The unique position that Bamse and his band have maintained for 30 years is, according to many people, attributable to him being the embodiment of Danishness – with the usual modifications, of course, which are always connected with labelling someone. A suitable opening topic for a conversation with Bamse, arriving as punctually as ever in the local café quarter, could therefore be Danishness.

“For me, it has nothing to do with nationalism; it is more a question of protecting the language in a small country. In the first referendum on the European Community in 1972, I voted ‘no’. Today, I believe that if you are a member, your commitment should be wholehearted. You should not be ambivalent.”

When it comes to lyrics, the man who already back in the 1970s had his first hits is, however, not so uncompromising. In 1999, he shocked everyone by recording the CD ”Stand By Me” in English.

”What happened was that we were giving an encore at the Skanderborg Festival, and I decided to sing ”Yesterday”, a song which was not even in our repertoire.”
Old fans need not worry
And then he was caught. “Stand By Me” was so successful and sold so well that it was followed a couple of years later by the CD “Always On My Mind”. The romantic interpretations on this CD made one critic label it a ladies’ record. This description did not give rise to much protest from Bamse. But even though the English version of Flemming Jørgensen has generally been given a warm reception, the large number of fans who prefer the real McCoy need not worry. The man, who physically has always lived up to his artistic name, sticks to his roots – although there must always be space in the future for English digressions. Because Bamse and his band will always be a favourite fixture in Danish music.

This does not just mean playing the same songs at the more than 100 concerts the band performs each year, but to the same extent the way in which Bamse introduces these songs. The audience comes to experience the same rituals over and over again – and they do not go home empty-handed. Thus, the Aarhus band is still in demand, or as Bamse puts it:

“People know what they can expect, and we play wherever people want to listen to us. Besides, the organisers know that we fulfil all contracts to the letter. When we go on stage, you can compare the atmosphere to that at a football match.”

Début at the Reperbahn
However, his success did not come easily. Bamse makes no secret of how difficult it was for the first couple of years, because of the “capital syndrome” at that time. This meant that only bands from Copenhagen were given gigs. Consequently, Bamse and his band had to go to Hamburg where they played at the Reperbahn.

“As a matter of fact this is where I made my début as a singer. The man who used to sing was not allowed to go to Hamburg by his wife – and then I had to stand in. The audience did not understand much of what I sang, but this did not seem to matter.”

The turning point for Bamse and his band came at a time when the Aarhus music scene was witnessing considerable new talent. Later on, much of this talent left for Copenhagen once they had made a name for themselves. But Bamse was not going anywhere. If this makes people label Bamse as a person who prefers to stay at home, that is okay with him.
“For me, there has never been any alternative to Aarhus. So, I am staying where I am. Besides, Aarhus is centrally located in relation to our concerts.”

You can die from quitting
Each year, Bamse and his band spend almost six months on the road. He therefore sees the relationship with the band like a marriage which needs to work socially, and where you become used to each other’s strange habits. The continuity of the band makes this a lot easier. Professionally, the band has 60-70 songs in their basic repertoire, but now and then Bamse chooses to play a new song:
“We will never fall into the trap of just playing the same songs over and over again, without any personal commitment. For that reason, I try to take the audience by surprise.”