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Billie the Vision and the Dancers got together in Malmö, Sweden, during the recordings of the first album in the spring of 2004. The songwriter and singer Lars Lindquists had some songs for a solo project. But one person wasn't enough, he thought, and had in short persuaded five more members to the project. Most of them old friends from his home town Bräkne-Hoby in Blekinge, and on top of that a new friend from Borlänge.
The debut I Was So Unpopular in School and Now They´re Giving Me This Beautiful Bicycle released on their own label Love Will Pay the Bills got great reviews in the press and also got nominated at Manifest, the Swedish prize award for records released on indie labels.
To run your own business denotes hard work, often financial problems and always difficulties getting through with the music by the traditional channels. There for Internet became an early instrument to market the band. Their first and second album have been available on the website for downloading all the time and that is how they've slowly but surely made them self a name.
Despite chaotic circumstances and various setbacks the band was determined to produce a second album. It was recorded in a borrowed house in the countryside during a couple of unforgettable summer weeks in 2005. The World According to Pablo got nominated for Manifest as well. It was after the release of this album and the following live shows around Sweden that the seven headed band started to get famous for their performances.
The tour around Sweden in November 2005 as a support band for the Pipettes led to another nine gigs in London and on top of that a tour through German and Italy in the summer of 2006. After success at both the Arvika- Emmaboda- and Malmöfestival that year the band realized how unlimited the possibilities of the Internet are. Without the support of any major record company and their PR-machinery the band had created an impressive fan base in Sweden and outside its borders.
Billie the Vision and the Dancers haven't just played in standard clubs in Sweden. They have also toured at high schools and made a series of gigs at prison institutions around Stockholm. The entirety has always been important for the band, to offer something more than just text and music. "I have always considered us as a political band, but at the same time we don't want to write people on their nose. We want to ask questions without being too explicit. People don't know where they have us, but I think that they feel it in their stomach when they see us play live", says Lars Lindquist.
After 8000 sold albums, over 1000 000 downloads from their own web site and 120 gigs, the third album Where the Ocean Meets My Hand got released in April 2007 – still on their own label Love Will Pay the Bills.
Discography
- I Was So Unpopular in School and Now They´re Giving Me This Beautiful Bicycle (2004)
- The World According to Pablo (2005)
- Where the Ocean Meets My Hand (2007)
Booking
Contact: Micke Sahlin
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