SVEN-OLOF WALLDOFF

Born: May 2nd, 1929, Lerbäck (Sweden)

Died: June 7th, 2011, Gothenburg (Sweden)

Nationality: Swedish

In due course, the short impression below will be replaced with a more extensive career overview

BIOGRAPHY

Sven-Olof Walldoff worked as a studio arranger and conductor in the 1960s and 1970s, accompanying such artists as Lars Berghagen, Lill-Babs, Lena Andersson, and Östen Warnerbring. He also wrote the orchestrations for instrumental albums recorded by trumpet virtuoso Arne Lamberth after the latter’s return to Sweden in the 1970s. Walldoff was called upon regularly by ABBA to write string arrangements to their songs, including the hit singles ‘Honey, Honey’, ‘Mamma Mia’, and ‘Dancing Queen’. Moreover, Walldoff also composed film scores. In 1980, he worked with the Lerums Storband ensemble to release the album ‘String & Sweet’.

EUROVISION SONG CONTEST

Sven-Olof Walldoff is part of the ABBA legend; when the group won the Eurovision Song Contest in Brighton with the song ‘Waterloo’ (1974), Walldoff conducted the orchestra dressed up as Napoleon, an idea of the band’s manager Stig Anderson. This was Walldoff’s only participation as a conductor in the contest, but he also wrote the orchestration to the 1962 Swedish entry ‘Sol och vår’, conducted in Eurovision by Egon Kjerrman, as well as arranging the record version of 'Vita vidder' by Family Four in 1971, for which the Eurovision version was done by Claes Rosendahl. Walldoff also conductedthe orchestra for Björn Skifs in the 1972 Swedish Eurovision heats. In 1975, he was the musical director of the Swedish preselection.

EUROVISION INVOLVEMENT YEAR BY YEAR

1962 Luxembourg

Country – Sweden

Song title – "Sol och vår"

Rendition – Inger Berggren 

Lyrics – Åke Gerhard

Composition – Ulf Källqvist

Studio arrangement – Hans Wahlgren

(studio orchestra conducted by Hans Wahlgren)

Live orchestration – Sven-Olof Walldoff

Conductor – Egon Kjerrman

Score – 7th place (4 votes)

1971 Dublin

Country – Sweden

Song title – "Vita vidder"

Rendition – Family Four (Marie Bergman / Pierre Einar Isacsson / Agnetha Munter / Bernd Öst)

Lyrics – Håkan Elmquist

Composition – Håkan Elmquist

Studio arrangement – Sven-Olof Walldoff

(vocal arrangement by Bernd Öst / 

studio orchestra conducted by Sven-Olof Walldoff)

Live orchestration – Claes Rosendahl

Conductor – Claes Rosendahl

Score – 6th place (85 votes)

1974 Brighton

Country – Sweden

Song title – "Waterloo"

Rendition – ABBA (Benny Andersson / Agnetha Fältskog / Anni-Frid Lyngstad / Björn Ulvaeus feat. Rutger Gunnarsson & Ola Brunkert)

Lyrics – Stig “Stikkan” Anderson

Composition – Benny Andersson / Björn Ulvaeus

Studio arrangement – Benny Andersson / Björn Ulvaeus

Live orchestration – Sven-Olof Walldoff

Conductor – Sven-Olof Walldoff

Score – 1st place (24 votes)