Wilde World: Tommy Körberg

Kim Wilde’s first records were written and produced by her father and brother, Marty and Ricky. The three of them have had a great influence on the music world, as this regular series ‘Wilde World’ shows.

Swedish singer, actor and musician Tommy Körberg is one of the very few artists to have covered a song by Marty Wilde in two languages: Swedish and English. Moreover, he is one of many big names to have released a Marty Wilde song, because Körberg is one of the best known singers of Sweden. In 1969 and 1988 he represented his country during the Eurovision Song Contest. English-speaking audiences know him best for his role as Anatoly in the musical ‘Chess’. He played the role on the 1984 recording and in the 1986 West End musical. Körberg continued his working relationship with the male half of Abba for the musical ‘Kristina från Duvemåla’ and as a singer in the Benny Anderssons Orkester.

His (Swedish) version of Marty Wilde’s ‘Jezamine’ was released in 1968 on his debut album ‘Nature boy’. The album featured other cover versions, such as ‘Nights in white satin’ (Moody Blues) and ‘Twentyfour hours from Tulsa’ (Gene Pitney). ‘Jezamine’ was also released as a single, but we don’t know if the single was successful in Sweden.

Listen to the Swedish version here and hear the English version below.

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