Secret Man

Yawning Man are an enigma. The mostly instrumental, part-surf guitar, part-psych, part-desert rock outfit have been in existence for 30 years and are spoken of in hushed tones, for they are credited with helping corrupt the young minds that went on to form Kyuss and Queens of the Stone Age. And yet if you didn’t live in Palm Desert, California or repeatedly watch Inside Out, a superb skateboard movie made by Gullwing Trucks in 1988, then you probably didn’t hear their music until at least five years into the 21st century.

Secret Service is a Swedish pop band formed in Stockholm in 1979. In 1979, Ola Håkansson, former vocalist of Ola & the Janglers and then a publishing manager at Sonet Records, teamed up with Tim Norell and Ulf Wahlberg as Ola+3 to perform at the 1979 Melodifestivalen, a contest which is the Swedish qualification to the Eurovision Song Contest. Ola+3 did not win but the members decided to continue working together and recorded an LP as Ola+3. Besides Ola Håkansson (vocals), Tim Norell and Ulf Wahlberg (keyboards), the original lineup also included Tonny Lindberg (guitars), Leif Paulsen (bass) and Leif Johansson (drums). Norell, who along with lyricist Björn Håkanson penned most songs of the band, did not however appear with them on stage or on the band photos.