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Lenny Kravitz on his youth in Motala: A lot of potatoes

Lenny Kravitz is not WRONG though, is he?

Lenny Kravitz on his youth in Motala: A lot of potatoes
Lenny Kravitz poses at a ceremony honoring him with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, a far cry from Motala in central Sweden. Photo: Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP

US star Lenny Kravitz is not only known in Sweden for his long track record of creating rock, funk, R&B and so on mega hits, as well as accidentally ripping his trousers in a very unfortunate place during a legendary concert at Stockholm’s Gröna Lund in 2015.

Soon, he might also be known for his opinions on the city of Motala, which have gone viral in Sweden.

He told Swedish tabloid Aftonbladet in an interview that he dated a girl from Motala in his youth, and spent a lot of time in the city.

“It was many years ago. I met her while recording Mama Said and we dated for a few years. It was very good,” he said.

Asked what he remembers of Motala, he said: “A lot of potatoes, growing in the fields. And everyone had flowers outside their windows.”

A lot of Swedes found it amusing that Motala had not left a bigger impression on the star than “a lot of potatoes”, when frankly it’s even more amusing that it had left an impression at all. Nothing against the lovely Motala, but it’s not exactly known as the city of rock’n’roll.

Was Kravitz wrong about Motala? Not necessarily.

The city of some 30,000 people is situated in Östergötland, a fertile part of Sweden with a big agricultural industry, including potato. In fact, travel just 20 minutes south and its neighbouring town of Mjölby has a giant potato statue on display at one of its roundabouts.

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Every week, The Local invites readers to submit their pictures to our photo competition, to bring our audience together from all parts of Sweden.

Reader photo of the week: Meeting Swedish pop stars at Skellefteå music festival

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