Tommy Körberg

Bert Gustav Tommy Körberg (Swedish pronunciation: [ˈtɔ̌mːʏ ˈɕœ̂ːrbærj]; born 4 July 1948) is a Swedish singer, actor and musician. English-speaking audiences know him best for his role as Anatoly/"The Russian" in the musical Chess. He played the role on the 1984 concept album, and on stage in the 1986 world premiere West End production in London, as well as several times since. Körberg has represented Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest twice: 1969 (when he finished ninth) and 1988 (when he finished twelfth).

Körberg has also played the lead role in many Swedish productions of other musicals.

Career

From 1965 to 1968, Körberg was a singer in the Swedish pop group Tom & Mick & Maniacs, which went through several name changes. In August 1967, the group released the single "Somebody's Taken Maria Away", a cover of an Adam Faith song from 1965. The song went on to top the official Tio i Topp record chart for six consecutive weeks. The group had two additional hits on the chart: "Please, Please, Please" reached number five in April 1967 and "I (Who Have Nothing)" peaked at number eight in February 1968.

Following Tom & Mick & Maniacs' break-up in 1968, Körberg released his first solo album Nature Boy.

Körberg has represented Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest on two occasions. In 1969 he finished ninth with "Judy, min vän" and in 1988 he finished twelfth with "Stad i ljus".

He has also appeared in the Swedish productions of other musicals, usually in a starring role, including The Sound of Music and Les Misérables (as Jean Valjean). He was a supporting actor in the 1984 Swedish fantasy film Ronia, the Robber's Daughter, based on the novel by the same name by Swedish author Astrid Lindgren.