The Swedish band’s frontwoman answers your questions on ‘sweet and curious’ Tom Jones, being changed by cancer and whether the Cardigans will ever make new music
Are you a fan of actual cardigans? garythenotrashcougar
I can see the genius of them as items of clothing, but I never looked good in a cardigan. Our [former] songwriter and guitar player [Peter Svensson] suggested the name. We were super anglophiles. We loved British music. Our first album is called Emmerdale because the series was shown on Swedish TV every day, titled Home to the Farm. We romanticised something sort of rainy and hazy and woolly … like the cardigan.
I like covers that have a new take on the original, so I really enjoyed your lounge-style version of Sabbath Bloody Sabbath. What made you choose that band [Black Sabbath] and song in particular? NotDrivingAMiniMetro
We were big fans – for a heavy band there’s a real pop sentiment in the songwriting – and I think it’s interesting when a cover is a stretch away from your natural sound. As a woman, I thought singing a song done by very manly men gave it a wonderfully creepy aspect. Ozzy [Osbourne] came to see us in Los Angeles and said it was the creepiest thing he’d ever heard, which coming from him is the biggest compliment.