SCANDINAVIAN POWERHOUSE BLUES-ROCK
Sky High are one of Nortern Europes finest blues-rock bands! Fronted by Clas Yngström, guitar-player/singer extraordinaire, the band has been working hard ever since it´s early start in Gothenburg late 1978. The style is Hendrix-drenched blues-rock with elements of Texas style blues, Funk, Jazz and traditional Swedish folk tunes. With 15 fullength albums and well over 4.000!! gigs around the world in the bag the band doesn´t need any excuses – they´re right on target and can shake up a crowd anywhere, no matter of what size.
1980 – Jimi Hendrix memorial-fest, Amsterdam. Sky High brought down a jam-packed house at the Paradiso, Amsterdam. Band closed it´s set with a blues-jam featuring original Experience member Mitch Mithell on drums. Top reviews in brittish music mag. Melody Maker!
1982 – second album “Still Rockin´”, produced in London by “Blues Band” producer Lou Stonbridge, is being promoted on BBC-radio by the late english blues nestor Alexis Corner,.
1985 – “I Ain´t Beggin´”, top ten hit around Scandinavia. Video initiated by ZZ -Top- airs prime time all over Europe on“Music Box” and “MTV”.The track is also featured on the soundtrack for US flick “The American Dream”, starring Dennis Hopper.
1987 – 5 piece lineup with keyboards and young female vox Louise Hoffsten.Gold record sales for “Humanizer”album, single“Don´t Move” no 6 on Swedish singles charts.
1988 – plays the prestigous“The New Olrleans Jazz & Heritage Festival”, by invitation from Chuck Berry´s management, along with f.ex.: BB King, Stevie Ray Vaughan, James Brown. Plays in front of a crowd of 300.000!at”Glasnost Rock”, the Soviet Unions first international Rock-festival in Tallin, Estonia.……..Clas records new album “Have Guitar, Will Travel” in SanFransisco with Prairie Prince(The Tubes), Ross Valory(Journey) and Norton Buffalo (Steve Miller Band) – Tour of Northern Europe follows.
1991 – Plays SXSW showcase at legendary “Steamboat” club in Austin Texas - roof gone ever since! Signs with US record label Viceroy.
1992 – Tour of INDIA, by special invitation from Indian Governement! – the full three week tour is documented by a Swedish film team and later showed on Scandinavian and Indian TV.
1994 – Tour of Ecuador – cultural exchange program initiated by Swedish National Concerts Bureau. Tour together with Ecuador group “Los Chigualeros”, who also toured with Sky High Sweden in -95 .
1996 – “Fat Guitar” album produced in the US with the help of legendary english rock-lyricist Pete Brown, who contributed with some great new lyrics. Guest appearences by: Mary Wilson (of the Supremes), the Uptown Horns and the late legendary brittish blues reed-man Dick Heckstall-Smith
1998 - Four of the bands original songs featured in swedish blockbuster movie “The Hunters”, seen by over 2.000.000! 25 year anniversary twin-set–“Sky Highlights” released by Borderline Records.
2000 – Dynamite gig at legendary “Antones” “home of the blues”-club in Austin TX. Sky High brings down the house on an all star night sharing bill with Delbert Mc Clinton, Marcia Ball & Eric Johnson…
2001 – Tour of Japan – real bluesmen DO eat sushi! (And sometimes have a taste of sake…)
2002 – New recording deal with Virgin Records, new album “Freedom” released in the US.
2003 New Album, “On The Cover/25 Years Of Madness” - Sky High´s 12´th released in April. Clas, original S.H. drummer Uffe Åhman and bass wiz “Häggbert” release a live set recorded at the Jimi Hendrix 60 year anniversary party at Jazzclub Fasching, Sthlm.
2004 – second album for Virgin /EMI - “Soul Survivor” a live recording of new original songs, featuring extended lineup with keyboards, horns and female guest voice extraordinaire; miss Petra Kvännå - recorded live in Stockholm April 9-11.
2005 – new band with powerhouse drummer James Bradley Jr ( Crazytown, Anita Baker, Chuck Mangione, Beasty Bos etc.. ) and Ulf “Rockis” Ivarsson – Bass. Virgin release 8 albums from the back-catalogue – “Sky High”(80), “Still Rockin´”(82), “Freezin´Hot”(85), “Humanizer”(87), “Have Guitar,Will Travel”(89), “Safe Sex”(91) , “Fuzzface”(94) and the big band album “Purple Haze, a big band experience” ( 98)
2006 – Clas gets Blues Award from Åmål Bluesfest, Sky High Play the Stockholm Jazz Fest - for the tenth time!
2007 – Release of SKY HIGH Dvd – “ 28 Years Of Madness”. Clas record live Dvd “Walking With The Kings” ( tribute to Alber, BB and Freddy King )in NYC with Jon Paris, Nathanael Peterson & Vince Converse – release September -07.
2008 New Sky High studio-album set for release
Antones, Austin TX - 2000