| Peter Bjorn and John | |
|---|---|
Performing "Young Folks" at the 2007 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival with Bebban Stenborg of Shout Out Louds. |
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| Background information | |
| Origin | Stockholm, Sweden |
| Genres | Indie rock,[1] indie pop, neo-psychedelia |
| Years active | 1999–present |
| Labels | Wichita, Parasol Records, Almost Gold Recordings |
| Website | peterbjornandjohn.com |
| Members | |
| Peter Morén Björn Yttling John Eriksson |
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Peter Bjorn and John (unofficially abbreviated as PB&J) are a Swedish indie rock band, formed in Stockholm in 1999 and named after the first names of the band's members: Peter Morén (vocals, guitar and harmonica), Björn Yttling (bass guitar, keyboards and vocals) and John Eriksson (drums, percussion and vocals).
They are best known for the 2006 single "Young Folks", which featured Victoria Bergsman, formerly of The Concretes, and was a top 20 hit in the UK Singles Chart, as well as being featured in football video game FIFA 08 and the singing game Lips. It was also named NME's second-best track of 2006, beaten only by "Over and Over" by Hot Chip.[2] In Australia it was voted number 16 in the annual Triple J Hottest 100 for 2006.
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Morén and Yttling began playing music with each other while in high school. They shared an interest in bands such as The Stone Roses and Ride. They are influenced by, but not interested in replicating, classic '60s baroque pop, power pop and new wave.[3] Their first band disbanded after they moved to Stockholm, where they met Eriksson in 1999 to form Peter, Björn and John. Their first gig was an unsuccessful one aboard a boat in Stockholm. Their expectations were not high from the start, as they "just wanted to make good music for [their] own amusement".[4] Lars Skoglund of the band Laakso has filled in for the band on drums and played bongos during some live shows.
After releasing the Forbidden Chords EP and a pair of singles ("Failing and Passing" and "I Don't Know What I Want Us to Do"), the band released its self-titled first album in 2002 on the tiny Beat That! label. After more shows, more EPs (People They Know, 100m of Hurdles), and another single ("See Through"), the group jumped to the Planekonomi label in 2004 and released the Beats, Traps and Backgrounds EP. It was soon followed by the 2004 album Falling Out, which was picked up for American release by Hidden Adenda in late 2005.[5]
The band's third album, Writer's Block (2006), followed a year later and became a minor international hit. The video to their song "Young Folks" was animated and directed by Ted Malmros from Shout Out Louds.[6]
After completing various tours in support of Writer's Block, the band focused on other projects before coming together to record and release a largely instrumental album, Seaside Rock, in the autumn of 2008. Living Thing, the band's darker, more experimental fourth full-length album, was released several months later in early 2009. Peter, Bjorn and John played Lollapalooza 2009 in Chicago.[7] In 2011, Peter Bjorn and John returned to their melodic pop roots with the decidedly more accessible Gimme Some. The band also opened up for Depeche Mode during their Tour of the Universe.[8] Gimme Some's first single Second Chance is heard prominently in advertising for the American light beer Bud Light, and as the theme song for the CBS sitcom 2 Broke Girls.
Peter, Bjorn and John also collaborated with Canadian-born Actor and Hip Hop star Drake on his 2009 mixtape, So Far Gone, on the song "Let's Call It Off." Many rappers like Wale, GZA and 88 Keys collaborated on Re-Living Thing, a remix of Living Thing, released on September 8, 2009, by Mick Boogie.
Morén has recorded and released two solo albums. On April 8, 2008 he released a solo album in English, The Last Tycoon on the Wichita Recordings and Quarterstick Records labels. It received mixed reviews from the press.[9][10][11] In 2010, he released a solo album in Swedish, I spåren av tåren.
| Year | EP | Peak chart positions |
|---|---|---|
| SWE | ||
| 2001 | Forbidden Chords | — |
| 2003 | (I Just Wanna) See Through/Say Something Else (together with Spearmint) | — |
| 2003 | 100 m of Hurdles | — |
| 2004 | Beats Traps and Backgrounds | 45 |
| Year | Song | Peak chart positions | Album | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SWE | AUS | CAN | FIN | IRE | NED | UK | US | US Mod | |||
| 2001 | "Falling and Passing" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Peter Bjorn and John |
| 2002 | "I Don't Know What I Want Us To Do" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 2003 | "People They Know" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 2005 | "Teen Love" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Falling Out |
| 2006 | "Young Folks" | — | 42 | 26 | 9 | 24 | 75 | 13 | 110 | 22 | Writer's Block |
| "Let's Call It Off" | — | — | — | — | — | — | 130 | — | — | ||
| 2007 | "Objects of My Affection" | — | — | — | — | — | — | 96 | — | — | |
| 2009 | "Nothing to Worry About" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Living Thing |
| "Lay It Down" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "It Don't Move Me" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2011 | "Second Chance" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Gimme Some |
| "Dig a Little Deeper"/"What I Could Do If I Wanted"[12] | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
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