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Jucke / Judas

A pillar of the Swedish C64 BBS scene

Jucke has been an influential figure in the Swedish Commodore 64 scene since the late 1980s. In 1988 he acquired the nickname "Jucke," which originated as a playful tease from a friend at a party but soon became his scene handle. His extensive contributions span across multiple roles, including trader, phreaker, sysop, PETSCII artist, and organizer.

Through the years, he has been associated with several legendary groups, including Genesis Project (G*P), Vision, and Judas.

Revitalizing the Swedish C64 scene

In the late 1990s the C64 scene was in decline, with many believing it was on the edge of extinction. Jucke played a key role in revitalizing it. His presence at the 1997 Hype demoparty 1 in Malmö was a turning point where he, along with Skyhawk/Laxity and Taper/Triad, forcibly took over the event’s big screen and displayed C64 demos — to the horror of the PC-focused attendees. This moment underscored the contrast between "boring PC nerds" and passionate C64 enthusiasts, showcasing the rebellious nature of a C64 scene refusing to die.

Inspired by these events, the first FLOPPY party was organized in 1998, with Jucke playing a pivotal role. The momentum from this gathering helped revitalize the Swedish C64 scene.

BBS and sysop contributions

Jucke has been an active force in the C64 BBS community. He was co-sysop on Joyride's BBS The Highway, and then also on Antidote, the longest-running C64 BBS.

The number of boards graced by his presence are too many to mention, but two more Swedish boards fondly remembered by Jucke must also be mentioned;

Wonderland, operated by Flood, was active between 1991 and 1992, and its demise came as a surprise given its popularity at the time. The reason became clear a few months later when Flood appeared on SVT, explaining that he had decided to pursue a music career. He had joined the synth band S.P.O.C.K, which was on the verge of gaining widespread recognition.

Paradize BBS in Torslanda also stands out as a premier European C64 board. Tronic’s Paradize mods were groundbreaking and showcased his exceptional talent and innovation, setting a new benchmark in the scene. Tronic is widely regarded as one of the most skilled C*Base modders, second only to Tao/Triad.

In recent years, Jucke founded and operates Fria Bad BBS, based in Helsingborg, Sweden. Specializing in PETSCII graphics, Fria Bad has become a go-to spot for C64 enthusiasts and artists.

PETSCII art and music

Jucke is also recognized for his work in PETSCII art, gracing many C64 boards during the years with open screens, end screens, and everything in between. Also known for his SID music DJ sets, he has been playing at numerous parties. For instance, in 2024, Jucke performed a live SID-techno re-edit at Reunion 2024, a demoparty in Kvidinge Folkets Hus. Using an MPC Live loaded with C64 SID sounds, he spent a year preparing for this well-received performance.

  1. Comment from Frantic / Hack n' Trade on csdb.dk about Hype 97:

    This was a sucky party, but it proved to be important. I went there to check it out just because I happened to be in the neighbourhood and it just confirmed my worst prejudices against the PC scene since everybody was SO lame and boring. However, there were a small group of ppl there that caught my attention. They played loud music, showed C64 stuff (like Achmed Dansar) on the bigscreen and stuff like that (and the PC sceners looked horrified). These C64 people would later turn out to be Jucke, Taper and Skyhawk, but I didn't know that at the time. Anyway.. Their piggish behavior inspired me to do a C64 only party the following year, which was the start of the LCP series of parties (and eventually I did BFP with precisely these guys + Iopop). ...and I've heard that LCP 98 (in july)2 inspired them to do Floppy98 later that year (in december). So... It seems like we inspired each other, kind of... Like a fairy tale. sod ;)

    Other C64 related people on this party was Raveguru and Univerz, and Peran/XIA (who actually relased a small c64 demo there). ↩

  2. Small note about LCP 1998

    At LCP 1998, Skyhawk and Jucke arrived in style with the "Gröna Grodan" — actually an Opel Ascona 1.9L sedan. The trunk was packed with Copy Consult 5.25" disks, fresh and still in their plastic shrinkwrap. Skyhawk worked for the company, and one day a large surplus of outdated floppies was about to be thrown in the dumpster. Instead, about ten large crates of disks were saved and handed out at parties over the following years — LCP 1998 being the first. To this day, it's not unheard of to see someone open a fresh pack at a party. ↩