Laid Back is a Danish electronic music duo group from Copenhagen,[1] formed in 1979. The duo consists of John Guldberg (vocals, guitar, bass) and Tim Stahl (vocals, keyboards, drums, bass). They are best known for the hits "Sunshine Reggae" and "White Horse" from 1983 and "Bakerman" from 1989.
Background and origins
John Guldberg and Tim Stahl met in the mid-1970s, and they played together in a group called the Starbox Band.[1] After a poorly received show supporting the Kinks, the band split up, but the duo continued working together. Guldberg set up a small studio in downtown Copenhagen where the two musicians began exploring the possibilities that were being opened up by new technologies, such as multitracktape recorders, synthesizers and drum machines.
First released in 1983 as a B-side of the single "Sunshine Reggae", this song is one of the group's most memorable tracks and their breakthrough hit in America.
Their debut album, simply titled Laid Back, was released in 1981, and the single "Maybe I'm Crazy" became a number-one hit in Denmark.[1]
The single "Sunshine Reggae", released the next year, became another chart-topper in their home country; it was later included on the band's second album, Keep Smiling, in 1983, and went on to become a number-one single in Italy, West Germany, and nineteen other countries around the world. In the US, however, it was the single's B-side that became the band's only big hit. "White Horse" is a funk-influenced dance track with a memorable bassline and ambiguous, drug- and/or sex-themed lyrics ("white horse" being a slang for heroin) that became popular in US clubs. After the song was re-released as an A-side on both 7-inch and 12-inch vinyl, it went on to spend three weeks at number one on Billboard's National Disco Action charts; it was also a crossover success, reaching the top five on the Hot Black Singles chart while peaking at number 26 on the Billboard Hot 100 in early 1984. Its relatively poor performance on the Hot 100 is most likely due to the track's controversial lyrics (including the word "bitch"), which prevented it from receiving radio airplay in much of the country. In 1989, the American rap act 2 Live Crewsampled "White Horse" heavily for their single "Get the Fuck Out of My House"; it was later sampled for Monifah's 1998 hit "Touch It".
Laid Back's next two albums, Play It Straight (1985) and See You in the Lobby (1987),[1] and singles such as "Abu Dhabi" and "Tricky Kind of Thing", were released to little fanfare and limited chart success.
The duo made a return to the European charts in 1989 with the single "Bakerman" (featuring Danish singer Hanne Boel[2]), which peaked at number nine on the West German chart, and number 44 in the United Kingdom in early 1990. It was accompanied by an unusual video, directed by Lars von Trier, which featured the band skydiving while "playing" their instruments. Guldberg and Stahl have both named this their favourite Laid Back track, and said the words were written by Guldberg during the recording session for the song. The lyrics are in English except for the phrase "Sagabona kunjani wena", which Guldberg has described as a Swahili phrase meaning "Hello, how are you?"[3]
Hoping to capitalize on the success of Bakerman, their label re-released White Horse (as White Horse '89) with new remixes, although this was a commercial disappointment.
Later work
Over the course of the following decades, Laid Back released several albums and singles. The duo also composed the soundtrack of the 2001 feature filmFlyvende Farmor, for which they were awarded a Robert, the Danish equivalent of an Oscar. That same year, an exhibition of the band's artwork, including pieces that appeared on their records and promotional posters, took place in Copenhagen. In 2003 they featured on the track "Tango" by Danish band Hæst, produced by Umpff. A remix of "Bakerman" by British DJShaun Baker reached number one in Greenland in 2006.
In 2010, "Cocaine Cool" was the first single to be released on Laid Back's own label, Brother Music. It was followed by the mini album Cosyland and the instrumental album Cosmic Vibes in 2012. In 2013, Laid Back released the double album "Uptimistic Music".
In 2019, Laid Back received the prestigious Danish award "Pioneer of the Year" (Årets Steppeulv) for their many years of contribution to the international music scene. 2019 was a special year for Laid Back marking 40 years of making music in the same studio in Copenhagen, the studio where it all began. Laid Back celebrated their anniversary by releasing their 12th studio album "Healing Feeling".
In 2023, Laid Back released the 21 track studio album, Road to Fame. For the second time in the band's history, they released a song in their native language called "Mig" ("Me"). Their first song in danish was "Flyvende Farmor" ("The flying granny") from 2001.
They continue to make sporadic live performances as well. In 2023, Laid Back made a guest performance at Roskilde Festival with Free Nationals.
Legacy
In 2008, the band MGMT performed a cover of the Laid Back song "Roger" on the Morning Becomes Eclectic music program on KCRW radio, and also played the song at concerts.[4][5][6]
