I
Anne Linnet

About:

30 July 1953

Anne Linnet is a Danish singer and songwriter. She was born in Åbyhøjand studied at the Århus Statsgymnasium and the Det Jyske Musikkonservatorium. Her heart was taken by rock ’n roll and Danish folk however and in 1972 she released her first single 'Lyset Anne og tears'. It wasn’t very succesfull. Also the two albums she released didn’t do much and mainly showed the folky side of Anne. This changed when she met singer Lis Sørensen and they both started the rockband Shit & Chanel in 1974. The band released four albums. After Lis decided to leave the group Anne teamed up with singer Sanne Salomonsen.

Taking the name Anne Linnet Band Sørensen also rejoined and the trio had their first big succes with the song 'Det er ikke det du siger' ('It ain´t the way you treat me'). The Anne Linnet Band did their first live gig on March 27, 1980 in Skråen (Ålborg) but the cooperation wasn’t long lasting. In 1982 the band already stopped after the second album. Without hard feelings apparantly cause the singers would team irregularly during the eighties and nineties for musical projects. For instance, with Sanne Salmonsen and Anne recorded duet albums in 1984 and 1990.

Being on her own Anne Linnet started the band Marquis de Sade in 1983. The band was highly succesfull in Denmark. In 1985 Anne Linnet married jazz saxophone player Holger Laumann. Together they would have two children and adopt three more. In 1986 she got involved in a project around the book 'Barndommens Gade' by writer and poet Tove Ditlevsens. The project was a movie with the music entirely written by Anne with lyrics from the poems by Tove.

In 1988 she worked together with Swedish composer Björn Afzelius for the evergreen album 'Jeg er jo lige her'. The openingstrack 'Tusind stykker' gave a her first hit in Sweden. In 1989 she worked with the Danish priest and author Johannes Volf Møllehave for the project 'Min sang'. The album was followed by a tour across churches through Denmark.

In 1996 she used her experience from the Jyske Musikkonservatorium to create a chamber opera called 'Thorvaldsen'. The contract couldn’t be broader when she created the one time rock band Bitch Boys the next year. After that is was silent for a long time untill in 2007 she signed with SonyBMG for the album 'Akvarium'.

On the web:

- Anne's official website: http://www.annelinnet.dk

What do we think:

PR: The first time I listned to a record of Anne Linnet was in the early nineties. It was the Linnet/Salomonsen record from 1984. I was very surprised with the sound - I had not heard anything like it before! I started collecting other albums by Anne Linnet and although they had not that impact on me as the first one, I loved her songs and sounds. Her voice is not great compared to other female singers; actually it is very soft and modest and took me some time to get used to. But it sounds very sincere and she is capable of sounding nice even when singing in Danish! although her career already lasts many years, she still reinvents herself with almost every album. If you like serious singer-songwriter material with a nordic touch, try some of Anne's records.

DB: Linnet always stayed true to her own language and recorded some very good pop/rock albums along the way. My former Danish collague wasn't so taken with her though. He thought she was a bit of an old fart. Mind you this is in the time she made the Bitch Boys albums, which is not 'farty' at all. This was also the collague who was a fan of the Danish act Aqua. Well, let me just say that if I had to choose between 'I'm a Barbie girl' and ANY song of Anne I know what I'd choose.

If you like this, you probably like.. / european counterparts:

Catherine Lara (France)

Silly (Germany)

Ulla Meinecke (Germany)

Recommended albums:

♪♪ - Kvindesind - 1977

♪♪♪ - Anne Linnet Band - 1981

♪♪♪ - Cha Cha Cha - 1982

♪♪♪ - Marquis De Sade - 1983

♪♪♪♪♪ - Linnet / Salomonsen, Berlin '84 - 1984

♪♪♪ - Hvid Magi - 1985

♪♪♪ - En Elsker - 1986

♪♪♪ - Min sang - 1989

♪♪♪ - Krig & Kærlighed - 1990 - Linnet / Salomonsen

♪♪♪♪ - Det' s å Dansk - 1992

♪♪♪♪ - Tal til mig - 1993

♪♪♪♪♪ - Jeg og Du - 2000

♪♪♪♪ - Akvarium - 2007

♪♪♪♪♪ - Anne Linnet - 2008

Further listening:

Sweet Thing - 1973; Anne Linnet - 1974; Shit & Chanel - 1976; Chanel no. 5 - 1977; Tak for sidst - 1978; Dagen har så mange farver - 1979; You're crazy - 1979; Barndommens Gade - 1986; Jeg er jo lige her - 1988; Go' s øndag morgen - 1989; Pige træd varsomt - 1995; Thorvaldsen (opera) -1996; Bitch Boys - 1997

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♪♪♪♪♪ = outstanding album, an absolute must-have
♪♪♪♪ = great album, highly recomended
♪♪♪ = nice album
♪♪ = be careful, requires listening before buying
♪ = best to be avoided