Ole Ivars is a
dansband
(; "dance band"), or in Norwegian and Danish, is a Swedish term for a band that plays ("dance band music"). ' is often danced to in pairs. Jitterbug and foxtrot music are often included in this category. The music is primarily inspired by ...
, established 1964 in
Hamar
Hamar is a List of cities in Norway, town in Hamar Municipality in Innlandet Counties of Norway, county, Norway. Hamar is the administrative centre of Hamar Municipality. It is located in the Districts of Norway, traditional region of Hedmarken. ...
, Norway. Their 1967 breakthrough came with the song ''Regnets rytme''. Espen Hagen Olsen and
William Kristoffersen are singers in the band, and William Kristoffersen also acts as a songwriter. Ole Ivars has won the
Spellemannprisen
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 organizat ...
awards several times, and in 2004,
NRK
NRK, an abbreviation of the Norwegian ''Norsk Rikskringkasting Aksjeselskap, AS'', generally expressed in English as the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation, is the Norwegian government-owned radio and television public broadcasting company, and ...
labeled them as "Norway's dansband of all times". The band has received several cultural awards, and played in church buildings and concert halls throughout Norway
In 2007 the band had their first gold record, in Sweden, where they are mostly famous for the
Kikki Danielsson
Ann-Kristin "Kikki" Danielsson (born 10 May 1952) is a Swedish country, dansband and pop singer. Sometimes, she also plays the accordion and she has also written some lyrics. She has gained notice for yodeling in some songs. Danielsson gained he ...
duets "Jag trodde änglarna fanns" and "I mitt hjärta brinner lågan".
With the song ''
Som i himmelen'', the band participated at
Melodi Grand Prix 2008
Norway participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2008 with the song " Hold On Be Strong" written by Mira Craig. The song was performed by Maria Haukaas Storeng. NRK organised the national final ''Melodi Grand Prix 2008'' in order to select the ...
, making it to the final, where the song was knocked out in the first round. In 2013 they contributed to the book "Think like a rockstar" Tenk som en rockestjerne,
written by
Ståle Økland
Ståle Økland (born 21 April 1976) is a Norwegian writer, thinker, trend expert and public speaker. He grew up in Bryne, Leverkusen and Paris. He currently lives in Oslo, Norway.
Personal life
Ståle Økland's academic background is studies in s ...
.
Members
Current members
*
Espen Hagen Olsen, guitar and vocals (since 2019)
*
William Kristoffersen, bass, vocals and lyrics (since 1983)
*
Bjørn Elvestad, guitar,
accordion
Accordions (from 19th-century German ''Akkordeon'', from ''Akkord''—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a reed ...
(since 1996, previously a session member 1991–1996)
*
Ole Ødegård, piano (1964–1978, since 1982)
*
Arne Willy Foss, flute, saxophone (1965–1978, 1978–1980, since 1982)
*
Morten Nyhus, drums (since 2017, previously fill-in for Arild Engh in 2005 and 2015–2017)
Past members
*
Ivar Grønsveen, vocals and guitar (1964–1973, his death)
*Knut Pedersen, bass (1964–1969)
*Per Hexeberg, drums (1964–1967)
*Terje Scott, drums (1970–1982)
*Ingrid Øyen, vocals (1970–1971)
*Kjell Arne Olsen, trumpet (1970–1975, died 2004)
*Nils Østby, bass (1971–1983)
*Toril Støa, vocals (1971–1971)
*Wenche Hallan, vocals (1971–1972)
*
Lasse Johansen, vocals and guitar (1973–1978, 1982–1988)
*
Arnstein Tungvåg, vocals (1978–1980)
*Glenn Tharaldsen, vocals (1980–1982)
*Even Konglerud, piano (1981–1982)
*
Arild Engh, drums (1982–2017, his death)
*
Tore Halvorsen, guitar and vocals (1988–2018)
Members of the «Ole Ivars Veteranene» («The Veterans of Ole Ivars»)
*Lasse Johansen, vocals and guitar (1979–1982)
*Ole Ødegård, piano (1979–1982)
*Nils Østby, bass (1979–1982)
*Tor Egil Siemennsen, saxophone (1979–1981)
*Allan Graves, drums (1979–1979)
*Arild Engh, drums (1979–1982)
*Arne Willy Foss, flute and saxophone (1981–1982)
Discography
Albums
* ''12 beste'' (1968) (NO #18)
* ''Ole Ivars'' (1968) (NO #1)
* ''Ole Ivars Vol. 2'' (1968) (NO #8)
* ''Jeg vil se deg smile'' (1969)
* ''Flydur og andre tonearter'' (1972)
* ''Ole Ivars på farten'' (1974)
* ''Ole Ivars på farten igjen'' (1975) (NO #17)
* ''Ole Ivars farter videre'' (1975)
* ''Bli vår gjest'' (1976)
* ''Sangen vi fant'' (1977)
* ''Ole Ivars'' (1978)
* ''Kvelden venter på oss'' (1979)
* ''Venner av oss'' (1980)
* ''En prestkrage i min hand'' (1982)
* ''Jubileum'' (1984)
* ''Skolefri'' (1986)
* ''Jubileums-swing'' (1989)
* ''Jul'' (1989)
* ''Bære musikk'' (1990)
* ''På en – to – tre'' (1991)
* ''Lørdagskveld'' (1992)
* ''Spellemannsblod'' (1993)
* ''Kavalkade 40 låter gjennom 30 år'' (1994)
* ''Juleplata tel Ole Ivars'' (1995)
* ''Dans på Skjermertopp'' (1997)
* ''På cruise og tvers'' (1998) (NO #30)
* ''Ole Ivars 20 beste'' (1999)
* ''Ole Ivars i 2000'' (1999)
* ''Medisin mot det meste'' (2000) (NO #17)
* ''Gull'' (2000) (NO #18)
* ''En får væra som en er'' (2001)
* ''40 Beste'' (2002)
* ''Hverdag & fest'' (2003) (NO #20)
* ''Ole Ivars' Jul'' (2003)
* ''Gull 2'' (2004)
* ''En annen dans'' (2004)
* ''Heldiggriser'' (2004) (NO #18)
* ''Vi tar det tel manda’n'' (2005) (NO #12)
* ''Fri Willy'' (2006)
* ''På en-to-tre'' (2006)
* ''Ole Ivars så klart!'' (2006) (NO #19)
* ''Jag trodde änglarna fanns'' (2007) (NO #27)
* ''Vi lever i håpet'' (2007) (NO #11)
* ''Platina'' (2008) (NO #11)
* ''Femten ferske'' (2009) (NO #6)
* ''Stjerneklart'' (2010) (NO #9)
* ''34'' (2011) (NO #6)
* ''Ole Ivars 50 år'' (2013) (NO #4)
DVD
* ''Dans på Skjermertopp'' (2006)
References
External links
*
Biografy from Norsk pop- og rockleksikon
{{Authority control
Dansbands
1964 establishments in Norway
Musical groups established in 1964
Hamar
Norwegian musical groups