skandinavian_Artists > Johnny Madsen

Dylan has for many years possessed the brand The Never Ending Tour, but there are certain resemblances because Johnny Madsen is also a man constantly on the road - playing all over Denmark. When summer arrives he plays at outdoor events, which is usually at some of the many festivals or Open Air concerts where he gives the audience the best he’s got of blues, boogie, ballads and real rock’n’roll. And when Denmark moves indoor at fall and winter, Madsen comes along with his half-acoustic trio and raps up his songs in edgy and racy stories, which are an inevitable part of the institution Johnny Madsen. This institution has already celebrated its 25th anniversary as a touring musician, but is – just like Bob Dylan – still going strong.

It might seem difficult imagining Johnny Madsen as a member of a fiddler group, but none the less that was how it all started. From ’75 to ’77 Johnny released three albums with the Rumlekvadrillen, and in 1981 he had a single release with the La Porta Band (Fra Gudum Til Honolulu) before Johnny Madsen in 1982 became a solo artist and since then he’s never looked back.

His solo debut album was called ‘De Tørre Er De Best…Men Våde Er De Flest’ from 1982. It was an album not many people decided to buy, or even heard about – even though it contains the original recording of the top-classic ‘Motorvejen’, which ever since has been a secure song on his tour playlist. The second album was just as unique and original – ‘Madsens Septitanker’ (1986) – but it was not until he released ‘Chinatown, Yellowman and Den Store Fugl’ (1987) that a bigger audience discovered Johnny Madsen’s music. The big and inevitable breakthrough really became clear to everybody with ‘Udenfor Sæsonen’ (1988), where the whole nation heard about him and had the opportunity to make up their minds about him; he came through so good that it gave him his first metal records. The media embraced Madsen and applauded this totally original songwriter, who narrates about the width and the fringes of Denmark in a deeply personal and poetic manner. Since then Madsen has without a doubt been what you would call a wandering cultural institution just for being who he is.

After the album ‘Udenfor Sæsonen’ came ‘Nattegn’ (1989) and ‘Bounty Blue’ (1991) which were albums that really cemented Madsen’s new status as national property, and that exact enthusiasm was committed and perpetuated on the album ‘Halgal Halbal’ (1992), where Madsen is being recorded in his right element, which is performing live - so the album consists of live performances from all over the country. Then he released the album ‘Ses Vi I Slesvig’ (1994) where he heated up the political indignation and wrote sarcastic comments about Denmark, which he at times considered to be strangling and wrapped in Social Democratic cotton.

In 1996 it was time to sum up the career so far, and that was done with the excellent double album ‘Madsens Største – 40 Af De Fede’. In 1997 he released ‘Room Service’, where he’s showed in one of the videos in a limousine surrounded by beautiful girls drinking champagne. When the live album ‘The Blues’ (1998) was released he dedicated a whole album to interpreting some of the great songs from his personal favourites. The album ‘Checkpoint Charlie’ (1999) was a typical Johnny Madsen album, and the songwriter returned to look inward and put himself in the thoughtful corner by recording the beautiful and gentle song ‘Den Blinde Lotterisælger Sidder Ganske Stille På Et Flerfarevt Lysstofrør Og Kigger Opmærksomt Ud Mod Havet’.

But now Madsen is back in his cheerful corner with the album ‘Regnmanden’, which is a rock’n’roll album for Madsen experts and those who love the undiluted energy he’s so famous for.


April 2004