Bent Fabricius-Bjerre (7 December 1924 – 28 July 2020), better known internationally as Bent Fabric, was a Danish

pianist A pianist ( , ) is an individual musician who plays the piano. Since most forms of Western music can make use of the piano, pianists have a wide repertoire and a wide variety of styles to choose from, among them traditional classical music, ja ...

and

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Def ...

Biography

Bent Fabricius-Bjerre was born in

Frederiksberg Frederiksberg () is a part of the Capital Region of Denmark. It is formally an independent municipality, Frederiksberg Municipality, separate from Copenhagen Municipality, but both are a part of the City of Copenhagen. It occupies an area of ...

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

. He started a

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

ensemble after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

and founded a label,

Metronome Records Warner Music Sweden AB (previously Metronome Records) is a Swedish record company and label, a subsidiary of Warner Music Group. Metronome Records was established in 1949 by Anders Burman, Lars Burman, and Börje Ekberg and was based in Stockholm ...

, in 1950. However, he is best known for his 1961 instrumental "Omkring et flygel" (literally, "Around a Grand Piano") which became a hit in Denmark. The song was re-released worldwide under the name "Alley Cat" on

Atco Records ATCO Records is an American record label founded in 1955. It is owned by Warner Music Group and operates as an imprint of Atlantic Records. After several decades of dormancy and infrequent activity under alternating Warner Music labels, the comp ...

the following year, and went to #1 in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

and #49 in Germany. The tune also became a hit in the United States; the song hit #2 on the AC chart and #7 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100,

Billboard Singles A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large out-of-home advertising, outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboard ...

Allmusic.com and the LP of the same name hit #13 on the ''Billboard'' 200. "Alley Cat" also won a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...

for Best Rock & Roll Recording. It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc. The follow-up single, "Chicken Feed", hit #63 in the U.S. Fabricius-Bjerre had done extensive work in

film score A film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film. The score comprises a number of orchestral, instrumental, or choral pieces called cues, which are timed to begin and end at specific points during the film in order to e ...

s prior to the success of his singles, and continued to work in film for decades after. In 2003, Fabricius-Bjerre returned to the charts, this time in his native Denmark. He released the album ''

Jukebox A jukebox is a partially automated music-playing device, usually a coin-operated machine, that will play a patron's selection from self-contained media. The classic jukebox has buttons, with letters and numbers on them, which are used to sele ...

'' as Bent Fabric, where he worked with critically acclaimed Danish musicians, including

Peter Frödin Peter Frödin (born 7 January 1964) is a Danish actor, comedian and singer.Who is ... Peter Frö ...

. The singles "Jukebox" hit #3 in Denmark and "Shake" hit #10 that year. In 2006, a

remix A remix (or reorchestration) is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, video, poem, or photograph can all be remixes. The o ...

of "Jukebox" was released, and the title track became a

dance music Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole musical piece or part of a larger musical arrangement. In terms of performance, the major categories are live dance music and recorded da ...

hit, peaking at #7 on the US Dance/Club Play charts. The album was also re-released in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

, this time featuring a remix of his famous instrumental song "Alley Cat", formerly known as “Omkring et flygel” (“Around a Piano”), among others. In 2005 he released the

compilation album A compilation album comprises tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several performers. If by one artist, then generally the tracks were not originally intended for rel ...

, ''Kan du kende melodien'' (literally ''Do you recognize the melody'') featuring some of his most famous and recognized

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmospher ...

and TV scores. In 2018, Bent Fabricius-Bjerre was honored for his long and active career by naming a new species of beetle †''Cacomorphocerus bentifabrici (Fabrizio Fanti & Anders Leth Damgaard, 2018)''. Married thrice, he died on 28 July 2020.

Film music

* ''

Poeten og Lillemor ''The Poet and the Little Mother'' ( da, Poeten og Lillemor) is a 1959 Danish family film directed by Erik Balling and starring Henning Moritzen. It was entered into the 9th Berlin International Film Festival. Cast * Henning Moritzen as Poet ...

'' (1958) *

Helle for Helene ''Helle for Helene'' is a 1959 Danish family film directed by Gabriel Axel and starring Birgitte Bruun. Cast * Birgitte Bruun as Helene Thomsen *Poul Reichhardt as Tandlæge Rudolf Thomsen * Preben Mahrt as Mathisen (bartender) *Kjeld Peterse ...

(1959) *

Forelsket i København ''Forelsket i København'' is a 1960 Danish romance film directed by Finn Henriksen and starring Siw Malmkvist. Cast *Siw Malmkvist as Maj Lindquist *Henning Moritzen as Jan Scharf *Ove Sprogøe as Carni * Jørgen Ryg as Dingo * Perry Knudsen ...

(1960) *

Poeten og Lillemor og Lotte ''Poeten og Lillemor og Lotte'' is a 1960 Danish comedy film directed by Erik Balling and starring Henning Moritzen. Cast * Henning Moritzen as The poet * Helle Virkner as Lillemor * Ove Sprogøe as Anton * Lis Løwert as Vera * Dirch Passe ...

(1960) *

Cirkus Buster ''Cirkus Buster'' is a 1961 Danish movie directed by Erik Balling. The film is based on a TV show with the same name. Cast * Buster Larsen as Cirkusdirektør and the clown Buster * Helle Virkner as Jasmine * Viggo Brodthagen as him self * Ole ...

