Danielle Deneuve (real name: Dorte Kristensen) was the surprising transformation of early 70s Danish schlager star Mette into an international pop diva of the 80s, seeing her single Le Parisien being released in 39 countries.
When Danielle and her producer Steen Gjerulff commenced work on their second album together, Steen was immensely impressed by the current Paul Hardcastle track \"19\" about Vietnam and its way of fusing radio samples into music. In 1985, it was 40 years after Hiroshima and Steen decided to do a record about it. It was also a chance for him to convey a serious message through the music. When released in 1985, The Rising Sun became a massive synth-pop hit in the discos with samples of Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry Truman. Furthermore, American actor David Lloyd had also been invited over to speak on the record. The record caused controversy on the Danish Radio when the US Embassador protested against it. In Germany, dance label ZYX picked up the song but had to change the original cover of a mushroom cloud as it was deemed too controversial.
Steen recalls an all important record company convention in Paris where Danielle had been invited to perform. She never showed up. All overcome with stage fright and nerves, she had locked herself in her hotel room, refusing to come out. Her non-show caused a lot of international record deals to be cancelled.
For the follow-up single, Steen embarked on another serious subject – the spreading of AIDS which he cleverly compared to \"The Plague\" of the Middle Age. Once again, a British actor, Robert Powell, spoke the thought-provoking lyrics against Danielle's haunting, crystal-clear vocals. Danielle promoted the title on a Danish TV show 1986 but the single was too avant-garde for the casual pop buyer and flopped.
The symphonic 21-minutes extravaganza Life Goes On became the title track of the resulting LP but took ages to complete since Danielle was suffering from mood swings during the recording and would often leave in the middle of sessions or simply refuse to sing. When the LP was finally completed in 1987, it was one of the most ambitious, modern and internationally sounding LPs ever produced in Denmark, but the record company Harlekin didn't know what to do with an album consisting of only three titles (Life Goes On, The Plague & The Rising Sun) and failed to promote it properly. The LP sold an abysmal 2,000 copies, and Danielle Deneuve quickly drifted into oblivion. Today Dorte Kristensen is no longer active in the music business, she worked as a social worker until her retirement. As of 2018, she is 70 years old.
00:00 Life Goes On (Mega Version)
20:48 The Rising Sun (1985)
27:15 The Plague (Feat. Robert Powell) (1986)
35:35 Life Goes On (Reprise) (1987)
(Original Running order: A1. Life Goes On (7 min), A2. The Rising Sun, A3. The Plague, B. Life Goes On - Mega Version)
Bonus:
42:40 The Rising Sun (Instrumental)
49:09 The Plague (Feat. Robert Powell) (Single Edit)
