Photo: Arne List · CC BY-SA 3.0 · credits
Tier 3 · vertical & regional
Allan Olsen
Person · male · Kingdom of Denmark · born 1956 · recording since 1989
Folkrock musician
official homepagedatabasedatabasedatabase
Also known as Алан Ольсен
Timeline
14 events▣ Album 11◦ Birth 1★ Debut release 1✦ Award 1
1950s
1980s
· Debut release
Debut release: Norlan
First documented Album in the MusicBrainz discography.
source: musicbrainz
1990s
2000s
2010s
Biography
English biography437 words · 5 sectionssource: wikipedia-en · licence CC BY-SA 4.0 · revision 1370762619
Biography
Allan Olsen (born 18 March 1956) is a Danish folkrock musician and singer-songwriter. His famous live performances combine his songs with satirical anecdotes. The music is delivered either acoustically or with a rock band.
From 1983 to 1992 he was part of Dalton, a supergroup trio made of Olsen, Lars Lilholt and Johnny Madsen.
Career
Allan Olsen was born in Grønholt, Vendsyssel, and grew up enjoying the musical styles of The Who, The Rolling Stones and The Kinks a.m.. Olsen picked up a guitar himself in the 1970s, and hit the road – initially as a low key performer, often playing in the outskirts of Denmark and with a style inspired by Bob Dylan, Bert Jansch and Randy Newman.
In 1989, the then 33-year-old performer signed his first record contract, with an obligation to record a minimum of three albums within the next five years. The debut album "NorlanNorlanSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 9 tracks1Rimmerby Strand4:112Norlan3:073Op te’ Alaska5:524Mergelgraven4:495Jamie Lomax5:386Turki Tonki4:567Kamma5:278’494:509Det grøøn græs4:12" hits the style of British and American rock, combined with a lyrical talent for storytelling that sparsely used dialect (north Jutlandic). The album is a success. The following two albums and intense touring consolidate his name and a large loyal following, especially in West Denmark.
In the autumn of 1993 Allan Olsen spends time in Ireland in search of musicians to play with him on his next album. "Jern" (i.e. "Iron") is released in the spring of 1996 and receives ovations from the musical press and the album is rewarded with a Danish Grammy (later Danish Music Award). The album flavours Olsens folkrock style with Irish instruments as does 1998's "Sange for Rygere
Sange for rygereSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracks1Tilfældigt strejfet4:442Helikoptermyg5:073Streger af slim4:174Mens folk snakker4:325Ballade om T.T.T/August 688:036Ballade om smutti3:407En anden mands pige4:098Før du spør' hende4:299Staklernes hus3:3610Når en ung mand slår ihjel3:40" (i.e. "Songs for Smokers").
Later albums have seen Olsen increasingly experimenting with musical styles and lyrical escapades – but also maintaining artistic focus and critical integrity and still beholding his original inspiration in Dylanesque storytelling – Jansch' poetic nerve and Newmans' wit and eccentricism. His album in 2007's Multo Importanto is a focused affair that has been praised by old as well as newer fans. In 2013 he released the album Jøwt, an album sung in dialect.
In band Dalton
He was also part of a Danish supergroup named Dalton made up of Olsen in addition to Lars Lilholt and Johnny Madsen. It was formed in 1983 but had to wait till 1992 for their first album. They reunited in 2005 to work on new materials and had a comeback in 2010 for a grand tour.
Albums
Solo
Live albums
In Dalton
1992: Dalton
2009: Tyve Ti
2010: Var Her (Live 2 CDs +DVD) (with Johnny Madsen and Lars Lilholt)
DVDs
2008: Allan Olsen & Band – Vol. 1 (also album CD)
2009: Solo live – Vol. 2, (also album CD)
Discography & profile
Normalised profile
Percentiles are computed over every artist in the database, so a tier-3 artist can still sit in the 95th percentile on a single axis.
| Metric | Value | Percentile |
|---|---|---|
| Wikipedia language versions | 8 | 49.7th |
| Spotify monthly listeners | — | no data |
| Release groups in DB | 20 | 87.1th |
| Studio albums | 11 | 91.9th |
| Awards recorded | 1 | 89th |
| Timeline events | 14 | 90.5th |
| Recording span (years) | 28 | 62th |
| Genres | 0 | 0th |
Percentiles are computed at render time; missing values mean the artist has no data on that axis.
