Steppeulvene
Encyclopedia
Steppeulvene was a Danish
rock
band which despite its short life has become the icon for the Danish hippie
music scene. The name of the group was taken from the 1928 novel Steppenwolf
by German Nobel laureate Hermann Hesse
. Also in 1967, in California, the band Steppenwolf
named itself after the novel.
Their only album
Hip
(1967) was the first rock album with original Danish lyrics, and has attained near-mythological status in the history of Danish rock.
The group was the result of a collaboration between lead singer Eik Skaløe, who had traveled in the Orient in the early 1960's and wrote the Bob Dylan
-inspired, highly symbolic and almost surreal lyrics, and Stig Møller (guitar, vocal), who wrote the drawling, psychedelic, folk-influenced music. The other members were Søren Seirup (bass) and Preben Devantier (drums).
A tour in October 1967 came to a chaotic end when a concert was cut short by the police and the group members were arrested for cannabis
use. Shortly after being released, Eik Skaløe went on a journey to Afghanistan/Nepal (on the so-called "hippie trail
") and was found dead outside the city of Ferozepore near the Indian/Pakistani border in October 1968, apparently after a drug-induced suicide. Back in Denmark
the rest of the group attempted to carry on, but, lacking the characteristic Skaløe as a front figure, quickly dissolved.
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
band which despite its short life has become the icon for the Danish hippie
Hippie
The hippie subculture was originally a youth movement that arose in the United States during the mid-1960s and spread to other countries around the world. The etymology of the term 'hippie' is from hipster, and was initially used to describe beatniks who had moved into San Francisco's...
music scene. The name of the group was taken from the 1928 novel Steppenwolf
Steppenwolf (novel)
Steppenwolf is the tenth novel by German-Swiss author Hermann Hesse. Originally published in Germany in 1927, it was first translated into English in 1929. Combining autobiographical and psychoanalytic elements, the novel was named after the lonesome wolf of the steppes...
by German Nobel laureate Hermann Hesse
Hermann Hesse
Hermann Hesse was a German-Swiss poet, novelist, and painter. In 1946, he received the Nobel Prize in Literature...
. Also in 1967, in California, the band Steppenwolf
Steppenwolf (band)
Steppenwolf are a Canadian-American rock group that was prominent in the late 1960s. The group was formed in 1967 in Los Angeles by vocalist John Kay, guitarist Michael Monarch, bassist Rushton Moreve, keyboardist Goldy McJohn and drummer Jerry Edmonton after the dissolution of Toronto group The...
named itself after the novel.
Their only album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
Hip
Hip (album)
Hip is the only full-length release by the band Steppeulvene, a Danish rock band. It was released in 1967.-Track listing:#Dunhammeraften 5:25#Itsi-Bitsi 4:54#Til Nashet 5:23#Jensen 6:40#0-0-0 5:02#Lykkens Pamfil 5:44#Kvinde Kom Ud 4:03...
(1967) was the first rock album with original Danish lyrics, and has attained near-mythological status in the history of Danish rock.
The group was the result of a collaboration between lead singer Eik Skaløe, who had traveled in the Orient in the early 1960's and wrote the Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
-inspired, highly symbolic and almost surreal lyrics, and Stig Møller (guitar, vocal), who wrote the drawling, psychedelic, folk-influenced music. The other members were Søren Seirup (bass) and Preben Devantier (drums).
A tour in October 1967 came to a chaotic end when a concert was cut short by the police and the group members were arrested for cannabis
Cannabis (drug)
Cannabis, also known as marijuana among many other names, refers to any number of preparations of the Cannabis plant intended for use as a psychoactive drug or for medicinal purposes. The English term marijuana comes from the Mexican Spanish word marihuana...
use. Shortly after being released, Eik Skaløe went on a journey to Afghanistan/Nepal (on the so-called "hippie trail
Hippie trail
The hippie trail is a term used to describe the journeys taken by hippies and others in the 1960s and 1970s from Europe overland to and from southern Asia, mainly India, Pakistan and Nepal...
") and was found dead outside the city of Ferozepore near the Indian/Pakistani border in October 1968, apparently after a drug-induced suicide. Back in Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
the rest of the group attempted to carry on, but, lacking the characteristic Skaløe as a front figure, quickly dissolved.