Watermelon Men

 

Watermelon Men was a pop/rock band from Uppsala (Sweden). The band consisted of Erik Illes (vocals/guitar), Johan Lundberg (guitar), Imre von Polgar (guitar), Hans Sacklén (bass) and Erik Westin (drums). This line-up recorded the debut EP 'Blue Village' and the three albums 'Past, Present and Future', 'Wildflowers' and 'Moving Targets'. On the last album Magnus Ågren was added on organ and piano. On the band's last single '4 Heartbeats', the organ and drumming had been taken over by Jonas Rehn and Ola Jameson respectively. Jameson was also a member of the Uppsala band Webstrarna. 

 

Watermelon Men came to be counted among the wave of Swedish pop and rock bands of the 1980s that were brought under the "garage rock" label. That wave was documented on the compilation album 'A Real Cool Time - Distorted Sounds From The North' and Watermelon Men are of course included. In the period between ABBA and Roxette, these groups still achieved some attention outside the country. Watermelon Men were among the more successful bands of the wave and they achieved great success in Germany and in England they were on the cover of the then important music magazine Sounds. The group's second LP was produced by Clive Gregson from Any Trouble. Watermelon Men's music was characterized by strong melodies and very nice arrangements with the two guitars in the center and in Erik Illes they had a strong singer. In addition, they dared to use both strings and accordion in the music. The fact that both singer Erik and guitarist Imre had Hungarian roots was also highlighted. 

 

The group only ended in 1994 when singer Erik moved to Laos. But it was really the failure of the third LP that made the group withdraw. There they abandoned parts of their unique sound and adapted somewhat to being on a major record label. So despite good song material, it wasn't as good as the first two albums. Guitarist Imre von Polgar died in the 2004 tsunami disaster in Khao Lak. Watermelon Men played a one-off gig at Katalin in Uppsala shortly after the memorial service for Imre and his two daughters. Since 2013, Erik Illes is again active as a singer, songwriter and guitarist in the band Distant Days. [SOURCE: WIKIPEDIA]