Berndt Arvid Freddie Wadling (2 August 1951 – 2 June 2016) was a Swedish singer born in Gothenburg, whose over-thirty-year musical career extended from punk to classical ballads.[1]
Wadling played bass in a number of bands during the 1970s and early 1980s. One notable band was Liket Lever (which translates as "the corpse lives").[citation needed] In the early 1980s, he joined the cult band Cortex.[citation needed] During this period, Cortex released the album Spinal Injuries, in 1981.[citation needed] The track "The Freaks", sung by Wadling, became a signature song for him and was used in the soundtrack to Tjenare Kungen.[citation needed] He also played in the bands Straitjacket, Leather Nun, and Fleshquartet.[2] Wadling was also featured in band Kingdom of Evol.
In the 1980s and 1990s, Wadling was the vocalist of the alternative pop/rock duo Blue for Two.[3] The duo, which also included Henryk Lipp on synthesizers, was formed in Gothenburg in 1984. They released a string of albums, including Blue for Two (1986),[4]Songs from a Pale and Bitter Moon (1988), Search & Enjoy (1992), Earbound (1994), and Moments (1997). For their live performances, they were often accompanied by Sator guitarist Chips Kiesbye.[citation needed] Blue for Two made a comeback in 2012 and released the album Tune the Piano and Hand Me a Razor, which reached No. 18 on the Swedish Albums Chart.[citation needed]
Wadling developed a successful solo career, releasing a large number of albums. He recorded songs by John Dowland with the Forge Players in 1998, as well as the acclaimed En skiva till kaffet (1999) and Jag är monstret (2005). The latter also contains collaborations with Thomas Öberg, Per Gessle, and Tomas Andersson Wij. He also recorded soundtracks with Magne Furuholmen and Kjetil Bjerkestrand.
In 2011, Wadling released the album With a Licence to Kill, featuring songs from the James Bond franchise. It reached No. 12 on the Swedish Albums Chart. In 2016, he published Efter Regnet, which reached No. 7 on the Swedish Albums Chart.
Death
Wadling died on 2 June 2016 at the age of 64.[5][6]
