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The Fluffy Jackets session at Sun Studio, Memphis TN, 2011
Helge Rognstad: guitars, vocals, songwriting, production
Helge Rognstad is a singer-songwriter and guitarist. A self-taught musician, he formed The Fluffy Jackets with drummer Ian Robinson in 2006, and the band gained favorable live reviews, performing an eclectic mix of blues-rock covers and originals at central London venues over a three-year period.
The first Fluffy Jackets EP was recorded at Cowshed Studio in North London with the assistance of renowned producer Teo Miller (Blur, Robert Plant). This recording features a special guest appearance by legendary bassist Neil Murray (Whitesnake, Black Sabbath) and received highly positive press reviews upon its release in 2007.
A personal highlight for Helge came in 2014 with the recording of the first full-length Fluffy Jackets album, Fighting Demons. The album was recorded in part at the birthplace of rock-and-roll, Sun Studio in Memphis, TN, and featured his #1 guitar hero Manny Charlton (Nazareth), bassist Neil Murray, drummer Robert Hall (Jerry Lee Lewis and his Killer band), and UK blues-harmonica player West Weston. Helge also recruited some of his musician friends for the record, including Swedish vocalist Emil Gammeltoft (Some Kind of Rubus), Nick Rhodes (drums), and Jerry Bessent (bass). Moreover, Grammy Award-winning producer Matt Ross Spang (Memphis, TN) and renowned mastering engineer Tim Turan (Oxford, UK) worked on the Fighting Demons album.
This dedicated effort was rewarded when Classic Rock Magazine, Europe’s largest music magazine, selected the first Fluffy Jackets single “Why Don’t You Smile” for a special compilation CD titled Sharp Shooters, distributing it to their 60,000+ circulation (Classic Rock, issue 194). The single subsequently received significant airplay both in the U.S. and Europe, reaching as far as Russia and Israel. Fighting Demons was a critical success, winning the “Best Studio Album of the Year” award, as voted by listeners of The Blues Hour radio show in the UK and France.
Another personal achievement came in 2019 with the combined CD and DVD release Something from Nothing. The album included five original songs and four covers, including a tribute to Glen Campbell’s “Better Place” (featuring Alison Cooper, who is credited with starting Helge’s career in music), and a successful single, “Everything Must Change.” The accompanying documentary highlighted The Fluffy Jackets' history with never-before-seen interviews with the original band, as well as retrospective interviews with Neil Murray and Manny Charlton. Additional bonus material included an up-close inspection of the guitars and amplifiers used to record the album, including a Gibson Flying V guitar previously used to record Nazareth’s albums Play’N’the Game (1976) and Expect No Mercy (1977).
A heartbreaking blow came in 2022 with the passing of The Fluffy Jackets' producer Manny Charlton. Manny was not just a producer—he was Helge’s childhood hero, mentor, good friend, and soulmate.
To honor Manny’s memory, The Fluffy Jackets released a tribute in 2024. The song, “Goodbye,” was a cover of Steve Earle’s track, a song Helge and Manny had worked on just four months before Manny's passing. This single became part of The Fluffy Jackets' album "The Rise and Fall of the Songwriter" (2024), which also featured two more songs in Manny's honor. One of them, "The Well is Dry," was originally planned for Manny to play on. After his passing, the lyrics were rewritten in his memory, and talented LA-based slide guitarist Matt Bradford stepped in to fill Manny’s role. Another song, "Now That She is Gone," was intended to feature a solo by Manny, but his last guitar technician, Liam Creedon from Aberdeen, Scotland, took on the task in Manny’s place.
Helge was also invited to perform at the "Concert for Manny" memorial event held in Córdoba, Spain, on February 3, 2024. He performed The Fluffy Jackets' track "Why Don't You Smile" alongside Neil Murray, playing Manny’s iconic 1974/75 Gibson Flying V guitar—the same one used on Nazareth’s original recording of “Somebody to Roll”—with Emil Gammeltoft (SKoR) and Tracey Lamb (Rock Goddess, Girlschool) joining him on stage.
Helge remains committed to writing songs and recording music, continuously striving to improve and develop his craft as a songwriter, guitarist, vocalist, engineer, mixer and producer. He is influenced by a wide range of music genres and styles, including rock, blues, country, and world music. His inspirations include early 70s rock bands such as Free, Nazareth, Whitesnake, ZZ Top, Blackfoot, and first-generation rock artists like Chuck Berry, Little Richard, and Elvis Presley.
"I want to be a songwriter and guitarist at heart, and I’m a fan of other greats like Manny Charlton, Ry Cooder, Eric Clapton, and Lowell George. Those guys play slide guitar too, which I really enjoy, drawing on influences from blues artists like Muddy Waters, Jimmy Reed, John Lee Hooker, Elmore James, and Lead Belly." |
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