Laid Back

Laid Back, a Danish electronic music duo from Copenhagen, was formed in 1979 by John Guldberg and Tim Stahl. The pair met in the mid-1970s while playing together in a band called Starbox Band. After splitting up following a poorly received show supporting the Kinks, Guldberg and Stahl set up a small studio in downtown Copenhagen to explore new technologies. Laid Back's debut album, Laid Back, was released in 1981. The single "Maybe I'm Crazy" became a Number 1 hit in Denmark. Their next release, the single "Sunshine Reggae", topped charts in Italy, West Germany, and nineteen other countries around the world in 1983. In the US, it was the B-side of this single, "White Horse," that gained significant popularity, reaching Number 1 on Billboard's National Disco Action charts and peaking at number 26 on the Billboard Hot 100 in early 1984. The duo continued to release albums such as Play It Straight (1985) and See You in the Lobby (1987). In 1989, they returned to the European charts with "Bakerman," which featured Danish singer Hanne Boel. The duo composed the soundtrack for the 2001 feature film Flyvende Farmor, for which they were awarded a Robert, the Danish equivalent of an Oscar. In 2019, Laid Back received the prestigious Danish award Pioneer of the Year and celebrated their 40th anniversary with the release of their 12th studio album, Healing Feeling. Their fifteenth studio album, Road to Fame, was released in 2023 and was followed by Forevergreen a year later.