Andreas Tyrone Svensson (born 12 June 1973 in Nässjö, Sweden), is best know… Read Full Bio ↴Andreas Tyrone Svensson (born 12 June 1973 in Nässjö, Sweden), is best known as the former guitarist The Hellacopters and current guitarist of Backyard Babies and the newest member of Michael Monroe's band, replacing Ginger as guitarist.
He is still a member of Backyard Babies, claiming in an interview with Rocksverige.se that the band will come together later and be stronger than ever.
Dregen formed the Backyard Babies with his childhood friends Nicke Borg, Peder Carlsson and Johan Blomqvist in their own town of Nässjö, Sweden. The band moved to Stockholm to pursue wider success. The group signed a record deal andreleased their debut album Diesel & Power in 1994.
Also in 1994, Dregen met singer and guitarist Nicke Andersson who at that time played drums with Swedish death metal outfit Entombed. Together they formed another band, The Hellacopters. The Hellacopters found success in 1996 with their album Supershitty to the Max!, which won a Grammis. It was followed in 1997 by the record Payin' the Dues. The band also toured with KISS. That same year, Backyard Babies released another Grammis winning album – Total 13.
By the end of the 1990s, Dregen decided to leave The Hellacopters and focused on recording and performing with Backyard Babies.[2].
The album Making Enemies is Good was released in 2001, and Backyard Babies were awarded another Grammis. They toured the world several times and even also did a European tour opening up for AC/DC[3]. Since then, the band have released a number of EP´s, singles and albums such as Stockholm Syndrome, People Like People Like People Like Us, Backyard Babies and Them XX. The later resulted in a anniversary tour in 2010, following which the band announced an indefinite hiatus.[4]
In May 2011 Dregen also joined Michael Monroe, from former band Hanoi Rocks.[5] Monroe, writing on his website, said
Dregen is the perfect choice for this band. We are a group of very strong individuals and we really needed a great personality as a guitar player. Dregen has the whole package together – he’s a killer guitarist, a brilliant showman, looks great and has the right kind of attitude and taste in music. I feel very glad and lucky that he was willing and able to join us. Dregen is a real star and a true rocker at heart.I can’t wait to start rockin’ out with him in the band![6]
As of July 2011, Dregen was working on a solo album.