Gitarkameratene


Gitarkameratene was a Norwegian folk and comedy music supergroup consisting of Lillebjørn Nilsen, Halvdan Sivertsen, Jan Eggum and Øystein Sunde. Originally formed in 1987, the group released two albums and toured extensively until 1994, followed by occasional reunion tours and sporadic appearances until their official disbandment following the death of Nilsen in 2024.

History

The group was formed largely accidentally when folk singers Lillebjørn Nilsen, Halvdan Sivertsen and Øystein Sunde were scheduled to appear separately at a Sarpsborg music festival in 1987. Being friends and familiar with each others work already, they decided to hold an improptu concert together. Having enjoyed the experience, the three decided to continue the collaboration and invited friend and fellow musician Jan Eggum to make it a quartet. The following year the group released their first album, the epynomous "Gitarkameratene", a name suggested by Nilsen after their first idea, "Vinylkvartetten" was deemed to be unclear. The album was highly successful, and the group embarked on a national tour before returning to the studio for their second album, "Typisk Norsk", which was released in 1989 and won Spellemannsprisen for "Best Folk Album" in 1990, during which they were also named "Group of the Year". The group continued touring regularly until 1994, which was bookended by several sold-out shows at Chateau Neuf in Oslo which were also recorded for broadcast on NRK.
After their 1994 tour ended, the members decided to focus on solo projects and didn't collaborate again until 2003, when they reunited to record a song for a Vidar Sandbeck tribute album. Despite their absence from touring and recording, the members insisted that the band hadn't broken up because "once a guitar buddy, always a guitar buddy!". At his funeral on 9 February, the remaining three members performed one of Nilsens songs and announced the group had disbanded.

Name controversy

Controversy arose in 2006 when four other Norwegian artists began touring and recording together, as the media referred to them as De nye Gitarkameratene. While the four did not use the name officially, it was heavily used in the press, causing Lillebjørn Nilsen to send a letter of protest to Espen Lind, who replied and said that they had not used the name officially and that they actually did not feel comfortable with using the name themselves.

Members

Discography

  • 1988: Gitarkameratene
  • 1989: Typisk Norsk
  • 2003: "Gull og grønne skoger" for the Vidar Sandbeck tribute album Gull og grønne skoger.
  • 2010: ''Kanon - det beste fra Gitarkameratene Live!''