Linie 3 - as I see them

The first time I saw Linie 3 was at Danish television in May 1980. The programme I saw was Show for sjov (Show for fun) and I laughed so much I had a stomach cramps - despite their somewhat mean jokes about Swedes.

In the Summers of 1980 and 1981 Linie 3 was a regular feature in the programme TV i Teltet (TV in the tent) and of course I didn't miss a single episode.

In May 1982 I managed to get a ticked to a practically sold out theatre play called Da jazzen kom til byen (When the jazz came to town), where Anders, Preben and Thomas performed together, but not as Linie 3. The play was very good, and the experience got an extra dimension as I was seated next to the Danish politician Mogens Glistrup and his wife. In both Show for sjov and TV i Teltet Thomas imitated Mogens Glistrup and now I could see with my own eyes that the imitation was VERY close to the original.

In August the same year I got the opportunity to see Linie 3's own show in Fredriksværk. It was an experience I will never forget. The reason is partly that the show was incredibly good and partly that afterwards I got to meet Preben and Thomas for the first time. (Anders had already left.) Both of them were really charming and very surprised to find out they had fans in Sweden too. Eventually I got their autographs as well. (Unfortunately the ink has turned a little pale.)

After that I have followed the career of Linie 3 and its members. Mostly, of course, I have seen the shows, but also some of the theatre plays they have performed in. Because of this I have had the opportunity to see for instance Succes, Hvordan...Sådan!, Bagtalelsens Skole, Irma la Douce, Hamlet, 3 Mand klædt af til skindet, En Tilfældig Anarkists Hændelige Død, Jeg Elsker Min Kone, Skaf Mig En Tenor and Det er vel mit liv.

3 Mand klædt af til skindet is one of my personal favourites. Originally it is an American musical, written by Jerry Colker and Michael Rupert. (I believe the English title is Three men - naked from the waist down. Please correct me if I'm wrong.) Anders, Preben and Thomas have translated the play to Danish and they play the three roles themselves; Ted Klausterman (Preben), Phil Kunin (Anders) and Kenny Brewster (Thomas). The musical is about three stand-up comedians and it is very funny, but also very sad. It has some of the most beautiful songs I know. When Thomas sings Min drøm om himmelen - My dream of heaven - I still get tears in my eyes.

Der skete noget skægt på vej til Bruxelles/A funny thing happened on the way to Brussels was the Danish entry to the Montreux festival in 1988. The programme was mainly in English and had, among other things, unforgettable parodies of Michael Jackson, Tom Jones and Sammy Davies Jr.

In September 1990, Linie 3 was on a tour in the United States, under the name The Three Danes. They performed at the Beverly Hills Hotel in Los Angeles, at the World Trade Center in San Francisco, at the Pavillion in Seattle, and at Hotel Sheraton and in Den Danske Klub in Solvang. The show had been translated into English and it was a big success here as well.

Skibet i Skilteskoven was the Christmas TV Calendar at Danish TV2 in 1992 and it was filmed at the same time as Linie 3 played Hvor er de 2 andre!!? in Tivoli's Glassal. This meant that Anders, Preben and Thomas first went to rehearsals and filmed Skibet i Skilteskoven during the days. Then they played in Hvor er de 2 andre!!? in the evenings - and after the show they continued with the filming of Skibet i Skilteskoven late at night.

Since I find most of the things Linie 3 has done incredibly good, it is hard to write about all they have done. Therefore I just mention some of my favourite numbers from their shows. At their first record, Linie 3, Madrigalen is one of the numbers I have always wanted to hear live (so far I haven't had the opportunity) and Herre min Gud is a parody of the Swedish Gluntarne. At Nej - den anden! they continue the Swedish parodies; they make a brilliant interpretation of Sten Broman and others in Kontrapunkt.

Hvem, hvad, hvoffer og hvo'n? has a hilarious Danish translation of Yes sir, that's my baby - word by word. At Borte med Vesten, Dronning Margrethe turns up in TV-køkkenet (The TV kitchen) for the first time. At that time the sketch was about three minutes long - in the 10-Year Anniversary Show it is about 17 minutes. After hearing that I still cannot see Greenlandic shrimps in the freezer without giggling. Had I found some Japanese shrimps I would probably had roared with laughter. Write to me if you want to know why.

By the way, it is because of Linie 3 that I have learned to understand Danish. To really appreciate the humour in their shows it is necessary to understand what they say, and the only way to do that was for me to learn the language. However, since it is not that different from Swedish, it wasn't all that difficult.

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