Jerusalem is a Christian rock band, based in Sweden that was founded around 1975 by Ulf Christiansson. They are widely viewed as the first Christian band with a hard rock sound. Christian rock is a form of rock music played by bands where the musicians are openly Christian. ... Hard rock is a form of rock and roll music which finds its closest roots in early 1960s garage rock. ...

When the band first toured in the mid-1970's in Sweden, their combination of Christian lyrics with a hard rock sound was very controversial. Hard rock was connected to drugs, aggression and the Devil, and the band was only permitted to perform at a few churches. The Devil is the name given to a supernatural entity, who, in most Western religions, is the central embodiment of evil. ...

Jerusalem's message was primarily aimed at youth, with their lyrics describing the band's relationship to God in an ordinary, but radical way. The concerts have been described as a series of revival meetings. A revival meeting is a series of Christian religious services held with an eye to encourage active members of a religious body and to provoke those outside of it to become part of it. ...

Over time, Jerusalem gained broader acceptance, and after three years of touring record companies began making offers to record the band. The Christian record company Prim signed Jersualem, without much expectation of success. However, the band's self-titled first album "Jerusalem" became an instant hit among Christian listeners, and within the first six months the record sold 20 000 copies, unheard of within the genre of Christian rock in Europe. Christian rock is a form of rock music played by bands where the musicians are openly Christian. ...

Buoyed by the response, Jeruslem toured both in Sweden and the rest of Scandinavia. The next album was released in 1980 and was called "Volume 2". This record, which was also made in an English version, exposed Jerusalem to a global audience. The working schedule of the band became filled with tours in Germany, France, England, Belgium and Finland. 1980 (MCMLXXX) was a leap year starting on Tuesday. ...

From the Christian Greenbelt festival in England, where Jerusalem participated during the summer, Americans brought the record to the United States and Glen Kaiser, leader of Resurrection Band one of the largest Christian rock bands in the US. Kaiser gave the record to Pat Boone, who owned the record company Lamb and Lion. Lamb and Lion subsequently released Jerusalem's records in the United States and Canada. Glenn Kaiser is a Chicago-based blues musician, having recorded both electric blues and country blues albums, and Christian pastor and speaker. ... Resurrection Band, also known as Rez Band or REZ, are a hard rock/blues band. ... Christian rock is a form of rock music played by bands where the musicians are openly Christian. ... Pat Boone Pat Boone (born June 1, 1934) is a singer whose smooth style made him one of the most popular performers of the 1950s and 1960s. ...

In 1981 Jerusalem released their third album, "Warrior". "Warrior" became a sales success in Sweden, Europe, USA and Canada. In the fall of 1981, Jerusalem toured the United States. European, radical Jerusalem, with their heavy hard rock, took the USA by storm. 1981 (MCMLXXXI) is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1981 (MCMLXXXI) is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

At this time the band consisted of Ulf Christiansson on guitar and vocals, Dan Tibell keyboards, Peter Carlsohn, who replaced Anders Mossberg on bass and finally Michael Ulvsgärd on drums (who had replaced Klas Anderhell).

With the fourth album: "Can't stop us now", Jerusalem's style changed and turned more melodic, but the lyrics didn't speak radically about God anymore. The album, recorded in Ireland, lead to another tour in the USA, where the video also was shown on MTV. The success was enormous. During the following years, Jerusalem mostly toured abroad, with their huge equipment, which weighed five tons. That was more than any other Swedish hard rock band could show at the time. Between 1983 and 1985 Jerusalem made several very successful tours in USA, which finally resulted in a live album: "In His Majesty's Service", recorded in Shreveport and Dallas. .mtv may also refer to a basic video format used on MP4 players coming out of China MTV: Music Television is a young adult cable television network headquartered in New York City. ... Shreveport, Louisiana is the third largest metropolitan city in the state of Louisiana, USA. It is located in Caddo Parish, and as of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 200,145. ... Dallas redirects here. ...

Eventually, however, this all became too much, and the members of the band tired out. In 1985, Jerusalem quit touring.

In 1987 Jerusalem released "Dancing on the head of the Serpent". Reidar Paulsen played the keyboards. On the record sleeve there was an army boot shown, depicted trampling on a demon. This radical image proved too shocking for Swedish Christians. Records stores still stocked the album, sold the record under the counter. After this album the band was quiet for a while. But the vision and the dream was still alive. 1987 (MCMLXXXVII) is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

In 1992, the band moved back to Gothenburg, Sweden and recorded the "Prophet" album. It ultimately became the Jersualem album that garnered the most favourable reviews. 1992 (MCMXCII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday. ...

External Links

Jerusalem - Official Site