1990 in Scandinavian music

The following is a list of notable events and releases that happened in Scandinavian music in 1990.

Events

• 6 April – Knut Kristiansen is awarded the festival prize at Norway's annual Vossa Jazz festival. ^[1]
• 5 May – In the final of the 35th Eurovision Song Contest, held in Zagreb, Iceland finish in fourth place to become the most successful of the Scandinavian countries. Denmark finish 8th, Sweden 16th and Finland and Norway joint 21st. ^[2]
• unknown date – Guitarists Dan Nilsson & Micke Bargstörm, bassists Martin Persson and drummer Rille Even, all original members of Opeth, leave the band, after Mikael Åkerfeldt is recruited without their knowledge. ^[3]

Classical works

• Kaija Saariaho – ...à la Fumée ^[4]
• Aulis Sallinen – Symphony No. 6, "From a New Zealand Diary" ^[5]
• Jan Sandström – Det är en ros utsprungen ^[6]
• Haukur Tómasson – Offspring ^[7]

Film and TV scores

• Frans Bak – Lad Isbjørnene Danse ^[8]
• Kjartan Kristiansen – Døden på Oslo S ^[9]

Hit singles

• a-ha – "Crying in the Rain" (#1 Norway; #13 UK) ^[10]
• Bubber – "Bubbers Badekar" (#1 Denmark) ^[11]
• Anders Glenmark – "Hon sa" (#9 Sweden) ^[12]
• Kim Larsen & Bellami – "Tarzan Mamma Mia" (#1 Denmark) ^[13]
• Eppu Normaali – "Sydän tyhjää lyö" (#1 Finland) ^[14]
• Lili & Susie – "What's the Colour of Love?" (#3 Sweden) ^[15]
• Roxette – "It Must Have Been Love" (#1 Australia, Canada, Denmark, Norway, Spain, Switzerland) ^[16]
• The Sugarcubes – "Planet" ^[17]

Eurovision Song Contest

• Denmark in the Eurovision Song Contest 1990
• Finland in the Eurovision Song Contest 1990
• Iceland in the Eurovision Song Contest 1990
• Norway in the Eurovision Song Contest 1990
• Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest 1990

Births

• 27 April – Robin Bengtsson, Swedish singer ^[18]
• 29 October – Eric Saade, Swedish singer-songwriter^{[ citation needed ]}

Deaths

• 2 February – Sigbjørn Bernhoft Osa, Norwegian Hardanger fiddler and folk musician (born 1910) ^[19]
• 27 February – Arthur Österwall, Swedish jazz band leader, composer, vocalist, and upright bassist (born 1910)
• 18 May – Eje Thelin, Swedish jazz trombonist (born 1938) ^[20]
• 28 June – Per Bergersen, Norwegian songwriter and illustrator (born 1960; shot)^{[ citation needed ]}
• 15 August – Ingrid Lang-Fagerström, Swedish harpist (born 1897) ^[21]
• 18 August – Grethe Ingmann, Danish singer (born 1938) ^[22]
• 6 October – Asser Fagerström, Finnish jazz pianist, composer, and actor (born 1912)^{[ citation needed ]}
• 12 November – Randi Heide Steen, Norwegian operatic soprano (born 1909) ^[23]
• 24 December – Thorbjørn Egner, Norwegian playwright, songwriter and illustrator (born 1912) ^[24]
• 29 December – Aulikki Rautawaara, Finnish operatic soprano (born 1906) ^[25]

References

1. "Vossa Jazz-prisen". Vossa Jazz. Retrieved 10 May 2025.
2. "Zagreb 1990 – Scoreboard". European Broadcasting Union (EBU). Archived from the original on 17 April 2021. Retrieved 17 April 2021.
3. Joel McIver (January 2008). "Pressing the Red Button". Metal Hammer .
4. Pirkko Moisala (2009). Kaija Saariaho. University of Illinois Press. p. 17. ISBN   9780252091933.
5. "Symphony No. 6 Op. 65 "From a New Zealand Diary"". Music Finland Core. Retrieved 8 May 2025.
6. "The Person". Jan Sandström Musikproduktion AB. 11 November 2008. Archived from the original on 27 December 2008. Retrieved 22 January 2009.
7. "Afsprengi". Icelandic Music Information Centre. Retrieved 10 May 2025.
8. Birger Larsen. "Lad isbjørnene danse (Dance of the Polar Bears)". Film Fest Gent. Retrieved 7 May 2025.
9. Grete Strøm. "En hyllest til det ustreite". nrk.no (in Norwegian). Retrieved 9 May 2025.
10. "VG Lista - Singles Top 20". norwegiancharts. Retrieved 9 May 2025.
11. "Top 3 Singles in Europe" (PDF). Music and Media. p. vi. Retrieved 8 May 2025.
12. "ANDERS GLENMARK - HON SA (SONG)". swedishcharts. Retrieved 9 May 2025.
13. "Top 3 Singles in Europe" (PDF). Music and Media. p. vii. Retrieved 8 May 2025.
14. "EPPU NORMAALI - SYDÄN TYHJÄÄ LYÖ (SONG)". finnishcharts. Retrieved 9 May 2025.
15. "Sverigetopplistan - Singles Top 100". swedishcharts.com. 9 May 1990. Retrieved 9 May 2025.
16. "swedishcharts.com - Roxette - It Must Have Been Love". Hung Medien. Archived from the original on 22 November 2016. Retrieved 22 November 2016.
17. Ken Clee (1997). The Directory of American 45 R.p.m. Records. Stak-o-wax.
18. Simon Barclay (2017). The Complete & Independent Guide to the Eurovision Song Contest 2017. p. 19. ISBN   9780244312657.
19. Aksdal, Bjørn (13 February 2009). "Sigbjørn Bernhoft Osa". Norsk Biografisk Leksikon (in Norwegian). Oslo: Kunnskapsforlaget. Retrieved 5 April 2017.
20. Colin Larkin, ed. (1992). The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music (First ed.). Guinness Publishing. p. 2472. ISBN   0-85112-939-0.
21. "Ingrid Fagerström, Kungliga Hovkapellet". www.hovkapellet.com. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
22. "Hittebarn i musikken". information.dk (in Danish). 24 February 2003. Retrieved 1 August 2015.
23. Henriksen, Petter (ed.). "Randi Heide Steen". Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian). Oslo: Kunnskapsforlaget. Retrieved 10 July 2025.
24. Sofie Arneberg. "Thorbjørn Egner". Store norske leksikon. Retrieved 10 May 2025.
25. Ruth-Esther Hillila, Barbara Blanchard Hong (1997). Historical Dictionary of the Music and Musicians of Finland. Greenwood. p. 333. ISBN   0-313-27728-1.