* En anglais uniquement
As
Laid Back, Copenhagen, Denmark-based duo
Tim Stahl and
John Guldberg are known most for a handful of stylistically disparate hits that spanned the 1980s.
The duo had met the previous decade with the Starbox Band, discovered that they worked well together, and within a short period of time landed a contract as
Laid Back on Teldec subsidiary Ultraphone. Their first single, "Maybe I'm Crazy," was released in 1980, preceding their self-titled debut album released the following year. Two years later, they signed with the Medley label and scored a hit in their homeland and abroad with the descriptively titled "Sunshine Reggae," released in support of their second album,
Keep Smiling. The single was unsuccessful in the U.S., but its B-side, a snapping electro-funk number titled "White Horse," was embraced by several of the country's club DJs. Licensed in the States by Sire, the track topped the Billboard club chart (and went on to be referenced many times, most significantly on
Monifah's 1998 hit "Touch It").
After
Play It Straight (1985) and
See You in the Lobby (1987),
Stahl and
Guldberg had additional success with the Ariola label, where they added to their pile of hits with "Bakerman" (1989). The Ariola deal produced the albums Hole in the Sky (1990) and Why Is Everybody in Such a Hurry! (1993), as well as the career-spanning retrospective Laidest Greatest (1995). Although
Laid Back released only
Unfinished Symphonies (Sundance, 1999) and
Happy Dreamer (Edel, 2005) during the next several years, the duo also worked as film music composers, and were awarded a Robert -- the Danish equivalent of an Oscar -- for their work on Flyvende Farmor.
In the early 2010s, they were as active as ever with self-released albums including
Cosmic Vibes (2011),
Cosyland (2012), and the multi-volume
Uptimistic Music (2013). Marking the band's 40th anniversary,
Laid Back returned with the full-length
Healing Feeling in late 2019. ~ Andy Kellman