Tim Christensen (born 2 July 1974) is a Danish singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He is known as the singer, guitarist and songwriter of the Danish alternative rock band Dizzy Mizz Lizzy (1988–1998, 2010, 2014–current) and as a solo artist.Elsnab, Peter (2000). "Guldfuglen er landet på begge fødder" (Golden bird has landed on both feet). GAFFA, 2000(10), 19–20. Since 2014, he has primarily focused on Dizzy Mizz Lizzy.
Christensen's solo career spans four studio albums, two EPs, and two live DVDs.VEGA (2011). "Tim Christensen and The Damn Crystals" . Retrieved 8 November 2011. It is characterized as rock music with pop and folk influences. His biggest musical influences include The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Nick Drake, Neil Young, Paul McCartney, The Zombies, Cheap Trick, XTC, Crowded House, Jellyfish and Elliott Smith.
Career Early years (1974–1982) Christensen was born in Copenhagen, and became fond of his father's LP records of The Beatles as a small child.Elle (23 January 2010). "Interview: Tim Christensen" . He was six years old when John Lennon was murdered, and many documentaries and performances of The Beatles appeared on television. Christensen was impressed by how The Beatles played, which inspired him to start playing on his father's acoustic guitar. He received his first guitar from a distant uncle.Kentorp, Maria (25 April 2016). "Dizzy Mizz Lizzy – Den lille løgn med den lange hale er tilbage" . Børsen Pleasure.
Christensen's parents were divorced, and his half-sister lived up in North Denmark.Svidt, Ole Rosenstand (6 November 2015). "Grundig Dizzy Mizz Lizzy-biografi byder på flere afsløringer" (Thorough Dizzy Mizz Lizzy biography offers more insights). GAFFA. His family wasn't very wealthy, but when he was eight years old, his father received a one-time sum of money and gave Christensen two choices: either to build a pool in the back yard or to go on vacation to Lennon's hometown of Liverpool and to the legendary Abbey Road Studios in London.Molin, Theis (2004). "Tim Christensen: From Roskilde to Abbey Road" . Documentary. Christensen chose the latter, and recalls that this was the only time his family went on a vacation. At that age he also played in a children's rock band that performed at schools and he started writing his own songs.De Rooij, Suzanne (12 March 2004) "Aardige jongens, die Denen: Troubadour Tim Christensen rockt in EKKO" (Nice guys, those Danes: Troubadour Tim Christensen rocks in EKKO). 3VOOR12.
Playing the guitar felt natural to Christensen, and he did not feel like taking lessons and having to practice "stupid children's songs". However, at the recreation center in Espergærde he met Bent, a musician who practiced there and became a sort of mentor to Christensen. He arranged that Christensen was allowed to play in the basement of the recreation center and start the children's rock band Crep, which he formed with some friends in 1982. They released a three-track recording in 1985 called En aften i fredagscafeen (An evening at Friday Café) and recorded a 4-song demo.Kvist, Jacob (2010). "Tim Christensen Collection (part I)" . Retrieved 12 November 2010. Crep disbanded when Christensen's family moved from the village of Espergærde to the Valby district of Copenhagen in 1988.Skaaning, Jesper (1994). "Rock and roll anno 1994" . GAFFA, 1994(3), 8. "Tim Christensen – The past". Retrieved 28 April 2011. He received his first Fender Stratocaster as a gift.
Dizzy Mizz Lizzy (1988–1998)
Dizzy Mizz Lizzy was founded in 1988 by Christensen, his classmate Martin Nielsen, whom he had become friends with on the first day of school, and drummer Søren Friis, who was recommended to them by a friend.Molin, Theis (2010). "Lost inside a dream: The story of Dizzy Mizz Lizzy" . Documentary. Nielsen took on the bass guitar because Christensen already played electric guitar. Critics would explain: "From the outset it was clear that Tim Christensen was the group's undisputed center, but the band benefited significantly from the collective dynamics."Tuxen, Henrik (1998). "Stopper på toppen: Dizzy opløst" (Stop at the top: Dizzy dissolved). GAFFA, 1998(4), 8. They initially played glam rock but were inspired by Nirvana's music to switch to power rock. They were signed with EMI-Medley after winning Denmark's largest rock talent contest, DM i Rock, in 1993.MySpace (2011). "About Tim Christensen" . Retrieved 28 April 2011. Their eponymous debut album, released in 1994, has sold over 250,000 copies in Denmark and 100,000 copies in Japan.Poulsen, Jan (February 2010). "Dizzcography" (complimentary booklet). The band toured through Denmark, Europe and Japan. They recorded the album Rotator at the Abbey Road Studios and released it in 1996, selling 100,000 copies in Denmark and Japan,Poulsen, Jan (February 2010). "Dizzy Mizz Lizzy – Rotator" (foreword in reissued Rotator CD booklet, part of the Dizzcography box set). followed by another extensive tour.
