Look up valet in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Valet and varlet are terms for male servants who serve as personal attendants to their employer.

Word origins[link]

In English, valet as "personal man-servant" is recorded since 1567, though use of the term in the French-speaking English medieval court is older, and the variant form varlet is cited from 1456 (OED). Both are French importations of valet (the t being silent in French) or varlet, Old French variants of vaslet "man's servant," originally "squire, young man," assumed to be from Gallo-Romance *vassellittus "young nobleman, squire, page," diminutive of Medieval Latin vassallus, from vassus "servant", possibly cognate to an Old Celtic root wasso- "young man, squire" (source of Welsh gwas "youth, servant," Breton goaz "servant, vassal, man," Irish foss "servant").

See yeoman, possibly derived from yonge man, a related term.

The modern use is usually short for the valet de chambre (French for 'valet of the chamber' - in modern terms the bedroom, though not originally so), described in the following section.

Since the 16th century, the word has traditionally been pronounced as rhyming with pallet, though an alternative pronunciation, rhyming with chalet, as in French, is now common^[1]; in the UK this alternative pronunciation is more prevalent in the middle classes, whereas the upper classes (who are more likely to have valets) and lower classes (who are more likely to be valets) tend to pronounce the word to rhyme with pallet in the traditional manner (see U and non-U English).

The Oxford English Dictionary lists both pronunciations as valid.

Domestic valet[link]

This unreferenced section requires citations to ensure verifiability.

A valet or gentleman's gentleman is a gentleman's male servant; the closest female equivalent is a lady's maid.

The valet performs personal services such as maintaining his employer's clothes, running his bath and perhaps (especially in the past) shaving his employer.

In a great house, the master of the house had his own valet, and in the very grandest great houses, other adult members of the employing family (e.g. master's sons) would also have their own valets.

At a court, even minor princes and high officials may be assigned one, but in a smaller household the butler (the majordomo in charge of the household staff) might have to double as his employer's valet. In a bachelor's household the valet might perform light housekeeping duties as well.

Valets learned the skills for their role in various ways. Some began as footmen, learning some relevant skills as part of that job, and picking up others when deputising for their master's valet, or by performing valeting tasks for his sons before they had a valet of their own, or for male guests who did not travel with a valet. Others started out as soldier-servants to army officers (batmen) or stewards to naval officers.

Traditionally, a valet did much more than merely lay out clothes and take care of personal items. He was also responsible for making travel arrangements, dealing with any bills and handling all money matters concerning his master or his master's household.

Alexandre Bontemps, the most senior of the thirty-six valets to Louis XIV of France, was a powerful figure, who ran the Chateau de Versailles. In courts, valet de chambre was a position of some status, often given to artists, musicians, poets and others, who generally spent most of their time on their specialized work. The role was also, at least during the late Middle Ages and the Renaissance, a common first step or training period in a nobleman's career at court.

Valets, like butlers and most specialized domestic staff, have become relatively rare, and a more common — though still infrequent — arrangement is the general servant performing combined roles.

Famous fictional valets[link]

It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into List of fictional butlers. (Discuss) Proposed since October 2011.

