Ttela.se 110402
By: ANNA-KARIN NILS GUSTAFSSON
She was never a superfan, knew perhaps two or three songs, or something like that. But when Helen Sjöholm by chance heard “She’s Always a Woman”, she fell in love. Her love resulted in an album where she sings Billy Joel in Swedish.
– The original versions are too masculine, says Helen Sjöholm, who comes to Trollhättan on Saturday.
– I´m fine, Helen Sjöholm says when TTELA is calling. We ask her to tell us about why she wanted to sing Billy Joel in Swedish.
– Many people think that I’m an old fan, but I´m not. I actually knew very little about him, but by chance I heard “She’s Always a Woman”; one of the few songs I listened incredibly intently to in the ’80s, and I fell in love, says Helen.
So she started listening to Joel, found lots of songs she liked and so she got the idea to do an album with his music.
– I knew right away that I didn´t want to sing them in their original form, it´s too masculine.
The luxury band
So in her own dream team, along with lyricist Tomas Andersson Wij, “Euforia – Helen Sjöholm sings Billy Joel” was created last spring, with musicians Martin Östergren, Jojje Wadenius and producer Gunnar Nordén. Now she takes the result to the stage, the place she likes best, with her luxury band, as she calls it.
– The whole band is on the album, and a string quartet, says Helen cheerfully.
My colleague was wondering if you will sing a version of Captain Jack that she loves?
– No. I have been incredibly selfish when I selected tracks, I just chose the ones that I myself have a desire to sing. A huge hit like “I Love You Just The Way You Are” is not included, for example.
On tour For nearly five years “You are my man” was on the Swedish charts, the song that Helen Sjöholm did with Benny Andersson’s Orchestra.
– The band doesn´t exist all year round, but we reunite at times. There is something mysterious about the song there on the Swedish charts as I hardly perform it live. I´m astonished it´s so popular, and I’m proud of it, but it doesn´t feel quite adequate to be associated just with that song, I have done more. But I’m looking forward to singing it in the summer when the band will be back on the road.
How about Kristina from Duvemala, are you tired of the music yet?
– It was ten or eleven years since we stopped playing it, and I have faced the music again in different forms after that. I still like it. It was upside down when you were playing it six nights a week, but success itself is a cool experience. Totally unique.
After the tour this summer, Helen will try to be more at home. But she would not call it a sabbatical year.
– Rather that I have no major projects in the pipeline. To do less stuff, I think, things that may not be outwardly visible.
When she comes to Trollhättan this weekend, it’s almost exactly a year since last time she was here, to shoot a few scenes in the movie “Simon and the oaks.”
What do you know about Trollhattan?
– Good question! Almost nothing, I´m afraid… Film production and video production, I think.
Welcome anyway!
– Thanks!
This you didn´t know about Helen Sjöholm:
She is a devil in puttying and painting. “I live in an old house, so we have such projects constantly here.”
Helen’s favorite songs by Billy Joel:
Piano Man
She’s Always a Woman
Honesty
New York State of Mind