Kim Larsen

Kim Larsen
Kim Mellius Flyvholm Larsen (23 October 1945 – 30 September 2018) was a Danish rock and pop musician. He was a major selling Scandinavian act with over 5 million albums sold.
Career
Kim Larsen was born in Copenhagen. Inspired by The Beatles and rock and roll, he began as a songwriter and guitarist. In 1969 he met and , and the three founded Gasolin' which, later joined by drummer , became one of the most successful Danish rock bands. The band dissolved in the late 1970s.
In 1979, Larsen participated in the Danish stage of the Eurovision Song Contest with the song "Ud i det blå" (lit.: Out into the blue). He came third out of 17 participants. The song was included on this album 231045-0637.
Around 1980, Larsen moved to New York. He released two albums but was not successful in breaking through in America and returned to Denmark after a few years.
Kim Larsen released a number of solo albums in the 1980s, topping the charts in 1983 with the album Midt om natten (en: In the Middle of the Night). The album more or less became a soundtrack for the movie by the same name based upon it.
In 1983, Larsen founded the band Kim Larsen & Bellami and released four albums until 1992, when after a couple of different line-ups, the band broke up. He then released another solo album, Hvem kan sige nej til en engel (Who Can Say No to an Angel). In the mid-1990s he founded the band Kim Larsen & Kjukken which was based in Odense.
He wrote a tribute song about MS Jutlandia's contributions as a hospital ship of Danish Red Cross during the Korean War. The song titled "Jutlandia" became a large hit in Denmark in 1986.
By the end of 2017, Larsen was diagnosed with prostate cancer. This would end up impacting his tour with Kim Larsen & Kjukken who were scheduled for concerts throughout January, February and March 2018. In a Facebook post published to the band's official profile page, Larsen apologised for the inconvenience and explained that he intended to be back playing by the start of the summer.
Larsen died of prostate cancer at his home in Odense on 30 September 2018. A week after his death a large memorial concert was held in Copenhagen with around 35,000 people attending, and major Danish musicians such as Magtens Korridorer, Love Shop, The Minds of 99, and Tim Christensen performing cover versions of Larsen's songs.
Protest singer
Larsen frequently voiced his opposition to established society and instead advocated the right to be different from the mainstream. The album and movie Midt om natten revolves around this subject – in fact you can compare the movie action to the real Danish BZ movement BZ, Sorte Hest and also Freetown Christiania, located in Copenhagen. The same opposition is also shown by the album 231045-0637 – the title is Kim Larsen's personal identification number which is strictly personal. Larsen was against the big database of every citizen, implied by this title.
Kim Larsen was a heavy smoker, and he was critical of Danish anti-smoking laws. In August 2008, he paid for an advertising campaign which showed the text "Tillykke med rygeforbudet – Gesundheit macht frei !!!". The first sentence means "Congratulations on the smoking ban" in Danish, and the second sentence means "health makes (you) free" in German, a reference to the Nazi phrase Arbeit macht frei. Claiming that smoking bans are made not to protect smokers, but non-smokers, Kim Larsen made a connection between smoking bans and Nazism.
The biography Mine unge år – Kim Larsen (lit.: My young years – Kim Larsen) by writer & journalist Jens Andersen together with Kim Larsen, was incomplete before his death and the book was finished without Kim Larsen.
