Arnold Børud (born 28 October 1947) is a Norwegian singer, musician and record producer.

Biography

He grew up in

Askim Askim () is a town and a former municipality in (from January 1, 2020) Indre Østfold municipality in the county of Østfold, Norway. The administrative centre of the Askim municipality was the town of Askim. Askim was established as a municip ...

, and has been a devout

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

since the age of 18, when a friend invited him to a Christian camp. Only two years later, he had learned the guitar and piano, and released his first record as a part of the duo Arild og Arnold. In 1973, he started two

gospel choir Gospel music is a traditional genre of Christian music and a cornerstone of Christian media. The creation, performance, significance, and even the definition of gospel music vary according to culture and social context. Gospel music is compos ...

s, Tvers and Mini-Tvers. With these choirs Børud became a pioneer in introducing gospel music to Norwegian

Pietist Pietism (), also known as Pietistic Lutheranism, is a movement within Lutheranism that combines its emphasis on biblical doctrine with an emphasis on individual piety and living a holy Christianity, Christian life. Although the movement is ali ...

congregations. He has thus been called "Mr. Gospel" in Norway. He had already, in 1972, formed the gospel group Frisk Luft together with Rune Larsen, Ivar Skippervold and

Kjell Fjalsett Kjell Sigurd Fjalsett (born 1952) is a Norwegian singer and musician. He made a name for himself in the Norwegian gospel music, gospel and Christian pop scene as a teenager in the choir Believe, covering the song "Oh Happy Day" among other things. ...

. The group formed by coincidence when Larsen and Børud, performing at Hedmarktoppen, spotted the already-known Fjalsett and Skippervold in the audience and invited them onto the stage. They released two LPs in the 1970s, and participated in a television show named ''Gospelkveld'' ('Gospel Evening'). Members of Tvers contributed on their first LP. Frisk Luft was said to be the first

supergroup in Norway. In the 1980s, Børud performed with the group Børud-gjengen. It consisted of himself and his three children Thomas, Linda and

Ole OLE, Ole or Olé may refer to: * Olé, a cheering expression used in Spain * Ole (name), a male given name, includes a list of people named Ole * Overhead lines equipment, used to transmit electrical energy to trams, trolleybuses or trains Co ...

. The group was later expanded and renamed Arnold B. Family. Arnold B. Family participated in the

Melodi Grand Prix Melodi Grand Prix (), commonly known as Grand Prix and MGP, sometimes as Norsk Melodi Grand Prix, is an annual music competition organised by Norwegian public broadcaster (NRK). It determines for the Eurovision Song Contest, and has been sta ...

three times, reaching as high as second place in

1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...

—behind Secret Garden with the song "

Nocturne A nocturne is a musical composition that is inspired by, or evocative of, the night. History The term ''nocturne'' (from French '' nocturne'' "of the night") was first applied to musical pieces in the 18th century, when it indicated an ensembl ...

". Secret Garden would go on to win the

Eurovision Song Contest 1995 The Eurovision Song Contest 1995 was the 40th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest, held on 13 May 1995 at the Point Theatre in Dublin, Ireland. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster (RTÉ), and presented by ...

. Also, ''Frisk Luft'' made a public comeback in 1998, and released the record ''Lifetime Friends'' in 2000. In 2004 they followed with ''I'll Never Find Another You''. Arnold Børud produced both albums. The group performs live every now and then. Børud also contributed keyboards to the 1998 album ''

Burial Burial, also known as interment or inhumation, is a method of final disposition whereby a dead body is placed into the ground, sometimes with objects. This is usually accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing the deceased and objec ...

'', the debut recording of

progressive

death metal Death metal is an extreme metal, extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. It typically employs heavily distorted and low-tuned guitars, played with techniques such as palm muting and tremolo picking; deep death growl, growling vocals; aggressive ...

band

Extol Extol is an extreme metal band from Bekkestua, Norway, that was formed in 1993. The band is known for playing a variety of different styles of heavy metal music, metal which include progressive metal, Christian death metal, black metal and thra ...

, of which his son Ole was a member.Biography
of Ole Børud on Scandinavian Soul, (accessed 6 December 2014). Besides his music career, Børud works for Normisjon at a

Bible school A Bible college, sometimes referred to as a Bible institute or theological institute or theological seminary, is an evangelical Christian or Restoration Movement Christian institution of higher education which prepares students for Christian minis ...

Grimstad Grimstad () is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Agder counties of Norway, county, Norway. It belongs to the geographical region of Southern Norway, Sørlandet. The administrative center of the municipality is the Grimstad (to ...

. In late 2007, he was awarded the

HM The King's Medal of Merit The King's Medal of Merit (Norwegian: ''Kongens fortjenstmedalje'') is a Norwegian award. It was instituted in 1908 to reward meritorious achievements in the fields of art, science, business, and public service. It is divided in two classes: gold ...

in gold.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Borud, Arnold 1947 births Living people Norwegian gospel singers Norwegian record producers Norwegian Christians People from Askim Recipients of the King's Medal of Merit in gold