- Title: NORWAY: Turbonegro singer Hank Von Helvete as Jesus in musical
- Date: 10th August 2009
- Summary: HANS-ERIK DYVIK HUSBY ON STAGE (SOUNDBITE) (English) HANS-ERIK DYVIK HUSBY (HANK VON HELL) SAYING: "The Turbo Jugend... Well they are actually very enthusiastic, I think there are very many different opinions. Turbo Jugend is a very big fan club. They are uniformed and that is actually the only thing they have in common. You have five year old kids there, you have American soldiers, you have Russian professors, you have Japanese cartoon writers and they all have different opinions." HANS-ERIK DYVIK HUSBY ON STAGE WITH MIC (SOUNDBITE) (English) HANS-ERIK DYVIK HUSBY (HANK VON HELL) SAYING: "He is my favourite of them all. I have to admit that I haven't been doing that much research digging in to all different versions of Jesus Christ Superstar. I thought that would rather distract me from what I want to do with it. But of course Ian Gillan's interpretation that is on the album was... I am not going to do it like that. It is not on my voice level." HANS-ERIK DYVIK HUSBY LEAVE THE STAGE
- Embargoed: 25th August 2009 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Norway
- Country: Norway
- Topics: Entertainment
- Reuters ID: LVA8TX9J6ZR874D2SH8WELH4WDXW
- Story Text: A Norwegian version of Jesus Christ superstar will star Hank von Helvete (Hank of Hell), better known as the lead singer of the bank Turbonegro.
Turbonegro lead singer Hank von Helvete (Hank of Hell) will star as Jesus in the Olso set up of Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical Jesus Christ Superstar this fall.
The vocalist, whose real name is Hans-Erik Dyvik Husby, is well known for his comments on religion and society. He has expressed a fairly liberal view on gay marriage and recently commented about the Swedish royals saying that their children are homosexuals and suffering from eating disorders.
This provoked angry replies from the two royal families and when Husby was announced to star as Jesus in the famous musical it caused a major stir in Norway.
"Perfect that I can turn the character Hank von Hell into Jesus Christ Superstar! It has actually biblical references to it. We don't know what Jesus did from when he was a teenager until he was 29/30 and started his official work," said Husby after rehearsals.
Formed in 1989, Turbonegro is now one of Scandinavia's leading mainstream rock bands. They put out a few records before disbanding in 1998 when Husby's heroin addiction made him unable to perform. After going through rehab, Turbonegro reunited in 2002, and are still together today.
Based on a musical blend of hardcore punk, metal and classic rock, they created a monster entirely to their own specifications and let it loose upon the world with unforeseen success.
"I'm going to do this play and what happens after that is a bit fogged right know. But there are going to be other projects with acting and music that is not Turbonegro," Husby said.
Turbonegro has seen an enormous success and been featured in numerous feature films and TV-series, most notably CSI and different MTV-spinoff's like Jackass, Wildboyz (title song), Viva La Bam and Dirty Sanchez.
As a result of their eccentric attitude, two tribute albums have been made, where bands like HIM, Queens Of The Stone Age, Therapy, Satyricon and others have given tribute.
During the last few years, Turbonegro have also significantly increased their public appeal. Their fan-club, Turbo Jugend, now has more than 2.600 world-wide chapters and on their forums there have been a lively debate over Husby's role in the musical.
"The Turbo Jugend... Well they are actually very enthusiastic, I think there are very many different opinions. Turbo Jugend is a very big fan club. They are uniformed and that is actually the only thing they have in common. You have five year old kids there, you have American soldiers, you have Russian professors, you have Japanese cartoon writers and they all have different opinions," Husby said.
Scandinavian tabloids say Husby is a devoted Christian and deeply religious. When, on September 3, the musical premiers at Det Norske Theatre in Oslo Husby will finally get to make the transition from scary Hank von Hell to Jesus Christ Superstar. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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