Bands
Gasolin' (1969–1978)
Kim Larsen – Vocals and rhythm guitar
– Solo guitar
– Bass
Bjørn Uglebjerg (1969–1971) and Søren Berlev (1971–1978) – Drums
Klaus Agerschou (live concerts) – Keyboards
Kim Larsen & Jungledreams (1980–1983)
Kim Larsen – Guitar and vocals
Rick Blakemore – Guitar
Joe Delia – Keyboards
Abe Speller – Drums
Dennis Espantman – Bass
Kim Larsen & Bellami (1983–1992)
1983–1984:
Kim Larsen – Guitar and vocals
Henning Pold – Bass
Phil Barrett – Keyboards and guitar
Soren Wolff – Guitar
Jan Lysdahl – Drums
1986–1992:
Kim Larsen – Guitar and vocals
Henning Pold – Bass
Hans Fagt and Jan Lysdahl – Drums
Mikkel Håkonsson and Peter Ingemann – Keyboards
Thomas Grue and Per Rasmussen – Guitars
Kim Larsen & Bell*Star (1993–1995)
Kim Larsen – Guitar and vocals
Hans Fagt – Drums
Henning Pold – Bass
Mikkel Håkonsson – Keyboards
Kim Larsen & Kjukken (1995–2018)
Kim Larsen – Guitar and vocals
Bo Gryholt – Bass (1995–2002) and Jesper Haugaard – Bass (2002–2018)
Karsten Skovgaard – Guitar
Jesper Rosenqvist – Drums (1994–2014) and Jens Langhorn (2015–2018)
Jørn Jeppesen – Guitar (2015–2018)
Discography
Solo albums
Studio
1973: Værsgo ((as in serving something))
1977: (en: Kim Larsen and the Yankee boys)
1979: 231045-0637 (Kim Larsen's personal identification number)
1981:
1983: Midt om natten (en: In the middle of the night)
1994: (en: Who can say no to an angel?)
2010: Mine damer og herrer (en: Ladies and gentlemen)
2019: Sange fra første sal
EP's
1982: 5 Eiffel
Compilations
1975: Skru Op
1977: Boller Op, Boller Ned
1979: Hittegods
1983: Gorilla Mix
1983: Larsens Bedste
1984: Årets Koncent
2015: Kim i 70'erne (with Gasolin')
Live
1985: Kim i Cirkus (Live) (en: Kim at the Circus)
2007: (Live)
With Gasolin'
Studio
1971: Gasolin'
1972: Gasolin' 2
1973: Gasolin' 3
1974: Stakkels Jim (en: Poor Jim)
1975: Gas 5
1976: Efter endnu en dag (en: After Another Day)
1977: Gør det noget (en: Does it matter?)
1978: Killin' Time
Compilations
1980: Super Mix 1
1981: A Box Full of Gas
1984: Det Bedste Fra Mig Og Mine Venner (Kim Larsen with Gasolin')
1991: Rabalderstræde Forever
1993: Derudaf Forever
1997: A Foreign Affair vol.1
1999: Gasolin' Forever
2000: The Early Years
2002: A Foreign Affair vol.2
2003: The Black Box
2009: Masser af succes
2015: Kim I 70'erne
Live
1976: Live sådan (Live)
1978: Gøglernes aften (Live)
With Starfuckers
Live
1978: (en: Beware of imitations)
With Kim Larsen & Jungledreams
Studio
1982:
With Kim Larsen & Bellami
Studio
1986: (en: Disguised as an adult)
1988:
1989:
1992:
With Kim Larsen & Kjukken
Studio
1996:
1998: (en: Air below the wings)
2001:
2001: (en: Forgotten songs)
2003:
2004: (en: Forgotten songs – Christmas and New Year)
2006: (en: Old Tomcat)
2008: (en: Forgotten songs for children)
2012: (en: Happy world)
2017: (en: East of Westway)
Live
2002: (en: It was a Thursday evening)
2007: (en: A small bag of noise)
Charting albums
(All peak positions in Danish Albums Chart)
2001: Weekend Music (reached No. 3)
2001: Sange fra glemmebogen (reached No. 1)
2006: Gammel hankat (reached No. 1)
2008: Glemmebogen for børn (reached No. 1)
2010: Mine damer og herrer (reached No. 1)
2012: 5 Eiffel (reached No. 21)
2015: Guld & grønne skove (reached No. 12)
2015: Forklædt som voksen (reached No. 14)
As Kim Larsen & Kjukken
2002: Det var en torsdag aften (reached No. 2)
2003: 7-9-13 (reached No. 1)
2004: Glemmebogen Jul & Nytår (reached No. 1)
2007: En lille pose støj (reached No. 1) (Live)
As Kim Larsen & Bellami
2015: Kielgasten (reached No. 22)
With Gasolin'
2015: Kim I 70'erne (reached No. 8)
References
External links
Kim Larsen's website
Kim Larsen's record company
YT: Tekamaki Sidewalk Stereo Machine
1945 births
2018 deaths
Danish male singers
Danish rock singers
Dansk Melodi Grand Prix contestants
Musicians from Copenhagen