The following year, they play about
70 gigs, including the classic Danish Roskilde festival and tours all over Sweden,
Denmark, Norway, Germany, Austria and Holland.
There are plenty of amusing anecdotes
from this period, such as "The story "Of The WheelFfalling Off The Bus On
The Way To The Hultsfred-festival" and "The Story Of The Band Arriving Two
Days Early For That Festival In Austria". The episodes of "Free Booze in
Freiburg" and "Meeting M-Rock Of The Stonefunkers Aboard the German Ferry,
Whereupon Much Frolic Takes Place" are also fairly entertaining. Oh well.
However,
Radium Records proves to be deep in financial shit, despite having succesful bands
like Sator, The Stonefunkers, Union Carbide Productions and Blue For Two on their
hands; thus, the release of the intended summer single "It Won't Be Long Before
We See The Sun Shine" is postponed to February, 1991. At least there's a sunny
video, made by Henrik Schyffert, shown infrequently on Swedish television. Oh well.
In
the spring of 1991, the Psychotic Youth starts working on their fourth album, BEáINáTHEáSUN.
Produced by Per
Edwardsson, who functioned
as an engineer and general cheer-up-guy during the making of SOMEáFUN, this record
is somewhat more relaxed than its precursors, what with everybody being older, more
mature, more successful and everything. Perfectionist Edwardsson polishes the Beatle-ish
harmony arrangements to an almost absurd perfection. The single "Nice Girls"
is a modest radio hit, and BEáINáTHEáSUN, released in February, 1992, sells pretty
well. The Psychotic Youth Tour Machine rolls on; however, by autumn its gears are
beginning to show signs of wear. Guitarist Magnus starts the hardcore band Mary Beats
Jane; Gunnar gets a gig playing theatre music for a stage play; Kent's building trucks;
Jörgen locks himself into an old sailmaker's factory out by the sea trying to straighten
out his private life. The bathing bays are freezing, the conservatives rule sweden
and the never ending summer seems to be over. But...
In February 1993, after
half a year in semi-retirement, the band gathers itself together to make a new record.
Magnus resigns after five years' loyal duty, and in his place guitar player Ulf Abrahamsson,
from the band Aspirin for breakfast, is brought in. Chips Kiesbye is asked to resume
the collaboration and happily accepts to produce the record. However, Radium Records,
now bought by semi-independent biggie MNW at this point, turns out to be thoroughly
uninterested in the band's plans; the Psychotic Youth ask to have their record contract
annulated, which is readily arranged.
The Psychotic Youth CDáJUICE! takes
form in the Music-A-Matic studio in the summer of 1993.
Jörgen Westman has spent
a good deal of the last year in used record stores rummaging through the nickel-and-dime
bins, searching for obscure new wave from 1979-80; findings such as the Plimsouls,
Paul Collins Beat and the Knack cut-outs will leave a distinctive mark on his new
songs. The first single, "Elevator Girl", gets its fair share of airplay
on Swedish radio and is tried out for the national listeners' poll (alas, it's disqualified
when Gunnar calls in to vote for himself, is put on the air and happily introduces
himself with his name...); the band appears on a pre-teen pop music TVáshow, demonstrating
their "beautiful" show dance routine. A second single, "MTV",
is subsequently released, complete with grooovy video clip.
After touring Scandinavia
in the autumn and winter of 1993, the band, deciding that they'd better make hay while
the sun shines, go to work on what turns out to be an eight-song "medium play"
CD called POP. Nille Perned, engineer during the JUICE! sessions and a good friend
of the band, having worked as the Psychotic Youth's live sound engineer for several
years, is called in to produce. POP is recorded in about a week under jovial circumstances
in the Swedish National Radio studio in Gothenburg, with successful results. Ulf has
grown into the band naturally, and the whole record is more or less recorded live,
giving it an extra amount of energy and presence. POP is released in May 1994, to
good reviews. The German disco band Aneka's 1981 hit"Japanese Boy" is, in
the Psychotic Youth power pop version, a radio hit once more.
With
POP under its collective belt, the band again feels ready to reach outside the Swedish
borders, but Nonstop Records is lacking international distribution and connections.
The band promptly decides to buy out the master tapes of JUICE! and POP, themselves
releasing a wholly new record with the best songs of the previous two CD:s for distribution
outside Sweden. This record, called BAMBOOZLE, is released in the summer of 1994 by
Jörgen Westman's newly founded label Blast Records.
After their "1994 Summer
Festivals-Swimming In Every Lake In Sweden-Tour", along with a couple of visits
to Denmark and Norway, the band once again seems to fall to pieces. Jörgen joins the
"girl" band Incka &áWilliam , the other band members start to engage
in other projects ; Gunnar is playing pedak-steel with honky tonk heroes Gillis Jordan
& The Bad Lovers, along his work as a theater musician; Ulf is recording a CD
along with the band Wish and Kent has gotten a big shot jobb at the carfactory. At
this point, (December 1994) the band decides to close the curtain.
A week later
they appear on a National TV show with two songs of the POP CD, along with their annocement
that from now on the Psychotic Youth is only considered a hobby project for the band
members. But no peace for the wicked...
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