Swedish rock group Diamond Dogs were formed 1991 by Sulo Karlsson, Boba Lindström, and The Duke of Honk in Katrineholm, Södermanland. Influenced by British Early 1970s R&B. After making highly acclaimed demo tapes with star producer Max Martin the members moved to Stockholm upon finding fame in 1992 and debut album Honked was recorded in Sunlight Studio with inimitable producer Tomas Skogsberg. The first single "Blue Eyes Shouldn’t Be Cryin’" launched in 1993 made its way to a rotation on MTV’s classic hard rock show Headbangers Ball.
Through constant touring, Diamond Dogs soon built a large reputation for their energetic live shows, with the charismatic and dynamic stage antics singer Sören ”Sulo” Karlsson, as well as its innovative use of the piano as a lead rock instrument, Henrik ”The Duke of Honk” Widen is a pioneer in sound and style for gritty rock'n'roll keys.
Sulo is the main songwriter, and Honk serves as the group's principal producer.
Keeping busy the better part of the 1990s playing live shows, Diamond Dogs took a break in 1997 and Anders ”Boba” Lindström became a full member of The Hellacopters. Two years later DD was contracted on new label with worldwide distribution in 1999. They cut a five track record in 24 hours and named it “Among the non-believers”, released in early 2000. It became the restart of a successful journey that eventually took Diamond Dogs to world wide cult status.
The group went into the new millennium with their second long player As Your Greens Turn Brown, SAE Studios, Stockholm, released in March 2001. The first single "Goodbye Miss Jill" got a fair bit of airplay around the world, and already being recognized as one of rock's most dynamic stage performers, Diamond Dogs now had earn a sizable following.
Nowadays the English music press speaks about the band as sounding more British than the Brits themselves, and this record very much represents what this band is all about.
After spending the early part of 2001 on the road with an active touring schedule, the band went back into the Sunlight Studio under the wings of Tomas Skogsberg and recorded their third album Too Much Is Always Better Than Not Enough, released in 2002, which yielded a hit single "Bound To Ravage". This is perhaps the most raw and stylistic album in the band's catalogue, effective songs with sharp edges and loads of attitude.
It was made in a hurry at a time in their career when they really had more focus on traveling the world as a hard glam boogie road collective, and later that year the group again embraced their touring, playing clubs, festivals and concert halls, either headlining as main act, or opening on tours for bands like The Cult, Ian Hunter, Hanoi Rocks, The Damned, Sensational Alex Harvey Band and The Nazareth. For the album Black River Road, 2004, Robert ”Strings” Dahlqvist (Hellacopters) joined Diamond Dogs.
Diamond Dogs have over the years created a reputation as one of the best rock’n’roll live acts there is out there, and their shows is often stretched out to over 3 hours.
Although based in Sweden, the band had always considered Spain its second home because of its big popularity and frequent touring there. The live album Let’s Have It-Live in Bilbao was recorded 2012 in Bilbao at the historical venue Antzokia Theater.
In 2014 their longtime member and saxophone player Mats Magic Gunnarsson died in a drowning accident, and Diamond Dogs were going to honor him with a last album and tour. The following year album Quitters & Complainers was released, and European tour "Stop Barking Up The Wrong Tree" ended in October 2015 in Oviedo, Spain with a huge final show, opening for Iggy Pop, a spectacular farewell night, the group then disbanded.
Sulo Karlsson was to form London punk band The Crunch together with Terry Chimes (Clash), Dave Tregunna (Sham 69) and Mick Geggus (Cockney Rejects). Sulo also have had commercial collaborations with Wilko Johnson (Dr Feelgood), Randy Bachman (Bachman Turner Overdrive), Chris Spedding, Robert Wyatt, Paul Young and Maria McKee to name a few.
The Duke of Honk went on to play with Swedish pop stars Meja and Louise Hoffsten, The Hellacopters Nicke Andersson in The Solution, Electric Boys Conny Bloom in Conny Bloom Band, The Bellrays Lisa & Bob in Lisa & the Lips, US soul singer Gabriel Kelley and many others.
Throughout the years Diamond Dogs variety of members have at some point in their career also been serving as members in bands or with artists such as Johnny Thunders, Ian Hunter, KSMB, Electric Boys, Glenn Hughes, Nationalteatern, Wilmer X, Dogs D’amour, Michael Schenker, Eldkvarn, Glen Matlock, The Facer, UK Subs to name a few and in addition to the artists mentioned previously.
The group reunited in 2019 with the album Recall Rock’n’Roll & The Magic Soul, Wild Kingdom Records.
In the year 2021, thirty years after it all started, Diamond Dogs have yet another time returned to Tomas Skogsberg and the Sunlight Studio, about to release their 14th studio Long-Player!
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