Discography (20 release groups · 11 studio albums)
Albums · 11
1989 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 9 tracks · 43:02
1Rimmerby Strand4:112Norlan3:073Op te’ Alaska5:524Mergelgraven4:495Jamie Lomax5:386Turki Tonki4:567Kamma5:278’494:509Det grøøn græs4:121990 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 9 tracks · 40:33
1Gajo3:352Mer end en fuldmåne4:183Den sjovest' rigger i byen4:254Hver gang et skib kommer ind4:405Vi lå jo i Herning…4:506Gajoverden Gajoværd4:197Med ryggen til land3:568'30 uden det4:269Han har tænkt6:041992 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 10 tracks · 45:07
1En helt ny film3:472Lun luft over Danmark4:423Mr. World News4:354Er det mig der lyver?4:175Nat på Mercur5:396Aston Martin '665:397De kommende år5:178Bette Liverpool4:109Jeg vil3:4910Nye tider3:121996 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 12 tracks · 44:55
1Wir will ein Danmark4:3625 under 03:413Billede af pige & føl2:224Balladen om Rosa3:515Taberens søn5:006Frossen fuldmåne3:227Rødt jern4:108Lesotho Gonzo5:249Stille morgen3:0110I svederemmens ånd4:0111Jetset junkie3:2512Gibson J - 40 anno ’442:021998 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 10 tracks · 46:17
1Tilfældigt strejfet4:442Helikoptermyg5:073Streger af slim4:174Mens folk snakker4:325Ballade om T.T.T/August 688:036Ballade om smutti3:407En anden mands pige4:098Før du spør' hende4:299Staklernes hus3:3610Når en ung mand slår ihjel3:402000 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 10 tracks · 44:30
1Rolig Rolex4:302Besé besæt kassér4:013Toreador4:374Guernica5:055Frie mænd4:286Næsen3:477Alligevel eskaleres trafik5:088Kommer kongen tilbage?5:579Jaloux3:1010En mistænkt for meget...3:472004 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 10 tracks · 44:17
1Lille hul3:312Seende kærester5:313En der er grim5:004I statsministerens undergrund4:335En plads i byen4:446Trist som en tigger i Bombay3:377Lorna3:468Talisman4:339Namedropping Nobody3:0310Inden Bay City Rollers kom frem5:592007 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 11 tracks · 45:41
1Alfa konsensus5:032Hængt i Finn's butik3:363Roser og violer blå5:134P.E. Krogen4:235Taxameteret tæller3:256Miss Pachoulia4:417Skal man være udhvilet, når man dør?4:268Vintersol3:589På kanten af Vesterbro3:5910Vores dronning4:0611Lille gråspurv2:512013 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 10 tracks · 47:04
1Hjørringvej5:232Det Blo' Hus3:233Hjemstavn3:404Pigen Mæ' Det Sulsot-soet Hoer6:105Lille Ørred4:016Det Nyeste Sort5:417Hai Fæk Skyllen4:028De Fine Kommer Sjældent Fra Fresse3:419Swer'je4:0610Lad Min Regning Stå6:572013 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 12 tracks · 1:14:39
1En Stille Glød I Mørket6:142Toreador5:323Guernica4:594Frossen Fuldmåne4:325Frie Kvinder (Mænd)3:546Balladen Om Rosa4:487Under Rimelige Grænser5:118En Mistænkt For Meget5:169Besé, Besæt, Kassér6:0110Mergelgraven5:4011Lille Gråspurv4:2012De Kommende År18:122017 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 16 tracks · 1:18:26
Disc 11Nu skal mågerne skydes3:452Vi drikker fordi4:293Gadens Tommelise4:334Min far kørte post for staten4:425Kejthåndet slugger3:456Ung mands blues5:167Persona non grata in re4:308Mit navn er Leo Numinen4:589Kain og Abel (Affekt)3:53Disc 21'496:562Rimmerby Strand5:143Rolig Rolex5:254Frossen fuldmåne4:055Tilfældigt strejfet5:156Rødt jern6:097Besé, besæt, kassér5:31
Album · 8
