Eddie Meduza

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Eddie Meduza
Birth nameErrol Leonard Norstedt
Also known asEddie Meduza
Born(1948-06-17)17 June 1948
Örgryte, Göteborg, Sweden
Died17 January 2002(2002-01-17) (aged 53)
Nöbbele, Sweden
Genres Rockabilly, punk,
Occupation(s)Singer, guitarist
Years active1973–2001
Websiteeddiemeduza.se

Errol Leonard Norstedt (17 June 1948 – 17 January 2002), better known by the stage name Eddie Meduza, was a Swedish composer and musician working mainly in the rockabilly genre.

Music career[]

Themes and behaviour[]

Many of his songs were about alcohol, women, and cars, often with obscene lyrics. Sometimes they were also politically oriented, many aimed against the Swedish Government in power at the time Moderaterna-Centerpartiet-Folkpartiet and Swedish Social Democrats (Conservative respectively Labour-parties).

He was also a popular performer of so called Raggarmusic. Norstedt's other persona was the far more vulgar E. Hitler.[1] In this guise he generally recorded more offbeat or even puerile recordings like "E.Hitler skiter" (a recording of his own bowel movements) to sexually explicit material. The E. Hitler recordings were only available on tape, that customers would order by mail directly from Norstedt. He did, however, have a certain deeper humorous line as well. On tour (as Eddie Meduza) he urged his audience to drink vodka, and become just as drunk as he usually was himself during his performances, to the tunes of his "Mera brännvin" ("More booze!").[2]

Norstedt also recorded serious rockabilly songs with a distinct 1950s flavour in his own studio, called Studio Ronka[1] (ronka or runka is Swedish slang for masturbation, similar to wanking in English). He played most of the instruments himself. He often got bad reviews from the press, notably Expressen journalist , to which Norstedt replied by writing even more offensive songs, such as "Kuken står på Mats Olsson" (Mats Olsson has a hard-on), "Mats Olsson är en jävla bög" (Mats Olsson is a damn fag) and "Mats Olsson runkar kuken" (Mats Olsson is wanking his cock). He reportedly said that no matter what he did it was never good enough for the critics.[3]

Meduza is also remembered for the first recorded appearance of future hair metal guitar hero John Norum (Dokken, UFO, Europe) who played on 2 of his albums.

Albums[]

His very first album was Errol that came in 1975 where he used his real name. This album contained mostly of so called "dansbandmusic", but also had a humorous song called "Snus-kig Blues" that was about snus. It was not until 1978 he started to call himself Eddie Meduza when he released the single "Punkjävlar" and in 1979 his first album as Eddie Meduza came and it was called Eddie Meduza & Roarin' Cadillacs which mostly contained rock and roll and ballads in English. In 1980 he released his next album called Garagetaper. The front cover of the album was a parody of Joe's Garage by Frank Zappa. His big breakthrough came in 1981 with the album Gasen I Botten that included some of his most famous songs like the title song, "Mera Brännvin" and "Volvo".

Alcoholism and death[]

According to Meduza, he developed alcoholism in the early 1980s during periods of intensive touring. In 1981, he was convicted of drink-driving, and spent one month in prison. This jail sentence did nothing to reduce his alcohol consumption, and a year after his release, he suffered a nervous breakdown. Still, Meduza continued to drink heavily, and a major health scare came for him in 1993, when he collapsed on his way to perform at a concert. He was diagnosed with ventricular hypertrophy (enlarged heart), and doctors warned him that he would die if he drank again. Meduza initially heeded his doctors' advice, changed his lifestyle completely,[4] sobered up and started working out. However, by the late 1990s, Meduza's depression had worsened, and he started drinking heavily again, which rapidly took its toll on his weak health. On 17 January 2002, Meduza died of a heart attack at his home in Småland in southern Sweden, aged 53. Meduza was cremated and his ashes were scattered in the Bohuslän Kosterfjorden. He is survived by his wife and children.

