lit a candle 2h ago"Sig du ka' li' mig." A Danish friend translated it for me once over the phone and I never forgot it.
Their story
Klaus Kjellerup, known to many fans simply as Klaus K, was a Danish composer, lyricist, musician, producer and journalist who helped found two of Denmark's best loved pop groups, Tøsedrengene and Danser med Drenge. He died in the night to Sunday 8 November 2026, aged 72. He was born on…
Klaus Kjellerup, known to many fans simply as Klaus K, was a Danish composer, lyricist, musician, producer and journalist who helped found two of Denmark's best loved pop groups, Tøsedrengene and Danser med Drenge. He died in the night to Sunday 8 November 2026, aged 72.
He was born on 27 April 1954 in Frederiksberg. In the 1970s he played bass in the fusion band Pakhus 1, and in 1978 he formed Tøsedrengene with his childhood friend Henrik Stanley Møller. With Anne Dorte Michelsen and Maria Bramsen among its singers, the group became one of the defining Danish pop acts of its era, and Kjellerup served as songwriter and bandleader until he left in 1983.
Alongside music he trained as a journalist, qualifying in 1982, and through the 1980s worked for Berlingske Tidende, Ekstra Bladet, DR and Nordisk Film. He also released solo albums, including Spring Ud, Hey-O-Hey and a self-titled record, and wrote theme tunes for television, among them the signature music for Eleva2ren and, with producer Jesper Ranum, Lykkehjulet.
In 1991 he founded the soul, pop and reggae group Danser med Drenge with singer Philippa Bulgin. After her death in 1994 he chose Rie Rasmussen as the new voice of the band, and in 2022 the reggae artist Ida Ambrose took over. Over his career he had around 150 Danish songs released. Among the best known are Sig du ka' li' mig, Ud under åben himmel and En lykkelig familie, written with Anne Dorte Michelsen, and Danser med Drenge songs such as Hvorlænge vil du ydmyge dig? and Er der nogen i himlen?
In 2008 he joined Kim Larsen, Thomas Helmig and Johnny Madsen in Den Gule Negl, a protest band formed against Denmark's smoking ban, and he went on to write widely as an outspoken blogger and debater on personal freedom.
In October 2026 he had announced plans for a farewell tour with Danser med Drenge the following year, and a concert was booked for 14 November. The band announced his death on Facebook, calling him a multitalent and a personality without equal, and saying his life's work of songs and lyrics would live on. No cause of death was made public. He is survived by two children and a grandchild.
Biography adapted from DR Nyheder (Carsten Thomsen, 8 November 2026); Danish Wikipedia; Danser med Drenge statement on Facebook. Wikipedia ↗
Photos
1Klaus Kjellerup in 2015
by People Forever
