The son of two teachers, Jakob Hellman grew up in rural north Sweden, just south of the polar circle.

In the lyrics of his first single, Hellman states that he was "born between the mirror and the grammophone" ("född mellan spegeln och grammofon"), attesting to his early pop star ambitions.

Session musicians included Per Hägglund from Imperiet (keyboards), Eddie Sjöberg, ex-member of Reeperbahn (guitar), Werner Modiggård from Eldkvarn (drums), and Wilmer X member Mats Bengtsson (piano).

In a 2007 interview in a Jakob Hellman special on the Swedish public service music radio show Musikjournalen (broadcast on 15 January 2007 on SR P3), producer Dan Sundquist told the story of a rather strenuous recording experience, due to Hellman's unwillingness to compromise with his convictions on how the music ought to sound.

In interviews, Jakob Hellman cited Elvis Costello as his greatest influence, and although his music by no means could be called a carbon copy, similarities can easily be found.

At the time of its release, Hellman's album got positive, although not jubilant, reviews, and the single "Vara vänner" (Being Friends) became a major hit.

In 2006, singers Anna Stadling and Idde Schultz covered the B-side "Vägar hem" on an album named after the song.

[6] After appearing on an Evert Taube tribute album and featuring in a duet with folk-rock act Perssons Pack in 1991, he withdrew from the spotlight entirely.

Reluctantly interviewed, he told journalists he had been studying different subjects at Lund University and had no plans for a new record despite later admitting to writing a large number of songs that he kept in a cassette tape archive at his home.

[7] In 1995, he briefly joined Brainpool in the studio to provide backing vocals for the Painkiller album track "We aim to please".

In recent years, Hellman has been playing several smaller venues and minor festivals, performing both old and unreleased tracks, fueling his fans' hopes for a return to recording.

[10] In a 2005 interview (in Bo.stad, a magazine for the tenants of the Lund student housing foundation AF Bostäder), Hellman, at the time living in a shared flat in Malmö, speculated on "maybe" releasing a new album some day, although not in the immediate future.

The same year, he recorded two songs, "Lenas Visa" and "Mina Båtar", for the Olle Adolphson tribute album Dubbeltrubbel.