Dizzy Mizz Lizzy

Dizzy Mizz Lizzy is an alternative rock band from Copenhagen formed in October 1988 in Valby. The power trio consists of Tim Christensen (vocals, guitar, songwriter), Martin Nielsen (bass guitar) and Søren Friis (drums). Dizzy Mizz Lizzy have stated that they are influenced by The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin and Nirvana, but are not very fond of the designation grunge, which Dizzy perceived as an overused buzzword in 1994. Between 1994 and 1997, they were highly successful in Denmark and Japan and are credited for heading the 1990s rock revival in Denmark with their studio albums Dizzy Mizz Lizzy (1994) and Rotator (1996). After the group disbanded in 1998, Christensen started a successful solo career.

In 2010, Dizzy Mizz Lizzy undertook a reunion tour in Denmark and Japan in their original line-up. The popularity of Live in Concert 2010, recorded during this reunion, caused the band to consider a more permanent comeback, which they announced in late 2014. To date, the band has released four studio albums and three live albums.

History

Formation and early years (1988–1994)

When Tim Christensen's family moved from Espergærde to Valby, a district of Copenhagen, he started attending the Hanssted Skole, where he became friends with his classmate Martin Nielsen on the first day of school, They already cared more about music than about their school work, and decided to start a band. Nielsen picked up the bass because Christensen already played the guitar, and a friend recommended Søren Friis to them.

The trio practiced instrumentally in the first year while looking for a fourth member who could sing and play guitar, because Christensen, the band's songwriter, was too shy to sing.

Dizzy Mizz Lizzy's debut concert was in Valby on 8 December 1989 for about 75 people. In search of their own musical style, they used a cheap youth club in Hvidovre for a rehearsal room The band subsequently entered Denmark's largest music championship DM i Rock in 1991 and came in fourth. even though critics admitted that "the trio wants—and inexplicably even manages—to create their own musical identity." These bands have all had a significant place in the 1990s revival and the further development of rock in Denmark, and known by the band as the producer of several albums by D-A-D and The Sandmen. and went into the studio with them for three months. It was a huge success in Denmark, was on the local record chart for almost two years and sold 220,000 copies, which makes it the best selling debut rock album ever in Denmark. This record still stands, who is an outspoken lover of rock music, and who has attended many of their concerts. Five singles were released from the album and all got much radio play: "Silverflame", "Barbedwired Baby's Dream", "Love Is a Loser's Game", "Glory" and "Waterline". The band is recognized for heading the early 1990s rock revival in Denmark, referring to the grunge movement. However, they lacked an entrance to the UK and US like the modern Danish rock bands do.

Interviews paint a picture of rather well-behaved musicians; they kept living with their parents before they flew to Japan to play three sold-out shows which was later included in the Dizzcography box set. Dizzy Mizz Lizzy performed for four consecutive years at the Roskilde Festival, from 1993 through to 1996. The 1994 performance was on frontman Christensen's 20th birthday, when sales of their debut album had just crossed the 50,000 mark. which would fulfill a boyhood dream of Christensen, who is an immense fan of The Beatles. nor could appreciate the unique symbolism of recording in these legendary studios as much as Christensen did. and 24 May 1996 in Japan, The singles "11:07 PM" and "Rotator" became hits, the album won the 1997 Danish Grammy for "Rock Album of the Year," and Nick Foss received the prize for "Best Producer". They played at festivals in Denmark, Norway and Germany, and went to Japan in September 1996 for shows in Tokyo (2×), Sapporo, Osaka, Nagoya and Fukuoka. In Denmark, they played dozens of shows, which fatigued both the band and the fans, The split occurred amidst a wave of prominent Danish bands disbanding. although it was largely due to fatigue that the trio could not bring themselves to continuing to play. The song "Waterline" was included on the 1999 charity record Grænseløs Greatest in support of refugees of the Kosovo War. In 2000, the Danish dance-pop duo Infernal used samples of the 1994 song "Silverflame" for the song "Sunrise". It was released as the second single from their album Waiting for Daylight.

