1981 in Scandinavian music

The following is a list of notable events and releases that happened in Scandinavian music in 1981.

Events

• 5 January – Björn Ulvaeus, now divorced from Agnetha Fältskog, marries Lena Källersjö. ^[1]
• 4 April – At the 26th Eurovision Song Contest, Sweden is the best-performing of the Nordic countries, finishing 10th. Denmark are 11th, Finland 16th, and Norway finish in 20th (last) place, with no votes from other countries. ^[2]
• September – Icelandic musicians Björk Guðmundsdóttir and bassist Jakob Magnússon form a new band, Tappi Tíkarrass. ^[3]
• 31 December – Benny Andersson, recently divorced from Anni-Frid Lyngstad, marries TV presenter Mona Nörklit. ^[1]
• unknown date
  • The organ at the Heinävesi Church in Finland is renewed, using some of the stops from the original organ.^{[ citation needed ]}
  • Danish musician Lars Ulrich meets James Hetfield and they form the band Metallica. ^[4]

Classical works

• Ulf Grahn – Concertino for piano and Strings ^[5]
• Bengt Hambraeus – Voluntary on a Swedish Hymn Tune from Dalecarlia^{[ citation needed ]}
• Magnus Lindberg – Sculpture II ^[6]

Hit singles

• ABBA – "One of Us" (#1 Belgium, Denmark, Netherlands, West Germany) ^[7]
• Beranek – "Dra til hælvete" (#1 Norway) ^[8]
• Gyllene Tider – "Ljudet av ett annat hjärta" (#3 Sweden) ^[9]
• Thomas Ledin – "Sensuella Isabella" (#4 Sweden) ^[10]
• Eddie Meduza – "Gasen i botten" (#13 Sweden) ^[11]
• Björn Skifs – "Fångad i en dröm" (#10 Sweden) ^[12]

Film music

• Erling D. Bjerno – Jeppe på bjerget ^[13]
• Henrik Otto Donner – Pedon merkki ^[14]

Births

• 10 December – Paula Vesala, Finnish singer-songwriter ^[15]

Deaths

• 1 February – Geirr Tveitt, Norwegian composer ^[16]
• 22 May – Reimar Riefling, Norwegian classical pianist, music teacher, and music critic (born 1898). ^[17]
• 25 May – Georg Malmstén, Finnish entertainer (born 1902) ^[18]
• 23 June – Zarah Leander, Swedish actress and singer (born 1907) ^[19]
• 3 August – Seymour Österwall, Swedish tenor saxophonist, bandleader, and composer (born 1908) ^[20]
• 5 October – Sven Gyldmark, Danish film score composer (born 1904) ^[21]

See also

• 1981 in Denmark
• 1981 in Iceland
• 1981 in Norwegian music
• 1981 in Sweden

References

1. Benoît Clerc (2024). Abba: All The Songs: The Story Behind Every Track. Octopus. ISBN   9781788404839.
2. "Dublin 1981 – Scoreboard". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 13 April 2021. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
3. Aston, Martin (1996). Björk: Björkgraphy. London: Simon & Schuster. p. 53. ISBN   0-684-81799-3.
4. Crocker, Chris (1993). Metallica: The Frayed Ends of Metal . St. Martin's Press. pp.  25–26. ISBN   978-0312086350.
5. "Concertino for piano and Strings". Swedish Musical Heritage. Retrieved 8 July 2025.
6. "Sculpture, Magnus Lindberg". LA Phil. Retrieved 7 July 2025.
7. "Danish Chart Archive - Singles 1979 - ____ (B.T./IFPI DK)". ukmix.org. 23 November 2018. Retrieved 23 November 2020.
8. "Dra til hælvete". Norwegiancharts.com. Retrieved 7 July 2025.
9. "LJUDET AV ETT ANNAT HJÄRTA (SONG)". swedishcharts.com. Retrieved 7 July 2025.
10. "Sensuella Isabella". swedishcharts.com. Retrieved 7 July 2025.
11. "Eddie Meduza Gasen i botten" . Retrieved 6 July 2025.
12. "BJÖRN SKIFS - FÅNGAD I EN DRÖM (SONG)". Swedishcharts.com. Retrieved 6 July 2025.
13. "Jeppe of the hill". Danish Film Institute . Retrieved 19 February 2021.
14. "Pedon merkki". Swedish Film Database. Retrieved 7 July 2025.
15. "Paula Vesala". AAE Music. Retrieved 8 July 2025.
16. "Geirr Tveitt". Norsk biografisk leksikon. Retrieved 6 July 2025.
17. "Reimar Riefling". Store Norske Leksikon (in Norwegian). Oslo: Kunnskapsforlaget. 3 September 2015. Retrieved 20 March 2017.
18. "Malmstén, Georg (1902 - 1981)" (in Finnish). Kansallisbiografia . Retrieved 25 April 2017.
19. "Zarah Leander, Swedish singer". Miami Herald . Stockholm. UPI. 24 June 1981. p. 83. Retrieved 5 March 2025– via Newspapers.com.
20. The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz. Macmillan. 1988. p. 278.
21. "Sven Gyldmark". Danskefilm. Retrieved 6 July 2025.