Ted Gärdestad (Satellit)

Ted Arnbjörn Gärdestad (Swedish pronunciation: [ˈtɛdː ˈjæ̂ːɖɛˌstɑːd]; 18 February 1956 – 22 June 1997) was a Swedish singer, songwriter, musician and actor known internationally as Ted. Gärdestad began his acting career in 1966 and began playing music in 1971, signing with Polar Music. Assigned with in-house producers Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus, Gärdestad released his first single, "Hela världen runt," in late 1971 and worked closely with the four members of ABBA to create his debut album Undringar (1972). As Polar Music's best-selling solo artist (aside from ABBA), he continued to work with the group members throughout the 1970s, releasing three more albums Ted (1973), Upptåg (1974) and Franska Kort (1976), which were moderately successful. In 1978, Gärdestad released his first English-language album, Blue Virgin Isles, which did not have success internationally, as his predecessor albums had in his home country. In 1979, Ted and his brother Kenneth Gärdestad played at Melodifestivalen, the competition to select Sweden's entry for the Eurovision Song Contest, with the song "Satellit." They won the competition which allowed them to represent Sweden at Eurovision held in Jerusalem. Gärdestad attempted once more to enter a song at Melodifestivalen but was unsuccessful. He left the music industry shortly thereafter, to try acting. By the 1990s, he played with other musicians such as Harpo. Gärdestad toured extensively starting in 1994 until he died by suicide in 1997. A biographical film about Gärdestad was released in 2018, called Ted: För kärlekens skull.