Rockedrømmen Chapter 07
Up from the ashes, blooming again
An English retelling from Kjell Moberg's manuscript.
With Leni Ludvigsen on vocals, Punishment Park recorded again and set out on our first long European tour. Our battered red van took us towards new audiences, with breakdowns and changing plans to solve along the way.
At the end of 1991, Anja’s departure left us without the singer who had helped shape Punishment Park. Claes suggested his sister Leni, formerly of Xantippe, and she took the microphone with immediate confidence. We demoed the new material at Kardemommehuset, then recorded The Return Of The Shovel Police with Leni. At the same time, the first album appeared on international compilations and I arranged a joint tour with Washington, DC’s Agent 86, planned to run from late August through November 1992.
We had little touring experience and almost no money, so we bought a red Mercedes 508 former graduation-party van for 11,000 kroner and filled it with equipment and tools. The starter failed in Hardanger, and Dutch friends later helped us replace it. An Ieper festival gave Punishment Park and Agent 86 a last-minute slot. Paris brought confused planning and long drives; a wheel came off on the way to Rice, and we reached Lyon after more repairs and improvisation. With two days left, we crossed Europe toward Yugoslavia (Serbia).
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