The Hep Stars were a Swedish rock group, formed in Fall 1963 in Stockholm. During 1965–66 the band was the most successful of contemporary 1960s Swedish pop groups performing in the English language. Outside the Nordic countries the band is best known as a launching point for the keyboard player and composer Benny Andersson, who went on to enjoy worldwide success with ABBA.
The band was founded by the drummer Christer "Chrille" Pettersson (3 November 1942 – 27 August 2006) and the bass guitarist Lennart "Lelle" Hegland (9 January 1943) with the keyboard player Hans Östlund and the guitarist-singer Jan "Janne" Frisk (29 November 1943). At the height of their popularity, the line-up consisted of Hegland, Pettersson, Frisk Hedlund and Sven Ove "Svenne" Hedlund on lead vocals (10 March 1945, Solna) and Benny Andersson on keyboards.