With extremely prosaic lyrics and lacking instrumental skills, Torsson rose to fame something of a novelty band in the early '80s. It is unclear how serious the band's intentions were initially, but as they sang songs about an uneventful picnic or an agricultural fair, they were verging on poetry -- of course their own unique and intentionally dull poetry. In the early '80s Torsson's amateurish attitude towards music and their overly gentle melodies put them in a position were they could be seen both as strange hometown relatives to punk rock, and as its opposite. They kept their popularity throughout the century, but in the '90s, they were much less active, and while not disbanding, Torsson gave many signs of dying.
Torsson was formed in 1976 in Lund, Sweden, by a number of hobby musicians, led by guitarist and singer Åkerström. The inspiration came from classic rock & roll as well as from country rock á la Credence Clearwater Revival, but the band was also a product of the Swedish progressive rock scene in the '70s, which stressed the do it yourself aspect of rock music. And with quite an inept band, consisting of trumpet player Lundahl, drummer Dalén, and guitarists Drejare and Svenningsson, the resulting music lay very far from the influences. In many ways it reminds of what would later be known as lo-fi, and it suited the inconclusive lyrics in a fascinating way. Torsson's had their first gig in November 1976 at a theater in Lund, and the following years saw the band playing student venues around town, hardly even attaining local fame. In 1979 they started out on a more serious career, releasing their first single, "Gå Emot Strömmen," on Kloaak.
