Jan Eggum (born 8 December 1951) is a Norwegian singer-songwriter. He has been characterized as a "face for the melancholy", and the themes in his songs are often broken hearts, loneliness, and sorrow. Sometimes his lyrics include

social criticism Social criticism is a form of academic or journalistic criticism focusing on social issues in contemporary society, in particular with respect to perceived injustices and power relations in general. Social criticism of the Enlightenment The or ...

, but he also shows trivial and funny sides of himself.

Career

Eggum was born in

Bergen Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. The municipality covers and is on the peninsula of ...

, but started as a pub singer in London, and made his living for two years writing songs in English. One of his most famous songs – "En natt forbi" ("A night is over") – was originally written in English, with the title "Alone, Awake". He got a record contract in 1975 with the Norwegian record company

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

, and recorded his debut album "Trubadur" that autumn. His breakthrough came after his third release, the album "Heksedans" from 1977. This album gave him the Norwegian award

Spellemannsprisen Spellemannprisen, often referred to as the Norwegian Grammy Awards in English, is a Norwegian music award presented to Norwegian musicians. The award was established by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), an organizati ...

, and on this album has such classics as "Mor, jeg vil tilbake". Since this, Eggum has been one of Norway's most well known artists, both as a solo artist and with others. An example of the latter is his membership in

Gitarkameratene Gitarkameratene is the name of a Supergroup (music), supergroup of well-known Norwegian recording and touring artists. The group included Lillebjørn Nilsen, Halvdan Sivertsen, Jan Eggum and Øystein Sunde. The name ''Gitarkameratene'' means approx ...

with fellow guitarists

Lillebjørn Nilsen Bjørn "Lillebjørn" Falk Nilsen (born 21 December 1950) is a Norwegian singer-songwriter and folk musician. He was born in Oslo, and is considered by some to be the leading "voice of Oslo", thanks to numerous classic songs about the city from th ...

Øystein Sunde Øystein Olaf Sunde (born 24 January 1947) is a Norwegian folk singer and guitarist. He is known for his high-speed guitar and banjo style and his satirical lyrics. Although often regarded as a comedian, Sunde is a versatile guitarist who has p ...

and

Halvdan Sivertsen Halvdan Sivertsen (born 5 January 1950) is a Norwegian singer-songwriter and guitarist. He was born in Tromsø, but raised and lives in Bodø. He has won Spellemannprisen awards five times, twice with his group Gitarkameratene, and received the ...

. Eggum has been a minor political candidate for the Norwegian Green Party. He has three children, Frida (born 1980), Bastian (born 2006) and Hennika (born 2009).

Albums

* ''Jan Eggum'' (1975) * ''Trubadur'' (1976) * ''Heksedans'' (1977) * ''En natt forbi'' (1979) * ''En sang fra vest'' (1979) * ''5 år med Jan Eggum – 14 utvalgte sanger'' (1980) * ''Alarmen går'' (1982) * ''E.G.G.U.M.'' (1985) * ''Da Capo'' (1990) * ''Underveis'' (1991) * ''Nesten ikke tilstede'' (1993) * ''Mang slags kjærlighet'' (1994) * ''Dingli bang'' (1997) * ''Deilig'' (1999) * ''Ekte Eggum'' (2001) * ''President'' (2002) * ''Alle gjør det'' (2004) * ''30/30'' (2005) * ''Hjerteknuser'' (2007)

Singles

* ''En sang fra vest'' / ''Kort opphold'' (1979) * ''Alarmen går'' / ''Vest for Voss'' (1981) * ''En helt ny dag'' / ''Sommeren nytes best om vinteren'' (1984) * ''Utenfor'' (1988) (with

Bjørn Eidsvåg Bjørn Eidsvåg (born 17 March 1954) is a Norwegian pop singer, songwriter, and ordained Lutheran minister. He was born in Sauda, and is a graduate of the MF Norwegian School of Theology. He has released more than 25 albums since his 1976 debu ...

