Here you can find out a little more about the individuals members of Swede Dreamz ... their backgrounds, star signs, favourite ABBA songs and much, much more ...
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SUZY / AGNETHA
In 1998 (age just 18), after winning a local talent show, Suzy was immediately signed to Juniper Music and formed girl band Spandex whose catchy hits were noticed by a UK film producer and one of their songs, Girls Like Us went on to feature in the British movie The Van Boys. In 2003 Suzy was spotted performing her own self-written and produced songs at a local festival and went on to be represented by SBS records (Manic Street Preachers label) based in South Wales. This followed with two years of live touring with Crimestoppers UK where she supported acts such as Sugababes and Big Brovas. The following few years saw her continuing to perform in many countries around the world fronting a corporate band, even performing for Gordon Brown and Lord Sebastian Coe, although her favourite gigs continue to be the sweaty, rowdy and somewhat crowded live venues where the audience are up close and interaction is inevitable! Having performed over 1,500 live gigs in the last sixteen years, she is a true professional.
In 2009 Suzy was signed to record label Blade Records, based in Germany, with her band Haymaker who have since gone on to sell albums worldwide. She then took a year out to live and work on the beautiful island of Cyprus with her Kylie Tribute show, which has high acclaim as No 1 in Europe. Wanting a fresh challenge, Suzy joined Swede Dreamz in 2012 and is loving playing the part of Agnetha! Star Sign: Pisces Favourite ABBA Song: One of Us TV Programme: Most Haunted Favourite Colour: Yellow Hobbies: Gym and horse riding Favourite Food: Roast dinners Favourite Sport: F1 Motor Racing Likes: White wine and my own bed Dislikes: Popping corks and unmade beds |
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LISA / FRIDA
Lisa started her vocal, dance and acting training at a young age and has completed several examinations to achieve grade 8 in Jazz, ballet, voice in performance, and performing arts - this leading to one of her greatest achievements, graduating from Cumbria Institute of the Arts in 2009.
Lisa's passion for the stage has led her to take leading roles in musicals such as Sarah Brown in Guys and Dolls (Lewes Theatre), Grace Farrell in Annie (Sands Centre, Carlisle), Irene in Crazy For You (Sands Centre, Carlisle), Gertrude McFuzz in Seussical The Musical (Gala Theatre, Durham), Viv Nicholson in Spend Spend Spend (Wave Centre, Maryport) Lady Jaquliene in Me And My Girl (Sunderland Empire, Sunderland) Robin in Godspell (Stanwix Arts Theatre, Carlisle) and Laurey in Oklahoma (Theatre by the Lake, Keswick). Lisa also had the honour of being nominated for best female in the 2010 Noda Awards. Lisa has performed in several television adverts including sessions for the Co-Op and Persimmon Homes. She also has several technical credits to her name including Assistant Costume Designer, Stage Manager and Choreographer in several professional productions. Whilst performing as Frida for Swede Dreamz Lisa is also the choreographer for the show. Lisa is thrilled to be part of the Swede Dreamz team and travels across the country every week to perform with the group. She constantly works on her performance to make sure her portrayal of Frida is an accurate as possible.
Star Sign: Aquarius Favourite ABBA Song: On & On & On TV Programme: X Factor Favourite Colour: Yellow Hobbies: Reading, outdoor activies, shopping and knitting Favourite Food: Cheese and biscuits Favourite Sport: Rock-climbing and skiing Likes: Meeting new people and spending time with Elvis (her Chiuaua) Dislikes: Unnecessary rudeness and horse raddish! |
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RAYMOND / BJORN
Along with Ken (Benny), Raymond is a founder member of the band. His knowledge of ABBA knows no bounds which led to his involvement in a very successful world-wide ABBA fanzine, contributions to several ABBA books, radio interviews and actually meeting Benny, Bjorn and Frida in both Stockholm and London. Only the elusive Agnetha has evaded him! His extensive knowledge of all things ABBA has manifested itself into the Swede Dreamz tribute show with particular attention being paid to ensuring that the commissioned costumes replicate the ABBA originals. When not performing, Raymond oversees the day-to-day running of the band’s affairs, ensuring everything is in order for forthcoming shows, dealing with new bookings and show enquiries, agent up-dates, websites, etc.
