Fender

Bjarne Möller, or Bjärne as many of his friends new him, must be described as something of an obscure legend within the Swedish music scene. This despite a past in The Lee Kings, known for several hits and extensive tours with accordingly substantial fees, played on the same stages as The Rolling Stones and The Who, or, what was left of the amplifiers after Pete Townshend's harsh treatment of the equipment. With his white Fender Stratocaster, Bjarne played with The Lee Kings on the more or less demolished setup. Or, in Bjarne's own words: “Pete Townshend drove the entire neck of the guitar into the speaker and ended the show by throwing the guitars. Then we had to go on and play on the setup. It was crackling…”.

The white Fender followed Bjarne from Lee Kings to the legendary Hansson and Karlsson outfit, as a somewhat inofficial member, third member. The group existed for only three years, 1966 – 1969, but made a strong impression on subsequent bands. Their psychedelic, improvisational jazz with its both playful and chaotic expression became incomparably influential, not least on the following Swedish Progg movement.

Bjarne, with the Fender in full swing, is depicted in a photo of Hansson and Karlsson, taken by Hasse Persson at the club Gyllene Cirkeln in 1967. Perhaps it was in this club that Jimi Hendrix played on Möller's Stratocaster after his performance at Gröna Lund, as Bjarne himself claimed in an interview with Sala Allehanda in 1996: “Jimi Hendrix borrowed my guitar and jammed all night with Hansson & Karlsson at Gyllene Cirkeln. But he is left-handed so he put the guitar on his lap and played by sliding on the strings.” Or, was it at the equally legendary club Filips that the jam took place, as stated in the booklet for the duo's posthumously released "For People in Love," where Roger Bergner describes a three-hour jam that occurred at the club after Hendrix's performance at Gröna Lund?