Wild Kingdom to release Swedish supergroup Midlife Crisis
In 2004, Maryslim had just released their second album “Split Vision” and toured extensively. The band’s bassist and driving force, Urrke Thunman, started missing “his old lighthearted and playful punk rock from back in the day” and began thinking about recording a single for fun, featuring some old, semi-obscure ’77 punk classics.
Who would be part of the project wasn’t entirely clear. But when Urrke mentioned his plans to his old friend Robert Eriksson (drummer of The Hellacopters) in a conversation, it sparked something.
– “I want in,” he said. He then suggested they should also involve guitarist Måns P Månsson (from Wrecks, Maggots, etc.).
And that’s how it came together. Later that week, when Urrke mentioned the plan to Dregen, who was no longer the guitarist for The Hellacopters but still with Backyard Babies, Dregen immediately exclaimed, “You’re not doing this without me!”
So, they went into the studio, and soon after, their debut EP was released on the small label Bootleg Booze Records. Success was inevitable. Over the next 14 years, they recorded and released three more vinyl EPs on BB Records. The second EP still featured exclusively well-chosen covers of old ’70s bands from England, Sweden, and the USA. By the third and fourth EPs, a few of Urrke’s original works were included, as well as a Swedish translation of the U.K. Subs classic “The Same Thing” (“Samma sak”).
Fast forward to 2024, and Urrke and Dregen are meeting with Wild Kingdom Records at the headquarters in Stockholm. During the meeting, they agreed on a deal to release everything Midlife Crisis had recorded between 2004 and 2018 on an excellent compilation album—on CD, vinyl, and digital platforms.
Dregen suggested the clever title “45 turns 33.” And here we are, with the whole package ready to launch.
The midlife crisis has never been more palpable or relevant than it is now!