Sidsel Endresen Sidsel Endresen (born 19 June 1952) is a Norwegian singer, composer, and actress. She was part of the Jon Eberson group. Since 1987, Endresen has pursued a successful solo career, recording for ECM. Career Endresen was one of the most pronou ...

, Silje Nergård)

With other artists

* Various artists: ''VisFestivalen Västervik 1978'' (1978) * Various artists: ''Norske viser i 70-åra'' (1980) * United artists: ''Sammen for livet'' (1985) * Various artists: ''Utenfor/Naken hud'' (1988) *

: ''Gitarkameratene'' (1989) *

: ''Typisk norsk'' (1990) * Various artists: ''Æ – en tribute til

Åge Aleksandersen Åge Aleksandersen (born 21 March 1949 in Namsos, Norway) is a Norwegian singer, songwriter and guitarist. He is one of his country's best known singer/songwriters and musicians. Some of his most well known songs are "''Lys og varme''" (''Light ...

'' (1992) *

Gustav Lorentzen Gustav Lorentzen (28 September 1947 – 21 April 2010), also known by his stage name Ludvigsen, was a Norwegian singer-songwriter, best known from being half of the successful duo Knutsen & Ludvigsen, alongside Øystein "Knutsen" Dolmen. He went ...

: ''1. klasse'' (1992) * Various artists: ''Det beste av norsk musikk 1978–1980'' (1998) * Various artists: ''Solide saker – en hyllest til Dumdum Boys'' (1999) *

Vamp (band) Vamp (initiated in 1990) is a folk-rock band from Haugesund, Norway with founding members Øyvind Staveland, Calle Øyvind Apeland, Paul Hansen, Bjørn Berge, Odin Staveland and Tore Jamne. The band's musical profile is a mix of Norwegian t ...

: ''En annen sol'' (2000) * Various artists: ''Norske viseperler'' (2000) * Various artists: ''Antons villfaring'' (2002) ''(Musical from

Erlend Loe Erlend Loe (24 May 1969, Trondheim) is a Norwegian novelist, screenwriter and film critic. Loe writes both children's and adult literature. He has gained popularity in Scandinavia with his humorous and sometimes naïve novels, although his stori ...

/Jan Eggum)'' * Various artists: ''Gull i fra grønne skoger:

Vidar Sandbeck Vidar Sandbeck (July 21, 1918 – November 10, 2005) was a Norwegian folk singer, composer, and writer. Sandbeck was born in Åmot, in modest conditions, and suffered from poor health during much of his childhood. He became a prodigy on the viol ...

'' (2003) * Kaia Huuse: ''Trist og fint'' (2004) * Various artists: ''Norsk rocks historie vol. 5: Viserock (1969–1977)'' (2004) * Various artists: ''Venn'' (2005)

Eurovision Song Contest

* ''Deilige Drøm'' (1988) (ranked as number 10 in the Norwegian final)

Bibliography

* ''Ugress i ditt bed'' (1977; Eide Forlag) * ''Heksedans'' (1981; Eide Forlag) * ''Mellom borger og bohem'' (1991; Eide Forlag) * ''Mang slags kjærlighet – 40 sanger del 2'' (1994; Blåmann Forlag) * ''Dingli Bang'' (1997; Blåmann Forlag) * ''Deilig'' (1999; Blåmann Forlag) * ''Nesten den samme (tekster)'' (2000; Blåmann Forlag) * ''Norsk pop- og rockleksikon'' (2005; Vega Forlag) * ''Popminner – en reise i norsk pophistorie'' (2012; Vega Forlag), with Bård Ose * ''Kor e alle helter hen?'' (2014; Kagge Forlag)

References

External links

Jan Eggum – En natt forbi
on YouTube * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Eggum, Jan 1951 births Living people Spellemannprisen winners Melodi Grand Prix contestants Norwegian singer-songwriters Norwegian folk singers Norwegian male singers Norwegian folk guitarists Norwegian male guitarists Musicians from Bergen Norwegian multi-instrumentalists Norwegian writers Grappa Music artists