TV-2 (stylized as ·2) is 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 a ...

pop rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre with an emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than rock music. Originating in the late 1950s as an alternative to normal rock and roll, earl ...

band group formed in 1981 in

Aarhus Aarhus (, , ; officially spelled Århus from 1948 until 1 January 2011) is the second-largest city in Denmark and the seat of Aarhus Municipality. It is located on the eastern shore of Jutland in the Kattegat sea and approximately northwest ...

. The group is composed of

Steffen Brandt Steffen Brandt (born 14 June 1953 in Åbyhøj) is a Danish singer-songwriter and composer. Since 1981 he has been lead singer of rock group TV-2, as he also wrote both text and music to all the group's songs. In 2003 he received the Modersmål ...

, Hans Erik Lerchenfeld, Georg Olesen, and Sven Gaul. Having released 19 studio albums, four live albums and three compilations, they are one of the most commercially successful Danish bands of all time - according to the band's own sales figures, they have sold more than two million records. TV-2 was formed prior to the Danish

television station A television station is a set of equipment managed by a business, organisation or other entity, such as an amateur television (ATV) operator, that transmits video content and audio content via radio waves directly from a transmitter on the earth ...

TV 2, which began broadcasting in 1988. The band was originally called Taurus with lyrics sung in English. Taurus released a single album, ''Whatever Happened To The Sixties'', in 1978. Taurus changed their name to TV-2 in 1981, and begun singing in Danish at the same time. TV-2's success can be attributed to Steffen Brandt's songwriting, that often features

ironic Irony (), in its broadest sense, is the juxtaposition of what on the surface appears to be the case and what is actually the case or to be expected; it is an important rhetorical device and literary technique. Irony can be categorized into ...

and

satirical Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming or e ...

observations about the Danish

middle class The middle class refers to a class of people in the middle of a social hierarchy, often defined by occupation, income, education, or social status. The term has historically been associated with modernity, capitalism and political debate. Commo ...

; making fun of its

consumerism Consumerism is a social and economic order that encourages the acquisition of goods and services in ever-increasing amounts. With the Industrial Revolution, but particularly in the 20th century, mass production led to overproduction—the supp ...

and

conformity Conformity is the act of matching attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors to group norms, politics or being like-minded. Norms are implicit, specific rules, shared by a group of individuals, that guide their interactions with others. People often choo ...

. Some of their songs, such as ''Fantastiske

Toyota is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on . Toyota is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, producing about 10 ...

'' ("Fantastic Toyota"), are known to have

commercial Commercial may refer to: * a dose of advertising conveyed through media (such as - for example - radio or television) ** Radio advertisement ** Television advertisement * (adjective for:) commerce, a system of voluntary exchange of products and s ...

like concepts, with satirical undertones. Because of the mundane nature of the songwriting, TV-2 used to refer jokingly to themselves as ''"Denmark's most boring band"''. In the beginning of their career, TV-2 played new wave pop music, heavily influenced by

Kraftwerk Kraftwerk (, "power station") is a German band formed in Düsseldorf in 1970 by Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider. Widely considered innovators and pioneers of electronic music, Kraftwerk were among the first successful acts to popularize the ...

Talking Heads Talking Heads were an American rock band formed in 1975 in New York City and active until 1991.Talkin ...

and the Danish band

Kliché Kliché was a Danish rock band from Aarhus, formed by Anders Brill, Lars H.U.G., Jens Valo, and Johannes Voss (Johannes Møller). The group's original members met and formed the band in 1977 while studying at the Aarhus Art Academy. Nils Torp, ...

, where Steffen Brandt briefly played keyboards. In the band's early years, the critical reception was negative, as TV-2 were unfavourably compared to Kliché, but around the release of their third album ''Beat,'' music critics became more positive. The band has cited ''Beat'' as a defining album, where the band found their own unique sound. Over the years, TV-2's music has gone through several phases, including a more acoustic

folk pop Folk-pop is a musical style that may be 1) contemporary folk songs with large, sweeping pop arrangements, or 2) pop songs with intimate, acoustic-based folk arrangements. Recording production values created a unblemished style that appealed to ...

sound. In 2005, TV-2 had a major comeback with the hit single ''De første kærester på månen'', where the group returned to their roots and played 1980s-styled new wave music once again. The 1988 album ''Nærmest Lykkelig'' were added to the

Danish Culture Canon The Danish Culture Canon ( da, Kulturkanonen) consists of 108 works of cultural excellence in eight categories: architecture, visual arts, design and crafts, film, literature, music, performing arts, and children's culture. An initiative of Brian ...

in 2006.

Band members

* Steffen Brandt – vocals, keyboards, guitar * Hans Erik Lerchenfeld – guitar * Georg Olesen – bass guitar * Sven Gaul – drums

Discography

Studio albums

Live albums

Compilation albums

References

External links

Official website
Danish musical groups Musical groups established in 1981 {{Denmark-band-stub