Wenche Synnøve Myhre (born 15 February 1947), known in some countries as Wencke Myhre, is a Norwegian singer who has had a great number of hit songs since the 1960s in the Norwegian, Danish, German and

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

markets and languages.

Early career

Myhre was born in

Kjelsås Kjelsås, sometimes called Kjelsaas, is one of the northern neighbourhoods of Oslo situated in Nordre Aker, the northern borough of Oslo, Norway. History Together with Grefsen, Kjelsås was part of the borough ''Grefsen-Kjelsås'' until Ja ...

, Oslo. She got her first recording contract with composer and producer Arne Bendiksen at the age of 13, after winning a talent contest staged by ''

Verdens Gang ''Verdens Gang'' ("The course of the world"), generally known under the abbreviation ''VG'', is a Norwegian tabloid newspaper. In 2016, circulation numbers stood at 93,883, having declined from a peak circulation of 390,510 in 2002. ''VG'' is n ...

'' newspaper at the

Chat Noir Chat Noir (French for 'black cat') is a cabaret and revue theatre in Oslo, Norway. It was established in 1912 by Bokken Lasson. The current director is Tom Sterri. Establishment Chat Noir was established as a cabaret in 1912 by singer Bokken Las ...

theatre in

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population ...

in 1960. In 1963 she became the first performer to have three songs in the Top 10 at the same time. She got her first film role the same year.

Eurovision

Myhre made her first appearance in the Norwegian heats for the

Eurovision Song Contest 1964 The Eurovision Song Contest 1964 was the 9th edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Copenhagen, Denmark, following the country's victory at the with the song "Dansevise" by Grethe & Jørgen Ingmann. Organised by the Eu ...

with the song "God gammel firkantet vals" which the juries placed second. She also participated in 1966, this time with two songs, "Lørdagstripp" which was placed fourth and "Vims" which came fifth. Myhre represented (Germany) in the

Eurovision Song Contest 1968 The Eurovision Song Contest 1968 was the 13th edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in London, United Kingdom, following the country's first victory at the with the song " Puppet on a String" by Sandie Shaw. Despite havi ...

with the song "Ein Hoch der Liebe" where she placed sixth. It would be another fifteen years before she attempted Eurovision again and did so via the German national heat, singing "Wir beide gegen den Wind" with her son. In the same year (1983) she was one of

Jahn Teigen Jahn Teigen (27 September 1949 – 24 February 2020) was a Norwegian singer, musician and comedian. He represented Norway in the Eurovision Song Contest three times, in 1978, 1982 and 1983, His given name was Jan; he added the silent H later. Fr ...

's chorus girls in the Norwegian final. When Teigen won, the potential prospect of singing both for Norway and for Germany became too much and she was replaced by

Anita Skorgan Anita Skorgan (born 13 November 1958) is a Norwegian singer-songwriter. She represented Norway in the Eurovision Song Contest in (14th), (11th) and with Jan Teigen in (12th). She was also a backing singer at the and contests, and co-wrote t ...

in the international final in Munich. In 1992, she took the third place in the Norwegian selection with "Du skal få din dag i morgen". She participated in the Norwegian selection again for the

Eurovision Song Contest 2009 The Eurovision Song Contest 2009 was the 54th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Moscow, Russia, following the country's victory at the with the song "Believe" by Dima Bilan. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (E ...

in Moscow, Russia. Wencke performed the song "Alt har en mening nå" in the second semi-final on Saturday 31 January, but she was eliminated from the competition.

Television appearances

In 1974 she had the first in a long series of TV shows on the German channel ZDF. The show was called ''Das ist meine Welt'' and was a musical journey through many countries with Wenche as guide. Myhre hosted the German qualifying heat for the

Eurovision Song Contest 1986 The Eurovision Song Contest 1986 was the 31st edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest. It was held in Bergen, Norway, following the country's victory at the with the song " La det swinge" by Bobbysocks! Organised by the European Broadcast ...

, "Ein Lied für Bergen". In Sweden, she has worked together with

Povel Ramel Baron Povel Karl Henric Ramel (; 1 June 1922 – 5 June 2007) was a Swedish entertainer. Ramel was a singer, pianist, vaudeville artist, author and a novelty song composer. His style was characterized by imaginative wit, both verbal and musical ...

, and has become very popular with a wide audience. She has starred in movies both in Norway and Sweden. Myhre has been married to Danish dentist Torben Friis-Møller, German movie director

Michael Pfleghar Michael Pfleghar (20 March 1933 – 23 June 1991) was a German film director and screenwriter. He directed 17 films between 1958 and 1987. He died of suicide. Selected filmography * ''Dead Woman from Beverly Hills'' (1964) * '' Serenade for ...

and Norwegian investor Arthur Buchardt. She has four children from her two first marriages. She currently (2021) lives with Swedish musician and conductor Anders Eljas in Nesøya in

Asker Asker ( no, Asker), properly called Askerbygda in Norwegian, is a district and former municipality in Akershus, Norway. From 2020 it is part of the larger administrative municipality Asker, Viken (also known as Greater Asker) in Viken county, ...

, Norway.

Major hits in Germany

*''Hey, kennt Ihr schon meinen Peter'' (1964) *''Geht ein Boy vorbei'' (1965) *''Beiß nicht gleich in jeden Apfel'' (1966) # 1 *''Komm allein'' (1967) # 9 *''Ein Hoch der Liebe'' (1968) No. 18 *''Flower Power Kleid'' (1968) No. 17 *''Abendstunde hat Gold im Munde'' (1969) No. 36 *''Er steht im Tor'' (1969) # 4 *''Er hat ein knallrotes Gummiboot'' (1970) # 1 *''Eine Mark für Charlie'' (1977) # 9 *''Lass mein Knie, Joe'' (1978) # 5 *'' Für immer und ewig (I'll Love You Forever)'' (1994)

References

External links

Home page

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Myhre, Wenche 1947 births Living people Eurovision Song Contest entrants of 1968 Eurovision Song Contest entrants for Germany Schlager musicians Melodi Grand Prix contestants Norwegian artists Norwegian women singers Recipients of the Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany People from Asker Musicians from Oslo