Fra Lippo Lippi (band)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Fra Lippo Lippi | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Nesodden, Norway |
| Genre(s) | Post-Punk New Wave Post-rock (later career) |
| Years active | 1978–present |
| Label(s) | Rune Grammofon EMI WEA Universal Virgin Records |
| Website | Fra Lippo Lippi's official website |
| Members | |
| Per Øystein Sørensen | |
| Former members | |
| Rune Kristoffersen Morten Sjøberg Bjørn Sorknes |
|
Fra Lippo Lippi is a New Wave/synth pop band from Norway. They had several hits in the 1980s, such as "Shouldn't Have to Be Like That", "Everytime I See You" and "Light and Shade", and recorded a new album as late as 2002. Their band name is apparently taken from Robert Browning's poem about the Renaissance painter.
Contents |
[edit] History
Fra Lippo Lippi was founded in Nesodden, Norway in 1980 by bassist Rune Kristoffersen, drummer Morten Sjøberg and keyboardist Bjørn Sorknes. Two years prior, the group was rehearsing under the name Genetic Control. They released a 4-track instrumental EP that year.
In 1981, Sorknes left as the band was writing songs for their debut album. The band, which then consisted of the duo of Kristoffersen and Sjøberg, recorded and released In Silence under Uniton Records. In 1982, Per Øystein Sørensen came on board as the band's lead vocalist for their second album Small Mercies.
Just as the band were preparing a follow-up album, Sjøberg and keyboardist Øyvind Kvalnes departed at the prospect of giving up their day jobs for the uncertain careers as professional musicians, leaving Kristoffersen and Sørensen as the only two members. Songs was released that year to positive reviews, and 5,000 copies were sold in Norway without the aid of singles or promotion.
Months after Songs was released, the band was signed to Virgin Records. Songs was re-recorded and remixed for the international market in 1986. This version of the album also included a new song titled "Everytime I See You," which would later on become one of their signature songs. Critical success prompted the band to work on a new album - this time, with the U.S. as their target market. Recorded in Los Angeles, CA, with the producing aid of Walter Becker (of Steely Dan fame), Light and Shade was released in 1987. Despite moderate airplay of the album's first single "Angel" in L.A., the band was dropped by Virgin Records.
Despite failing to tap into the U.S. market, Fra Lippo Lippi found tremendous success in the Philippines, where songs from both Songs and Light and Shade received the most requests among foreign artists. On their first visit to the country, their shows sold out six times over two weekends.
The band continued to record and release further albums independently, starting with 1989's The Colour Album. A live album titled Crash of Light was released in the Philippines in 1990. In 1995, the band released their first compilation album The Best of Fra Lippo Lippi '85-'95. Selected tracks originally from Songs, Light and Shade and The Colour Album were re-recorded, partially for artistic reasons but mostly because of contractual restrictions, as the two former albums were property of Virgin Records. Two years later, another compilation was released in the Philippines. The Virgin Years - Greatest Hits featured tracks directly licensed from Virgin Records.
In 2002, Kristoffersen retired from the band to focus on his record label Rune Grammofon. In effect, Sørensen became the sole member of Fra Lippo Lippi. That year, the band released In A Brilliant White, which became a massive hit in the Philippines.[1]
[edit] Personnel
[edit] Current members
- Per Øystein Sørensen - Vocals (1983-present)
[edit] Former Members
- Rune Kristoffersen - Bass guitar, keyboards (1978-2002)
- Morten Sjøberg - Drums (1978-1985)
- Øyvind Kvalnes - Keyboards (1984-1985)
- Bjørn Sorknes - Keyboards, guitar, vocals (1978-1981)
[edit] Discography
[edit] Albums
- In Silence (1981)
- Small Mercies (1983)
- Songs (1985)
- Light and Shade (1987)
- The Colour Album (1989)
- Dreams (1992)
- In A Brilliant White (2002)
[edit] Live Albums
- Crash of Light (1990)
[edit] Compilations
- The Best of Fra Lippo Lippi '85-'95 (1995)
- The Virgin Years - Greatest Hits (1997)
- The Early Years (2005) - Re-release of In Silence and Small Mercies
- The Best of Fra Lippo Lippi (2005)
- The Essential Fra Lippo Lippi: Essence & Rare (2005)
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Fra Lippo Lippi's official website
- Fra Lippo Lippi discography (Japanese)
- Fra Lippo Lippi discography at Discogs
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||
