Introduction
Jan Eggum (born 8 December 1951) is a Norwegian singer-songwriter who has been active since 1975. He is often characterised as a "face for the melancholy", and the themes in his songs are often broken hearts, loneliness and sorrow. Sometimes his lyrics include social criticism, but he also shows more trivial and funny sides of himself.
Career
Eggum was born in Bergen, but started as a pub singer in London, and made his living for two years writing songs in English. One of his most famous songs – "En natt forbi" ("A night is over") – was originally written in English, with the title "Alone, Awake".
He got a record contract in 1975 with the Norwegian record company CBS, and recorded his debut album "Trubadur" that autumn. His breakthrough came after his third release, the album "Heksedans" from 1977. This album gave him the Norwegian award Spellemannsprisen, and on this album has such classics as "Mor, jeg vil tilbake".
Since this, Eggum has been one of Norway's most well known artists, both as a solo artist and with others. An example of the latter is his membership in Gitarkameratene with fellow guitarists Lillebjørn Nilsen, Øystein Sunde and Halvdan Sivertsen.
Eggum has been a minor political candidate for the Norwegian Green Party. His son, Lucas Eggum, is currently a Financial Analyst living in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Discography
Albums
- Jan Eggum (1975)
- Trubadur (1976)
- Heksedans (1977)
- En natt forbi (1979)
- En sang fra vest (1979)
- 5 år med Jan Eggum - 14 utvalgte sanger (1980)
- Alarmen går (1982)
- E.G.G.U.M. (1985)
- Da Capo (1990)
- Underveis (1991)
- Nesten ikke tilstede (1993)
- Mang slags kjærlighet (1994)
- Dingli bang (1997)
- Deilig (1999)
- Ekte Eggum (2001)
- President (2002)
- Alle gjør det (2004)
- 30/30 (2005)
- Hjerteknuser (2007)
Singles
- En sang fra vest / Kort opphold (1979)
- Alarmen går / Vest for Voss (1981)
- En helt ny dag / Sommeren nytes best om vinteren (1984)
- Utenfor (1988) (with Bjørn Eidsvåg, Sidsel Endresen, Silje Nergård)
With other artists
- Various artists: VisFestivalen Västervik 1978 (1978)
- Various artists: Norske viser i 70-åra (1980)
- United artists: Sammen for livet (1985)
- Various artists: Utenfor/Naken hud (1988)
- Gitarkameratene: Gitarkameratene (1989)
- Gitarkameratene: Typisk norsk (1990)
- Various artists: Æ - en tribute til Åge Aleksandersen (1992)
- Gustav Lorentzen: 1. klasse (1992)
- Various artists: Det beste av norsk musikk 1978-1980 (1998)
- Various artists: Solide saker - en hyllest til Dumdum Boys (1999)
- Vamp (band): En annen sol (2000)
- Various artists: Norske viseperler (2000)
- Various artists: Antons villfaring (2002) (Musical from Erlend Loe/Jan Eggum)
- Various artists: Gull i fra grønne skoger: Vidar Sandbeck (2003)
- Kaia Huuse: Trist og fint (2004)
- Various artists: Norsk rocks historie vol. 5: Viserock (1969–1977) (2004)
- Various artists: Venn (2005)
Eurovision Song Contest
- Deilige Drøm (1988) (ranked as number 10 in the Norwegian final)