On November 6, “Ska nya röster sjunga” will be released, featuring some of Sweden’s biggest artists paying tribute to Mikael Wiehe with their own interpretations of his songs. Tomas Ledin, Thåström, Lars Winnerbäck, Lisa Ekdahl and Thomas Stenström are among those taking part.
Ledin sings “Kärleken vet” from the 2003 album “Kärlek och politik”.
“It’s a translation of an original by John Lennon, ‘Grow Old with Me’,” Ledin explains.
Mikael Wiehe announced last year that he had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's.
Cornelis
The arrangement is reminiscent of “Den flygande holländaren”, the 1988 tribute to Cornelis Vreeswijk, which brought artists together. It introduced the singer to a new, younger audience.
“Mikael’s songs are alive and well. I just think it’s very nice that we, some of our contemporaries, are celebrating and highlighting his songs in this way,” Ledin says.
They have known each other since 1971. Mikael Wiehe was a leading figure in the 1970s prog movement, while Tomas Ledin worked with Abba, the movement’s great object of hatred. But although they came from different camps in the deeply polarized Swedish music scene of the time, they found common ground and joined forces to organize the much-talked-about fundraising gala for the South African liberation movement ANC in Gothenburg in 1985.
They also took the initiative for the “Artists Against Nazis” gala in 2001 and appeared in the same season of TV4’s “Så mycket bättre” in 2011. They have stayed in touch over the years.
“We share the same views on many social issues and I would say we are both humanists. We have a good connection, and Mikael has a great interest in music.”
Friends Mikael Wiehe and Tomas Ledin have arranged several fundraising galas, here for "Artists against Nazis" in Stockholm in 2001.
The song choice is secret
Last year, Mikael Wiehe announced that he had Alzheimer’s. Ledin has been in touch with him since then.
“I called him when he announced it. I also met him just beforehand, actually. I was in Malmö at the time for a concert, so he came by.”
What do you think about what he has suffered from?
“It is of course very sad in every way. At the same time, it’s life. I have friends who have suffered from similar things, and I have friends who have died of cancer. It’s that time in life when things can happen,” says Ledin, 74.
Tomas Ledin says he has not told Wiehe which song he has chosen to interpret.
“I don’t want to do that. I thought it had to be a surprise. I thought the album had to come out first,” he says, laughing.
What do you think?