Lilbjörn Nielsen Matt – VG

The popular artist was 73 years old.

– Lilbjörn Falk Nielsen slept peacefully on the evening of Saturday, January 27, with his loved ones around him, Grappa Records wrote in a press release.

Björn Falk Nielsen was born on December 21, 1950 in Oslo. He was one of Norway's most prominent singer-songwriters in this genre.

The Vice President has received, among others, the Brøysen Award, the Artist Award of the City of Oslo, the Culture Award of the City of Oslo and six Spelman Awards, including the Honorary Award.

And in 2022 it became Knight First Class of the Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav.

See more photos in the gallery below:

Extensive career

In 2022, Lilbjörn Nielsen revealed his life in the documentary “Quiet boy – “Lillebjørn Nilsen's Own Story” on NRK, edited by Mona B. Riise.

There he talked about life's ups and downs – among other things about the cancer he contracted in 2013, for which he later underwent successful surgery.

Nielsen first became known as a member of the Norwegian duo The Young Norwegians in 1966-1968, but soon distinguished himself as a solo artist with lyrics in Norwegian.

He had his breakthrough in 1973 with Lillybjörn's Guitar Book, which taught generations of young Norwegians to play the guitar.

The veteran artist played a number of instruments in addition to the guitar, such as harmonica, ukulele, banjo and violin.

He left his mark on Norsktoppen and VG-lista several times, with songs such as “Stilleste Gutt på sovesal 1” (1979), “Se altivit lyst på lifet” (1982) and “Alexander Kjelland's Place”.

In addition to performing alone, he has collaborated extensively with, among others, Steinar Øvsdal, and achieved great success as a member of the project group Ballade! (1977–1980) and Gitarkameratene (1988–1994), which won several Spelman Prizes.

The guitar mates played together again in 2010, 2012 and 2013.

Showman in Oslo

Nielsen grew up in Ella, near Alexander Kelland's home. He wrote a number of songs about Oslo and how the capital changed in the 20th century, such as “Good Night Oslo”, “Alexander Kiellands plass”, “Tanta til Beate” and “Far has said”.

In 2017, Nielsen was awarded the St. Halvard Medal, the city of Oslo's highest award. He justified this by the fact that he “composed songs and music that told and depicted life in Oslo.” The songs have become common property and are used for singing across the country.”

– Oslo is the city where I grew up. A city with a big heart, Nielsen said at the time.

In 2012, the show “Postcard from Lillebjørn”, based on a number of the artist's songs, was presented at Oslo Nye Teater.

The artist has often been active on social media. His last post on X/Twitter was posted on January 19.

Lilbjörn Nielsen is survived by his wife, Mairead Imlach, and his daughters, Siri and Sarah Nielsen. Siri Nielsen is an artist herself.

He has three marriages behind him.

“Rainbow Children” took on a new meaning for the people after July 22. Here are 40,000 singing the song at Youngstorget: