so I just stayed 'til I puked and then I moved."  
  The Fratellis  Go!  
  Barry: "We've got a song called 'Chelsea Daggers' so they throw wee daggers at us. It's quite nice."  
  Webb Sisters  Go!  
  Hattie: "You know when you have a girly night and you whip out a book and read about Roger and his pulsating thigh?"  
  Pussycat Dolls  Go!  
  Kimberly: "They could bounce off, unless I changed the, what do you call it, ions or whatever."  
  Rooster  Go!  
  Dave: "When it's hot it gets rather sweaty down there, he's just thinking of his personal hygiene."  
  Plan B  Go!  
  "I didn't feel comfortable being that sweet boy Justin Timberlake..."  
  Ne-Yo  Go!  
  "I have an open policy on underpants generally. It depends on the day."  
  Guillemots  Go!  
  Fyfe: "We're going to start getting naked onstage fairly soon, but with protection."  
The Complete List


About the BBC | Help | Terms of Use | Privacy & Cookies Policy