Olsen Brothers
Encyclopedia
Olsen Brothers are a Danish
rock/pop music duo, and are brothers Jørgen (born 15 March 1950) and "Noller" (Niels, born 13 April 1954) Olsen. They formed their first band, The Kids, in 1965. The Kids warmed up for The Kinks
in the K.B. Hallen in 1965 and released their first single in 1967.
Both Jørgen and Niels Olsen participated in the musical Hair
in the Cirkusbygningen in Copenhagen
March 1971, and went on tour afterwards through Denmark, Norway
and Sweden
.
The Olsen Brothers' first album
came out in 1972. To date they have released 12 albums.
Their big hit singles include "Angelina" (1972), "Julie" (1977), "San Francisco" (1978), "Dans Dans Dans" (1979), "Marie, Marie" (1982) and "Neon Madonna" (1985).
.
Dansk Melodi Grand Prix 2000 / Eurovision Song Contest 2000
They won the annual Dansk Melodi Grand Prix song competition in 2000 in Copenhagen and went on to represent Denmark in the Eurovision Song Contest 2000
in Stockholm, where they stormed to a landslide victory with the song "Fly on the Wings of Love
" (translated from the Danish
"Smuk som et Stjerneskud" (literally translated, "Beautiful as a Shooting Star"). At one stage, they sold 100,000 copies in one day, in Denmark. They became only one of two Danish acts that won the competition, the other being Grethe
and Jørgen Ingmann
who had won in 1963 with "Dansevise
".
They opened the Eurovision Song Contest 2001
in Copenhagen with a short reprise of their winning song from the previous year, followed by a full performance of their new release "Walk Right Back".
Dansk Melodi Grand Prix 2005
In 2005 for the first time since their victory, they re-entered the Danish Melodi Grand Prix, the national pre-selection for the Eurovision contest, with the song "Little Yellow Radio". It was widely reported that they hoped to repeat their triumph; however this time they had to settle for second place, finishing behind Jakob Sveistrup
.
Congratulations - 50 Years of the Eurovision Song Contest
Their song Fly on the Wings of Love was nominated as one of the 14 finalists for the Congratulations: 50 Years of the Eurovision Song Contest
held in Copenhagen, Denmark on 22 October 2005. They performed the song in the event finishing 6th overall in 14 songs. The winner was "Waterloo" from ABBA
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
rock/pop music duo, and are brothers Jørgen (born 15 March 1950) and "Noller" (Niels, born 13 April 1954) Olsen. They formed their first band, The Kids, in 1965. The Kids warmed up for The Kinks
The Kinks
The Kinks were an English rock band formed in Muswell Hill, North London, by brothers Ray and Dave Davies in 1964. Categorised in the United States as a British Invasion band, The Kinks are recognised as one of the most important and influential rock acts of the era. Their music was influenced by a...
in the K.B. Hallen in 1965 and released their first single in 1967.
Both Jørgen and Niels Olsen participated in the musical Hair
Hair (musical)
Hair: The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical is a rock musical with a book and lyrics by James Rado and Gerome Ragni and music by Galt MacDermot. A product of the hippie counter-culture and sexual revolution of the 1960s, several of its songs became anthems of the anti-Vietnam War peace movement...
in the Cirkusbygningen in Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
March 1971, and went on tour afterwards through Denmark, Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
and Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
.
The Olsen Brothers' first album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
came out in 1972. To date they have released 12 albums.
Their big hit singles include "Angelina" (1972), "Julie" (1977), "San Francisco" (1978), "Dans Dans Dans" (1979), "Marie, Marie" (1982) and "Neon Madonna" (1985).
Dansk Melodi Grand Prix / Eurovision
The Olsen Brothers and on occasions Jørgen Olsen on his own took part in a number of annual competitions known as Dansk Melodi Grand Prix the winner of which would represent Denmark in the Eurovision Song ContestEurovision Song Contest
The Eurovision Song Contest is an annual competition held among active member countries of the European Broadcasting Union .Each member country submits a song to be performed on live television and then casts votes for the other countries' songs to determine the most popular song in the competition...
.
| Participations in Dansk Melodi Grand Prix | ||||
| Year | Song | Position | Points | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | "San Francisco" | |
|
As Olson Brothers |
| 1979 | "Dans dans dans" | |
|
As Olsen Brothers |
| 1980 | "Laila" | |
|
As Olsen Brothers |
| 1986 | "Fællessang i parken" | |
|
As Olsen Brothers |
| 1989 | "Fugle" | |
|
Jørgen Olsen (solo) |
| 1990 | "Berlin" | |
|
Jørgen Olsen (solo) |
| 2000 | "Smuk som et stjerneskud" "Fly on the Wings of Love" (in English) |
|
|
As Olsen Brothers Represented Denmark in Eurovision 2000 |
| 2005 | "Little Yellow Radio" | |
|
As Olsen Brothers |
| 2007 | "Vi elsker bare danske piger" | |
|
Jørgen Olden (solo) |
Dansk Melodi Grand Prix 2000 / Eurovision Song Contest 2000
They won the annual Dansk Melodi Grand Prix song competition in 2000 in Copenhagen and went on to represent Denmark in the Eurovision Song Contest 2000
Eurovision Song Contest 2000
The Eurovision Song Contest 2000 was the 45th Eurovision Song Contest and was held on 13 May 2000 at the Ericsson Globe in Stockholm, Sweden, following Charlotte Nilsson's victory in Jerusalem the previous year. It was the first time since 1996 that the contest was held on mainland Europe. The...
in Stockholm, where they stormed to a landslide victory with the song "Fly on the Wings of Love
Fly On The Wings Of Love
"Fly on the Wings of Love" is a song by the Olsen Brothers, which was the winner of Eurovision Song Contest 2000, performed for Denmark, singing in English....
