Watermelon Men: Past, Present And Future 1985 + Wildflowers 1987

 

The Watermelon Men were a Swedish five piece band that were around from the mid Eighties up

till 1994. They had quite a following in Sweden, Germany, England, among other places. The Watermelon Men might be one of the most important guitar pop bands to ever come from Sweden. They were around the late 80s and released a bunch of singles and 3 albums. They toured many countries in Europe and even graced the cover of Sounds magazine in the UK.
                                 

Watermelon Men came to be counted among the wave of Swedish pop and rock bands in the 1980s that was introduced under the name garage rock. That wave was documented on the compilation album "A

Real Cool Time - Distorted Sounds From The North" and of course Watermelon Men is included. During the period between ABBA and Roxette, these groups still gained some attention outside the country's borders. Watermelon But they were among the more successful bands in the wave and they achieved great success in Germany and in England, among other places, they ended up on the cover of the then important music magazine Sounds.
                       

The band is still popular over ten years after they ceased. They are praised in power pop circles in Europe. They were mostly known for garage rock and brought good melodies with jangly guitars in a lot of their music.
                              

When they were together they released three albums, an Ep, and three singles. One album remains

unreleased…it’s up in the air on if it will come out. Sadly Imre von Polgar, one of two great guitarplayers in the band died in the tsunami-disaster at Khao Lak. The group that split in 1994 reunited last year for one last performance in memory of Imre.

MEMBERS

Erik Illes (vocals, guitar)
Johan Lundberg (Guitar)
Imre von Polgár (Guitar)
Hans Sacklen (Bass)
Erik Westin (Drums)
Magnus Agren (Keyboards)
Jonas Rehn (Keyboards)
Ola Jameson (Drums)

WATERMELON MEN - PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE 1985

 
                             

Watermelon Men – Past, Present And Future
Label: MNW – MNWP 145, Tracks On Wax – MNW P 145
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album, Stereo
Country: Sweden
Released: 1985
Genre: Rock
Style: Garage, Folk Rock

TRACKS

             

SIDE A.

                                         

A1. Seven Years
Written-By – Illes
A2. Pretty Days In The Summertime
Written-By – Illes
A3. Tell That Girl
Written-By – Illes, v. Polgár
A4. Hungarian Heart
Cello – Magnus Sundkvist
Violin, Acoustic Guitar, Arranged By – Aram Afsahi
Violin, Mandolin, Arranged By – Leif Lund
Written-By – Illes, v. Polgár
A5. New Hope For The Lonely
Written-By – Westin
A6. You Should Be Mine
Written-By – Westin

SIDE B.

                            

B1. Lonesome Town
Written-By – Illes
B2. Autumn Girl
Written-By – Lundberg
B3. Back In My Dreams (Undistorted Version)
Written-By – Illes
B4. There She Goes
Written-By – Reed
B5. Nowhere Train
Written-By – v. Polgár
B6. Still I'm Dressed In Blue
Written-By – Illes

Acoustic Guitar – Erik Illes (tracks: A4, B6)
Bass – Hans Sacklén
Drums – Erik Westin
Engineer – Tomas Eriksson
Guitar – Imre von Polgár
Guitar, Harmonica – Johan Lundberg
Vocals, Organ – Erik Illes
Producer – Tomas Eriksson, Watermelon Men

MP3  Take It Here
Flac   Take It Here

WATERMELON MEN - WILDFLOWERS 1987

                        

Wildflowers, it is undeniable, has almost nothing in common with the Garage influences of "Past, Present And Future", apart from the always splendid voice of Erik Illes. The songs, almost all written by the singer, show a notable inclination towards soft and enveloping patterns, but also - unfortunately - dull in their overabundance of violins and in their soft textures.

Watermelon Men – Wildflowers
Label: Yellow Ltd. – EFA CD 02211-26, Yellow Ltd. – YELLOW 11
Format: CD, Album
Country: Germany
Released: 1987
Genre: Rock
Style: Folk Rock, Indie Rock

TRACKS

                                

01. Empty Smile   4:20
Written-By – Illes
02. Heading For The Woods   4:06
Written-By – Illes
03. Pouring Rain   3:22
Written-By – Illes, Westin
04. I Know The Sun Won't Shine   5:04
Written-By – v. Polgar
05. Pictures Of Goodtimes   3:20
Written-By – Illes
06. True Confessions Of Love   3:17
Written-By – Illes
07. That's Why I Walk These Streets Alone   4:02
Written-By – v. Polgar
08. Postcard View   2:58
Written-By – Westin
09. InAnother World   3:30
Written-By – Illes
10. Small Town Revolution   4:34
Written-By – Westin
11. Days Of Confusion   4:14
Written-By – Illes
                                  

Acoustic Guitar – Erik Illes
Backing Vocals – Clive Gregson
Bass – Hans Sacklen
Cello – Borit Afsahi
Drums – Erik Westin
Guitar – Imre von Polgar, Johan Lundberg
Harmonica – Per Westin
Organ – Clive Gregson
Pedal Steel Guitar – Stefan Orsberg
Piano – Clive Gregson
Producer – Clive Gregson
Saxophone – Olof Ashlund
Trumpet – Björn Jansson
Vibraphone – Per Westin
Violin – Aram Afsahi, Leif Lund
Vocals – Erik Illes

MP3  Take It Here
Flac   Take It Here