Scandinavia has often brought us some surprises in the world of pop music. One of them is Michael Learns To Rock (MLTR) from Denmark, who took the world by storm in the 1990s, bringing us music that touches our heartstrings - a perfect combination of Scandinavian freshness and classic pop music. Without the glamour, glitz and glamour, the publicity, the scandal, the prerequisites and by-products of superstardom, the MLTR story is one of the classics of the world of rock and roll music: four young men who love rock and roll came together to form a band and share their work with fans around the globe. The story of MLTR is a classic in the world of rock music.
The story began in 1987 in their hometown of Arhus. The core of the band - JASCHA RICHTER (vocals and keyboards) with KARE WANSCHER on drums and MIKKEL LENTZ on guitar - formed a small combo, which was the beginnings of MLTR. The trio's love affair with rock 'n' roll had already begun when they were children, so they decided to form a band based on the songs written by JASCHA, but the original trio wasn't quite there yet; in the spring of 1988, KARE's good friend, guitarist SOREN MADSEN, joined the band and MLTR became a reality, and their musical journey began. In May '88 the newly formed band made their debut at the "Dansk Rock Grand Prix" in Arhus, and in the summer they took part in a well-known local music competition, which they won convincingly. It was at this competition that JP Andersen, one of the judges, recognized the unique talent of these four young men, and he soon became MLTR's manager, a position he holds to this day.
Over the next two years, under the arrangement of their manager, MLTR toured extensively throughout Denmark; in a variety of clubs and concerts, they gained a wealth of performance experience and developed a close band friendship. In the process, they have been enriching their repertoire with newer and better songs in preparation for their upcoming album, while their playing and harmonizing have become more and more in tune with each other. With the help of Danish producers Jens Hofman and Oli Poulsen, MLTR spent several months in the studio working on their self-titled debut album, MICHAEL LEARNS TO ROCK, which was released on September 1, 1991, and was the number one seller in Denmark in January 1992, staying there for five weeks. weeks. The single THE ACTOR became the number one single on the Danish radio pop charts in January 1992, after which it quickly reached the top of the pop charts in Norway, Sweden, Singapore, Malaysia, and into Canada, Germany and many other countries, making MLTR a household name at lightning speed.
In the midst of this MLTR boom, they once again embarked on a tour of Denmark and visited a number of Southeast Asian countries to further solidify the gains they had made in the music scene. During this period, JASCHA RICHTER didn't relax either and set about writing new tracks for their second album. The album, entitled COLOURS, was released in October 1993 and covered most of Europe as well as the Far East, again with great success. The single SLEEPING CHILD became another MLTR hit that swept the world. Other singles, including 25 MINUTES and OUT OF THE BLUE, reached high positions in the pop charts around the world, and the album sold over 1 million copies worldwide. Over the next 18 months, the band traveled the world, receiving rapturous reception from fans wherever they went, and 1994 was a banner year for the band. To cap it off, MLTR was awarded Germany's prestigious RSH award at the end of the year and was named "The Best Performing Act Of The Year" at the SEA Grammy Award in Singapore.
MLTR's third album, PLAYED ON PEPPER, was released in 1995, and expanded to 11 countries in Europe, South America, South Africa, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia. In October of that year the band went on a 25-date tour of 10 countries in Southeast Asia, where they were treated like royalty and released critically acclaimed singles such as THAT'S WHY (YOU GO AWAY) and SOMEDAY, with THAT'S WHY (YOU GO AWAY) topping the charts at an unprecedented rate. The album has also sold more than 1.2 million copies worldwide.
One of the unavoidable downsides of the band's popularity has been the proliferation of bootlegs, especially in Southeast Asian countries. In order to combat this problem, MLTR released PAINT MY LOVE in 1996, an album that was a gold standard for Southeast Asia. This was actually a summary of MLTR's achievements since their debut, and contained the biggest singles from all the previous albums, with the addition of the single PAINT MY LOVE, which, despite the fact that the MTV version of the song was subjected to strict censorship in many countries, proved once again that the band's talent was unparalleled. The album eventually sold 3.4 million copies, and in July 1997, as one of the main performers, MLTR took part in a concert celebrating Hong Kong's return to China.
