Sven Thomas Magnusson was born 1963 in Gävle, Gävleborg County, Gästrikland, Sweden. At 14 years of age, he changed his name from Magnusson to Leva, inspired both by his mother's Italian maiden name and idols like Leonardo Da Vinci and Charlie Chaplin. Thomas started his career with the band The Pillisnorks, debuting with the EP 4 Visitors in January 1, 1980. Later, Di Leva formed the band Modern Art, which subsequently became Modærn Art.