Formed in 1987, Backyard Babies originally consisted of singer/bassist Tobbe (Tobias Fischer), guitarist
Dregen, guitarist
Johan Blomqvist, and drummer Peder Carlsson. They were then called Tyrant and played several live shows in their local area and recorded a rough demo. Tobbe was soon replaced by frontman
Nicke Borg on vocals and guitar, and Blomqvist switched to bass. The music on it took influences from rock, punk and
blues. In addition to the album the band also released the single "Electric Suzy" with a cover of "Taxi Driver" by
Hanoi Rocks as the
B-side. After touring with former
Hanoi Rocks members in Demolition 23 and doing a short headline tour in late 1995, premiering new songs that remain unreleased, the band was put on hiatus, as guitarist
Dregen formed the garage rock band
The Hellacopters. They toured the United Kingdom with good response. A single was released from the album, "Bombed (Out of My Mind)", with the B-side "Rocker" featuring a duet with
Hanoi Rocks frontman
Michael Monroe. Their next single was the self-released "Is It Still Alright to Smile?". Two of the singles from it were hits "
The Clash" and "
Brand New Hate", the latter of which was co-written with Ginger. They toured in support of the album with
Motörhead. performing in 2001 On 15 October 2002, Backyard Babies guitarist Dregen was on the front pages of Swedish national newspapers. After returning home from a club where he was
DJing, he and his friend were assaulted, robbed, and knocked unconscious. Dregen suffered a broken jaw but the band continued recording their next album;
Stockholm Syndrome. The album, released in 2003, was viewed by some fans as a return towards a more energetic and raw sound. The album won them a Swedish
Grammy. The album spawned three singles, "Minus Celsius", "A Song for the Outcast" and "Friends". During 2005, the band toured the United States (with openers
The Chelsea Smiles &
Crash Kelly) and Europe alongside
Social Distortion. The album
People Like People Like People Like Us, produced by
Nicke Andersson of
The Hellacopters, was released in 2006. It spawned two singles: "The Mess Age (How Could I Be So Wrong)" and "Dysfunctional Professional". A
self-titled album was released in August 2008. The first single was "Fuck Off and Die". The second single "Degenerated" is supported by an animated video clip. Their
self-titled 2008 album reached number 1 on the Swedish albums chart. The compilation album
Them XX was released in 2009 to honor the band's 20th anniversary. The accompanying tour was rumored to be their last. After a hiatus, the band reconvened with an announcement in May 2014. Their 2015 album
Four by Four reached number 2 on the Swedish albums chart. In September 2018 they played at the Hard Rock Hell Sleaze festival in
Sheffield, England. The band released their eighth studio album,
Sliver & Gold, in 2019. During an interview with The Sound Lab in 2022, Dregen confirmed that Backyard Babies were on hiatus due to his commitments with
The Hellacopters, but stated that were plans to create more music in the future. == Members ==