• Jeeves, created in 1915 by P. G. Wodehouse, starred in a series of stories until Wodehouse's death in 1975; Reginald Jeeves is considered the "personification of the perfect valet" since 1930, inspired the name of Internet search engine Ask Jeeves, and is now a generic term in dictionaries such as the Oxford English Dictionary.
• Mervyn Bunter, created in 1923 by Dorothy L. Sayers in the Lord Peter Wimsey series, likewise a paragon of discreet competence, taking his duties beyond what was expected of a valet to help his master.
• Alfred Pennyworth, valet to Bruce Wayne a.k.a. Batman, created by Bob Kane. Played by Alan Napier in the 1966 Batman film starring Adam West, Michael Gough in Batman, Batman Returns, Batman Forever and Batman & Robin, and most recently by Michael Caine in Batman Begins and The Dark Knight.
• Hobson (Sir John Gielgud), from the comedy film Arthur (1981).
• Kato, Inspector Clouseau's valet and martial arts partner in the Pink Panther movies.
• Passepartout, in the 1872 novel Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne.
• Georges, created by Agatha Christie in the Hercule Poirot novels.
• Edward Henry Masterman, the victim's valet and a suspect in Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express.
• Figaro, the Count of Almaviva's valet from Beaumarchais' play The Marriage of Figaro, as well as the Mozart and Rossini operas based on it.
• Leporello, valet of Don Giovanni in the opera by Mozart.
• Mr. Probert (Derek Jacobi), valet to Sir William McCordle (Michael Gambon), and Robert Parks (Clive Owen), valet to Lord Stockbridge (Charles Dance), in the 2001 film Gosford Park, directed by Robert Altman.
• Baptistin, in The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas.
• Pork, Gerald O'Hara's valet in Gone With the Wind.
• Smerdyakov, the murderous valet to Fyodor Pavlovitch in "The Brothers Karamazov" by Fyodor Dostoyevsky.
• Mr. Bates, Lord Grantham's valet in the Julian Fellowes period drama Downton Abbey.
• Woodhouse, Sterling Archer's valet in the TV Series Archer.

Other valets[link]

Valet is also used for people performing specific services:

• hotel valet — an employee who performs personal services for guests.
• parking valet – a service employee who parks cars for guests, only from 1960.
• car valet — an employee who is paid to clean people's cars professionally.
• valet — a professional wrestling term for a person who accompanies a wrestler to the ring.

Other forms of valet-like personnel include:

• Batman
• Bedder
• Dresser

Clothes valet[link]

Clothes valets are a piece of furniture also referred to as a men's valet. A majority are free standing and made out of wood.

Varlet[link]

While in French this word remained restricted to the feudal use for a (knight's) squire, in modern English it came to be used for the various other male servants originally called va(r)let other than the gentleman's gentleman, when in livery usually called lackey, such as the valet de pied ('foot varlet', compare footman). In archaic English, varlet also could mean an unprincipled person; a rogue.

See also[link]

• Batman (military)
• Personal assistant
• Majordomo
• Valet boy
• Jack

References[link]

1. ^ http://www.bartleby.com/64/C007/0185.html

• EtymologyOnLine
• Nouveau Petit Larousse Illustré (in French, 1952)

Curb Your Enthusiasm is an American comedy television series produced and broadcast by HBO, which premiered on October 15, 2000. As of 2011, it has completed 80 episodes over eight seasons. The series was created by Seinfeld co-creator Larry David, who stars as a fictionalized version of himself. The series follows David in his life as a semi-retired television writer and producer in Los Angeles and later New York City. Also starring are Cheryl Hines as David's wife Cheryl, Jeff Garlin as David's manager Jeff, and Susie Essman as Jeff's wife Susie. Curb Your Enthusiasm often features guest stars, and many of these appearances are by celebrities playing versions of themselves fictionalized to varying degrees.

The plots and subplots of the episodes are established in an outline written by David and the dialogue is largely improvised by the actors themselves.^[1] Much like Seinfeld, the subject matter in Curb Your Enthusiasm often involves the minutiae of daily life, and plots often revolve around Larry David's many faux pas, and his problems with certain social conventions and expectations, as well as his annoyance with other people's behavior. The character has a hard time letting such annoyances go unexpressed, which leads him often into awkward situations.

The series was developed from a 1999 one-hour special titled Larry David: Curb Your Enthusiasm, which David and HBO originally envisioned as a one-time project. This special was shot as a mockumentary, where the characters were aware of the presence of cameras and a crew. The series itself is not a mock documentary, but it is shot in a somewhat similar cinéma vérité-like visual style.^[1]

Curb Your Enthusiasm has been nominated for 34 Primetime Emmy Awards, and Robert B. Weide received an Emmy for Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series, for the episode "Krazee Eyez Killa". The show won the 2002 Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy.^[2]

Concept[link]

The series stars Larry David as an extreme fictionalized version of himself. Similar to the real-life David, the character is well known in the entertainment industry as the co-creator and main co-writer of the highly successful sitcom Seinfeld. Throughout most of the series, the Larry David character is living a married life in Los Angeles with his wife Cheryl (played by Cheryl Hines), without children. David's main confidant on the show is his manager, Jeff Greene (played by Curb executive producer Jeff Garlin), who has a temperamental wife Susie (Susie Essman). A large portion of the show's many guest stars are various celebrities and public figures, such as actors, comedians, sportspeople and politicians, who play themselves. These include David's long-time friend Richard Lewis, as well as Ted Danson and his wife Mary Steenburgen, who all have recurring roles as fictionalized versions of themselves.

