Electric Boys

Electric Boys

Electric Boys are a Swedish funk metal and glam metal group that forms in Stockholm in 1988. The band is led by Conny Bloom, whose real surname is Blomqvist, on vocals and guitar, and its best-known early line-up also includes bassist Andy Christell, guitarist Franco Santunione and drummer Niclas Sigevall. The verified line-up also includes these three members: Conny Bloom, Franco Santunione and Niclas Sigevall.

The group is one of the better-known names associated with the late 1980s and early 1990s funk metal movement. Their sound combines hard rock with funk elements and a pop-psychedelic edge. Their first single, “All Lips ’N’ Hips,” becomes a domestic hit and helps establish the band’s profile. Their debut album, Funk-O-Metal Carpet Ride, appears in 1989 and earns strong critical attention. The album is later re-recorded and issued in the United States in a different version in 1990, after which a video for “All Lips ’N’ Hips” receives heavy daytime rotation on MTV and the song reaches No. 16 on the Billboard chart.

Electric Boys sign to Atco through Derek Oliver and build an audience in Europe, the UK and the United States. They tour widely, headline smaller clubs in Britain and support Thunder. In the same period they also record a single with Swedish comedian Svullo, which reaches No. 1 in Sweden and goes platinum.

Their second album, Groovus Maximus, appears in 1992 and is recorded at Abbey Road Studios. It includes the singles “Mary In The Mystery World” and “Dying To Be Loved,” and shows a more melodic approach while keeping the band’s groove-based style. After further touring, the band goes through line-up changes, with guitarist “Slim” Martin Thomander and drummer Thomas Broman joining. The group then supports Metallica for its first show with the new line-up, and later supports Mr. Big on a North American tour. By the end of that campaign, Santunione and Sigevall leave and the band loses its North American and European record deals.

The third album, Freewheelin’, appears in 1994 on Polygram and moves toward a straighter hard rock sound with a stoner rock feel before that label becomes common. A planned European tour with King’s X is cancelled, and Conny Bloom and Andy Christell end the band with a final show in Stockholm.

Bloom later works as a solo artist and joins Silver Ginger 5 with Ginger of The Wildhearts. In 2005, Bloom and Christell join Hanoi Rocks and tour in Europe and Japan. The original Electric Boys line-up reunites in 2009, after a compilation appears on Universal, and the band returns with And Them Boys Done Swang in 2011. Later albums include Starflight United in 2014, The Ghost Ward Diaries in 2018, Ups!de Down in 2021 and Grand Explosivos in 2023, the last of these issued via Mighty Music.

The band’s later recordings feature changes in the drummer and second-guitar positions, including Jolle Atlagic on drums and the return of Martin Thomander on guitar alongside Bloom and Christell. Electric Boys remain active from Sweden.