2_9_ScanMag_75_April_2015_Text_Q9_MADS_Scan Magazine 1 07/04/2015 21:59 Page 31
Sanne Salomonsen – Danish singing sensation and life inspiration Sanne Salomonsen, the Danish ‘rock mama’, has three decades of musical success and eighteen solo albums to her name. Having risen to fame in the ‘80s with the chart-topping Sneakers group, her repertoire has expanded across multiple genres and included a myriad of collaborations. Not only a member of the Anne Linnet Band, Salomonsen wowed audiences with her starring role in the 2001 Danish production of Evita. In the midst of an extensive European tour, Salomonsen pauses to talk to us about her musical legacy, her inspiration and the passion for performing that keeps her going. By Helen Cullen | Press photos
Salomonsen released Hjem 2014 in October of last year, an album that proved a tremendous success bursting onto the Danish album charts at number three and remaining there for 16 weeks. It was a very satisfying result for the artist who only released it after succumbing to relentless campaigning by her fan base. The collection was inspired by an intimate tour that saw Salomonsen perform a set consisting, unusually, of just her ballads.
album in that vein but the fans were persistent. I was hesitant but I spoke to my record company and we decided to make a live album in the studio and it has been an enormous hit.” Salomonsen doesn’t take her success for granted, however. “I’m very happy and humble about my accomplishments and all the chances and possibilities that came to me,” she continues. “It’s like the universe is being really good to me.” The humble hippie beginnings
“It was an idea I had because I wanted audiences to leave my concert feeling that they knew me a little bit better,” she explains. “I didn’t have any plans to make an
Salomonsen’s parents were very traditional and worried initially about her desire to perform. “I was a teenager at the end of the ‘60s, a hippie with peace, love
and understanding as my philosophies,” she laughs. “My parents were very conventional so we did have some conflict but my mother was a talented singer and my father played the piano so they did understand my passion.” After leaving school at fifteen to join the cast of the musical Hair, they realised that she was serious about her ambitions and supported her fully from then on. Salomonsen has worked professionally ever since. A road to recovery However, it has not always been easy for Salomonsen. In 2006, she suffered from an apoplectic stroke that caused temporary paralysis on her left side. Despite the severity of her condition, she was determined to make a full recovery. “It was a difficult time but I wasn’t sad or mad that it happened to me,” she recalls. “I accepted it immediately so I could start working on getting my life back.” Salomonsen trained hard to restore her mobility and vocal prowess and bounced
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