Orup

Hans Thomas Eriksson (born 29 November 1958), known by his stage name Orup, is a Swedish singer, songwriter and musician who enjoyed major success in his native country and Scandinavia in the late 1980s and early 1990s with songs like "Jag blir hellre jagad av vargar", "Regn hos mej", "M.B.", "Då står pojkarna på rad", "Magaluf", and "Stockholm". Orup has also written several songs for other performers. He wrote the winning song of Melodifestivalen 2004, "Det gör ont" performed by Lena Philipsson. He was one of the judges on X Factor in 2012. Orup also took part in season 5 of the Swedish TV-show Så mycket bättre, broadcast on TV4.

Early life

Orup was born Hans Thomas Eriksson in Huddinge, Sweden, on 29 November 1958, as the second child of Ann-Marie and Hasse Eriksson; Orup's sister is six years his senior. Eriksson's household was a lower middle class one.

Orup's parents divorced when he was seven. Orup's father died on 24 July 1978.

Eriksson received his first guitar and a tape recorder for his eighth birthday. Orup was introduced to the Beatles by his sister. Eriksson was into sports, playing ice-hockey for Huddinge IK, as well as football and handball, until his early teens when he formed his first band, a Black Sabbath-inspired heavy metal band with himself as the lead singer.

After Orup left school, he worked several temporary jobs as a taxi driver, postman and waiter.

Career

In 1973, when he was 14, Orup formed Magnum Bonum, a band inspired by American prog rockers Styx. At age 16 he wrote his first song, entitled "I Can't Get You Out Of My Mind", for his band MBI, an acronym for, and joint venture of, the two bands Magnum Bonum and Intermezzo.