Scan Magazine | Cover Feature | Robert Wells
Robert Wells – the man, the piano and the hair Robert Wells is one of the world's foremost pianists and composers. Rhapsody in Rock, a musical extravaganza of his own creation, has become a worldwide success. Scan Magazine caught up with one of Scandinavia’s best-loved entertainers. By Emelie Krugly Hill | Photos: Press photos
The interview begins with a promise not to ask him when he is planning to cut his hair. He sighs with relief as I reassure him. As a bearer of extraordinary locks, he is more than sick of the question which seems to be curiously popular amongst journalists. Robert’s hair style and fashion sense have been debated in the Swedish media on many occasions, and Robert has often ended up on worst-dressed lists. “Yes! And I'm proud of that. I could not care less, following trends is not my thing,” he says laughing. At the age of 16, he was the youngest student soloist ever to be admitted at the Academy of Music in Stockholm. He was a neat, bespectacled boy when he entered the world of classical music. Soon he expanded his musical talent by adopting elements of jazz, blues, boogie-woogie and rock and roll. He grew his trademark shoulder-length hair in his later teenage years when he developed a love for rock 'n' roll and his first favourite band, Status Quo. He was entranced when he heard Bye Bye Johnny for the first time at age 17 and soon began
rebelling against his music teachers. “The hair still awakens feelings; it always annoys someone,” he remarks.
has now become a popular summer event in Scandinavia, with almost two million people enjoying Rhapsody in Rock.
King of Piano
The show also toured in Europe, and Robert performed at the Royal Albert Hall in England in 2011 and has journeyed as far as Russia, Australia, China and Japan. He has actually formed a rather special relationship with China, having visited the country no less than an impressive 47 times. This is due to a Chinese tenor who guested for a Rhapsody in Rock concert in Gothenburg and returned home with a video recording of the concert, which was then aired on a cultural and public television service in China.
Not long after, Robert began working as a conductor for a variety of famous Swedish artists such as Charlie Norman, Hep Stars, Lill-Babs, Jerry Williams and Gösta Linderholm. When he starred in the TV hit Så ska det låta, the Swedish version of The Lyrics Board, he quickly became a household name. Since then he has recorded numerous albums, collaborated with Celine Dion and set up an online piano school called King of Piano. He has also written a book about his unusual career path and even played piano for the Belarus entry to the Eurovision Song Contest in 2010. However, he is undoubtedly best known for his highly successful musical extravaganza Rhapsody in Rock, which has achieved great prominence in Scandinavia and mixes elements of rock, classical and boogie-woogie styles. The show has toured since 1989 but was not an instant hit, and after several slow years, it was then revived in 1998 with great success. It
The impact of this became clear the following year as Robert was invited to appear at a big concert in China in 2008. He composed Beijing's official Olympic ceremony and medal music, collaborated with Tan Jing, China's Madonna, and then became a Professor of Music at The Zhejiang University for Culture and Media in Hangzhou. His CDs and concert DVDs are bestsellers in China, and he has a string of gold and platinum records to his name. “It’s simply crazy when you think about it;
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