Herreys
Herreys, or Herrey’s, was a Swedish pop group comprised of three Swedish-born and Los Angeles-raised brothers who are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The oldest brother, Per, was born on 9 August 1958. He was followed by Richard, born 19 August 1964, and Louis, born 3 November 1966.
Signing with the local Mariann label, Herreys scored their first Swedish hit early in 1984, when “Kall Som Is” climbed to number 18. They won the Eurovision Song Contest 1984 with the song “Diggi-Loo Diggi-Ley.” In the Swedish lyrics of the song, written by Britt Lindeborg, a man relates the story of how he finds a pair of golden shoes that will make him surpass any obstacle.
At the time that the brothers won Eurovision, they were living and working as singers in the United States. Thus, all three are able to speak both Swedish and English fluently. Success at Eurovision saw their winning entry, “Diggi-Loo Diggi-Ley,” climb to number two, and an album of the same name topped the Swedish chart that summer. The large teenybopper following that they were able to amass made them as popular as the Norwegian pop sensations a-ha, and the group’s third single, “Varje Liten Droppe Regn,” reached number 11 at the end of the year. With such glowing success, they were widely predicted to be on the music scene for some time to come.
In 1985, they won the Sopot International Song Festival with the song “Sommarparty“. They continued to record music and tour for a few years, but they never had any hits equal to the Eurovision winner. “Sommarparty” reached the Top 20 in May 1985, but their second album, Crazy People, barely made the Top 10, and Not Funny which was released the following year, struggled to reach the top 30.
The Herreys were the first European boyband preceding the international boom a few years later, and they were the first western band to be invited to tour behind the iron curtain in the Soviet Union. In the Soviet Union, they shared the stage and performed with Russian star, Alla Pugacheva. They were the best-selling pop group in Sweden in the 80’s decade, enjoying immense success touring and performing in more than 300 live shows.
In 1987, Louis decided that he needed to serve a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. With his brothers’ permission, he left for two years, leading to the breakup of the group.
The brothers reunited in 2002 to perform “Diggi-Loo Diggi-Ley” during the intermission of one of the Swedish Melodifestivalen semifinals. Richard made an appearance at Congratulations, a 50th-anniversary concert, held in Copenhagen, Denmark in October 2005. In February 2006, he released his first solo album called “Jag e Kung.” The brothers reunited once again in 2015 and performed at Eurovision Song Contest’s Greatest Hits, the 30th-anniversary show.
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