The show is set and filmed in various affluent Westside communities of (and occasionally downtown) Los Angeles, as well as the adjacent incorporated cities of Beverly Hills, Culver City and Santa Monica. David's hometown of New York City is also featured in some episodes, most prominently in the eighth season of the series.

Although David maintains an office, he leads a semi-retired life in the series, and is rarely shown working regularly, other than in season four, which centered on his being cast as the lead in the Mel Brooks play The Producers, and in season seven, writing a Seinfeld reunion show. Most of the series revolves around Larry's interactions with his friends and acquaintances, with Larry often at odds with the other characters (usually to Larry's detriment). Despite this, the characters do not seem to harbor ill feelings toward each other for any extended period and the cast has stayed stable throughout the show.

Title[link]

David has explained the meaning of the show's title in TV interviews: it reflects his perception that many people seem to live their lives projecting false enthusiasm, which he believes is used to imply that "they are better than you." This conflicts with his style, which is very droll and dry. The title also urges the audience not to expect too much from the show; at the time of the premiere, David wanted to lower expectations after the phenomenal success of Seinfeld.^[3]

Characters[link]

Creator Larry David stars as a fictional version of himself. He also serves as executive producer and writes the story for each episode.

Jeff Garlin also serves as an executive producer and has directed an episode of the series.

Main cast[link]

• Larry David (Larry David) – Candid, neurotic, but generally disposed to pursue what he perceives to be the right course, Larry often finds himself in awkward situations that arise as a result of his obstinate belief in his own ethical principles and codes of conduct, which he is nevertheless prepared to bend when it suits him. He usually has good intentions but often finds himself a victim of circumstance and social convention, as many of the people around him are also self-centered and stubborn; the character's unintentional tactlessness has resulted in the term "Larry David Moment" entering the American pop culture lexicon as a slang term for an inadvertently created socially awkward situation.^[4] He often centers on petty details, and stubbornly holds to his opinion to the extent of aggravating everyone around him just to prove an insignificant point. The real life Larry David has commented that although he secretly wishes to be more like his fictionalized version on the series, he could never be that way because he is a lot more cautious when it comes to social tension.^[5] Larry's trademark behaviors are his probing stare when he doesn't think somebody is telling the truth, fondly saying something is "prett-ay, prett-ay, prett-ay, pretty good" and, when caught up short in a moment of poor or contrary behavior, quizzically and mock-innocently inquiring, often of his wife, Cheryl, or of a close friend, "No good?" Among Larry's characteristics are his love of playing golf and his annoyance at having to engage in small talk ("stop and chat"), especially with people he deals with in commercial sitautions, such as waiters and tradesmen.

• Jeff Greene (Jeff Garlin) – One of Larry's closest friends, Jeff is his sympathetic manager whose marital problems and adulterous misadventures entangle Larry in embarrassing situations. Jeff often helps Larry with his problems, but that usually leads to Jeff getting entangled in the mess. Jeff and his wife, Susie (Susie Essman), have a daughter named Sammi (Ashly Holloway). While they ultimately love each other, his wife constantly criticizes him on his decisions and weight, while his daughter at times is neutral about her love for her father. Jeff Garlin stated that he truly does not empathize with his character at all and described him as a "pretty evil guy" who has "no morals, no scruples".^[6]

• Cheryl David (Cheryl Hines) – Cheryl is Larry's long-suffering wife and later ex-wife, who often expresses annoyance with his behavior, even in situations beyond his control. She often serves as a voice of reason for him, and helps define the social guidelines that he may have overlooked. While her adventures never led her far off from Larry, she has various activities outside day-to-day married life, including an acting stint, and, more sustainably, as an advocate of environmental issues, including being a member of and fundraiser for the NRDC. Her affection for Larry has been tested, even resulting in her leaving him for a time; upon learning that he had put together the Seinfeld reunion just to have a chance to get back with her, she sees it as a sign of their "belong[ing] together", but soon decides to file for divorce when Larry concentrates on a coffee stain incident rather than the fact that they are back together, refusing yet again to listen to her. They divorce in the season eight premiere episode (which is Cheryl Hines' final appearance on the series to date).

