Peter Bjorn and John is a Swedish indie rock band, formed in Stockholm in 1999 and named after the first names of the band’s current members: Peter Morén (vocals, guitar and harmonica), Björn Yttling (bass guitar, keyboards and vocals) and John Eriksson (drums, percussion and vocals).
They are best known for the 2006 single «Young Folks», which featured Victoria Bergsman, formerly of The Concretes, and was a top 20 hit in the UK Singles Chart. The hit was featured in the 2008 motion picture 21. It was also named NME’s second-best track of 2006, beaten only by «Over and Over» by Hot Chip.[1] In Australia it was voted number 16 in the annual Triple J Hottest 100 for 2006.
Morén and Yttling began playing music together while at high school. They shared an interest in bands such as The Stone Roses and Ride. They are influenced by, but not interested in replicating, classic 60’s baroque pop, power pop and new wave. Their first band disbanded after they moved to Stockholm, where they met Eriksson in 1999 to form Peter, Björn and John. Their first gig was an unsuccessful one aboard a boat in Stockholm. Their expectations were not high from the start, as they «just wanted to make good music for [their] own amusement». Lars Skoglund of the band Laakso has filled in for the band on drums and played bongos during some live shows. The video to their song «Young Folks» was animated and directed by Ted Malmros from Shout Out Louds.
Morén has recorded a solo album, The Last Tycoon, released April 8, 2008.
Kanye West has sampled the song in his version of «Young Folks» from his mixtape album, Can’t Tell Me Nothing. Peter, Bjorn and John also recently collaborated with Canadian-born Actor and Hip Hop star Drake on his 2009 mixtape, So Far Gone, on the song «Lets Call It Off»
The band released their most recent album, Living Thing, on 31 March 2009.
