Vildkaktus -

Vildkaktus was a Swedish jazz-rock/psych band that made three albums between 1970 and 1973 on MNW, Polydor, and Ljudspår. Three members reconstituted as Ibis for one further album.

Members: Gösta Nilsson (piano, organ, vocals), Olle Nilsson (guitar, vocals), Håkan Thanger (bass), Tommy Johnsson (bass, vocals), Ali Lundbohm (drums), Leif Rundqvist (saxophone, flute, vocals), Dave Spann (drums)

Background

Vildkaktus formed in 1970 in Stockholm when guitarist–singer Olle Nilsson and his pianist brother, Gösta, teamed with bassist Håkan Thanger and drummer Ali Lundbohm.

Olle led the pop group 14 from 1965 to 1968 in Finspång, Östergötland. The band recorded the 1966 album In a Bunch for Olga Records and released singles through the remainder of the decade. He moved to Stockholm for music studies and formed Vildkaktus with new associates. Gösta trained as a church musician and also played jazz piano.

Thanger taught himself guitar as a teenager and formed the Thundermen, a Stockholm beat group that played at local youth clubs. He subsequently joined the orchestra of trumpeter Weine Renliden, then left around 1967–68 for three years of full-time studies at Birkagården music school. Thanger also replaced Gert Avelin in the vocal group Country Four, where he sang and played electric guitar and bass. Lundbohm played as a young drummer with singers Östen Warnerbring and Jerry Williams.

Vildkaktus performed at the Stockholm jazz club Gyllene Cirkeln, where producer Roger Wallis heard the quartet. Wallis connected the group with the independent label MNW in Vaxholm, where the musicians prepared the debut album Tidsmaskinen.

Discography:

Tidsmaskinen (1970)
Vindarnas Vägar (1971)
Natten (1973)

References and notes

Vildkaktus — archived biography — Stockholm formation and Olle Nilsson’s move from Finspång/Norrköping for music studies. (Progg.se)
Håkan Thanger — Biography prepared with Thanger’s assistance; the Thundermen, Weine Renliden orchestra, Birkagården studies, Country Four, and the original Vildkaktus quartet. (Sunkit)
14 — In a Bunch — Original 1966 Swedish LP release. (Discogs)
Vildkaktus — Tidsmaskinen — Olle Nilsson’s earlier group 14 and Gösta Nilsson’s church-music training. (The Swedish Progg Blog)
Ali Lundbohm — Biographical entry with early appearances alongside Östen Warnerbring and Jerry Williams. (Discogs)
MNW:s skivarkiv revisited — Early MNW history; Roger Wallis’s discovery of Vildkaktus at Gyllene Cirkeln. (Deckarlogg)
Tidsmaskinen — catalogue record — Original quartet personnel and MNW catalogue number MNWL-11P. (National Library of Finland)