" (translated from the Danish
Danish language
Danish is a North Germanic language spoken by around six million people, principally in the country of Denmark. It is also spoken by 50,000 Germans of Danish ethnicity in the northern parts of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, where it holds the status of minority language...
"Smuk som et Stjerneskud" (literally translated, "Beautiful as a Shooting Star"). At one stage, they sold 100,000 copies in one day, in Denmark. They became only one of two Danish acts that won the competition, the other being Grethe
Grethe Ingmann
Grethe Ingmann was a Danish singer. She performed as a member of the duet, Grethe og Jørgen Ingmann, along with her husband, guitarist Jørgen...
and Jørgen Ingmann
Jørgen Ingmann
Jørgen Ingmann is a musician from Copenhagen, Denmark.He worked with Svend Asmussen, the jazz violinist, during the 1940s and part of the 1950s....
who had won in 1963 with "Dansevise
Dansevise
"Dansevise" was the winning song of the Eurovision Song Contest 1963 performed in Danish by Grethe and Jørgen Ingmann representing Denmark...
".
They opened the Eurovision Song Contest 2001
Eurovision Song Contest 2001
The Eurovision Song Contest 2001 was the 46th Eurovision Song Contest and was held on 12 May 2001 in the Parken Stadium in Copenhagen, Denmark. It was the first time in 36 years that Denmark hosted the Eurovision Song Contest, thanks to the Olsen Brothers' win the previous year in Stockholm...
in Copenhagen with a short reprise of their winning song from the previous year, followed by a full performance of their new release "Walk Right Back".
Dansk Melodi Grand Prix 2005
In 2005 for the first time since their victory, they re-entered the Danish Melodi Grand Prix, the national pre-selection for the Eurovision contest, with the song "Little Yellow Radio". It was widely reported that they hoped to repeat their triumph; however this time they had to settle for second place, finishing behind Jakob Sveistrup
Jakob Sveistrup
Jakob Sveistrup is a Danish singer. He entered the Danish music scene in 2003 as a competitor in the Danish televised talent contest Stjerne for en aften . He made it to the finals. Unusually, Sveistrup is not a professional singer — by day he teaches autistic children...
.
Congratulations - 50 Years of the Eurovision Song Contest
Their song Fly on the Wings of Love was nominated as one of the 14 finalists for the Congratulations: 50 Years of the Eurovision Song Contest
Congratulations (Eurovision)
Congratulations: 50 Years of the Eurovision Song Contest was a television programme organised by the European Broadcasting Union to commemorate the Eurovision Song Contest's fiftieth anniversary and to determine the Contest's most popular entrant of its fifty years. It took place at Forum,...
held in Copenhagen, Denmark on 22 October 2005. They performed the song in the event finishing 6th overall in 14 songs. The winner was "Waterloo" from ABBA
ABBA
ABBA was a Swedish pop group formed in Stockholm in 1970 which consisted of Anni-Frid Lyngstad, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson and Agnetha Fältskog...
Albums
- Olsen (1972)
- For What We Are (1973)
- For the Children of the World (1973)
- Back on the Tracks (1976)
- You're the One (1977)
- San Francisco (1978)
- Dans - Dans - Dans (1979)
- Rockstalgi (1987)
- Det Stille Ocean (1990)
- Greatest and Latest (1994)
- Angelina (1999)
- Fly on the Wings of LoveFly On The Wings Of Love"Fly on the Wings of Love" is a song by the Olsen Brothers, which was the winner of Eurovision Song Contest 2000, performed for Denmark, singing in English....
(2000) - Neon Madonna (2001)
- Walk Right Back (2001)
- Songs (2002)
- Weil Nur Die Liebe Zählt (2003)
- More Songs (2003)
- Our New Songs (2005)
Singles
(Selective)- "Angelina" (1972)
- "Julie" (1977)
- "San Francisco" (1978)
- "Dans dans dans" (1979)
- "Marie, Marie" (1982)
- "Neon Madonna" (1985)
- "Fly on the Wings of LoveFly On The Wings Of Love"Fly on the Wings of Love" is a song by the Olsen Brothers, which was the winner of Eurovision Song Contest 2000, performed for Denmark, singing in English....
" (2000) - "Wings of Eurovision (2011)
See also
- Dansk Melodi Grand Prix
- Dansk Melodi Grand Prix winnersDansk Melodi Grand Prix winnersThis page lists the songs and artists that have won Dansk Melodi Grand Prix, the Danish preselection for the Eurovision Song Contest. There was no competition held between 1967 and 1977, 1994, 1998 and 2003.-List of winners:...