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Eddie Meduza
Eddie Meduza
Birth name	Errol Leonard Norstedt
Also known as	Eddie Meduza
Born	17 June 1948; Örgryte, Göteborg, Sweden
Died	17 January 2002 (aged 53); Nöbbele, Sweden
Genres	Rockabilly, dansband, punk rock
Occupation(s)	Singer, musician, songwriter
Years active	1973–2001
Website	eddiemeduza.se

Errol Leonard Norstedt (17 June 1948 – 17 January 2002), better known by his stage name Eddie Meduza, previously known as E. Hitler, was a Swedish composer and musician working mainly in the rockabilly genre.

Music career

Themes and behaviour

Many of Meduza's songs are about alcohol, women, and cars, often with obscene lyrics. Some songs are politically oriented, with many aimed against the various Swedish governments in power during his musical career.

One of Meduza's personas was the vulgar E. Hitler.^[1] In this guise he generally recorded more offbeat recordings like "E.Hitler skiter" (a recording of his own bowel movements) and sexually explicit material. The E. Hitler recordings were only available on tape by mail order directly from Meduza. On tour, he urged his audience to drink vodka to become as drunk as he was during his performances, to the tune of his "Mera brännvin" ("More booze").^[2]

Meduza also recorded serious rockabilly songs with a distinct 1950s flavour in his own studio, called Studio Ronka^[1] (from runka, Swedish for male masturbation similar to English wank). He played most of the instruments himself. He often got bad reviews from the press, notably from Expressen journalist Mats Olsson, to which Meduza replied by writing songs such as "Kuken står på Mats Olsson" ("Mats Olsson has a hard-on"), "Mats Olsson är en jävla bög" ("Mats Olsson is a damn fag") and "Mats Olsson runkar kuken" ("Mats Olsson wanks his cock"). He reportedly said that no matter what he did it was never good enough for the critics.^[3]

Meduza is also remembered for the first recorded appearance of future hair metal guitarist John Norum (Dokken, UFO, Europe), who played on two of his albums.

Albums

Errol Norstedts' first album was Errol, released in 1975 under his real name. This album consists mostly of dansband music, but also includes a humorous song called "Snus-kig Blues" about snus. He began calling himself Eddie Meduza in 1978 with the release of the single "Punkjävlar" ("Punk bastards"). His first album as Eddie Meduza was released in 1979, called Eddie Meduza & Roarin' Cadillacs, mostly consisting of rock and roll and ballads in English. In 1980, Meduza released his next album, Garagetaper, with a front cover parodying the cover of Frank Zappa's 1979 album Joe's Garage. Meduza's breakthrough came in 1981 with the album Gasen I Botten, which includes some of his more well-known songs such as "Mera Brännvin" and "Volvo".

Alcoholism and death

According to Meduza, he developed alcoholism in the early 1980s during periods of intense touring. In 1981, he was convicted of drink-driving and spent one month in prison. Nevertheless, he continued drinking heavily, and a year after his release, he suffered a nervous breakdown. In 1993 he collapsed on his way to perform at a concert and was diagnosed with ventricular hypertrophy (enlarged heart). He was warned by doctors that he would die if he drank again, and initially made major changes to his lifestyle,^[4] stopped drinking and started working out. However, in the late 1990s, suffering a worsening depression, he started drinking heavily again, and this caused his health to deteriorate further. On 17 January 2002, Meduza died of a heart attack at his home in Småland in southern Sweden, aged 53. He was cremated and his ashes scattered, in the summer of 2003, outside Rossö in Kosterfjorden, Bohuslän.^[5] He is survived by his wife and children.

Popularity in Mexico

Meduza's song "Reaktorn läck i Barsebäck" ("The reactor leaking in Barsebäck") from the 1980 album Garagetaper has become popular in Mexico, under the title "Himno a la banda".^[6]

Discography

Albums

1975 – Errol
1979 – Eddie Meduza & Roarin' Cadillacs
1980 – Garagetaper
1981 – Gasen I Botten
1982 – För Jævle Braa!
1982 – 21 Värsta!!!
1983 – Dåren É Lös
1984 – West a Fool Away
1985 – Ain't Got No Cadillac
1986 – Collection (2 LP)
1989 – Dom Dåraktigaste Dumheterna Digitalt (Röven 1)
1989 – Dom Dåraktigaste Dumheterna Digitalt (Röven 2)
1990 – På Begäran
1990 – You Ain't My Friend
1991 – Collection (CD)
1995 – Harley Davidson
1997 – Silver Wheels
1998 – Värsting Hits
1998 – Eddie Meduzas Bästa
1999 – Väg 13
1999 – Dance Mix
1999 – Alla Tiders Fyllekalas Vol. 1
1999 – Alla Tiders Fyllekalas Vol. 2
1999 – Alla Tiders Fyllekalas Vol. 3
2000 – Alla Tiders Fyllekalas Vol. 4
2000 – Alla Tiders Fyllekalas Vol. 5
2000 – Alla Tiders Fyllekalas Vol. 6
2001 – Scoop
2001 – Alla Tiders Fyllekalas Vol. 7
2001 – Alla Tiders Fyllekalas Vol. 8
2001 – Alla Tiders Fyllekalas Vol. 9
2002 – Just Like An Eagle
2002 – Alla Tiders Fyllekalas Vol. 10
2002 – Alla Tiders Fyllekalas Vol. 11
2002 – Alla Tiders Fyllekalas Vol. 12
2003 – Live(s)! CD+DVD
2003 – 100% Eddie Meduza
2003 – Live(s)! CD
2004 – Rock'n Rebel
2005 – Alla Tiders Fyllekalas Vol. 13
2005 – Alla Tiders Fyllekalas Vol. 14
2005 – Alla Tiders Fyllekalas Vol. 15
2005 – Alla Tiders Fyllekalas Vol. 16
2005 – Raggare
2006 – Dragspelsrock
2006 – Dubbelidioterna
2010 – Rockabilly Rebel
2014 – En Jävla Massa Hits
2014 – Jag Och Min Far (with Anders Norstedt)
2016 – The Lost Tape

