Arnold Børud (born 28 October 1947) is a Norwegian singer, musician and record producer.

Biography

He grew up in

Askim Askim () is a town and a former municipality in (from January 1, 2020) Indre Østfold Kommune in the former county of Østfold county (from January 1, 2020 a part of Viken county), Norway. The administrative centre of the Askim municipality wa ...

, and has been a devout

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

since the age of 18, when a friend invited him to a Christian camp. Only two years later, he had learned the guitar and piano, and released his first record as a part of the duo Arild og Arnold. In 1973, he started two

gospel choir Gospel music is a traditional genre of Christian music, and a cornerstone of Christian media. The creation, performance, significance, and even the definition of gospel music varies according to culture and social context. Gospel music is com ...

s, Tvers and Mini-Tvers. With these choirs Børud became a pioneer in introducing gospel music to Norwegian

Pietist Pietism (), also known as Pietistic Lutheranism, is a movement within Lutheranism that combines its emphasis on biblical doctrine with an emphasis on individual piety and living a holy Christianity, Christian life, including a social concern for ...

congregations. He has thus been called "Mr. Gospel" in Norway. He had already, in 1972, formed the gospel group Frisk Luft together with

Rune Larsen Rune Larsen (born 8 August 1948) is a Norwegian journalist, singer, musician, record producer and television presenter. He was born in Bergen. He made his stage debut in 1957, and his television debut in 1964. By that time, he had already played w ...

, Ivar Skippervold and Kjell Fjalsett. The group formed by coincidence when Larsen and Børud, performing at Hedmarktoppen, spotted the already-known Fjalsett and Skippervold in the audience and invited them onto the stage. They released two LPs in the 1970s, and participated in a television show named ''Gospelkveld'' ('Gospel Evening'). Members of Tvers contributed on their first LP. Frisk Luft was said to be the first

supergroup Supergroup or super group may refer to: * Supergroup (music), a music group formed by artists who are already notable or respected in their fields * Supergroup (physics), a generalization of groups, used in the study of supersymmetry * Supergroup ...

in Norway. In the 1980s, Børud performed with the group Børud-gjengen. It consisted of himself and his three children Thomas, Linda and Ole. The group was later expanded and renamed Arnold B. Family. Arnold B. Family participated in the

Melodi Grand Prix Melodi Grand Prix (), commonly known as Grand Prix and MGP, sometimes as Norwegian Melodi Grand Prix ( no, Norsk Melodi Grand Prix), is an annual music competition organised by Norwegian public broadcaster Norsk Rikskringkasting (NRK). It dete ...

three times, reaching as high as second place in

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...

—behind Secret Garden with the song "

Nocturne A nocturne is a musical composition that is inspired by, or evocative of, the night. History The term ''nocturne'' (from French '' nocturne'' 'of the night') was first applied to musical pieces in the 18th century, when it indicated an ensembl ...

". Secret Garden would go on to win the

Eurovision Song Contest 1995 The Eurovision Song Contest 1995 was the 40th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest, held on 13 May 1995 at the Point Theatre in Dublin, Ireland. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster (RTÉ) and presented by Ir ...

. Also, ''Frisk Luft'' made a public comeback in 1998, and released the record ''Lifetime Friends'' in 2000. In 2004 they followed with ''I'll Never Find Another You''. Arnold Børud produced both albums. The group performs live every now and then. Børud also contributed keyboards to the 1998 album ''

Burial Burial, also known as interment or inhumation, is a method of final disposition whereby a dead body is placed into the ground, sometimes with objects. This is usually accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing the deceased and objec ...

'', the debut recording of

progressive

death metal Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. It typically employs heavily distorted and low-tuned guitars, played with techniques such as palm muting and tremolo picking; deep growling vocals; aggressive, powerful drumming, feat ...

band

Extol Extol are a Christian metal band from Bekkestua, Norway that was formed in 1993. The band is known for playing a variety of different styles of metal which include progressive metal, death metal, black metal and thrash metal. Over the course ...

, of which his son Ole was a member.Biography
of Ole Børud on Scandinavian Soul, (accessed 6 December 2014). Besides his music career, Børud works for Normisjon at a

Bible school A Bible college, sometimes referred to as a Bible institute or theological institute, is an evangelical Christian or Restoration Movement Christian institution of higher education which prepares students for Christian ministry with theological edu ...

Grimstad Grimstad () is a municipality in Agder county, Norway. It belongs to the geographical region of Sørlandet. The administrative center of the municipality is the town of Grimstad. Some of the villages in Grimstad include Eide, Espenes, Fevik, ...

. In late 2007, he was awarded the

HM The King's Medal of Merit The King's Medal of Merit (Norwegian: ''Kongens fortjenstmedalje'') is a Norwegian award. It was instituted in 1908 to reward meritorious achievements in the fields of art, science, business, and public service. It is divided in two classes: gold ...

in gold.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Borud, Arnold 1947 births Living people Norwegian gospel singers Norwegian record producers Norwegian Christians People from Askim Recipients of the King's Medal of Merit in gold