Wednesday, July 18, 2018

VARIOUS ARTISTS – Om IB på Gamla Riksdagshuset (MNW, 1974)

Featured artists: Sture Källberg / Björn Granath / Narren / Klararevyn / Finn Zetterholm & Hasse Alfredsson & Tage Danielsson / Gösta Ekman / Lena Nyman / Monica Zetterlund / Lilla Klara / Gösta Bredefeldt / Dramatiska Teatern / Olof Buckard / Robert Karl Oskar Broberg / Fria Proteatern / Jan Myrdal
  Swedish vocals, spoken word 
International relevance: -
 
Journalists Jan Guillou and Peter Bratt caused great upheaval in May 1973 when they exposed a Swedish secret intelligence service, IB (most often refered to as Informationsbyrån, ”the information bureau”), unknown even to the Swedish Parliament and Social Democratic prime minister Olof Palme – or so he said... IB kept files on citizens with left-wing affinities, used spies in foreign countries, was responsible for a break-in at the Egyptian embassy in Stockholm, and had ties to CIA and the Israeli intelligence service Shin Beth. The disclosure soon took on the size of a scandal, comparable to Watergate only with Swedish proportions. Guillou, Bratt, journalist Håkan Isacsson and photographer Ove Holmqvist were arrested for espionage, and the three writers were sentenced to jail – itself a remarkable turn of events. There were so many irregularities and odd twists that it's impossible to give a sensible brief summary of the so called IB affair that remains one of the biggest political scandals ever in Sweden.Needless to say, a lot has been written about it ever since and it still surfaces as a hot topic every once in a while.

In December 1973, 4,000 people showed up at a manifestation against IB and the jail sentences, and for free speech and freedom of the press. An impressive amount of actors such as Gösta Ekman, Lena Nyman and Björn Granath, comedians and showmen like Olof Buckard and Hasse Alfredsson & Tage Danielsson, leftist debaters like Jan Myrdal, theatrical groups like Klararevyn and Narren, and artists such as Finn Zetterholm, Robert Karl Oskar Broberg, Fria Proteatern and world renowned jazz vocalist Monica Zetterlund appeared on stage during the five hour meeting that was recorded and trimmed down for LP release on MNW in 1974. While its value as a historical document is undeniable, the relevance to a foreign listener is minimal, due to lengthy spoken word sections and mostly uninteresting music.

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