The band decided to take a year off in 1997,Winther, Anne (2003). "Tim Christensen: Giv ham en million, og han vil investere i et nyt køkken" (Tim Christensen: Give him a million and he will invest it in a new kitchen). GAFFA, 2003(9), 58. during which time Christensen performed in a television show with B.B. King, and helped with the start-up of Swan Lee, the band of his then-girlfriend Pernille Rosendahl.Tuxen, Henrik (1999). "Fremadpegende retrohjerte" (Progressive retro heart). GAFFA, 1999(11), 4. Rosendahl was a major support for him when recording Dizzy Mizz Lizzy's second album Rotator in London as the other band members did not share Christensen's enthusiasm,Soundvenue (2004). "Tim Christensen: I Beatles' fodspor" (Tim Christensen: In The Beatles' footsteps). nor could they appreciate the unique symbolism recording in these legendary studios as much as Christensen. This meant Christensen had no one to share his palette of emotions with,Poulsen, Jan (October 2004). "Live at Abbey Road Studios 2004" (complimentary booklet). causing him to turn to Rosendahl in and out of the studio. This further added to the crisis and caused Christensen to become increasingly estranged from the band. Nielsen and Friis even went as far as labeling the couple as "John and Yoko", referring to the supposed detrimental influence of Yoko Ono on John Lennon that contributed to the break-up of the Beatles. Christensen and Rosendahl had formed the band Swan Lee in 1996 with guitarist Jonas Struck and drummer Emil Jorgensen, and entered the Tomorrow Never Dies soundtrack contest by writing a song of the same name.Körner, Jan (23 December 2007). "Kæresterne hjalp Pernille til tops" (Lovers help Pernille to the top). Ekstra Bladet. The contest was won by Sheryl Crow. It was around that time Christensen first bought and experimented with a Mellotron, which would continue to feature on many of his songs. Christensen also produced Rosendahl's 1997 demo Dream Away,Discogs (2011). "Pernille Rosendahl – Dream Away at Discogs" . Retrieved 28 April 2011. and wrote arrangements for and played several instruments on some of Swan Lee's earlier songs.Discogs (2011). "Swan Lee – The Complete Collection 1997–2005 at Discogs" . Retrieved 28 April 2011. When Christensen met with his bandmates from Dizzy Mizz Lizzy on 10 March 1998 at the Rosenborg Castle Gardens, they decided to split up because they were fatigued. Because Christensen was "bitten by a mad Mellotron" and was involved with several music projects, critics speculated he would come up with something before too long.
Secrets on Parade (1998–2003)
Due to the break-up of Dizzy Mizz Lizzy, Christensen became even more introverted, while his girlfriend could not handle him being in a crisis. Christensen considers the time after his break-up with the band and then Rosendahl to be the deepest low point in his career, which also inevitably led him to step out of Swan Lee in 1999. He had not seen all this coming, as he was living in a dream: "We believed that we were still down to earth, but that was very unrealistic. Only afterwards did we learn we were skating around on a silver platter. Since day one, we had solely tasted success, and it is very unhealthy for such a young band to have so much going for them from the start." Nevertheless, he was deeply grateful about the way his career had evolved, but describes it as "a typical example of how you don't know what you've got till it's gone." Christensen became involved in various projects. He was a stand-in guitarist for the Danish Led Zeppelin cover band Led Zeppelin Jam and co-wrote the Inside the Whale 1998 hit "Hvor Er Tiden Der Ta'r Os" ("Where Is The Time That Takes Us"). This was the start of the ongoing collaboration of Christensen with Inside the Whale singer and guitarist Marcus Winther-John, who contribute to each other's music to date. Christensen furthermore played Mellotron and Wurlitzer electric piano on Kashmir's 1999 album The Good Life,Discogs (2011). "Kashmir – The Good Life at Discogs" . Retrieved 1 January 2011. and Mellotron on Mew's 2000 album Half the World Is Watching Me.Discogs (2011). "Mew – Half The World Is Watching Me at Discogs" . Retrieved 28 April 2011. He performed three songs on Mellotron with Kashmir at the 1998 Roskilde Festival, and would continue to perform there as a solo act in 1999, 2001, 2004 (on his 30th birthday), 2009, and 2016 (on his 42nd birthday). In 2010, he played there again with Dizzy Mizz Lizzy (on his 36th birthday), as he previously had done from 1993 through to 1996. The 1994 performance at Roskilde, which was held shortly after their big breakthrough and on his 20th birthday, is named by Christensen as a special highlight in his career.
Christensen used songwriting as a form of therapy to overcome his break-ups with both Dizzy Mizz Lizzy and Pernille Rosendahl, with whom he was involved for five years. Although he had originally been writing these songs for a possible new band, he ended up starting a solo career, which gave Christensen the added benefit of being fully in control. By this time, Christensen had attained a new outlook on his future. The money he earned with living his boyhood dream was largely spent, causing him to shift his ambitions to starting a stable and ongoing career to earn his living, while being able to develop himself both personally and musically. The circumstances had also changed his approach to songwriting. In 1994 he considered music as having first priority and words coming in second, as he is a composer and not an author or a poet, but by 2003 he put equal emphasis on lyrics and music, where his songwriting borrows from his own experiences, thoughts and feelings, making the lyrics more direct. With his approach being comparable to writing a diary, the title of his first solo album Secrets on Parade was explained by a reviewer as: "instead of lying hidden in a drawer somewhere, his secrets are literally on display."