Hot Pans Steel Band - A brief story

In 1980 a steelband of 25 players called Merrymakers with members from Merrytones and a few other bands toured Sweden. The tour was arranged by Krister Malm. The band left some pans in Sweden. Some Swedes started to try playing, among them Anna Malm, Ulf Kronman and Ulli Heyden. In 1984 Hot Pans steelband was formed. Since then Hot Pans steelband has been on the Swedish music scene regularly performing in different functions and parties. When Derek Walcott received the Nobel Prize Hot Pans played at the function, see video here.

From the start Rudy "Twoleft" Smith has been mentor, arranger and tuner for Hot Pans.  

Members of Hot Pans started to teach others to play pan. From the beginning of the 1990s some of the members also started to teach pan in municipality music schools. Several steel bands have been formed with students and by former students.

Hot Pans took part in the first European Steelband Festival in Paris 2000 as an entertaining band while the competing bands were entering stage. In 2002 Hot Pans joined forces with its "daughter band" Cool Pans to become a sufficiently large band to take part in the competition in the second European steelband festival i Sete on the French Riviera in 2002. The band placed # 7 in the competition.

Several members of Hot Pans have been to Trinidad and played with Trinidad steelbands in Panorama and on the road. In 2009 Hot Pans is planning to go to Trinidad and play on the road carnival Monday and Tuesday in Port of Spain.

One of the original members of Hot Pans, Ulf Kronman, has studied the acoustics of the instrument and the tuning process resulting in the book Steel Pan Tuning published in 1992. He also established the Pan Page on the Internet.