Following the breakup, Christensen became more introverted than usual, and his girlfriend could not handle him being in this crisis. and it allowed him to further pursue a career in music. Nielsen and Friis initially also intended to continue in music, while Friis became a truck driver delivering gas containers. The band would later refer to the charity concert as the first germ towards a reunion. The idea was spawned when Christensen, Nielsen and Friis were bowling, which they often did when meeting up. Although the band were sceptical about this at first,

Dizzy Mizz Lizzy were overwhelmed when the tour's first show on 9 April at the K.B. Hallen had sold out in less than 15 seconds on 20 September 2009, and the other shows sold out in less than 45 seconds, making this one of the most successful comebacks in the history of Danish music. Their performance at the Roskilde Festival coincided with Christensen's 36th birthday. The renewed interest for Dizzy Mizz Lizzy inspired the Danish producer and DJ Morten Breum to release a remix of "Waterline" on 5 April 2010.

After the tour's final show in Tokyo on 29 September 2010, the band returned to hibernation. by the Danish film maker Theis Molin exploring the band's rise, break-up and reunion premiered at the Copenhagen International Documentary Festival on 4 November 2010. The band attended the film's second screening on 8 November 2010, where they answered questions from the audience. On the same day, the 2CD/DVD and 2CD/Blu-ray set Live in Concert 2010 was released, which includes the documentary and features a live recording of two concerts in the K.B. Hallen on 16–17 April 2010, making it the first Danish performance to be released in Full HD. A few days later, on 12 November 2010, EMI released the compilation album Big-5: Dizzy Mizz Lizzy as part of their Big-5 series, containing their artists' five best tracks. In the case of Dizzy Mizz Lizzy, these were all taken from their eponymous debut album.

For the reunion tour, Christensen and Rasmus Meyer of Danish guitar pedal manufacturer Carl Martin designed a signature Dizzy Drive with knobs for level, tone, drive and edge. Its production was limited to 250 pedals, and went on sale on 16 May 2010.

Second hiatus (2010–2014)

After the reunion, Nielsen and Friis returned to anonymity and resumed their respective jobs as postman and truck driver. Prior to the reunion, Christensen was often being asked about a Dizzy-reunion. On the question whether people have stopped asking about this now, Christensen answered: "No, they haven't. Except that now, it's no longer: 'Will Dizzy ever reunite?' but instead: 'Will you do it again?' And I won't exclude the possibility, but it won't be any time soon. But I have stopped asking that question to myself." Christensen went on to release The EP Series, Volume 1: Acoustic Covers in 2012, and he performed a Paul McCartney tribute with Mike Viola, Tracy Bonham and his solo band The Damn Crystals in 2012, which was released as the live album Pure McCartney in 2013. Together with Mads Langer, he recorded the EP Side Effects in 2014, of which "Bringing Back Tomorrow" became a hit. He was expected to also be working on his fifth solo album or a second volume of The EP Series, which Christensen still plans in addition to the Dizzy Mizz Lizzy reunion. However, they later revealed that they had worked on the album for several years in secret. The band among others toured through Denmark, played at Bospop in the Netherlands, and held several concerts in Japan. Before the tour, a secret rehearsal concert was performed in the same small club in Valby where they held their first larger performance in 1989, to which they invited former classmates of the band members.

On 6 November 2015, a biography of the band was released entitled Dizzy Mizz Lizzy: En drengedrøm (which means Dizzy Mizz Lizzy: A Boy's Dream), written by Jan Poulsen. On 7 November 2015, they performed at the Danish Grammy ceremony, where Christensen won the IFPI's Ærespris (Honorary Award), which is considered the most prestigious prize a Danish musician can be awarded. On 12 March 2016, they performed a show for Rockpalast.

The band's third studio album, Forward in Reverse was released on 20 April 2016, which was their first collection of new material in 20 years, after Rotator from 24 May 1996. In anticipation of the album, "Brainless" was released as the third single on 1 April 2016. It instantly became the best sold vinyl record in Denmark of 2017. The band occasionally played shows, also trying out new songs such as "In the Blood" and "California Rain". On 25 May 2019, they performed a double headline concert with Lenny Kravitz at Horsens Statsfængsel (Horsens State Prison).

