Olsen Brothers () were a Danish rock/pop music duo, formed by brothers Jørgen (born 15 March 1950) and Niels "Noller" Olsen (born 13 April 1954), both from

Odense Odense ( , , ) is the third largest city in Denmark (after Copenhagen and Aarhus) and the largest city on the island of Funen. As of 1 January 2025, the city proper had a population of 185,480 while Odense Municipality had a population of 210, ...

, who won the

Eurovision Song Contest 2000 The Eurovision Song Contest 2000 was the 45th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest, held on 13 May 2000 at the Globe Arena in Stockholm, Sweden and presented by Kattis Ahlström and Anders Lundin. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union ( ...

. They formed their first band, The Kids, in 1965. The Kids warmed up for

The Kinks The Kinks were an English rock band formed in London in 1963 by brothers Ray Davies, Ray and Dave Davies, and Pete Quaife. They are regarded as one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s. The band emerged during the height of British ...

in the K.B. Hallen in 1965 and released their first single in 1967.

Career

Both Jørgen and Niels Olsen participated in the musical ''Hair'' at the Cirkusbygningen in Copenhagen in March 1971, and went on tour afterwards throughout Denmark, Norway and Sweden. The Olsen Brothers' first album was released in 1972; in total they have released 13 albums. Some of the biggest hit singles include "Angelina" (1972), "For What We Are" (1973), "Julie" (1977), "San Francisco" (1978), "Dans Dans Dans" (1979), "Marie, Marie" (1982), "Neon Madonna" (1985), "Wings Of Love" (2000), "We Believe In Love" (2001), "Look Up Look Down" (performed with

Cliff Richard Sir Cliff Richard (born Harry Rodger Webb; 14 October 1940) is a British singer and actor. He has total sales of over 21.5 million singles in the United Kingdom and, as of 2012, was the third-top-selling artist in UK Singles Chart histo ...

) (2009) and "Brothers To Brothers" (2013). The Olsen Brothers have sold approximately 3.2 million albums, 1.5 million singles and 2.7 million compilations. They have a two-voice harmony, and among their “fans" are

and

Björn Ulvaeus Björn Kristian Ulvaeus (; born 25 April 1945) is a Swedish musician, singer, songwriter, and producer best known as a member of the musical group ABBA. He is also the co-composer of the musicals ''Chess (musical), Chess'', ''Kristina från Duve ...

, who both call the Olsen Brothers the "European Everly Brothers".

Dansk Melodi Grand Prix and Eurovision participation

The Olsen Brothers, and, on occasion, Jørgen Olsen on his own, took part in a number of annual competitions known as Dansk Melodi Grand Prix, the winner of which would represent Denmark in the

Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest (), often known simply as Eurovision, is an international Music competition, song competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) among its members since 1956. Each participating broadcaster ...

DMGP 2000 and Eurovision Song Contest 2000

They won the annual Dansk Melodi Grand Prix song competition in 2000 in Copenhagen, and went on to represent Denmark in the

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

. where they won with the song " Fly on the Wings of Love" (translated from the Danish "Smuk som et Stjerneskud" (literally translated as "Beautiful as a Shooting Star"). At one stage, they sold 100,000 copies in one day in Denmark; they became the second Danish act to win the competition. On the day of their victory, Jørgen Olsen was 50 years and 61 days of age, making him the oldest artist to win the contest. However, he only held the record for one year, as Dave Benton triumphed in 2001 at the age of 50 years and 101 days. The combined ages of The Olsen Brothers make them the oldest aged act ever to win the contest. They opened the Eurovision Song Contest 2001 in Copenhagen with a short reprise of their winning song from the previous year, followed by a full performance of their new release, "Walk Right Back".

Later years

In 2005 for the first time since their victory, they re-entered the Danish Melodi Grand Prix, the national pre-selection for the Eurovision contest, with the song "Little Yellow Radio". It was widely reported that they hoped to repeat their triumph; however, this time they had to settle for second place, finishing behind

Jakob Sveistrup Jakob Sveistrup (born 8 March 1972) is a Danish singer. He entered the Danish music scene in 2003 as a competitor in the Danish televised talent contest '' Stjerne for en aften'' ("Star for a Night"). He made it to the finals. Unusually, Sveistru ...

. Their song "Fly on the Wings of Love" was nominated as one of the 14 finalists for Congratulations: 50 Years of the Eurovision Song Contest, held in Copenhagen, Denmark on 22 October 2005. They performed the song at the event, finishing 6th overall from 14 songs. The winner was " Waterloo" by

ABBA ABBA ( ) were a Swedish pop group formed in Stockholm in 1972 by Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. They are one of the most popular and successful musical groups of all time, and are one of the List ...

. In 2019, the brothers called a hiatus to their musical career after Niels was diagnosed with

brain cancer A brain tumor (sometimes referred to as brain cancer) occurs when a group of cells within the brain turn cancerous and grow out of control, creating a mass. There are two main types of tumors: malignant (cancerous) tumors and benign (non-cance ...

. However, Niels was declared cancer-free by the end of 2020, in a development that was described as "against the odds". He has not ruled out returning to music in the future. Jørgen performed "Fly on the Wings of Love" at the Eurovision Song Contest 2025 in

Basel Basel ( ; ), also known as Basle ( ), ; ; ; . is a city in northwestern Switzerland on the river Rhine (at the transition from the High Rhine, High to the Upper Rhine). Basel is Switzerland's List of cities in Switzerland, third-most-populo ...

as an interval act to commemorate the twenty-fifth anniversary of the triumph in Stockholm.

Discography

Albums

* ''Olsen'' (1972) * ''For What We Are'' (1973) * ''For the Children of the World'' (1973) * ''Back on the Tracks'' (1976) * ''You're the One'' (1977) * ''San Francisco'' (1978) * ''Dans - Dans - Dans'' (1979) * ''Rockstalgi'' (1987) * ''Det Stille Ocean'' (1990) * ''Greatest and Latest'' (1994) * ''Angelina'' (1999) * ''Wings of Love'' (2000) * ''The Story of Brødrene Olsen'' (2000) * ''Rockstalgi'' (2001) * ''Neon Madonna'' (2001) * ''Walk Right Back'' (2001) * ''Songs'' (2002) * ''Weil Nur Die Liebe Zählt'' (2003) * ''More Songs'' (2003) * ''Our New Songs'' (2005) * ''Celebration'' (2005) * ''Respect'' (2008) * ''Wings of Eurovision'' (2010) * ''Brothers to Brothers'' (2013)

Charting singles

References

{{Authority control Danish pop music groups Eurovision Song Contest winners Dansk Melodi Grand Prix winners Sibling musical duos Musical groups established in 1972 Eurovision Song Contest-winning songwriters