(1961) *

Flemming på kostskole Flemming is a surname and a male given name referring, like the more common '' Fleming'', to an inhabitant (or descendant thereof) of Flanders,

(1961) *

Svinedrengen og prinsessen på ærten ''Svinedrengen og prinsessen på ærten'' (literally ''The Swineherd and the Princess on the Pea'') is a 1962 Danish animated film directed by Poul Ilsøe and starring Dirch Passer. It is based on the tales, respectively "The Swineherd" and "Th ...

(1962) *

Poeten og Lillemor i forårshumør ''Poeten og Lillemor i forårshumør'' is a 1961 Danish comedy film directed by Erik Balling and starring Henning Moritzen. Cast * Henning Moritzen as Poeten * Helle Virkner as Lillemor * Eva Hast Nystad as Lotte (as Eva Nystad) * Ove Sprog ...

(1963) * Tre piger i Paris (1963) * Hvis lille pige er du? (1963) * (1964) *

Døden kommer til middag ''Death Comes at High Noon'' ( da, Døden kommer til middag) is a 1964 Danish crime film directed by Erik Balling and starring Poul Reichhardt. Cast * Poul Reichhardt as Peter Sander *Helle Virkner as Eva Lindberg *Birgitte Federspiel as Mere ...

(1964) *

Pigen og millionæren ''The Girl and the Millionaire'' ( da, Pigen og millionæren) is a 1965 Danish comedy film directed by Ebbe Langberg and starring Dirch Passer. Cast *Dirch Passer as Direktør Jens Møller * Birgitte Bruun as Koncertpianist Marlene Brandt *Ma ...

(1965) * Strike First Freddy (1965) *

Relax Freddy Relax may refer to: Aviation * Roland Z-120 Relax, a German ultralight aircraft design for the 120 kg class Music Albums * ''Relax'' (Blank & Jones album), 2003 * ''Relax'' (Das Racist album), 2011 Songs * "Relax" (song), a 1983 song by Fra ...

(1966) * '' Olsen-banden'' (1968–1998) * '' Olsenbanden'' (Norwegian, 1969–1999) * Tænk på et tal (1969) * Ballade på Christianshavn (1971) *

Flåklypa Grand Prix ''The Pinchcliffe Grand Prix'' ( no, Flåklypa Grand Prix) is a 1975 Norwegian stop-motion-animated feature film directed by Ivo Caprino. It is based on characters from a series of books by Norwegian cartoonist and author Kjell Aukrust. It is t ...

(Norwegian, 1975) *

Matador A bullfighter (or matador) is a performer in the activity of bullfighting. ''Torero'' () or ''toureiro'' (), both from Latin ''taurarius'', are the Spanish and Portuguese words for bullfighter and describe all the performers in the activit ...

(TV series, 1978–1981) * Min farmors hus (1984) * Når engle elsker (1986) *

Peter von Scholten Peter Carl Frederik von Scholten (17 May 1784 – 26 January 1854) was Governor-General of the Danish West Indies from 1827 to 1848. Early life and education He was born in Vestervig, Thy, Denmark as the son of captain Casimir Wilhelm von Sch ...

(1990) *

Lad isbjørnene danse ''Dance of the Polar Bears'' ( da, Lad isbjørnene danse) is a 1990 Danish drama film directed by Birger Larsen. The film was selected as the Danish entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 63rd Academy Awards, but was not accepted as a ...

(1990) * Det skaldede spøgelse (1992) * Blinkende lygter (2000) * ''

Olsen-banden Junior ''Olsen-banden Junior'' is a 2001 Danish family-comedy heist film. It is a prequel to the long running Danish film series ''Olsen-banden'', and an implementation of the concept used by the Swedish ''Olsen-banden'' remakes prequels ''Lilla Jöns ...

'' (2001) * Klovn - The Movie (2010)

Discography

Albums

* 1962 '' Alley Cat'' (Atco Records) * 1962 ''The Happy Puppy'' (Atco Records) * 1963 ''Piano Party with Bent Fabric'' (Columbia 33-OSX-7720)(Australia) * 1964 ''Organ Grinder's Swing'' (Atco Records) * 1964 ''The Drunken Penguin'' (Atco Records) * 1965 ''Together!'' (with

Acker Bilk Bernard Stanley "Acker" Bilk, (28 January 1929 – 2 November 2014) was a British clarinetist and vocalist known for his breathy, vibrato-rich, lower-register style, and distinctive appearance – of goatee, bowler hat and striped waistc ...

) (Atco Records) * 1966 ''Never Tease Tigers'' (Atco Records) * 1967 ''Operation Lovebirds'' (Atco Records) * 1968 ''Relax With Bent Fabric'' (Atco Records) * 1997 ''The Very Best of Bent Fabric'' * 1998 ''Klaver med mer'' (CMC Records) * 2001 ''Mit livs melodi'' (Copenhagen Records) * 2004 ''

'' (

Universal Universal is the adjective for universe. Universal may also refer to: Companies * NBCUniversal, a media and entertainment company ** Universal Animation Studios, an American Animation studio, and a subsidiary of NBCUniversal ** Universal TV, a t ...

) * 2005 ''Kan du kende melodien'' (Universal) * 2014 ''Bent Fabricius-Bjerre og Hans Musik'' (Warner Music)

Singles

* 1962 "Alley Cat" * 1963 "Chicken Feed" * 1965 "Alley Cat Dance / Drunken Penguin" (#9 Canada) * 2003 "Jukebox" * 2003 "Shake" * 2006 "Sweet Senorita"

References

External links

Official website
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fabric, Bent 1924 births 2020 deaths Musicians from Copenhagen Danish pianists Male composers Danish film score composers Atco Records artists People from Frederiksberg Male pianists 21st-century pianists Male film score composers 21st-century male musicians Bodil Honorary Award recipients