The Girls Want the Boys! Sweden's Beat Girls 1966 - 1970

Ace's smorgasbord of Swedish she-pop opens with early solo sides by the lead singers of the nation’s greatest pop music export, ABBA: Agnetha Faltskog with Ge Dej Till Tals (a highlight of her second album) and Anni-Frid Lyngstad with Sa Synd Du Maste Ga (a song popularised by Françoise Hardy as Comment Te Dire Adieu). Other featured well-known names include national treasure Lill-Babs with her cover of Dusty Springfield’s Little By Little and chart star Mona Wessman with a version of Music To Watch Girls By. But it wasn’t all cover versions in mid-60s Sweden. Dig, for example, Eleanor Bodel’s title track, Don’t by cult favourite Doris (who also appears as lead vocalist of the group Plums), au pair duo Bella and Me’s groovy Help Me Break This Habit and Britt Bergstrom’s Ivy League-penned You Really Have Started Something. Cherry-picked tracks by the Plommons and cover stars MAK Les Soeurs illustrate the country also produced its fair share of all-girl groups.