FATBOY – a band with a mission…

The story so far…..

Fatboy was never meant to be retro or vintage, or being trapped in a style or sound. It was about six guys and the passion for their music that became their lives. It was all about singing, hammering, strumming because they had to. A way to survive, if you like.

Fatboy – an old jazzy saying for the stand-up bass – was formed by Hannu Kiviaho, Thomas Pareigis and Alf Östlund back in 1996. Together with Jan Lissnils, Jörgen Wall and Jocke Lindahl the first lineup was set in Stockholm, Sweden.

The following years was a period of intense live appearences and also arranging, playing and being a part of the play The Threepenny Opera (Die Dreigroschenoper), the beggar’s opera by Bertolt Brecht/Kurt Weill that played in Swedish theatres between 98-99.

In October 2004 the first release saw the light – This tear will never leave my eye. This was the first taste of a band combining nostalgia with their own style of progressive minor rockabilly.

When the first full length album “Steelhearted” was released the press found a new combo to love and so did the audience. 2005 was filled with concerts and waving to the crowds that shared a delicate taste in music.

Life, and music went on in the world of Fatboy, writing and appearing in a number of movies and plays like ”Komplett Galen” (2005), ”Babas Bilar” (2006), ”Lovestory” (2007), ”Allt Flyter” (2008), ”För Alla Åldrar” (2009).

The release of the second album ”In my bones” (2008) took the band to a new level as they were nominated to a Swedish grammy and the Nordic Music Prize Award.

The release was followed by tours in Scandinavia and then back home to Stockholm to record the 3rd album ”Overdrive” (2010) that included a number of Fatboy hits like ”What Would Elvis Do”, ”Last Train Home” and the bands no.1 air-played-hit ”Bad News From Pretty Red Lips”.

Press have always been on Fatboy’s side and this release was no different. Splendido! Bravissimo! Sehr Gut! Fantastinen! the reviews read.

This brought the band to a wider audience and tours were spread down to the European rock & roll scene. Besides the tours Fatboy also did a lot of much appreciated TV apperances during this period.

No rest for the talented. Time to record the 4th album ”Love Creole” that was realeased in 2012 followed by rumours around Movie Giants like Quentin Tarantino and Tim Burton being interested in some of the songs from the, again, five-star album from Fatboy. This was the first Fatboy album produced by Simon Nordberg at Decibel Studios, Stockholm.

Fatboy now moves into some years of intense touring due to heavy demand from the massses. During this period Fatboy also supports Swedish King of Rock n Roll Jerry Williams on a number of concerts. Such a blast and honor to work with Jerry.

2016 saw the release of two (!) Fatboy albums – the brand new stereo studio recording ”Moments” and the German Fatboy-Für-Alle-Release titled ”Songs our mothers taught us” that was a compilation album that included the exclusive track Love Creole featuring german star BelaB.

Moments was recorded at Ingrid Studio in Stockholm with Simon Nordberg producing and opens up with the Smash-hit Cruel Love that kept spinning on Swedish radio. The title song – Moment that counts – was co-written with Hannus younger brother Heikki and KENT frontman Jocke Berg.

The old Fatboy wheel keeps spinning – touring and writing new material found the band releasing the 7th full-length album ”Diggin the scene”, this time on the new label Psykbunkern. An absolute earth moving album that saw a number of Finnish collaborations including Esa Pulliainen and Jo´Buddy, not to mention the voice of Heidi Kaarto on the the sad sad story of ”Aila”. People were listening with open fish-trout mouths, so good. Diggin the scene was followed by more concerts, future plans were made, more bookings, but then……

2020-2022 – Pandemic fear of what tomorrow may bring

Rising from the ashes of the pandemic years led to writing ”The Storm” and Fatboy started walking again, slowly getting back in the saddle doing what the band was intended to do – bring joy and happiness to themselves and music lovers.

Now time for another recording session. This time Fatboy went to Patrik Staffansson and Enviken Records for a session in may 2023 to record the long awaited 4-track ”The Enviken EP” released in 2024. So with the latest 7-inch vinyl in the bag, the Fatboy saga goes on – the bop that never stops!

Members through the years:

  • Thomas Pareigis, Vocals & Acoustic Guitar 1996 –
  • Hannu Kiviaho, Lead Guitar 1996 –
  • Jan Lissnils, Pedal Steel Guitar & Organ 1996 –
  • Alf Östlund, Double Bass 1996 – 2013
  • Richard Terseaus, Drums 1996 – 2003
  • Jörgen Wall, Drums 2003 – 2008
  • Markus Källström, Drums 2008 – 2021
  • Johan Svensson, Drums 2021 –
  • Thomas Schuldt, Double Bass & Electric Bass 2013 – 2022
  • Pontus Håkansson, Double Bass & Electric Bass 2024 –

Milestones in the Fatboy Saga:

More Fatboy videos can be found in our Youtube channel: