Nicke Andersson facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Nicke Andersson
Andersson performing with the Hellacopters in 2008
Background information
Birth name	Anders Niklas Andersson
Also known as	Nick Royale, Nicke Hellacopter, David Lee Hellacopter, Punk Andersson
Born	(1972-08-01) 1 August 1972 (age 52) Sweden
Genres	Rock, garage rock, hard rock, punk rock, soul, heavy metal, extreme metal
Occupation(s)	Musician, record producer, songwriter
Instruments	Vocals, guitar, drums
Years active	1981–present
Associated acts	Lucifer, The Hellacopters, Entombed, The Solution, Death Breath, Imperial State Electric, The Hydromatics, Supershit 666, Nihilist, MC5, Stefan Sundström, Dismember, Neil Leyton, Cold Ethyl

Anders Niklas Andersson (born on August 1, 1972), known as Nicke Andersson, is a Swedish musician. He is famous as the singer and guitarist for the rock band The Hellacopters. He was also the drummer for the death metal band Entombed.

Besides these bands, Nicke writes songs and plays for other groups. These include the soul band The Solution, the metal band Death Breath, the hard rock band Lucifer, and the rock band Imperial State Electric. Nicke has worked on over 100 music releases. He has also produced music, played many instruments, sung, and even created artwork for his bands.

Nicke Andersson's Music Journey

Nicke Andersson's love for music started early. His favorite band was KISS. He soon found his friend Kenny Håkansson's dad's record collection. There, he discovered bands like The Ramones and Sex Pistols.

His interest grew towards heavier music. He started trading music tapes and vinyl records. He also wrote for fan magazines called fanzines. Soon, Nicke began playing music himself. He played drums and guitars in many rock and metal bands. Some of these early bands were The Breaking, Belsen Barnen, and Nihilist.

Entombed: A Metal Start

Nicke formed the band Nihilist after seeing an ad in a music store. When Nihilist ended in 1989, the same musicians formed Entombed. Nicke was mainly the drummer for Entombed. He also played bass, guitar, and sang sometimes.

Entombed mixed different music styles. Their first two albums, Left Hand Path (recorded when Nicke was 18) and Clandestine, were mostly death metal. For their third album, Wolverine Blues, they added more traditional hard rock and heavy metal sounds. This album is often seen as the start of a new style called "death 'n' roll."

The Hellacopters: Rocking Out

In late 1994, Nicke started The Hellacopters as a side project. He formed it with Dregen, Kenny Håkansson, and Robert Eriksson. These friends had been roadies for Entombed. In January 1995, they released their first song, Killing Allan.

Their first full album, Supershitty to the Max!, came out in 1996. It was recorded in just 25 hours! The album later won a music award called a Grammis. The band added Anders Lindström and even opened for KISS in 1997. Their next album, Payin' the Dues, followed in 1998.

Because The Hellacopters became so successful, Nicke left Entombed. He wanted to focus only on his new band. However, the next year, guitarist Dregen left to focus on his other band, Backyard Babies. The Hellacopters then changed their music style. They moved from a raw garage/punk rock sound to a cleaner one.

The band toured with temporary guitarists. Later, Robert 'Strings' Dahlqvist joined as their full-time guitarist. The Hellacopters kept releasing albums and touring a lot. They played in Scandinavia, Europe, and other parts of the world. They even opened for The Rolling Stones twice in 2002.

In 2006, The Hellacopters toured Sweden with other famous bands. These included The Hives and Backyard Babies. The band broke up after their seventh album, Head off, which was a collection of cover songs. They had a final tour in 2008.

Working with Scott Morgan

While touring in the USA with The Hellacopters, Nicke met Scott Morgan. Scott was the singer for the band Sonic's Rendezvous Band. This meeting led to them forming The Hydromatics. They released their first album, Parts Unknown, in 1999.

Nicke and Scott worked together again in 2004. This time, they formed a band called The Solution. They released the album Communicate! and later Will Not Be Televised in 2007.

Death Breath: Heavy Metal Project

In 2005, Nicke Andersson and Robert Pehrsson formed Death Breath. Scott Carlson and Erik Wallin soon joined them. The band plays metal music. It is inspired by Nicke's favorite early extreme metal bands. These include Venom and Celtic Frost. Death Breath released Stinking Up the Night in 2006 and Let It Stink in 2007.

Cold Ethyl: Live Music Only

After The Hellacopters broke up, Nicke formed Cold Ethyl. He started it with Thomas Eriksson, Tobias Egge, and Dolf De Borst. The band decided not to record or release any music. The only way to hear them is by going to their live shows. They played their first show in Stockholm in 2009.

Imperial State Electric: Nicke's Own Band

Andersson playing with Lucifer in 2022

Imperial State Electric started as Nicke Andersson's solo project. But it soon became a touring band. It had the same members as Cold Ethyl. They toured Scandinavia and Europe in 2010–2011. This was after their first album, Imperial State Electric, came out in 2010.

Imperial State Electric played many headline shows and festivals. They also opened for big bands like KISS and Guns N' Roses. For their second album, Pop War (2012), Imperial State Electric became a proper band. They started the "Pop War" tour in Sweden in 2012.

Lucifer: A New Chapter

In March 2017, it was announced that Nicke had joined the band Lucifer as their drummer. He started writing songs with Johanna Sadonis, who is now his wife and Lucifer's singer. This happened in 2016 after two band members left.

Nicke can play many instruments. So, Lucifer recorded their second album in his home studio. Only guitarist Robin Tidebrink joined them. The band's third and fourth albums, Lucifer III (2021) and Lucifer IV (2022), were nominated for Best Hard Rock/Metal at the Grammis awards.

Other Music Work

In 1998, Nicke formed Supershit 666 with his old bandmate Dregen and Ginger from The Wildhearts. Their music sounded a lot like early Hellacopters songs. They released an EP in 1999 but never played live.

After releasing By the Grace of God, Nicke was invited to join Wayne Kramer and the band MC5. He toured with them in 2003 and 2004.

Nicke also worked with Swedish punk musician Johan Johansson in 2004. They released a single together. He also recorded drums and guitars for Swedish singer/songwriter Stefan Sundström's album Hjärtats melodi in 2004.

Besides playing, Nicke has produced music for other bands. He produced Dollhouse's album The Royal Rendezevous in 2005. He also played on Neil Leyton's album The Betrayal of the Self. In 2006, he produced Backyard Babies's album People Like People Like People Like Us.

Nicke's Musical Gear

Nicke Andersson uses special guitars and amplifiers for his music.

Guitars Nicke Plays

• Greco 1977 Les Paul Standard: This guitar has a special tobacco sunburst color. It was a 40th birthday gift to Nicke.
• Berg Electric Guitars "Goblin": This guitar was custom-made for Nicke. It is shiny black.
• Berg Electric Guitars "Imperial": Also custom-made by Thomas Berg.
• Greco Les Paul Standard: A black guitar with white edges.
• Eagle 12-string: A guitar that looks like a Rickenbacker, but has 12 strings.
• TYM Guitars The Royale: This is Nicke's own signature guitar model.
• TYM Guitars Wosrite Black Beauty
• TYM Guitars Johnny Ramone model
• TYM Guitars Versatone
• Mosrite – Ventures Model reissue.
• Halkan Crestwood Deluxe: A copy made in Sweden.
• Daguet – Epiphone Crestwood replica.
• Gibson SG Custom: A cream-white guitar with three pickups.
• Mosrite Ventures model
• Gordon Smith GS LP Junior: Single cutaway.
• Gordon Smith GS LP Junior: Double cutaway.
• Gibson Les Paul Junior: A guitar with one P-90 pickup.
• Gibson Les Paul Custom
• Iceman: Custom-built with three pickups.
• DiPinto Mach IV: An all-black guitar with two single coil pickups.
• Gibson Flying V: This guitar was changed to be played left-handed.
• Hagström bass

Amplifiers Nicke Uses

• Orange OTR-12 amplifier
• Marshall Amplifiers
• Fender Twin Reverb
• Lehnert Rambler 25w combo

Bands Nicke Has Been In

Here is a timeline of the bands Nicke Andersson has played in:

• Nihilist (drums (1987–1989))
• Mezzrow (bass (1988–1989))
• Entombed (drums (1989-1997, 2016–present), vocals (1991))
• The Hellacopters (guitars, vocals (1994–2008, 2016–present))
• Daemon (Drums (1996))
• Supershit 666 (as Nick Royale: drums (1999))
• The Hydromatics (as Nick Royale: drums, percussion, backing vocals (1999))
• Kurt-Sunes med Helveteshundarna (vocals, guitars (2004))
• Death Breath (drums, guitars) (2005–present)
• The Solution (as Nick Royale: drums, percussion, guitars, backing vocals (2004–present))
• Imperial State Electric (vocals, guitars (2008–present))
• Lucifer (drums, guitar, bass (2017–present))

Selected Music Albums

See also

In Spanish: Nicke Andersson para niños