Jan Torsten Svensson (born April 5, 1950), often known as Harpo, is a Swedish singer-songwriter. “Harpo” was adapted from American comedian Harpo Marx. Harpo was also a nickname for him in his childhood years.

Svensson starred as an actor in theatre and toured all around Sweden in the 60s. While doing theatre, Harpo started to write songs. Some years later, he signed with Stikkan Anderson’s record label Polar. The plan was that the, later on, ABBA members would produce his album, that was meant for children. The deal didn’t work out and Stikkan released Svensson from the label.

In 1973, Harpo signed with the label EMI and partnered with producer Bengt Palmers instead. Svensson’s biggest hit “Moviestar” was released in 1975, featuring backing vocals by ABBA member Frida Lyngstad. Harpo continued with releasing music and got famous all around Europe and in Sweden.

Late-summer in 1980, Harpo was kicked several times by his horse, Starter. This resulted in him getting blind in one of his eyes and losing his sense of smell. Svensson took a step back from the music industry, until his comeback album in 1992. In 2021, he participated in Swedish programme “Så mycket bättre” [So much better], where a group of artists get along and cover each other’s songs.

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