The Poodles are a glam metal/heavy metal band from Sweden. They are best known
for their hits "Metal Will Stand Tall" and "Night of Passion", the latter of
which was played in the Swedish Melodifestivalen in 2006.
The band was formed by singer Jakob Samuel who in the early 1990s was
Talisman's drummer, bassist Pontus Egberg, guitarist Pontus Norgren and
drummer Christian Lundqvist. The Poodles played in the Swedish
Melodifestivalen contest in 2008, this time with E-Type. In addition, they
played at the Sweden Rock Festival in 2006 and 2008.
Formation In 2006, Jakob Samuel was asked to sing
the track "Night of Passion". Samuel loved the song, and asked Christian
Lundqvist to join him as drummer for that session. Later bassist Pontus
Egberg and guitarist Pontus Norgren joined them to perform the song as a
band called The Poodles. The Poodles were one of ten finalists in
the Melodifestivalen 2006, and by the time of their performance had added an
old friend of Samuel's, Mats Levén, on backing vocals. Melodifestivalen is an
annual music competition in Sweden that determines the country's official
representative to the Eurovision Song Contest.
The Poodles finished in fourth place in Melodifestivalen 2006, then released
their debut album called Metal Will Stand Tall to the Swedish market in May
2006. They inked a deal with Germany's AFM Records and then released the album
in the rest of Europe on January 19, 2007.
The single "Night of Passion" was certified platinum and a follow-up
single, "Metal Will Stand Tall", was certified gold.
The song "Kingdom Of Heaven" was co-written by Jakob Samuel and Marcel
Jacob. The band made an initial selection based
on 35 songs to be used for their second album. They chose 12 tracks for this
release, which was titled Sweet Trade, and was released on September 28, 2007
by AFM Records. "Seven Seas", produced by Matti
Alfonzetti and Johan Lyander, was selected as the first single. The song
was written by Jakob Samuel, Jonas Reingold and Peter Stormare, the Swedish
actor. Gallery
Membership = Current members=
Jakob Samuel - Vocals Christian Lundqvist - Drums
Henrik Bergqvist - Guitar Johan Flodqvist - Bass
= Former members= Pontus Norgren - Guitar
Pontus Egberg - Bass On April 22, 2008, The Poodles guitarist
Pontus Norgren left the band. He was since replaced by Henrik Bergqvist. The
band issued the following press release: "We regrettably have to inform you that
Pontus Norgren has decided to leave The Poodles. We would like to thank Pontus
for all the great times we’ve shared and wish him the best of luck for the
future". Norgren himself said the following: "I like HammerFall. I think
they have amazing stage shows and I like their songs, so when I heard they were
looking for a guitar player I thought I'd give it a try. Playing in The
Poodles has been a wonderful experience in many ways, but I have always liked a
little heavier music and have felt at times that this wasn't the right kind of
forum for the music I'd most like to play. It's simply time to move on".
Discography = Albums=
Studio albums Live albums
= Singles= Other singles
2009: "I Rule the Night" 2011: "Cuts Like a Knife"
2011: "I Want It All" 2013: "40 Days and 40 Nights"
= Compilations= 2006: Various Artists - Melodifestivalen
2006 References
^ a b c "The Poodles discography". swedishcharts.com. Hung Medien. 24 May
2013. Retrieved 24 May 2013. External links
Official website German The Poodles Fanpage
Jacob Samuel Spanish Interview