• Susie Greene (Susie Essman) – Jeff's wife, who has a very explosive temper and a filthy mouth. Consequently her reactions to Larry range from near violence via benign grievances to occasionally fonder repartee. She routinely berates Larry and Jeff with profanity-laced tirades after uncovering one of their hare-brained shenanigans. Susie and Jeff have an "on-again, off-again" relationship. She often uses Larry as a scapegoat for her marital problems. She is known to refer to Larry as "Larry Fucking David" and "Four-Eyed Fuck" and when he crosses her, she is known to respond "Fuck you, Larry David!", while her common expletive to her husband is "You fat piece of shit!" She often serves to enforce traditional moral standards such as the sanctity of marital vows and fealty to hearth and home, at times versus her husband, at others versus Larry and usually versus both. Susie Essman is upgraded from guest star billing to main cast billing beginning with season eight.

Recurring roles[link]

Among the show's many recurring roles, Richard Lewis and Ted Danson play versions of themselves as old friends of Larry's with whom he frequently butts heads. Shelley Berman plays Larry's father, Nat David. Bob Einstein frequently appears as Marty Funkhouser, another of Larry's oldest friends. Beginning with season six, J. B. Smoove appears as Leon Black, and in seasons six and seven, Vivica A. Fox appears as Loretta Black, members of a family of hurricane evacuees who stay in Larry's house.

Notable guest appearances[link]

Celebrities, including actors, comedians, authors, musicians and athletes, often make guest appearances on the show, with a large portion of them playing themselves, or fictional versions thereof. Some of the guest stars who have appeared as themselves include Mel Brooks, Michael York, Martin Scorsese, Ben Stiller, David Schwimmer, Shaquille O'Neal, Rosie O'Donnell, Ricky Gervais, Michael J. Fox, and the main cast of Seinfeld. Notable people who filled in fictional roles include Bob Odenkirk, Bea Arthur, Dustin Hoffman, Sacha Baron Cohen, Stephen Colbert, and Steve Coogan.

Plots and episodes[link]

Curb Your Enthusiasm episodes are typically named after an event, object, or person which figures prominently in the plot, similarly to how Seinfeld episodes were named. Many episodes concern breaches of intricate aspects of social conventions, such as the various details of tipping at restaurants,^[a][b][c] the obligation to "stop and chat" upon meeting an acquaintance,^[d] the allowed amount of caviar one may put on a cracker at a house party,^[e] whether a house guest needs the permission of the homeowner before taking a soft drink from the refrigerator.^[f] Others involve more significant issues, such as if and when a white person may say the racially sensitive word "nigger".^[g] And some involve the etiquette of extremely complex and unique circumstances, such as the occasion when Larry discovered at a wake that the deceased was to be buried with his favorite golf club—borrowed from Larry.^[h] Another involved Larry picking up a prostitute for the sole purpose of using the carpool lane on the freeway.^[i] In many episodes, Curb—like its predecessor Seinfeld—tied together apparently unrelated events woven throughout a given episode into an unforced climax that resolves the story lines simultaneously, either to Larry's advantage or detriment.

Season overview[link]

While each episode has a distinct individual plot, story arcs between episodes are also fairly common, and most seasons have a major overarching arc. These season-long story arcs are stretched across most of the season's ten episodes, and culminate in a season finale.

• In season one (2000), the style and the characters of the show are introduced across a series of mostly isolated episodes, as it is the only season without a major story arc.

• In season two (2001), Cheryl is tired of Larry not working, so he begins to develop a new television show, first with guest stars Jason Alexander and Julia Louis-Dreyfus (George and Elaine on Seinfeld, respectively) as themselves. However, Larry's constant social faux pas ruin all of their chances with every major television network.

