Bamses Venner

Bamses Venner originated as a Danish pop/rock outfit in 1973 under the leadership of frontman Flemming "Bamse" Jørgensen and maintained an active recording presence from the mid-1970s well into the following century. The group earned its most prominent international recognition when chosen to represent Denmark at the 1980 Eurovision Song Contest with the track "Tænker Altid På Dig." Its later core membership consisted of Peter Bødker on piano, organ, and guitar, Frank Thøgersen on drums, and Anders Lampe on guitar, although numerous additional musicians participated across the years. The ensemble issued its self-titled debut album in 1975 and maintained an annual release schedule through the remainder of the decade, during which Flemming "Bamse" Jørgensen also issued the solo projects Din Sang in 1977 and Solen Skinner in 1979. Commercial momentum reached its height around the turn of the decade after the song "Tænker Altid På Dig," drawn from the 1979 album Sådan Set, was selected for Eurovision duty. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s the band sustained a steady output of studio recordings that began with two live albums in 1980, while occasional solo efforts continued to appear. This pattern of regular band releases persisted into the new century, even as Flemming "Bamse" Jørgensen pursued a more prominent solo career. His solo work shifted toward English-language standards, beginning with Stand by Me in 1999 and continuing through Always on My Mind in 2001, Be My Guest in 2005, and Love Me Tender in 2007, in contrast to the Danish-language material issued by the group. Numerous retrospective collections also surfaced after 2000, including 30 af de Bedste in 2003, Komplet 1973-1981 in 2005, and Komplet 1982-1994 in 2006.