V.A. The Girls Want The Boys! - Sweden's Beat Girls 1966-1970

The Ace catalogue has traditionally focused on American music. But our compilers have never shied from venturing worldwide in their quest for good sounds, as evident from our popular collections spotlighting the female vocalists of 1960s Japan, France and Italy (not forgetting the UK). Now it’s the turn of Sweden.

Our smörgåsbord of Swedish she-pop opens with early solo sides by the lead singers of the nation’s greatest pop music export, Abba: Agnetha Fältskog with ‘Ge Dej Till Tåls’ (a highlight of her second album) and Anni-Frid Lyngstad with ‘Så Synd Du Måste Gå’ (a song popularised by Françoise Hardy as ‘Comment Te Dire Adieu’).

Other featured well-known names include national treasure Lill-Babs with her cover of Dusty Springfield’s ‘Little By Little’ and chart star Mona Wessman with a version of ‘Music To Watch Girls By’.

But it wasn’t all cover versions in mid-60s Sweden. Dig, for example, Eleanor Bodel’s title track, ‘Don’t’ by cult favourite Doris (who also appears as lead vocalist of the group Plums), au pair duo Bella & Me’s groovy ‘Help Me Break This Habit’ and Britt Bergström’s Ivy League-penned ‘You Really Have Started Something’.

Cherry-picked tracks by the Plommons and cover stars MAK Les Soeurs illustrate the country also produced its fair share of all-girl groups.