• In season three (2002), Larry invests in a restaurant enterprise which finally opens despite many mishaps, most of which are Larry's fault.

• In season four (2004), Mel Brooks casts Larry as the lead in his hit musical The Producers. Cheryl also gives Larry the opportunity to have sex with another woman before their tenth anniversary as an anniversary-gift.

• In season five (2005), Larry's friend Richard Lewis gets very ill and requires a kidney transplant. Larry is a match, but he spends the season looking for other sources of a kidney for Lewis. Also in season five, Larry suspects he may be adopted and embarks on a search to find his biological parents.

• Season six (2007) is built around Cheryl persuading Larry to take in a family that is left homeless after a major Gulf Coast hurricane. Later in the season, Cheryl leaves Larry, mimicking Laurie David's real-life divorce from Larry. He spends the rest of the season either fighting for her to come back or looking for a replacement.

• Most of season seven (2009) is centered on creating a Seinfeld reunion show with the original cast, while Larry is either dating or trying to get back together with Cheryl.

• Season eight (2011) continues to follow Larry's single life after he and Cheryl get divorced. At the midpoint of the season, the main characters all travel to New York City, where the rest of the season is set.

HBO has said that it is "cautiously optimistic" that Larry David will begin work on a ninth season. The network's president of programming Michael Lombardo commented, "For the first time ever after this season Larry didn't say 'I never want to do this again'.^[7]

Critical response[link]

Since its 2000 debut, the show has enjoyed wide critical acclaim and a steadily growing, dedicated audience that has helped it emerge from its early "cult" status. On Metacritic, the fifth season scored 91 out of 100 based on five reviews,^[8] the seventh season scored 81 out of 100 based on 18 reviews^[9] and the eighth season scored 85 out of 100 based on six reviews.^[10]

Online publication Slate Magazine named the characters of Cheryl David and Susie Greene as two of the best on television and as reasons they were looking forward to the return of the show in the fall of 2007.^[11] Curb Your Enthusiasm has also received praise from Galus Australis magazine for being even more unashamedly Jewish than the Seinfeld series.^[12]

Curb Your Enthusiasm asserts the Jewish identity of its characters in ways that no other show has. By incorporating episodes that deal directly with Jewish identity and tradition, the show offers a commentary on what it means to be a Jew in modern American society.

On the show's depiction of Jewish characters, academic Vincent Brook stated, "Curb's commitment to Jewish identification greatly enhances its storytelling capacity, as it lends greater realism and dimension to the characters and opens the show up to episodes with meaningful Jewish themes."^[13]

The character of Larry on the show is in many ways reminiscent of the schlemiel character often present in traditional Yiddish folklore. The schlemiel is usually a comic character whose actions lead to his inevitable downfall, but also stands as a form of resistance to social and cultural values and norms. David Gillota wrote: "As a true schlemiel, Larry's failure serves as a direct challenge to the status quo and encourages viewers to question the myriad unwritten rules that we follow in our everyday lives." Gillota also observed: "Whereas the schlemiel of Eastern Europe encountered problems that mostly affected Eastern European Jews (such as anti-Semitism and economic survival), Larry encounters problems that affect contemporary middle- to upper-class American Jews, namely, Jewish assimilation, secularism, intermarriage, and, as all of these suggest, the Jews' precarious ethnic identity in an increasingly multicultural environment."^[14]

Awards and nominations[link]

The series has received a total of 34 Primetime Emmy Award nominations with one win, for Outstanding Directing in a Comedy Series for Robert B. Weide for the episode "Krazee-Eyez Killa". The series has received six nominations for Outstanding Comedy Series. Larry David has received four nominations for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series. Cheryl Hines has received two nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series. The series has also received many nominations for Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series.^[15]

It has received five Golden Globe Award nominations and won for Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy in 2002, while being nominated in 2005. Larry David has been nominated for three Golden Globes for Best Performance by an Actor in a TV Series – Musical or Comedy.^[16] It has been nominated for five Producers Guild of America Awards and has won twice.^[17] It has been nominated for four Screen Actors Guild Awards, two for Larry David and two for the ensemble cast.^[18][19] It has been nominated for four Writers Guild of America Awards and has won once.^[20] It has been nominated for nine Directors Guild of America Awards and has won once for Bryan Gordon for the episode "The Special Section".^[21]

