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Kim Mellius Flyvholm Larsen (23 October 1945 – 30 September 2018) was a Danish singer, songwriter, author, and guitarist. He began his musical career in 1968 after a brief period as an elementary school teacher and became known from 1969 as a member of the rock group Gasolin. During his time with Gasolin (which lasted until 1978), Larsen also released solo albums and records with his leisure band, which went by several names. After the disbandment of Gasolin, Larsen continued as a solo artist and band leader.
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.[1]
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.
By the end of 2017, Larsen was diagnosed with prostate cancer.[2] 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.[3] 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.[4]
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.[5]
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.[6]
^Rugholm, Barbara. "Jens Andersen vinder Læsernes bogpris for 'Kim Larsen – mine unge år'". litteratursiden.dk. Retrieved 9 April 2020. They reached the beginning of the Gasoline era. Unfortunately, the story ends here, but we get a lot. From the 50's Copenhagen, friendships, crushes, college education, first marriage and child, the formation of Gasolin and the hippie era at the 70's Christianshavn.
![Kim Larsen at the Nibe Festival [da] in July 2009.](File:Kim_Larsen.jpg)
