Svante Elfgren dies – was backing band for The Beatles

Svante Elfgren, bassist in the pop band The Shanes, is dead, reports Norrländska Socialdemokraten.

Elfgren was born in Lainio in 1945 and co-founded The Shanes in 1963. Over the next five years, the Kiruna band had several hits, including "Let me show you who I am" and "Chris-Craft no 9". In the summer of 1964, the group was the support act for The Beatles at a concert at Hovet in Stockholm.

In 1968, Elfgren left The Shanes – whose original lineup dissolved the following year. The group would make a comeback and participated in the Melodifestivalen in 1982 and 1992, without Elfgren.

Elfgren was 79 years old. He was the last surviving original member of The Shanes, writes NSD.