Juan Catalan incident[link]

In 2003, Juan Catalan, a resident of Los Angeles, was cleared of premeditated murder charges against a material witness (a crime eligible for capital punishment) after outtake footage shot for the "Carpool Lane" episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm showed him and his daughter attending the Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Atlanta Braves baseball game some 20 miles from the crime-scene at the time of the murder, resulting in a $320,000 settlement against the City of Los Angeles.^[22] Larry David joked afterwards "I like to tell people that I've now done one good thing in my life, albeit inadvertently".

Syndication[link]

On June 2, 2010, the series premiered on the TV Guide Network, making its network television debut (without the TV-MA scenes). The network also recorded a series of related discussions with high-profile guest stars, media pundits, and prominent social figures called "Curb: The Discussion" debating the moral implications depicted in each episode.^[23] The show was also syndicated on local stations and WGN America,^[24] but has been removed from syndication and WGN America due to low ratings.^[25]

Media[link]

DVD releases[link]

Curb Your Enthusiasm seasons come in a two-disc DVD set with ten episodes, with the exception of the release of season one encoded for region two, that contains three discs.

Book[link]

A Curb Your Enthusiasm book was released October 19, 2006, published by Gotham Books. The book contains stories from Larry David's past, original interviews and commentary, episode outlines, episode guide, and over 100 full-color photographs. The contents of the book span the first five seasons of the show.^[26]

Music[link]

The show is punctuated between scenes with music orchestrated by Wendell Yuponce (first season), and from a music library company called Killer Tracks (seasons two to five).^[27] Frequently heard are instrumental arrangements of the whimsical "Three Little Maids From School Are We" from The Mikado, and the rhythmic Gypsy dance "Les tringles des sistres tintaient" from Carmen. The opening and closing theme song (not mentioned in the credits) is "Frolic" by Italian composer Luciano Michelini. Larry David heard the music used in a bank commercial years before the show was created and thought it had a lighthearted, joyful quality.^[28] An unofficial soundtrack was released by Mellowdrama Records in 2006.^[29]

Notes[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Curb Your Enthusiasm

• Official website
• Curb Your Enthusiasm at the Internet Movie Database
• Curb Your Enthusiasm at TV.com

Mikael Wiehe
Mikael Wiehe in 2005.
Background information
Birth name	Mikael Christian Wiehe
Born	(1946-04-10) 10 April 1946 (age 66)
Genres	Progg, rock, blues
Occupations	Musician, songwriter, singer
Instruments	Vocals, guitar, saxophone, banjo, clarinet, flute, harmonica, piano, percussion
Years active	1958
Labels	Amalthea, Silence Records, Mistlur Records, MNW, W Records, Norske Gram, Diesel Music, Forente Artister, Transmission, Premium Publisging
Associated acts	Hoola Bandoola Band, Björn Afzelius, Thåström, Stefan Sundström, Blunck's Lucky Seven, Cooling's trad jazzmen, Modertions, Moccers, The Zulu Band, Mikis & Arja, Jonas Fjeld, Svenska Musikrörelsen, Julio Numhauser, Bente Kure & Leif Ernstsen, Caj Karlsson & Världens Bästa Band, Kristoffer Jonzon
Website	Official Website

Mikael Christian Wiehe (born 10 April 1946 in Stockholm) is a Swedish singer, multi-instrumentalist and composer. As the main songwriter and driving force of Hoola Bandoola Band he was also one of the most important people in the proggmovement.

Career[link]

Wiehe's father was Danish and he spent the first six years of his life in Copenhagen. His father left the family when he was 5 years old, and when he was 6 his mother moved with the family to Malmö, in the Scania region of southern Sweden, giving Wiehe his noticeable Scanian accent. He is a leftist folk musician, dealing with what he considers right and wrong in the society from the eyes of the proletariat, but he also writes personal, non-political songs.

