Tim Christensen

Tim Christensen is a Danish singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist who experienced remarkable success during the 1990s in the alternative rock band Dizzy Mizz Lizzy before launching a similarly impressive solo career in the next decade. His mix of melodic power pop and alt-pop balladry on albums like 2003's chart-topping Honeyburst and 2008's Superior kept him in the limelight, as did collaborations with artists like Mads Langer, Gemma Hayes, and Mike Viola. With the help of his backing band the Damn Crystals, he recorded a fourth studio album as well as a live Paul McCartney tribute titled Pure McCartney. In the mid-2010s, Christensen reunited with Dizzy Mizz Lizzy who resumed touring and recorded a pair of popular studio albums, 2016's Forward in Reverse and 2020's Alter Echo.

Born July 2, 1974, in Copenhagen, Denmark, Christensen started playing guitar at age seven. In 1988 he co-founded the band Dizzy Mizz Lizzy, a trio comprised of Martin Nielsen (bass), Søren Friis (drums), and himself (vocals, guitar). After winning the Danish Rock Championship in 1993, the bandmembers used the prize money to record a four-track demo CD that garnered airplay on Danish rock radio and secured the band a major-label recording contract with EMI. Produced by Nick Foss, the eponymous album Dizzy Mizz Lizzy marked the band's full-length debut. It was a remarkable success, spawning a long string of hit singles ("Barbedwired Baby's Dream," "Love Is a Loser's Game," "Waterline," "Silverflame," "Glory"), winning four Danish Grammys (including Best Danish Group), and going five-times platinum. While the follow-up album, Rotator (1996), failed to rival the success of its predecessor, it was fairly successful nonetheless, spawning a few singles ("Rotator," "11:07 PM," "When the River Runs Dry"), winning the band additional Grammys, and going two-times platinum. Dizzy Mizz Lizzy disbanded in 1998 and Christensen in turn embarked on a solo career.

In association with EMI, he made his full-length album debut in 2000 with Secrets on Parade, a Top Ten hit on the Danish albums chart. His second album, Honeyburst (2003), was an even greater success, topping the Danish pop chart, thanks in part to the breakout ballad "Right Next to the Right One," which became one of his biggest singles. Christensen wrapped up the album's tour in London with a live show at Abbey Road, the studio made famous by one of his biggest influences, the Beatles. He released a concert album and documentary of the show called Live at Abbey Road Studios 2004. He signed with Sony Music for his next record which, like its two predecessors featured Christensen playing the bulk of the instruments. Released in 2008, Superior was similarly popular, reaching number two in Denmark and yielding a Top Five hit in its title track, which he co-wrote with American musician/producer Mike Viola.

Dizzy Mizz Lizzy reunited in 2010 for a lengthy tour of Denmark and Japan, though they recorded no new material. Instead, Christensen headed into the studio with his longtime solo backing band and gave them collaborative credit, billing his fourth release as Tim Christensen & the Damn Crystals (2011). A year later he and the Damn Crystals joined Mike Viola and Tracy Bonham to honor one of his heroes at a Paul McCartney tribute concert in Copenhagen. They later released it as a live album under the title Pure McCartney. In 2015, Dizzy Mizz Lizzy again reunited, this time heading into the studio to record new material. After performing at the Danish Grammys (where Christensen was honored with the Ærespris Award), the band released their third album, 2016's Forward in Reverse. Arriving 20 years after their previous album, it topped the Danish charts and set off a revival that included several tours and another studio album, 2020's prog rock-influenced Alter Echo. Arriving in the early part of the global pandemic, the band's support tour was delayed until 2022. ~ Jason Birchmeier & Timothy Monger, Rovi