Jahn Teigen

Jahn Teigen was born on September 27, 1949 in Tønsberg, Norway. He started his career in the late 1960s when he released a few singles and one album with Enemies. However, his commercial breakthrough did not come until the early 1970s as the lead singer of the rock band Popol Vuh. They released three successful albums, the first self-titled in 1973. Their most popular album was released in 1976, called Stolen From Time, but this time under their new name Popol Ace, to avoid confusion with the German rock band with the same name that also was popular in the 1970s. Jahn Teigen was also a member of the Norwegian humour trio Prima Vera, with Herodes Falsk and Tom Mathisen, who released seven albums between 1977 and 1984. Most of their repertoire consists of popular hits with the most ridiculous lyrics. Their breakthrough album, 1978s Brakara, went to number 1 in the charts and sold more than 100,000 copies, and includes Teigen's spirited mock-Russian rendition of Mil Etter Mil, Zagra Znja Zagra. This 30-second version is the only available recording of the original arrangement; whether in English or Norwegian, Jahn Teigen's serious recordings of the song feature more electric guitar. The serious version was also a huge hit, making Teigen one of the few performers ever to have success with both a serious version and a parody of the same song simultaneously. Prima Vera had a number of hits, including such classics as Så lykkelig i Sverige ('So happy in Sweden', a version of The Turtles' Happy Together), Det er Norge som er bra and De gærne har det godt. Teigen decided to leave Prima Vera in 1984, and did not speak with his former bandmates for 15 years, until they reconciled in 1999 at the funeral of their mutual friend Marius Müller. Jahn Teigen represented Norway in the Eurovision Song Contest three times, in 1978, 1982 and 1983. He became known due to the result of his 1978 performance in the contest, which won "nul points" (a zero score) for Norway. He tried again in duets with his wife Anita Skorgan in 1982 and 1983 and placed higher with both, but he will always be known as the artists who got 0 points in "Eurosong". He also participated in the Norwegian national selection for Eurovision several times, the last being in 2005. He had many hits in Norway, such as Optimist, Det vakreste som fins, Glasnost, Do re mi, Min første kjærlighet, and many more. He also acted in some movies and TV shows, such as Prima Veras saga om Olav den hellige (1983), På stigende kurs (1987) and Enkel resa (1988). He was also a host of the music program Stjerner I Sikte in the late 1990s. He received many awards and honors for his contribution to Norwegian music and culture, such as the Spellemannprisen (the Norwegian Grammy Award) four times, the Peer Gynt Prize in 2006, and the Order of St. Olav in 2018. He died on February 24, 2020 in Ystad, Sweden, from complications from pneumonia. He was 70 years old. He is survived by his daughter Sara Skorgan Teigen, who is a photographer and artist.