Watch: ex-SKID ROW singer ERIK GRÖNWALL performs DIO, BLACK SABBATH, QUEEN classics at release party for autobiography
16-09-2024
Former SKID ROW and H.E.A.T. singer Erik Grönwall played a short acoustic set at the release party for his Swedish-language autobiography “Power – Musiken, Döden, Livet” (English: “Power: Music, Death, Life”) on Thursday, September 12 at Mammut Bar in Stockholm, Sweden.
The setlist for the performance was as follows:
01. Rainbow In The Dark (DIO cover) (with Jona Tee)
02. 18 And Life (SKID ROW cover) (with Jona Tee)
03. Living On The Run (H.E.A.T song) (with Jona Tee)
04. Headless Cross (BLACK SABBATH cover) (with Jona Tee)
05. Sex On The Beach (with Jona Tee)
06. A Shot At Redemption (H.E.A.T song) (with Jona Tee)
07. I Will Always Love You (DOLLY PARTON cover) (with Philip Näslund)
08. I Want To Break Free (QUEEN cover) (with Philip Näslund)
Watch the footage below.
“Power – Musiken, Döden, Livet” was released on September 12 via HarperCollins.
Erik went from auditioning for the competition show “Swedish Idol” back in 2009 by singing a cover of SKID ROW‘s “18 And Life” to fronting the band 13 years later. In his autobiography, Erik opens up about his life — from his childhood to the “Idol” participation to being diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia in March 2021 and his recovery to how he became the frontman of SKID ROW. We also get to hear about his decision to leave the band in the spring of 2024 to follow the values he set for himself during his illness.
“I never thought I’d release an autobiography, much less so at 36,” Erik said in a statement. “But sometimes it feels like I’ve lived two lifetimes in a third of a lifetime.
“I feel like I have something to share and I hope that can give hope to more people who are struggling. Life after an illness can actually be better than ever.”
Grönwall announced his decision to leave SKID ROW on March 27, 2024, saying that he wanted to “prioritize his health and full recovery.”
SKID ROW‘s longtime friend Lzzy Hale (HALESTORM) will handle lead vocals for the band’s four concerts in late May and early June.
The SKID ROW members said in a statement that they are “proud of what they have created and accomplished with Erik over the past two years” and “wish nothing but the best to him and his health. To celebrate the last two years, the band will be releasing a live album that perfectly captures this moment of time in the band’s 35-plus-year history, to be announced soon.”
Shortly after the announcement of his departure, Harpercollins announced the pending release of Erik’s biography, in which he deals with the recovery process.
Grönwall announced his decision to leave SKID ROW on March 27, saying that he wanted to “prioritize his health and full recovery.”
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The SKID ROW members said in a statement that they are “proud of what they have created and accomplished with Erik over the past two years” and “wish nothing but the best to him and his health. To celebrate the last two years, the band will be releasing a live album that perfectly captures this moment of time in the band’s 35-plus-year history, to be announced soon.”
Grönwall, who was a member of the Swedish hard rock band H.E.A.T. for nearly a decade before exiting the group in October 2020, announced in September 2021 that he was cancer free after receiving a bone marrow transplant one month earlier.
Grönwall sang on four H.E.A.T. studio albums — “Address The Nation” (2012), “Tearing Down The Walls” (2014), “Into The Great Unknown” (2017) and “H.E.A.T II” (2020).
In September 2021, just four months before joining SKID ROW, Grönwall released his new cover version of “18 And Life” via all streaming platforms.
In 2018, Grönwall debuted in the U.S. for 10 million viewers in NBC‘s live broadcast of Andrew Lloyd Webber‘s and Tim Rice‘s musical “Jesus Christ Superstar”. Along with John Legend, Alice Cooper, Sara Bareilles and others, Erik played the key role of Simon Zealotes.
In late March 2022, SKID ROW released its first single with Grönwall, “The Gang’s All Here”. The song is the title track of the band’s latest album, which arrived in October 2022 via earMUSIC.