Wiehe was one of the lead singers and the leading songwriter of Hoola Bandoola Band in the 1970s. After the split of the group in 1975, he was the leader of various other bands before becoming a solo artist in the beginning of the 1980s. He was a close friend of the late Björn Afzelius, the other lead singer of Hoola Bandoola Band. They sometimes toured around Scandinavia and recorded together in the 1980s and 90s.

Today, Wiehe performs all around Sweden, using material from his 20-some albums (excluding various compilations). A recently published song book contains the lyrics and melodies to 220 of his songs. In 2000, he released the single Det här är ditt land, a Swedish-language adaptation of the Woody Guthrie song This Land Is Your Land which received substantial play on Swedish radio. Wiehe has also translated many of Bob Dylan's songs into Swedish some were performed by the late Totta Näslund.

60th birthday tribute[link]

On Wiehe's 60th birthday, a tribute show were held in his hometown Malmö. A number of high profiled Swedish artists, including Joakim Thåström, Lars Winnerbäck, Dregen, Lisa Ekdahl, Timbuktu, Stefan Sundström, Idde Shultz, Anna Stadling, Ebba Forsberg, Thomas Wiehe and Peter Clemmendson, performed Wiehe's songs in front of approximately 20 000 people. At the end of the show, Wiehe himself took the stage and performed a set of his favorite songs. The concert was later broadcasted on Sveriges Television with interviews and older footage of Wiehe.

Political views[link]

Wiehe performing live at Ung Vänsters congress in 2003.

On 24 February 2007, Wiehe performed at a festival in Malmö, labeled as a "solidarity party for the Cuban Revolution", which was organized by the Swedish-Cuban Association, the Revolutionary Communist Youth, the Swedish Communist Party and others. The ambassador of Cuba to Sweden, Ernesto Meléndez Bachs, also held a speech at the festival. In an interview in Kvällsposten, Wiehe said that "Cuba has the best record on human rights in the region"^[1] and in an interview with Sveriges Radio he said that he would "hesitate" to label the country as a dictatorship.^[2]

Selected discography[link]

Studio albums[link]

Hoola Bandoola Band

• Hoola Bandolla Export (1971)
• Garanterat Individuell (1971)
• Vem Kan Man Lita På? (1972)
• På Väg (1973)
• Stoppa Matchen (1975)
• Fri information (1975)
• Ingenting Förändras Av Sig Själv - 5 cd box (1996)
• För Dom Som Kommer Sen - live (1999)

Mikael Wiehe och Kabaréorkestern

• Sjömansvisor (1978)
• Elden är Lös (1979)

Mikael Wiehe, Nyberg, Franck och Fjellis

• Gökungen (1981)
• Kråksånger (1981)
• Dom Ensligas Alle (1982)

Mikael Wiehe och Co

• Lindansaren (1983)
• Lillian Står i Hagen (1983)
• Mikael Wiehe Mitt i Sverige (1984)
• Hemingwayland (1985)

Solo work

• Mikael Wiehe (1986)
• Basin Street Blues (1988)
• 1989 - live (1989)
• Allt är förändrat (1991)
• Det Ligger Döda Kameler i min Swimmingpool (1992)
• Wiehe 30 sånger - compilation (1993)
• Trollkarlen (1994)
• Sevilla (1998)
• En Sång Till Modet (2000)
• Det Här Är Ditt Land (2000)
• Kommunal 90 År 2000 (2000)
• Kärlek och Politik (2004)
• Moccers (2004)
• Främmande Land (2005)
• Sånger från en inställd skilsmässa (2009)

Björn Afzelius och Mikael Wiehe

• Björn Afzelius och Mikael Wiehe (1986)
• Malmöinspelnigarna (2004)

Mikael Wiehe och Julio Numhauser

• Suecia - Chile (1989)
• Mikael Wiehe och Julio Numhauser (1991)

Totta och Wiehe

• Dylan (2006)

Mikael Wiehe & Ebba Forsberg

• Dylan På Svenska (2007)

Åge Aleksandersen & Mikael Wiehe

• 14 Akustiska Sånger (2008)