While promoting PAINT MY LOVE to their fans, the recording of MLTR's fourth album was in full swing, with NOTHING TO LOSE released in September 1997, while the buzz from the previous album was still going strong. A number of singles including NOTHING TO LOSE, SOMETHING YOU SHOULD KNOW and MAGIC topped the pop charts in various countries. This is MLTR's third consecutive million-selling album.
Nine years in the music business is a long time and a short time, and the four members of MLTR have decided to put down their jobs and their love of rock music for a while. However JASCHA had several new songs ready to go as early as the fall of 1998. So the band picked the single STRANGE FOREIGH BEAUTY from them to punctuate their selections. GREATEST HITS is aptly titled, as it takes the essence of the first four albums and remixes, remasters or arranges them - thus bringing together nine years of MLTR's representative work. Once again, this selection of 1999 releases surpassed a million sales, taking MLTR's music to the farther corners of the world.
In the spring of 2000, as MLTR began work on their fifth album, SOREN MADSEN decided to leave the band in order to pursue a solo career. While his departure did come as quite a shock to MLTR, the other three members of the band, RICHTER, LENTZ and WANSCHER, were determined to continue the journey. Production on the album also resumed in the summer. As usual, they didn't choose to work with a foreign producer who is known for his "star-making" skills, but with the Danish producer Boe Larsen. The new album, entitled BLUE NIGHT, was released at the end of 2000.
In 2001, Mike Learns To Rock embarked on a five-week tour of Asia, stopping in Dubai, the Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia and China. In November 2001 at the Shanghai Olympic Stadium held a powerful Asian tour of China Shanghai concert. In a familiar and moving song, "Mike learns to rock" completely triggered the enthusiasm and fervor of Shanghai fans, 10,000 people in the stadium was boiling.
Michael Learns To Rock has always proved through their efforts that even the most remote corners of the world are only one moving song away from us.
Kiss Me Goodbye
The Danish group Michael Learns To Rock, which took a four-year break in 2004, announced a new album and, in a bid to win over Southeast Asian fans once again, covered Jacky Cheung's classic "Kiss Me Goodbye".
Michael LearnsToRock, which has been dormant for four years, is set to release a new album, "Take Me To Your Heart," on April 27th. The new album's eponymous song "Take Me ToYourHeart" is very special because it is the English version of Jacky Cheung's classic song "Kiss Goodbye". It is reported that "Mike learns to rock" in the preparation of the new album, by chance to hear the Danish EMI brought Jacky Cheung sang "Kiss Goodbye", although the language barrier, but exudes a sense of mystery. The song was so beautiful and oriental that "Mike Learns Rock" decided to recommend this "Asia's best love song" to the world. They also said they would like to do a cross-country cooperation with Jacky Cheung if they have a chance
F1 Chinese Grand Prix
The 2005 F1 Chinese Grand Prix, as the last stop of the year's event, will come to an end on October 16th. That night, the Shanghai Grand Stage will perform a perfect combination of modern fashion, sports and entertainment. The party called "F1 Passion Night", including Alonso, Schumacher, Jenson Button, including the top ten teams of F1 drivers, will be on the scene and fans interactive carnival. The Danish band "Mike Learns to Rock" will sing for the closing party. New champion Alonso, a fan of Mike's Rock, will also relive the "Mike's Rock" event with his Chinese fans.
In the world of pop music, Scandinavia often brings us some surprises, and "Macology Rock" from Denmark is one of them. Spain's Alonso is also a fan of Mike's Rock and Roll, and his early triumph in F1 allowed the young driver to relax and rock out for a while.