Whale

In 1986 the Swedish alternative pop group Whale came together in their home country, with Cia Berg handling vocals, Henrik Schyffert and John Flodén on guitars, Björn Persson on bass, and Gordon Cyrus behind the drums. Their first release was the independently funded EP Anti Apati, after which they moved to Mondo Recordings to issue the follow-up Sno Den Här Skiva. Late 1987 brought the arrival of their debut album The 52nd State of America, yet persistent difficulties securing live shows prompted Persson to depart two years afterward. The four remaining members poured resources into samplers and keyboards, unveiling this fresh electronic direction on the 1989 album In Style before shifting toward a heavier rock approach with Whatever in 1991. Flodén was dismissed during the tour that followed, leaving the surviving trio to cut the experimental Music for an Architectural Bachelor in 1993 under the Orca pseudonym. A short split preceded their reunion to cut the single "Hobo Humpin Slobo Babe," whose frenetic clip soon earned cult status across both sides of the Atlantic. The full-length We Care appeared in 1995, but the band dissolved after supporting Blur on the road. Berg and Schyffert later decided to regroup without Cyrus, bringing in guitarist Jon Jefferson Klingberg, bassist Heikki Kiviaho, and drummer Jörgen Wall to record All Disco Dance Must End in Broken Bones in 1998.