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On this Site You´ll find information about the danish pop/rock-band TV-2 |
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The band was formed in the winter of 1980/81 in Aarhus, Denmark.
Steffen Brandt, vocals, keyboards, guitar; Hans Erik Lerchenfeld, guitar; Georg Olesen, bass; Sven Gaul, drums.
Albums
1981: Fantastiske Toyota (CBS).
1982: Verden er vidunderlig (CBS).
1983: Beat (CBS).
1984: Nutidens unge (CBS).
1985: Rigtige mænd gider ikke høre mere vrøvl (CBS).
1987: En dejlig torsdag (CBS)
1987: Fri som fuglen, dobbelt-live (CBS).
1988: Nærmest lykkelig (CBS).
1990: Vi bli'r alligevel aldrig voksne (PladeCompagniet).
1991: Slaraffenland (PladeCompagniet).
1992: De unge år - Greatest Hits (PladeCompagniet, 2cd).
1994: Verdens lykkeligste mand (PladeCompagniet).
1996: Kys bruden (EMI/Medley).
1998: Yndlingsbabe (EMI/Medley).
1999: Verdens Lykkeligste Band - Live 99 (PladeSelskabet)
1999: Manden der ønskede sig en havudsigt (PladeSelskabet)
2001: Amerika (PladeSelskabet)
2002: på kanten af småt brændbart (PladeSelskabet)
Description
Starting out in the early eighties playing the minimalist new rock of that time the band TV-2 developed into a unique brand in Danish rock. Their music has its roots in rock with a style that is simple but sharp, and with lyrics that have gotten more and more complex over the years. Still, listening to the songs you will discover a playful and yet disciplined ambiguity, which has changed into a more raw kind of sensitivity lately. TV-2 has maintained a high level of quality, and albums like "Rigtige mænd" (Real Men), "Vi bli'r alligevel aldrig voksne" (We'll Never Grow Up Anyway) and "Nærmest lykkelig" (Almost Happy) have been an important addition to Danish rock with songs that reflect the times we live in.
The career
TV-2 was formed after the break-up of the Aarhus symphonic-rock band Taurus which had been touring a lot since 1974 changing band members now and again. In 1978 Taurus recorded the album "Whatever Happened to the Sixties" with the current TV-2 musicians, Steffen Brandt, Hans Erik Lerchenfeld, Georg Olesen and Sven Gaul. You could hear that the band members had been listening to John McLaughlin and Jimi Hendrix, but the main inspiration was Pink Floyd.
TV-2 was formed at the new year 1980/81. Without a recording contract the band recorded the debut album "Fantastiske Toyota" (Fantastic Toyota) - now with lyrics in Danish. The band borrowed 30,000 DKR (approx. 3,000 GBP) and had Cy Nicklin engineer and mix the album. As it turned out five record companies were interested, and the Danish branch of CBS succeeded in signing the band. Having to sell this new concept in partnership with TV-2 CBS embarked in a promotion campaign that was to become something of a milestone in Danish promotion work, as it included a widespread use of the then newly invented telefax. At the Roskilde Festival later that year the band's performance was a visual bombardment - white boiler-suits, blue neon, white Venetian blinds and TV-monitors. It was concept art that was really going places, but not many people had a clue as to what was going on.
The following two years and two albums were used by TV-2 to perfect the concept - the rapid tempo, the melodic tunes, the pop-rock style, use of synthesizers and drum machines - and lyrics by Steffen Brandt, of course. The lyrics of the second album - "Verden er vidunderlig" (The World is Wonderful) - was still quite concise and observant, and the music, which was produced by Nicklin yet again, had a similar style to the first record. Gradually Brandt improved his style, and he ended up being one of the finest lyricists in Denmark with a lyrical universe that reflected the everyday language among young people.
The next three albums confirmed TV-2's position and they got double platinum for the album "Real Men", and the ballad "Bag duggede ruder" was released in English as well and called "Misty Windows". This song is considered, by the way, to be one of Danish pop rock's most beautiful ballads.
As a natural consequence of the status which the group had attained on the concert stage, "En dejlig torsdag" (Lovely Thursday) was followed by "Fri som fuglen" (Free as a Bird), a live double album. TV-2 released a live album again in 1999 - "Verdens lykkeligste band - live" (The Happiest Band in the World - Live).