Rest-assured, if there is anything at all you want to know about ABBA then all you have to do is ask Ray! Star Sign: Leo Favourite ABBA Song: Honey Honey (changeable week upon week) TV Programme: Bear Grylls Born Survivor Favourite Colour: Blue Hobbies: Gardening, walking and natural history Favourite Food: Spaghetti Bolognese Favourite Sport: Darts and badmington Likes: Good organisation, Coca-Cola and Mars bars Dislikes: Cricket and traffic jams! |
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KEN / BENNY
Originally hailing from the North-East of England, Ken has spent most of his working life in the entertainment industry. Upon relocating he almost immediately joined his local hospital radio and subsequently moved on to presenter on his local commercial radio station (becoming Head of Music and presenting the station’s breakfast show). On leaving radio he set up his own entertainment business initially specialising in discos, party karaoke nights and quiz nights. Having always been a fan of ABBA’s music (and spotting a much-needed gap in the market for a reputable ABBA tribute show) it was a natural progression to form Swede Dreamz along with Raymond (Bjorn).
Ken has performed in various musical productions including Barnum. He has also produced a number of his very own stage shows. Star Sign: Libra Favourite ABBA Song: When All Is Said And Done TV Programme: Judge Judy Favourite Colour: Purple Hobbies: Crosswords, quizzes and cooking Favourite Food: Fish & chips Favourite Sport: Just about everything! Likes: Good manners and holidays on the Algarve, Portugal Dislikes: Unpuctuality, bad drivers and the M6 through Cheshire |
DEPUTY PERFORMER
For complete peace of mind we have a number of fully-trained deputy performers who can be called upon at short notice to cover unexpected illness, etc.
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SHEENA
Sheena comes from a family of professional entertainers. She began her private training in dance, voice, piano and guitar at the tender age of four and continued study up to Grade 8 ABRSM. She has impressive professional credits in television, film, radio and theatre including the national tour of The Sleeping Beauty playing Princess Aurora, The Rat Pack UK tour (playing Marilyn Monroe and Peggy Lee), dancer in The Music Of The Movies, The Bernard Delfont Variety Performance with Darren Day and Shane Richie (for Arlene Phillips), Evita (Really Useful UK Tour), Hits From The Musicals (national tour), Strictly Ballroom (Theatre Royal Drury Lane and national tour), Patty Andrews in Roll Out The Barrel, Rita in Four Seasons (New Theatre, Oxford), The Commitments, ABBA Mania, One Night Of Elvis, Vera Lynn in A Concert To Remember, dancer in Latin Knights and playing the part of both Agnetha & Frida in Voulez Vous “ABBA The Story”. Sheena recently starred as Eva Cassidy in the Live At Blues Alley tour. She also devised and wrote her own one-woman show Lady Sings The Blues (Watermill Theatre, Newbury). Sheena has won several awards for her performances including the award for Outstanding Achievement & Best Newcomer for her performance as Lola in Copacabana and a NODA Award for Best Comedy Performance in Blood Brothers. Sheena's voice can be heard on many singles and albums as backing vocals and guest vocals. Alongside her onstage talent, Sheena is also a competent choreographer and assistant director with several professional productions and tours to her name. In 2008, Sheena and her husband Allan devised, produced and directed the award winning musical production Pop Goes the 80’s under their own production company. The show successfully toured UK theatres for two years and gained high critical acclaim. However, Sheena’s proudest achievements by far are her children Lucy, Joe and Georgia. Star Sign: Aquarius |
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SAM
Samantha has had an affinity for performance since a young age. Trained at Cumbria Institute for the Arts and more recently has just finished her Masters at Central School of Speech and Drama – the creators of Judi Dench and Laurence Olivier. Musical Credits include Connie in A Chorus Line, Tess in Crazy for You, Ado Annie in Oklahoma, Pepper in I Sing!, Mayzie La Bird in Seussical - The Musical and Mercedes in Cinderella to name a few. Most recently, Samantha played the lead part in the original cast of Stephen Clark’s musical, Sigrun’s Fire. Samantha started her journey with Swede Dreamz in January 2008, where she became Frida’s understudy. Samantha then moved on to the role of Agnetha, in a whirlwind two years of blonde wigs, glitter and platform heels! Samantha continues to play a part within the group and travels up from London to perform with Swede Dreamz as and when required. Star Sign: Taurus |