Cassettes

1976 – E. Hitler & Luftwaffe: Mannen Utan Hjärna
1977 – E. Hilter & Luftkaffe Nr. 1
1977 – E. Hitler & Luftwaffe Nr. 2
1979 – E. Hitler & Luftwaffe Nr. 3 Del 1
1979 – E. Hitler & Luftwaffe Nr. 3 Del 2
1980 – Greatest Hits
1983 – Greatest Hits I
1983 – Greatest Hits II
1983 – Dubbelidioterna
1984 – Eddie Meduza Presenterar Lester C. Garreth
1985 – Hej Hitler!
1985 – Legal Bootleg (cassette box consisting of "Första Försöken", "Fortsättning Följer", "Mera Material", "Svensktoppsrulle", "Fräckisar" and "Bonnatwist")
1986 – Raggare
1986 – Collection Del 1
1986 – Collection Del 2
1987 – Greatest Hits
1987 – Jag Blir Aldrig Riktigt Vuxen, Jag!
1987 – E. Hitler På Dansrotundan
1987 – Börje Lundins Julafton
1988 – Radio Ronka 1
1988 – Börje Lundins Kräftkalas
1988 – Dårarnas Julafton
1989 – Idiotlåtar
1989 – Dårarnas Midsommarafton
1990 – Radio Ronka 2
1993 – Jubelidioterna
1994 – Eddies Garderob
1994 – Kräftkalas Två
1995 – Hjärndelirium 2000
1996 – Radio Abonnerad
1996 – Rockligan
1996 – Rätt Sorts Råckenråll
1996 – Scanaway
1996 – God Jul Era Rövhål
1997 – Di Värsta Pärvärsta Scetcherna
1997 – Di Värsta Pärvärsta Låtarna
1997 – Göran Persson Är En Galt
1998 – Compendia Ultima (cassette box, consisting of 11 collection cassettes)

Singles

1975 – Tretton År / Här Hemma
1978 – Punkjävlar / Oh What A Cadillac
1979 – Yea Yea Yea / Honey B
1979 – Såssialdemokraterna / Norwegian Boogie / Roll Over Beethoven
1981 – Volvo / 34:an
1981 – Gasen I Botten / Mera Brännvin
1982 – Han Eller Jag, Vem Ska Du Ha / Tonight
1982 – Jätteparty I Kväll / Tonight
1982 – Sverige / Stupid Cupid
1983 – Fruntimmer Ska En Ha...
1983 – Fruntimmer Ska En Ha... / Han Eller Jag, Vem Ska Du Ha?
1983 – Jag Vill Ha En Brud Med Stora Bröst / Leader of the Rockers
1983 – Jag Vill Ha En Brud Med Stora Pattar / Leader of the Rockers
1984 – Sveriges Kompani (Militärpolka) / Dunder Å Snus
1984 – Punkar'n Å Raggar'n / Hej På Dig Evert
1984 – Fisdisco / California Sun
1985 – The Wanderer / It's All Over Now
1988 – Småländsk Sommarnatt / Birds And Bees
1990 – Sweet Linda Boogie / Heart Don't Be A Fool
2015 – Julesång / Ute På Vischan
2016 – Midsommarnatt / Mera Brännvin

Criticism

Eddie Meduza has been criticized for making songs with themes that were inappropriate (e.g. his song "Jag bara runkar" [English "I am just jerking off"]) which led to him getting banned from big newspapers like Aftonbladet.

External links

Official Web page (in Swedish)
John-Johns fan-site (in Swedish)
Eddies himmel (in Swedish)

References

^ ^a ^b Stefan Johansson's interview with Meduza, Okej 22/1984
^ "Eddiegrafi". www.EddieMeduza.se. Retrieved January 7, 2018.
^ Bodil Furu's interview with Meduza, 2001
^ Johan T Lundwall, GT October 7, 1993
^ Aftonbladet, 28 June 2013: "Här är Eddie Meduzas riktiga gravplats" ("Here is Eddie Meduza's real burial site") by John Granlund
^ "Nyhetsmorgon news feature on popularity in Mexico". TV4 Media AB – via Facebook.