Onkel Kånkel

Onkel Kånkel and his Kånkelbär ("kånkelbär", English: dingleberries) commonly referred to just as Onkel Kånkel was a Swedish könsrock/punk rock band prominently known for their infantilely humorous and provocative lyrics. Most of their song lyrics were very nonsensical, featuring provocative subjects such as toilet humour, nazism, disorders and diseases, homosexuality, pedophilia, and coprophilia, interwoven with everyday subjects such as food and clothing. Many lyrics also mention old Swedish TV and radio personalities, in the same nonsensial manner. The band are typically referred to as the creators of the genre called "könsrock".

Their album Kalle Anka Suger Pung (English: Donald Duck sucks ballsack) briefly had some radio airplay, but the songs were quickly pulled off, most likely due to their inappropriate content.

Onkel Kånkel has been compared with Eddie Meduza and Johnny Bode.[1]

While performing, Onkel Kånkel wore a mask to "not take away the mystery".[2]

While well known for their shock value, their music has never entered the mainstream, but the band managed to get the 46th placement in the top 50s in 1994.[2] Later, the Internet has spread Onkel Kånkel to a younger generation.

Håkan Florå, stage name Onkel Kånkel, the singer/guitarist and frontman of Onkel Kånkel died in a heart attack, 47 years old, on the 15th of August 2009.[3]

Controversies

In 1995 Inge Carlsson, a social democratic party member of parliament sent a written inquery to the then current Minister of Justice Laila Freivalds, requesting a ban for "offensive musical lyrics". He had been contacted by a school teacher who was upset by Onkel Kånkel's lyrics. The minister denied the request due to freedom of speech, adding that such lyrics are "repulsive and sad" but not illegal.[2]

At the 1993 Hultsfred festival during the first of the few live shows the band performed, an intellectually disabled man not part of the band was invited on stage. He would sing along in the choruses and tell jokes between songs. This caused some controversy, as some people meant that it was wrong and repugnant to make fun of people with disabilities. When interviewed about the accusations, Onkel Kånkel answered "That is bullshit. The concert was among the most fun things he has ever experienced. He is a really fun guy. It is not wrong to laugh at disabled people, what's wrong is to ignore them, to treat them as if they did not exist."[2]

Members

The actual number of band members and their degree of involvement in the band have always been uncertain. Only the frontman Onkel Kånkel had his identity revealed to the general public, after his death. While some has speculated that he was the only member, he stated in interviews that they were really a band. Officially credited members are:

Discography

Three bootleg compilations with songs from early tape recordings were unofficially released on the internet in 2001.

In 1992 a tribute album called Kånkelmania featuring Onkel Kånkel covers was released. Participating bands and artists were Stig Vig, Charta 77 and Union Carbide Productions.

References

  1. ↑
  2. 1 2 3 4
  3. ↑
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/26/2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.