In 1988 "Nærmest lykkelig" (Almost Happy) was released. The press pronounced it the band's best album to date. It had the character of a Steffen Brandt solo album with very personal lyrics, almost "roman à clef"-like.
The album "Vi bli'r aldrig voksne" (We'll never grow up anyway) gave Brandt rich opportunity to both play and seriously satirize the outside world's incredible ability never to learn. It was the band's fifth platinum album in a row, and the band received numerous awards and prizes as well. The following year the group celebrated their 10 years anniversary releasing "Slaraffenland" (Land of Milk and Honey, or El Dorado), and TV-2 wanted once again to play with the music and give The Aarhus Horns their recording debut. The Aarhus Horns, the horn section, were Niels Hoppe - saxophones, Knud Erik Nørgaard - trumpet and Anders Christensen - trombone. The band considered "Slaraffenland" to be kind of a cleansing process, but the audience was not particularly impressed. TV-2 took a break, interrupted in November 1992 by a greatest hits collection, "De unge år" (The Early Years), which made room for a new chapter in their careers and resulted in splash headlines, when the group achieved double platinum sales of "Verdens lykkeligste mand" (The Happiest Man in the World) in 1994. The Danish audience loved it, and the stage was set for yet another national tour of triumph and preparations for the 13th album, "Kys bruden" (Kiss the Bride), which was also their first album for EMI-Medley. The title song from this album, "Kom lad os brokke os" (Let's Have a Good Moan) and "Sån't er livet" (That's Life) became big hits.
Ending their second decade with the release of "Yndlingsbabe" (Favourite Babe) and "Amerika" TV-2 entered a new millenium. You recognized the special TV-2 sound, and yet you could hear that something had happened. The critics wondered, but they finally came up with an answer. One critic said:" It's amazing listening to TV-2. They still sound like TV-2, but the music style changes in an imperceptible but outstanding way. New angles, different intonations and surprise combinations result in a fresh and new sound". Both albums brought about several new classics. Rewarding the band's importance to the Danish language TV-2 was selected to give a special concert at the opening of an exhibition at the Danish National Museum in the presence of Queen Margrethe II and Prince Henrik.
During the summer of 2002 TV-2 finished a new album, "På kanten af småt brændbart" (At the Edge of Inflammable Waste), that was released in November.
Additional information
TIn 1982 TV-2 released an album under the pseudonym "The Beautifuls" as a reaction to the outrage that followed the release of the "new wave" debut album. It was called "Om sommeren er alting anderledes" (In the Summer Everything is Different).
In 1990 TV-2 released the single "The Whole World's Gonna Speak German Again", inspired by the events surrounding the fall of the Berlin Wall. The single was released both in Denmark and in Germany.
The band has made a point of not simply delivering the stereotype video product on TV. "Nærmest lykkelig - live", a concert and road-movie recorded on tour, was broadcasted in 1988. In the following years you could see "De kom lige forbi" (They Just Dropped In), 1990 - a report from Greenland (the band's adopted country), "10 år der rystede verden" (10 Years that Rocked the World) - a simulated documentary based on the story of a pop band with the general emphasis on delivering rock and roll, but creating havoc in particular.
In 1994 TV-2 received a pat on the back from their colleagues in the form of the Danish Musicians Union's Award (30,000 DKR - approx. 3,000 GBP). Steffen Brandt received the Dan Turèll Award in 1996. The song "Kom lad os brokke os" was used as an essay subject in a Danish examination at Danish elementary schools in 1997.
In 1999 the band established their own record company, Have A Cigar. At the yearly festival in Aarhus a production of the dance-rock-performance "Manden der ønskede sig en havudsigt" (The Man that Wanted a House with a View) was shown. The Englishman Nick Ingman (George Michael, Madonna and many others) had arranged and conducted 16 Steffen Brandt-compositions and the Danish Radio Concert Orchestra played together with TV-2. The dance was choreographed by Peter Schaufuss and performed by his company. The music was released on a cd that year.
The band doesn't just follow the daily trend, but they are very good at keeping up with what's happening in society. Besides Cy Nicklin the band has worked with producers like Greg Walsh (Heaven 17, Tina Turner), Anders Glenmark, Thomas Helmig, Halfdan E., Nikolaj Steen and Peter Biker (Craig Davis).
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