Gert Lengstrand

Gert Olof Lengstrand (30 May 1942 - 1 November 2026) was a Swedish singer and songwriter. He first became widely known as the frontman of the Gothenburg dance band Streaplers from the group's formation in 1959 until 1966, and later wrote some of the best known songs in modern Swedish popular music, including Melodifestivalen and Eurovision hits.

Born in Carl Johans parish in Gothenburg, Lengstrand grew up in a city that would become central to Swedish dansband and schlager culture. With Streaplers he helped define a generation of live dance music on the Swedish west coast. After leaving the band in 1966 he concentrated on songwriting, often working with Lasse Holm and later with Lars Diedricson. His catalogue includes Miss Decibel for Wizex (Melodifestivalen 1978, second place), Vaxeln halla for Janne Lucas Persson (1980, second place), Eloise for Arvingarna (Melodifestivalen winner 1993; seventh at Eurovision in Millstreet), Bo Diddley for Arvingarna (1995), and Tusen och en natt, performed by Charlotte Nilsson (later Perrelli), which won Melodifestivalen 1999 and the Eurovision Song Contest in Jerusalem the same year under the English title Take Me to Your Heaven. He was inducted into the Melodifestivalen Hall of Fame.

Beyond contest entries he wrote Sommar varje dag, a Swedish lyric to Seasons in the Sun recorded by Vikingarna, songs for Kikki Danielsson and Roosarna, and Heja Blavitt, once used as IFK Goteborg's walk-on song. In 2014 he formed The Mule Skinner Band with former Streaplers colleagues and continued to perform into his eighties. Family and bandmates remembered him as driven, funny and kind, with music at the centre of his life. His son Jonas Lengstrand said he had toured with his father and that songs and artist friendships had always been central.

Lengstrand died peacefully on the evening of 1 November 2026 in Kungalv, Bohuslan, aged 84, after a period of illness and complications following surgery that included a leg amputation. The Mule Skinner Band announced his death on Facebook, thanking him for words, tones and memories. His family planned an open funeral in Kungalv. He is remembered for a voice and a songbook that shaped Swedish schlager for more than six decades.