#Lars Flinckman

[eurofan78]

For their iconic contribution with 'La dolce vita' in Melodifestivalen 2004, it is clear that sooner or later drag act After Dark was going to take an honorable place in the Melodifestivens Hall of Fame!

The two drag queens, with their glittering performance, created a classic self-expression which earned them cult status, many followers through the years and more stardust in the Melodifestivalen 2007 and 2016

"La dolce vita" was written by Larry Forsberg, Sven-Inge Sjöberg and Lennart Wastesson. And, despite placing third, After Dark has been a major ingredient in Swedish LGBTQ culture since 1976

After Dark (1976–2018) was a drag act starring clothes designer and entertainer Christer Lindarw and put together for a special Stockholm nightclub called After Dark Club immediately after Lindarw, along with Roger Jönsson and later Lars "Lasse" Flinckman, had appeared in the parody musical Wild Side Story at restaurant-discothèque called Alexandra's in early 1976

The clientele at Alexandra's included Sweden's crème de la crème, including regulars ABBA, Björn Borg and King Carl XVI Gustaf, and international celebrities who visited Stockholm. After Dark's immediate appeal with Alexandra's clientele has been cited as instrumental to rapid and early success and an integral role in Swedish LGBTQ culture and history

Roger Jönsson, however, left After Dark for another group in 1981 and died in 1984. The Lindarw-Flinckman duo started having international success, performing in Barcelona, Madrid and San Francisco

In 2004, After Dark competed in Melodifestivalen, the annual Swedish preparation for the Eurovision Song Contest, with the song "La dolce vita" which finished third. A single of the song was a hit on the radio in Sweden and was often played at Swedish day care centers

After Dark, without Lars "Lasse" Flinckman, competed at Melodifestivalen 2007 with "(Åh) När ni tar saken i egna händer", but the song failed to proceed to the finale

In 2009, Lars "Lasse" Flinckman retired from After Dark (he died in 2016) and was replaced for a tour of Sweden by fashion designer and drag artist Lars-Åke Wilhelmsson also known as Babsan

After Dark made their third and final appearance at Melodifestivalen in 2016 with the song "Kom ut som en stjärna" which placed 7th in the third semifinal

Late in 2016, as his comprehensive biography was published by Bonniers, Christer Lindarw starring alone began what became his last big show tour, to be completed at musical theatre Oscarsteatern in Stockholm during the last months of 2017. He, then, revealed that After Dark would be discontinued soon after

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