Mando Diao - Long Before Rock'n'Roll (Live The Bowery Ballroom, New York 2007)

Mando Diao is an alternative rock band from Borlänge, Sweden. The band got their breakthrough with the release of the album Hurricane Bar. Their main fan base is in Sweden, Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Japan. Band members are Björn Dixgård (vocals, guitar), Carl-Johan Fogelklou (bass), Jens Siverstedt (guitar), Daniel Haglund (keyboard) and Patrik Heinkipieti The roots of Mando Diao date back to 1999 when Björn Dixgård (vocals, guitar) and Daniel Haglund (keyboard) played in a band called Butler,[1] which they had founded in the middle of the 1990s. In 1996, Gustaf Norén (vocals, guitar), joined the band. In 1999, Carl-Johan Fogelklou (bass, backing vocals) and Samuel Giers (drums) became members and completed the original band. The current line-up decided to take the project more seriously. Björn Dixgård and Gustaf Norén locked themselves up in a summer house and spent 14 months writing songs. They claim the Beatles as their original source of inspiration.[2] Allegedly, Gustaf joined the band after he and Björn had talked all night about this band. The two renamed their band Mando Diao, a name that appeared to Björn Dixgård in a dream in which a man came up to him and shouted "Mando Diao!".[3] Mando Diao made their first public performances in the clubs of their hometown Borlänge in 1999. A local writer described them in an article as the best unsigned band he had ever seen. This was soon followed by a record deal with EMI Sweden.

Added 13 Sept 2026