Style

Swedish synth pop outfit Style attained their greatest commercial heights amid the mid-1980s via repeated entries inside the upper reaches of the charts, above all the number-one sensation “Dover-Calais.” The trio assembled in 1983 when Christer Sandelin, Tommy Ekman, and Gigi Hamilton—each a former member of the globally popular synth pop act Freestyle that shared a comparable sound—launched the new project. Across 1981 and 1982 Freestyle scaled the higher echelons of the Swedish and Norwegian rankings with the albums Fantasi (1981) and Modiga Agenter (1982) together with the singles “Vill Ha Dej” (1981) and “Ögon Som Glittrar” (1982). After Freestyle dissolved, Ekman, Sandelin, and Hamilton formed Style, essentially a leaner continuation of their prior band, and released their first album, So Chic, in 1983. That effort and its successor Visioner (1985) failed to register strongly with audiences. Only a third-place finish at the 1986 Swedish Melodifestivalen with “Dover-Calais” finally delivered mainstream breakthrough. Issued commercially, “Dover-Calais” topped the Swedish singles chart while reaching the Norwegian Top Ten. The accompanying album Heaven No. 7 (1986), the group’s third long-player, likewise succeeded, climbing to Sweden’s Top Five and Norway’s Top 20. Subsequent releases Daylight Robbery (1987) and Question of Time (1988) both entered Sweden’s Top Ten and produced the Top Five singles “Run for Your Life,” “Empty Bed,” and “It’s a Secret.” Style also returned to Melodifestivalen, placing sixth in 1987 with “Hand i Hand.” At the height of this run the band disbanded in 1989, sending its members into separate solo careers. Sandelin proved most successful, scoring a Top Five hit in 1989 with “Det Hon Vill Ha.” He launched his solo discography that year with Luften Darrar, a Top Ten album, while Ekman followed in 1990 with Tommy Ekman and Hamilton issued Gigi Hamilton in 1991. Ten years after the split, Ekman and Sandelin revived Style without Hamilton for the Top Ten comeback album Vill Ha Dej Igen (2009), whose title track became a Top Five single.