Ivar Skippervold (born 14 March 1949) is a Norwegian singer and musician. He hails from

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...

, but moved to

Lillesand Lillesand () is List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Agder counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is part of the Districts of Norway, traditional district of Southern Norway, Sørlandet. The administrative center of the municipality ...

as an adult. He took up music at an early age, and his first self-made music was

protest song A protest song is a song that is associated with a movement for social change and hence part of the broader category of ''topical'' songs (or songs connected to current events). It may be folk, classical, or commercial in genre. Among social mov ...

s. He became

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words '' Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρ ...

out of a "religious yearning", and his protest songs got a Christian tinge. His first solo record, ''Hiroshima og spurven'', came in 1975. He had already, in 1972, formed the gospel group ''

Frisk Luft ''Frisk Luft'' ('Fresh Air') is a Norwegian gospel group. It was founded in 1972 as . It consisted of Rune Larsen, Ivar Skippervold, Arnold Børud and Kjell Fjalsett, and since all are accomplished musicians outside of the group as well, ''Frisk L ...

'' together with Rune Larsen, Arnold Børud and

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

. The group formed by coincidence when Larsen and Børud, performing at

Hedmarktoppen Hedmarktoppen Folk High School ( no, Hedmarktoppen Folkehøgskole) is a folk high school in Hamar. It was established in 1970, and is owned and run by the Norwegian Pentecostal movement. Gospel music events are held there, and the gospel sup ...

, spotted Fjalsett and Skippervold in the audience and invited them onto the stage. ''Frisk Luft'' released two LPs in the 1970s, and participated in a television show named ''Gospelkveld'' ('Gospel Evening'). ''Frisk Luft'' was said to be the first

supergroup Supergroup or super group may refer to: * Supergroup (music), a music group formed by artists who are already notable or respected in their fields * Supergroup (physics), a generalization of groups, used in the study of supersymmetry * Supergroup ...

in Norway. In the mid-1980s, he was a part of the musical duo Skipper Schei together with Hans Erik Schei. They duo staged a show called "Skipper Schei drar vest". Skippervold also ran a small publishing house Skippers Forlag, and worked at the musical school in Lillesand. In the 1990s, Skippervold made two

advent Advent is a Christian season of preparation for the Nativity of Christ at Christmas. It is the beginning of the liturgical year in Western Christianity. The name was adopted from Latin "coming; arrival", translating Greek ''parousia''. In ...

television shows for children, so-called "advent calendars" with 24 episodes for each day in December. ''Julestua'' was aired on

TVNorge TVNorge (literally "TVNorway"; originally abbreviated TVN, now just abbreviated N in the logos) is a Norwegian television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery EMEA. History TVNorge went on the air on 5 December 1988 and was the first adv ...

in 1989 with Skippervold and Trygve Wikstøl, and ''På låven'' followed in 1992 on TV 2. His song ''Flere slike dager'' became the opening song of the popular TVNorge show '' Reisesjekken''. He also made bible-inspired plays for release on cassette, As well as two musicals in 1995, 1997 and 2000. The three musicals were about

Ansgar Ansgar (8 September 801 – 3 February 865), also known as Anskar, Saint Ansgar, Saint Anschar or Oscar, was Archbishop of Hamburg-Bremen in the northern part of the Kingdom of the East Franks. Ansgar became known as the "Apostle of the North" ...

Saint Nicholas Saint Nicholas of Myra, ; la, Sanctus Nicolaus (traditionally 15 March 270 – 6 December 343), also known as Nicholas of Bari, was an early Christian bishop of Greek descent from the maritime city of Myra in Asia Minor (; modern-day De ...

and

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religiou ...

respectively. He also continued releasing albums, amassing about 40 releases. 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''. The group performs live every now and then. He has been called the "

Thorbjørn Egner Thorbjørn Egner (12 December 1912 – 24 December 1990) was a Norwegian playwright, songwriter and illustrator known principally for his books, plays and musicals for children. He is principally associated with his narratives for children includi ...

church music Church music is Christian music written for performance in church, or any musical setting of ecclesiastical liturgy, or music set to words expressing propositions of a sacred nature, such as a hymn. History Early Christian music The on ...

". In 2001, he was awarded the Bible Prize of Norway.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Skippervold, Ivar 1949 births Living people Norwegian gospel singers Norwegian television personalities Norwegian Christians Musicians from Oslo