Allan Olsen

Allan Olsen is a Danish folk-rock singer/songwriter who began his solo recording career in the 1980s and rose to chart-topping success in his homeland. Born on March 18, 1956, in Grønholt, Denmark, he was influenced primarily by the early- to mid-'70s singer/songwriter movement. He cites among his all-time favorite albums the Who's Who's Next (1971), Neil Young's Harvest (1972), Nick Drake's Pink Moon (1972), Bert Jansch's L.A. Turnaround (1973), Randy Newman's Good Old Boys (1974), and Bob Dylan's Before the Flood (1974). While clearly influenced by American and British music, Olsen chose to write and sing his songs in his own regional dialect. At age 33 he made his solo album debut with Norlan (1989), followed by Gajo (1990) and Pindsvin i Pigsko (1992). His fourth album, Dalton (1992), a collaboration with Johnny Madsen and Lars Lilholt, was particularly successful, and the double-disc live album Rygter Fra Randområderne (1994) was released in its wake. He released new studio albums every couple years thereafter, among them Jern (1996), Sange for Rygere (1998), and Onomatopoietikon (2000), plus a steady stream of live albums and compilations. Olsen's popularity remained steady well after the turn of the century as the studio albums Gæst (2004) and Multo Importante (2007) topped the Danish albums chart and numerous compilations were released.