Sven Thomas Magnusson (born 23 October 1963), known by his stage names Thomas Di Leva or simply Di Leva, is a Swedish singer and songwriter.[1]
Biography
Sven Thomas Magnusson was born 1963 in Gävle, Gävleborg County, Gästrikland, Sweden. At 14 years of age, he changed his name from Magnusson to Di Leva, inspired both by his mother's Italian maiden name and idols like Leonardo da Vinci and Charlie Chaplin. He started his career with the band The Pillisnorks, debuting with the EP4 Visitors on 1 January 1980. Later, Di Leva formed the band Modern Art, which subsequently became Modærn Art. In autumn 1981, Di Leva signed a record contract as a solo artist with the recently-formed record label Adventure. The following year, Di Leva released his debut album, Marginal Cirkus. After a short time at the Stranded label, Billy Bolero [sv] took Di Leva to the newly-established Papa Records. The album På ett fat [sv] was released, and Di Leva became known throughout the country. Di Leva said "I want to create great art in the form of simple music for the large audience." With the song "Kom till mig", recorded with strings from Fläskkvartetten and the Raj Montana Band, Di Leva reached the Trackslistan in 1985 for the first time and had his first hit. The following year he released his third album, Pussel [sv].
Vem ska jag tro på [sv] was released in autumn 1987 and became Di Leva's breakthrough album. The album was produced in the cellar of Mistlur Records in Roslags Street with co-producer Kaj Erixon. On the album's first track, "I morgon", a new tone atmosphere and new sound effects can be heard, with Johan Vävare [sv] performing using oscillator and keyboard sounds. The album was nominated by Slitz as best album of the year and placed second in the Aftonbladet re-vote of the yearly Rockbjörnen award in the category Best Swedish Album. Di Leva took part in Melodifestivalen 2012 with the song "Ge aldrig upp" (Never Give Up) but failed to qualify in the finals.