| Cover | Year | Title | Notes | First release |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Rygter Fra RandområderneSearch SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 20 tracks · 1:53:01Disc 1 1Lun luft over Danmark6:32 2I den by jeg kommer fra6:24 3Med ryggen til land7:07 4Da jeg trak renter5:03 5Vor's Dronning4:21 6Jeg vil5:02 7Op til Alaska7:58 8De kommende år5:38 9Aston Martin '667:42 Disc 21Mergelgraven5:43 2Bette Liverpool4:40 3Mig og abekatten3:53 4Hvor er Knud??1:30 5'496:12 6Rimmerby Strand6:50 7Gajo3:54 8Han har tænkt5:47 9Gajoverden Gajoværd5:04 10Vi lå jo i Herning7:15 11En stille glød i mørket6:26 | Live | 1994 | |
| 1998 | En GrosSearch SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 29 tracks · 2:21:32Disc 1 1Gajoverden4:16 2Under rimelige grænser4:53 3Rimmerby Strand5:09 4Rosa3:49 5Lun luft over Danmark4:39 6Gajo3:32 7De kommende år5:13 8Wir will ein Danmark4:34 9Aston Martin '665:36 10Vi lå jo i Herning4:44 11Han har tænkt6:07 12Frossen fuldmåne3:21 13Bette Liverpool4:01 14Op til Alaska6:32 15Taberens søn4:59 Disc 21Turki Tonki4:07 2Med ryggen til land4:55 3Norlan3:08 4Balladen om T.T.T.7:58 5Jeg vil3:47 6Regn på vej3:50 75 under 04:33 8Er det mig der lyver4:15 9Rødt jern8:33 10I svederemmens ånd5:43 11Selskabsmadonna3:03 12Før du spør' hende4:29 13I den by jeg kommer fra5:59 14Mit næste liv på jord5:47 | Compilation | 1998 | |
| 2002 | Solo Live, Volume 1Search SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 31 tracks · 1:49:01Disc 1 1Intro ('49)1:40 2'494:53 3Intro (Balladen Om Rosa)1:23 4Balladen Om Rosa5:51 5Intro (Jet Set Junkie)3:36 6Jet Set Junkie4:02 7Intro (Taberens Søn)3:44 8Taberens Søn5:27 9Intro (Wir Will)0:53 10Wir Will4:51 11Nosser11:02 12Intro (Tænder)0:54 13Tænder5:28 14Stille Morgen3:01 Disc 21Intro (Rødt Jern)0:45 2Rødt Jern5:24 3Intro (Bette Liverpool)0:14 4Bette Liverpool4:36 5Intro (Vi lå jo i Herning)0:48 6Vi lå jo i Herning4:41 7Intro (Mistænkt)0:38 8Mistænkt4:33 9Intro (5 Under 0)1:12 105 Under 05:36 11Intro (Streger af Slim)0:17 12Streger af Slim6:05 13Intro (Mergelgraven)3:55 14Mergelgraven4:38 15Intro (Han Har Tænkt)0:26 16Han Har Tænkt4:04 17Lun Luft4:24 | Live | 2002 | |
| 2006 | Lun luft over DanmarkSearch SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 17 tracks1Lun Luft Over Danmark 2En Helt Ny Film 3Vi Lå Jo I Herning 4Han Har Tænkt 5Gajoverden Gajo Værd 6Rimmerby Strand 7Gajo 8De Kommende År 9Den Sjovest' Rigger I Byen 10Bette Liverpool 11Op Te' Alaska 12Turki Tonki 13Med Ryggen Til Land 14Norlan 15Jeg Vil 16Er Det Mig Der Lyver? 17Aston Martin '66 | Compilation | 2006 | |
| 2007 | Dejlige Danske... Allan OlsenSearch SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 28 tracks · 2:08:40Disc 1 1Lun luft over Danmark4:41 2En helt ny film3:47 3Vi lå jo i Herning4:50 4Han har tænkt6:07 5Gajoverden - Gajoværd4:18 6Rimmerby strand4:11 7Gajo3:34 8De kommende år5:17 9Den sjovest' rigger i byen4:22 10Bette Liverpool4:10 11Jamie Lomax fra west Tennessee5:38 12Kamma5:28 13Det grøøn græs4:13 14Mer' end en fuldmåne4:17 Disc 21Hver gang et skib kommer ind4:40 230 uden det4:24 3Mr. World News4:35 4Nat på Merkur5:40 5Nye tider3:14 6Mergelgraven4:47 7Op te' Alaska5:53 8Turki Tonki4:57 9Med ryggen til land3:56 10Norlan3:09 11Jeg vil3:49 12Er det mig der lyver?4:16 13Aston Martin '665:38 14'494:49 | Compilation | 2007 | |
| 2008 | Live Vol. 1Search SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 30 tracks · 2:35:56Disc 1 1Bette Liverpool4:33 2Balladen om Rosa7:00 3Op til Alaska8:00 4Rødt jern7:09 5Smalltalk0:59 6Frie mænd6:11 7Turki Tonki5:22 8Streger af slim5:42 9Hængt i Finn's butik4:01 10Taxameteret tæller4:40 11Lun luft over Danmark5:12 12I svederemmens ånd3:20 13Aston Martin '668:38 14Alfa konsensus7:11 Disc 21Bette Liverpool4:33 2Balladen om Rosa7:00 3Op til Alaska8:00 4Rødt jern7:09 5Smalltalk0:59 6Frie mænd6:11 7Turki Tonki5:22 8Streger af slim5:42 9Hængt i Finn's butik4:01 10Taxameteret tæller4:40 11Lun luft over Danmark5:12 12I svederemmens ånd3:20 13Aston Martin '668:38 14Alfa konsensus7:11 15Backstage (Ekstramateriale) 16Credits - album credits (Ekstramateriale) | Live | 2008 | |