Discography[]

Albums[]

  • 1975 – Errol
  • 1979 – Eddie Meduza & Roarin' Cadillacs
  • 1980 – Garagetaper
  • 1981 – Gasen I Botten
  • 1982 – För Jævle Braa!
  • 1982 – 21 Värsta!!!
  • 1983 – Dåren É Lös
  • 1984 – West a Fool Away
  • 1985 – Ain't Got No Cadillac
  • 1986 – Collection (2 LP)
  • 1989 – Dom Dåraktigaste Dumheterna Digitalt (Röven 1)
  • 1989 – Dom Dåraktigaste Dumheterna Digitalt (Röven 2)
  • 1990 – På begäran
  • 1990 – You Ain't My Friend
  • 1991 – Collection (CD)
  • 1995 – Harley Davidson
  • 1997 – Silver Wheels
  • 1998 – Värsting Hits
  • 1999 – Väg 13
  • 1999 – Dance Mix
  • 1999 – Alla Tiders Fyllekalas Vol. 1
  • 1999 – Alla Tiders Fyllekalas Vol. 2
  • 1999 – Alla Tiders Fyllekalas Vol. 3
  • 2000 – Alla Tiders Fyllekalas Vol. 4
  • 2000 – Alla Tiders Fyllekalas Vol. 5
  • 2000 – Alla Tiders Fyllekalas Vol. 6
  • 2001 – Scoop
  • 2001 – Alla Tiders Fyllekalas Vol. 7
  • 2001 – Alla Tiders Fyllekalas Vol. 8
  • 2001 – Alla Tiders Fyllekalas Vol. 9
  • 2002 – Just Like An Eagle
  • 2002 – Alla Tiders Fyllekalas Vol. 10
  • 2002 – Alla Tiders Fyllekalas Vol. 11
  • 2002 – Alla Tiders Fyllekalas Vol. 12
  • 2003 – Live(s)! CD+DVD
  • 2003 – 100% Eddie Meduza
  • 2003 – Live(s)! CD
  • 2004 – Rock'n Rebel
  • 2005 – Alla Tiders Fyllekalas Vol. 13
  • 2005 – Alla Tiders Fyllekalas Vol. 14
  • 2005 – Alla Tiders Fyllekalas Vol. 15
  • 2005 – Alla Tiders Fyllekalas Vol. 16
  • 2005 – Raggare
  • 2006 – Dragspelsrock
  • 2006 – Dubbelidioterna
  • 2014 – En Jävla Massa Hits
  • 2014 – Jag Och Min Far (with )
  • 2016 – The Lost Tape

Singles[]

  • 1975 – Tretton År / Här Hemma
  • 1978 – Punkjävlar / Oh What A Cadillac
  • 1979 – Yea Yea Yea / Honey B
  • 1979 – Såssialdemokraterna / Norwegian Boogie / Roll Over Beethoven
  • 1981 – Volvo / 34:an
  • 1981 – Gasen I Botten / Mera Brännvin
  • 1982 – Han Eller Jag, Vem Ska Du Ha / Tonight
  • 1982 – Jätteparty I Kväll / Tonight
  • 1982 – Sverige / Stupid Cupid
  • 1983 – Fruntimmer Ska En Ha...
  • 1983 – Fruntimmer Ska En Ha... / Han Eller Jag, Vem Ska Du Ha?
  • 1983 – Jag Vill Ha En Brud Med Stora Bröst / Leader of the Rockers
  • 1983 – Jag Vill Ha En Brud Med Stora Pattar / Leader of the Rockers
  • 1984 – Sveriges Kompani (Militärpolka) / Dunder Å Snus
  • 1984 – Punkar'n Å Raggar'n / Hej På Dig Evert
  • 1984 – Fisdisco / California Sun
  • 1985 – The Wanderer / It's All Over Now
  • 1988 – Småländsk Sommarnatt / Birds And Bees
  • 1990 – Sweet Linda Boogie / Heart Don't Be A Fool

See also[]

External links[]

References[]

  1. ^ a b Stefan Johansson's interview with Meduza, Okej 22/1984
  2. ^ User, Super. "Eddiegrafi". www.EddieMeduza.se. Retrieved January 7, 2018.
  3. ^ Bodil Furu's interview with Meduza, 2001
  4. ^ Johan T Lundwall, GT October 7, 1993
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