Gasolin'

Gasolin' was a Danish rock band from Christianshavn in Copenhagen formed by Kim Larsen, Franz Beckerlee and Wili J?nsson in 1969. Their first drummer was the late Bj?rn Uglebjerg. He was replaced by S?ren Berlev in 1971. At the formation the guitar playing of Franz Beckerlee was inspired by Jimi Hendrix and the singing and lyrics of Larsen was inspired by Bob Dylan, while the rhythm playing of J?nsson and Berlev owed much to The Beatles. However, they would soon develop their own musical style. The pop sensibility of Kim Larsen, the artistic attitude of Franz Beckerlee and the musical competence of Wili J?nsson would prove to be a recipe for success. Gasolin's lyrics were generally written by the entire group, often with the assistance of friend Mogens Mogensen.

History

In 1970 Gasolin' released their first single "Silky Sally." It was followed by "Child of Institution" and "Johnny The Jackpot." These three singles were sung in English and flopped. Their debut album and all subsequent albums had Danish lyrics and were a success. Although they would occasionally still sing in English, Danish proved to be the language where they could express themselves most eloquently and this was acknowledged by the Danish audience and critics.

From 1972 to 1978, Gasolin' was the most popular rock band in Denmark. With producer Roy Thomas Baker, they released classics such as Gasolin' 3, Gas 5 and Efter endnu en dag. Their albums sound as fresh and innovative now as they did then. In that respect Gasolin' may be considered as the Danish Beatles. Each album was a landmark and like The Beatles, they broke up at the pinnacle of their success. The reasons for the split-up was the failure to break the international market and personal differences.

After the demise, Kim Larsen would go on to become a very successful solo artist. His album from 1983, Midt om Natten, is the best-selling album in Denmark ever. Wili J?nsson and S?ren Berlev would go on playing music as session musicians and in various bands. Franz Beckerlee works as an artist, but occasionally he played with S?ren Berlev in Christianhavns Bluesband and in 1979 he released No Kiddin.

In 1991, the CD compilation Rabalderstr?de Forever became a hit as was the box set from 2003 The Black Box. In 2006, a movie called Gasolin' 4-ever directed by Anders ?stergaard became the most popular documentary movie in Denmark ever. Despite this, Gasolin' has always refused to reunite.

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Original Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gasolin'