| 2009 | Solo - Live Vol. 2Search SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 34 tracks · 2:17:54Disc 1 1Regn på vej3:22 2En mistænkt for meget4:03 3En anden mands pige3:35 4Lun luft over Danmark3:23 5Lille gråspurv2:30 6I statsministerens undergrund5:24 7De kommende år4:46 8Vi lå jo i Herning3:45 9Taberens søn5:00 10Mens folk snakker3:42 11En stille glød i mørket4:25 12Hængt i Finn's butik3:19 135 under 04:08 14Staklernes hus3:43 15Mergelgraven5:01 16En plads i byen3:59 17Streger af slim4:52 Disc 21Regn på vej3:22 2En mistænkt for meget4:03 3En anden mands pige3:35 4Lun luft over Danmark3:23 5Lille gråspurv2:30 6I statsministerens undergrund5:24 7De kommende år4:46 8Vi lå jo i Herning3:45 9Taberens søn5:00 10Mens folk snakker3:42 11En stille glød i mørket4:25 12Hængt i Finn's butik3:19 135 under 04:08 14Staklernes hus3:43 15Mergelgraven5:01 16En plads i byen3:59 17Streger af slim4:52 | Live | 28 February 2009 | |
| 2015 | Sange for rygere - LiveSearch SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 13 tracksDisc 1 A1Tilfældigt strejfet A2Helikoptermyg A3Streger af slim A4Mens folk snakker B1Ballade om T.T.T. / August '68 B2Ballade om Smutti B3En anden mands pige Disc 2C1Før du spør' hende C2Staklernes hus C3Når en ung mand slår ihjel D1Talisman D2Jeg har alderen med mig D3Klumpfisken | Live | 2015 |
Other · 1
| Cover | Year | Title | Notes | First release |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Live 96Search SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 4 tracks · 39:231Rødt jern8:51 2Takes What It Takes7:04 3Lesotho Gonzo17:04 4Lesotho Gonzo (Radio version)6:24 | Live | 1996 |
Stats & PK
Percentile within all 23,672 published artists.Put Allan Olsen head-to-head →
| Metric | Value | Percentile |
|---|---|---|
| Wikipedia language versions | 8 | 49.7th |
| Spotify monthly listeners | — | no data |
| Release groups in DB | 20 | 87.1th |
| Studio albums | 11 | 91.9th |
| Awards recorded | 1 | 89th |
| Timeline events | 14 | 90.5th |
| Recording span (years) | 28 | 62th |
| Genres | 0 | 0th |
Awards & honours
| Year | Award | Category | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | LO's kulturpris | won |
Line-up
| Name | From | To | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mystique Island Band(band) | — | present | |
| Allan Olsen & Norlan(band) | — | present | |
| Dalton(band) | 1984 | present |
Where this record comes from
portrait—Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0 · retrieved 11 October 2026
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Allan_Olsen_2008-03-08.jpgaliases/urls—musicbrainz · CC0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://musicbrainz.org/artist/30ad960c-1cd8-4666-b46e-de5579d17161discography—musicbrainz · CC0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://musicbrainz.org/artist/30ad960c-1cd8-4666-b46e-de5579d17161core—wikidata · CC0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4730898seed-list—wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allan_Olsenbiography—wikipedia-en · CC BY-SA 4.0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allan_Olsen
Why this artist is in the database
- List of singer-songwriters
Tier rule: curated genre/region list
Image: Arne List · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Wikidata: Q4730898 · MusicBrainz: 30ad960c-1cd8-4666-b46e-de5579d17161