Berth Idoffs outside the tour bus.
Photo: Private
Early promotional image of Berth Idoffs, which at the time was one of southern Sweden's most employed dance orchestras.
Photo: Private
Berth Idoff's orchestra rehearses in Vilshult's Medborgarhus in 1960. Inge Svensson, backing guitar, Gösta Persson trumpet, Ingemar Åkesson drums, Ingvar Lindgren solo guitar, Barbro Thornell, vocals and on the far right Berth Idoff himself.
Photo: Private
Promotional image from the 1960s.
At the time, the orchestra was one of the most employed in southern Sweden with several gigs a week.
Photo: Private
Under Berth Idoff Johansson's direction, there were no LP recordings for the orchestra.
However, the band released several singles.
This was one of those with the tracks "I'll take grandpa with me out tonight" and "Nothing goes up against the Swedish guys".
Photo: Private
Photographs from the orchestra's early career.
Berth Idoffs started as a trio at home in Vilshult with Berth Idoff Johansson on accordion, Inge Svensson on guitar and Kjell Gummesson on drums.
Photo: Atenzia
The original guitarist Inge Svensson back at Lyktan's festival site in Vilshult, October 2018. In the Medborgarhuset here, Berth Idoffs had his first gig in January 1955. Inge had bought a steel-string guitar for 50 kroner with an accompanying fretboard.
The rehearsals took place at home in the kitchen of Berth's parents' home.
Photo: SVT
The dance floor at Lyktan in Vilshult has a central place in the history of Berth Idoffs.
Here are trumpeter Eddie Alm and guitarist Anders Turesson back on stage, October 2018. Photo: SVT
The Idoff family's home in Jämshög functioned for many years as a contact center for the orchestra.
The tour bus left from here.
Here the musicians sometimes slept over after late nights on the dance floor.
And in the basement, Berth Idoff had a fabric warehouse that was open on weekends.
Eddie Alm, trumpet, and Anders Turesson, guitar, spent many hours in this house over the years as musicians in the orchestra.
Photo: SVT
For many years, the Idoff family ran men's and women's clothing in this business lane in central Olofström.
Dance orchestras from all over southern Sweden went here to get new costumes for upcoming tours.
Photo: SVT
In 2015, the band celebrated 60 years and released an album with both newly recorded and old material.
Photo: Atenzia
Berth Idoffs during one of the last years with Berth as orchestra leader.
In 1974 he sold the band on and invested fully in a career as a salesman of clothes.
He was tired of the touring life and for the first few years didn't even have an accordion left at home in Jämshög.
Photo: Private
Berth Idoffs during the 1970s.
Photo: Private
Around the year 2000, Marcus Idoffson bought back the rights to the band name Berth Idoff.
The circle was closed.
And sometimes he gave concerts together with his father and other musicians.
The picture is from such an occasion.
Photo: Private
In the 2000s, Marcus Idoffson breathed new life into the orchestra that his father founded back in 1955. The record "Lätt för mig" was the first on the new label Atenzia and became a great sales success.
Photo: Atenzia
In 2000, the Berth Idoffs brand ended up back in the hands of the Idoffs family.
The picture is from 2009 and the conductor was Marcus Idoffson and the singer, his wife Lotta.
Photo: Private