SKID ROW played its first show with Grönwall on March 26, 2022 at Zappos Theater at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada as the support act on the rescheduled dates for SCORPIONS‘ “Sin City Nights” residency.
Grönwall lives in Knivsta, a city in Uppsala County in east central Sweden, with his wife and their four-year-old son.
Erik Grönwall, who was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia in March 2021, has offered a lengthy explanation for his decision to leave SKID ROW, saying that he wanted to focus on his “full recovery”.
On Wednesday, March 27, the 36-year-old Swedish singer shared the following statement via his social media: “Yes, I have decided to leave SKID ROW. The main reason being that it’s proved difficult to prioritize my health and full recovery as the lead singer of the band. ⠀⠀
“In 2021 I was undergoing treatment against leukemia and that gave me a superpower called perspective. I decided to use that perspective and write down the values I wanted to live by for the rest of my life. On top of that list it says ‘health first’.⠀⠀
“I’ve had to look at that list a lot of times this last year, questioning if I’m really living according to my values. At the end of the day I realized the answer was no. ⠀⠀
“As a result of the treatments and transplant my immune system was impaired. You can think of my immune system as a 4 year old kid bringing home all kinds of viruses from preschool. It takes awhile to build up that resistance again but my immune system is getting stronger every day. However I’m still doing regular check ups (blood tests) at the hematology department in Sweden, which has proved challenging while keeping up with the SKID ROW schedule. I have way too much respect for my medical history to push myself to the limit.⠀
“I love SKID ROW, I have nothing but respect for the guys in the band but I love and respect my health more. I understand that SKID ROW is a touring band but like I told the guys: ‘if I can’t prioritize my health, then I’m not the right guy for the job’.⠀⠀
“Please note, I’m NOT sick and it’s not that I don’t want to tour. I love being on the road. And of course we have tried to find the right balance together but at the end of the day I realized that it was better for me to step aside. ⠀
“So now I’m going to focus on my full recovery, and come back stronger than ever. Meanwhile I’m finalizing my biography. And I’m going to start writing my own music again. ⠀⠀
“Lastly, once again thank you to everyone who accepted me as the singer of this iconic band. ⠀⠀
“Always remember that no job, no money, no fame is worth your health or well being. Health first always. I owe this decision to the guy in the second picture in the post below and I’m proud to be able to say that I kept my promise to him. Health first!”
Lzzy said: “I’m stepping in for a few dates as the lead singer in SKID ROW! What an honor to call them my friends and a privilege to be sharing the stage with them!
“Erik, I wish you all the magic on your next adventure.
“Now… which leather pants to wear?!!”
SKID ROW shows with Lzzy Hale on lead vocals:
May 17 – Walker’s Bluff Casino Resort – Carterville, IL
May 18 – Riverside Casino & Golf Resort – Riverside, IA
May 31 – Nugget Casino Resort – Sparks, NV
June 01 – Hard Rock Live Sacramento – Wheatland, CA
Erik Grönwall, famously went from auditioning for the competition show “Swedish Idol” back in 2009 by singing a cover of SKID ROW‘s “18 And Life” to now fronting the band.
Grönwall joined SKID ROW as the replacement for ZP Theart, who had been in the group for more than six years.
In March 2022, SKID ROW released its first single with Grönwall, “The Gang’s All Here”. The song is the title track of the band’s latest album, which arrived in October via earMUSIC.
SKID ROW recorded most of “The Gang’s All Here” in Nashville, Tennessee with producer Nick Raskulinecz, who has previously worked with FOO FIGHTERS, STONE SOUR, HALESTORM, EVANESCENCE, RUSH and ALICE IN CHAINS, among many others.
01. Hell Or High Water
02. The Gang’s All Here
03. Not Dead Yet
04. Time Bomb
05. Resurrected
06. Nowhere Fast
07. When The Lights Come On
08. Tear It Down
09. October’s Song
10. World’s On Fire
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