Photo och © Thore Rodelius
BAO was formed in early 2001 in connection with the recording of the first album; Benny Anderssons Orkester, on which the hit song Vår sista dans, also released as a single, is one of the songs.
BAO consists of:
Benny Andersson – conductor, accordion, piano, synclavier
Leif Göras, Olle Moraeus, Perra Moraeus, Kalle Moraeus, Nicke Göthe; ie Orsa Spelmän – mainly string instruments but also guitarr, mandolin and some wind instruments
Göran Arnberg – pump organ
Janne Bengtson – flute, piccolo, distal horn, baritone sax
Pär Grebacken – saxophone, clarinet, recorder, piccolo
Jogga Ernlund – bass
Calle Jacobsson – tuba, valve trombone
Leif Lindvall – trumpet and cornet
Lars Rudolfsson – accordion
Jörgen Stenberg – drums and percussion
Helen Sjöholm and Tommy Körberg – vocals
In the summer of 2004 BAO released their second album; BAO! which has sold platinum and includes, among other songs, Du är min man, with vocals by Helen, a song that stayed in the Swedish charts for 278 weeks!
The summer of 2006 BAO released a live album called BAO på turné, which features Helen and Tommy singing Det är vi ändå. The album acquired a gold disc.
BAO released BAO 3, which earned them their forth gold disc, in the summer of 2007. On the album Tommy sings Fait accomplit and together with Helen Nu mår jag mycket bättre.
The album Story of a heart was released on June 24 2009, with BAO calling themselves BAB; Benny Andersson’s Band. The album consists of previously released melodies and songs translated into English for establishment on the foreign market. The title track, Story of a heart, was also released as a single in Swedish; Sommaren du fick.
Over the years BAO has had several songs on the Swedish charts:
- Vår sista dans (2001-2002)
- Lätt som en sommarfjäril (2002)
- Cirkus Finemang (2002)
- Vals ombord (2002)
- Du är min man (2004-2009)
- Det är vi ändå (2006-2007)
- Fait accomplit (2007-2008)
- Nu mår jag mycket bättre (2008)
- Sommaren du fick (2009)
- En dag i sänder (2011-2013)
- En natt i Köpenhamn (2016-2017)
BAO has also won a number of Grammis:
- 2005 This year’s pop / dance band (BAO!)
- 2007 This year’s pop / dance band (BAO på turné)
- 2008 This year’s pop / dance band (BAO 3)
- 2012 This year’s dance band (O Klang och jubeltid)
Under the concept of “a concert with dance” for which purpose BAO brings a dance floor, several tours have been performed. These concerts turn into evenings in the spirit of a classical people’s park where summer-makers can dance under the stars all night long or sit and enjoy a picnic in the grass!
On June 15 2011 BAO’s album O klang och jubeltid was released. It was preceded by Kära syster, a single released in mid-May for download and in a limited number of physical discs. Even Allt syns när man är naken was released as a downloadable single.
July 21-30 BAO was out on a highly acclaimed summer tour.
In November 2012 the Christmas CD Tomten har åkt hem was released, and a week later
BAO in BOX, containing BAO’s music collected on six CDs, including the Christmas album,
two DVDs, the lyrics, etc. The summer of 2013 BAO did another highly acclaimed summer tour.
On June 10, 2016, the CD Mitt hjärta klappar för dig was released, and just before the single
En natt i Köpenhamn. During the summer BAO went for another tour.
On June 14, 2019, the album Bästa låtarna was released, which contained two newly written songs – Lyckan kommer, lyckan går and Om du var jag with music by Benny Andersson and lyrics by Björn Ulvaeus and nine of BAO’s previous hits.
In addition, BAO was again on a much-anticipated summer tour where they visited 8 venues around Sweden.
In 2021, the single One man one woman was released.
On June 11, 2024, the concert An evening at Cirkus was given, which was also shown on Swedish Television the same fall, and on September 27, the full-length album Alla kan dansa (Everyone can dance) was released.