Mikael Wiehe & Jacques Werup

• Wiehe & Werup (2008)

Compilation Albums[link]

• 2012: Alla dessa minnen: Det bästa med Mikael Wiehe

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Mikael Wiehe

• Official Website

References[link]

1. ^ (Swedish) Holm, Joel (2007-02-18). "Wiehe hyllar diktaturen Kuba" (in Swedish). Kvällsposten. http://www.expressen.se/index.jsp?a=884513. Retrieved 2007-02-23. 
2. ^ Studio Ett - P1 - sr.se

Björn Svante Afzelius (born 27 January 1947 in Huskvarna, Jönköping County, died 16 February 1999 in Gothenburg) was a Swedish singer, song writer and guitar player. Politically he was a socialist. His songs are about love, politics and joys in life.

Career[link]

His father was an engineer and his mother was a housewife. His only sibling is his brother Bengt (b. 1952) who is a music teacher. He came into contact with music from a very young age, because his mother and her side of the family were largely into music. In 1970, Afzelius formed the progg group Hoola Bandoola Band together with Mikael Wiehe. Wiehe and Afzelius became very close friends and worked together long after Hoola Bandoola had dissolved in 1975.

Afzelius released his first solo album in 1974, his last one in 1999. Some of his most popular songs are "Ikaros", "Tusen bitar" (Thousand pieces), "Sång till friheten" (Song for Freedom - which was originally recorded by Cuban Silvio Rodríguez as "El Día Feliz Que Está Ilegando"), "Kungens man" (The king's man), "Tankar i Havanna" (Thoughts in Havanna) and "Till min kära" (For my dear). He died from lung cancer in 1999, 52 years old, but he remains one of the most beloved artists in Scandinavia.

He wrote about 150 songs and sold over two and a half million albums.

Discography[link]

With Hoola Bandoola Band[link]

• 1971: Garanterat individuell
• 1972: Vem kan man lita på?
• 1973: På väg
• 1975: Fri information
• 1975: "Stoppa matchen" (single)

Solo albums[link]

• 1974: Vem är det som är rädd?
• 1976: För kung och fosterland
• 1978: Johnny Boy (with Björn Afzelius Band)
• 1979: Bakom kulisserna (with Björn Afzelius Band)
• 1979: Another tale to tell (with Björn Afzelius Band) - Read the English lyrics Another Tale to Tell - lyrics
• 1980: Globetrotter (with Globetrotters)
• 1982: Innan tystnaden (with Globetrotters)
• 1982: Danska Nätter (live) (with Globetrotters)
• 1984: Exil (with Globetrotters)
• 1984: Afzelius; sång & gitarr (live)
• 1985: Nio liv (with Globetrotters)
• 1986: Grande Finale (live) (with Globetrotters)
• 1986: Björn Afzelius & Mikael Wiehe (with Mikael Wiehe)
• 1987: Riddarna kring runda bordet
• 1988: Don Quixote
• 1988: En man, en röst, en gitarr
• 1990: Tusen bitar
• 1991: Nidaros (live)
• 1992: Afzelius, Bygren och Råstam (live)
• 1994: Nära dig
• 1997: Tankar vid 50
• 1999: Elsinore
• 2004: Björn Afzelius & Mikael Wiehe 1993 - Malmöinspelningarna. (with Mikael Wiehe)
• 2011: Tusen bitar - Sånger om kärlek & rättvisa

Compilations[link]

• 1988: Björn Afzelius Bästa Vol I
• 1988: Björn Afzelius Bästa Vol II
• 1995: Björn Afzelius Bästa Vol III
• 1995: Afzelius Box (Bästa Vol 1, 2, 3)
• 1998: Den röda tråden - Definitivt
• 2002: Den röda tråden Vol 1
• 2002: Den röda tråden Vol 2
• 2005: Björn Afzelius Bästa
• 2006: Guldkorn vol.1

For a complete discography including singles, EPs and guest appearances, please visit the official homepage, bjornafzelius.com

References[link]

• "Björn Afzelius". Find-A-Grave. http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=7951494. Retrieved 2006-10-20. 

External links[link]

• Björn Afzelius official website