On 20 March 2020, Dizzy Mizz Lizzy released their fourth studio album Alter Echo, which had initially been announced for 2018. The album was lauded with the GAFFA Award for Danish rock album of the year, while Christensen received the award for songwriter of the year for the first time in his career. An instrumental version of the album, Alter Echo Instrumental, was exclusively released on vinyl on 12 February 2021, initially to a limited run of 600 copies, but later receiving a second pressing due to high demand. For this album, the songs were remixed and newly mastered.

Because of the greater infusion of ambient and orchestral elements in the band's newer material, Dizzy Mizz Lizzy asked Anders Stig Møller of Turboweekend to join them on keyboards on tour. With the album's release coinciding with the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the band was initially able to play only a few smaller shows when restrictions were partially lifted, ultimately performing their widely praised "Arena Tour" at five large arenas across Denmark in April 2022, closing at the Royal Arena.

On 1 September 2021, the music video for the five-piece suite "Amelia", totaling 23 minutes, premiered at the Odense International Film Festival, directed by Marc Louis Sutton and starring Angela Bundalovic. At the same time, the band released "Amelia" as a single in Denmark. As short film, the video among other things won Best rock music video at the Euro Music Video Song Awards (February 2022) and Best music video at the 2022 San Francisco Indie Short Festival.

On 12 March 2022, Dizzy Mizz Lizzy played the song "In the Blood" during the Sammen for Ukraine (Together for Ukraine) charity concert at Copenhagen's City Hall Square to aid victims of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which was streamed live on Danish TV and radio.

Mascot

thumb|200px|Dizzy Mizz Lizzy's mascot as sepia photograph

Since the band's early days, Dizzy Mizz Lizzy have been using the photo of a young "dizzy" girl as mascot, which has been used in varying ways. Christensen explains: "The photo is from around 1920. It depicts the older sister of my grandmother on mother's side. She died around the age of 12–14 of tuberculosis. Her real name is Vera. There are two or three copies of the photo in my family. I have one hanging in my apartment. The same photo hung in my home, and when we were searching for a cover for our first release (the 1993 promo), we felt it was a great idea to use the picture of her as a sort of mascot or logo." On their demo's cover, the photograph was colored with fluorescent colors. Danish designer MandOverBord subsequently used the picture for the band's eponymous debut album and singles, coloring the girl with more natural colors but also adding red laser beams coming from her eyes. The 2002 compilation album The Best of Dizzy Mizz Lizzy + Live in Aarhus '96 superimposed the mascot over the cover art from the band's second album, Rotator. During the band's 2009 reunion, the mascot was used in promotional material and on stage, and appeared in a duotone black and white portrayal on the front of the 2010 Dizzcography box set. This set included all previous albums, of which the artwork (including the mascot) were completely redrawn because the original designs had not been saved.

!rowspan="2"| Certifications

!style="width:3em;font-size:85%"|DK

!style="width:3em;font-size:85%"|JP

|1994

|Dizzy Mizz Lizzy

Released: 4 March 1994 (Europe), 18 January 1995 (Japan)

|align="center"|8

|align="left"|

DK: 250,000
JP: 100,000

|align="left"|

DK: 4 Danish Grammys

|1996

|Rotator

Released: 2 April 1996 (Europe), 24 May 1996 (Japan)

|align="center"|—

|align="left"|

DK: 120,000
JP: 100,000

|align="left"|

DK: 2 Danish Grammys

|align="center"|16

|2020

|Alter Echo

Released: 20 March 2020
Label: Sony Music
Producer: Dizzy Mizz Lizzy

|align="center"|2

|align="center"|35

JP: 2,001

Live albums

{| class="wikitable"

!rowspan="2"| Year

!rowspan="2"| Album details

!colspan="2"| Peak chart positions

!style="width:3em;font-size:85%"|DK

Label: EMI
Producer: Theis Molin

|align="center"|4

|align="center"|147

|2017

|Livegasm!

Released: 8 December 2017
Label: Columbia

|align="center"|4

|align="center"|—

Compilation albums

{| class="wikitable"

!rowspan="2" | Year

!rowspan="2" | Album details

!colspan="1" | Peak chart positions

!style="width:3em;font-size:85%"|DK

Label: EMI
Japan-only

|align="center"|—

|2002

|The Best of Dizzy Mizz Lizzy + Live in Aarhus '96

Released: 29 April 2002

| "Glory"