Steppeulvene (

Danish language Danish (; , ) is a North Germanic language spoken by about six million people, principally in and around Denmark. Communities of Danish speakers are also found in Greenland, the Faroe Islands, and the northern German region of Southern Schles ...

for The Steppe Wolves) was a

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish ance ...

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band which despite its short life has become the icon for the Danish

hippie A hippie, also spelled hippy, especially in British English, is someone associated with the counterculture of the 1960s, originally a youth movement that began in the United States during the mid-1960s and spread to different countries around ...

music scene. The name of the group was taken from the 1927 novel '' Steppenwolf'' by German Nobel laureate

Hermann Hesse Hermann Karl Hesse (; 2 July 1877 – 9 August 1962) was a German-Swiss poet, novelist, and painter. His best-known works include ''Demian'', ''Steppenwolf (novel), Steppenwolf'', ''Siddhartha (novel), Siddhartha'', and ''The Glass Bead Game'', ...

. Also in 1967, in California, the band Steppenwolf named itself after the novel. Their only

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

''Hip'' (1967) was the first rock album with original Danish lyrics, and has attained near-mythological status in the history of Danish rock. The group was the result of a collaboration between lead singer , who had traveled in the Orient in the early 1960s and wrote the

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

-inspired, highly symbolic and almost surreal lyrics, and (guitar, vocal), who wrote the drawling, psychedelic, folk-influenced music. The other members were Søren Seirup (bass) and Preben Devantier (drums). A tour in October 1967 came to a chaotic end when a concert was cut short by the police and the group members were arrested for

cannabis ''Cannabis'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae. The number of species within the genus is disputed. Three species may be recognized: ''Cannabis sativa'', '' C. indica'', and '' C. ruderalis''. Alternatively ...

use. Shortly after being released, Eik Skaløe went on a journey to Afghanistan/Nepal (on the so-called "

hippie trail Hippie trail (also the overland) is the name given to the overland journey taken by members of the hippie subculture and others from the mid-1950s to the late 1970s between Europe and South Asia, mainly from Turkey through Iran, Afghanistan ...

") and was found dead outside the city of

Ferozepore Firozpur, also known as Ferozepur, is a city on the banks of the Sutlej River in Firozpur District, Punjab, India. After the partition of India in 1947, it became a border town on the India–Pakistan border with memorials to soldiers who di ...

near the Indian/Pakistani border in October 1968, apparently after a drug-induced suicide. Back in

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

the rest of the group attempted to carry on, but, lacking the characteristic Skaløe as a front figure, quickly dissolved.

Steppeulven ''Itsi Bitsi'', also known as ''Steppeulven'', is a 2014 Danish drama film directed by Ole Christian Madsen. It is a biopic of the band Steppeulvene. It was screened in the Contemporary World Cinema section at the 2014 Toronto International Film ...

is a 2014 film about them.

Discography

*1967: ''Hip'' (re-released in 2015, No. 4 on

Tracklisten Hitlisten, also known as Tracklisten, is a Danish top 40 record chart that is updated every Thursday midnight on the website hitlisten.nu. The weekly Danish singles chart Track Top-40 combines the 40 best-selling tracks from legal music downloads ...

) *1967: Du skal ud, hvor du ikke kan bunde / Flip

References

External links

Steppeulvene dedication website
Danish rock music groups {{Denmark-band-stub