Niklas "Nicke" Borg, born April 3r 1973 in Nässjö, Sweden, is best known as frontman of the successful sleaze rock band Backyard Babies. Borg replaced original frontman Tobias Fischer shortly after the band's formation in 1987, and appeared on every one of their six studio albums released between 1994 and 2008. The band was favorably compared to the New York Dolls and the Damned, and was internationally successful, doing especially well in the U.K., where they continue to be influential. After the Babies went on indefinite hiatus in 2009, Borg, who had lived the rock & roll lifestyle to the full for 20 years, decided to clean up his act, inspired by Social Distortion's Mike Ness, who quit drugs and went on to record a solo album which paid homage to his country music influences. Borg began the solo project Homeland as an outlet for his more Americana-influenced material, exploring an acoustic-led style inspired by outlaw country, country-rock, and cowpunk. At the same time, he launched a parallel career as a pop songwriter. Soon, his songs were being performed by many big-name artists, and regularly hitting the charts. His biggest exposure came with the Guns n' Roses-esque Leaving Home, which was entered for the 2011 edition of Sweden's premier televised song competition, Melodifestivalen. It went all the way to the finals, eventually finishing in eighth place, became a massive hit, and appeared on the first Homeland full-length album, Chapter 2, in 2011. Two years later Borg returned to his hard rock roots with the second Homeland album, Ruins of a Riot, which had something of the feel of the old Backyard Babies material. ~ John D. Buchanan