ROBERT LELIEVRE

(VOCALS - GUITARS)

"For the first time for a long time I optimistically look at the future", commented Robert Lelievre to the Danish daily newspaper Berlingske Tidende in November 1969, shortly after he had formed the group Pan together with Arne Würgler. Robert Lelievre was born in France on October 1st 1940, and was Pan's lead singer and main songwriter. Robert's early interest in and dedication to music started as early as January 1962, when he gave up an architecture study to instead travel to Spain and play guitar with a jazz orchestra. After the jazz orchestra split up, he took to teaching French tourists in Spain how to play the guitar. Robert had also left his homeland of France in order to escape military service, in which he had initially already served three months of a 2-year service.

In those three months, he was promoted to sergeant. Robert left the day after his commanding officer gave a dispiriting greeting speech to him and his fellow troops. In his greeting speech, the officer had said something along the lines of, "you should get used to the thought that you will never escape”. A day after that speech, Robert went AWOL. It was a culmination of a nervous breakdown of sorts. In a May 1970 interview for Danish newspaper BT, Robert spoke about this particular time in his life: “I was lucky because I was picked up by the very first car outside the camp”, says Robert. “The driver saw that I was in the uniform and started entertaining me with macabre jokes about … as a soldier. If he knew that I was a deserter… “In Paris I got 50 kroner and took an all thumbs trip to Belgium. My mother was sad that I deserted from the army. French people consider a military service as an honour. My father did not care”. If Robert had returned to France, he could have been imprisoned for at least 4 years – Robert's desertion was before the Gaulles' general amnesty of 1968. For the remaining years of his life, living in Denmark as an exile, Robert would constantly be yearning for home, as evidenced in the same 1970 interview for BT: “How much I wish I can see my motherland again”, sighs Robert. “I miss France, especially at this time of the year. Please, do not understand me that I do not like Denmark. It is just a thought – to walk on the streets in the place where people speak the same language with you”. Facing the possibility of a 4-year prison-term for his desertion from the French Army, Robert never returned to his homeland.

After Spain, Robert then left for Belgium, where he met the English musician Cy Nicklin (later of Day of Phoenix, and Culpeper's Orchard fame) in a people's club in Brussels, Belgium. Together they went to Copenhagen, Denmark in an old Citroën to meet some friends of Cy's, but the journey was plagued with problems. The car was in such bad condition that it was refused six times on the German border before eventually being allowed to pass through to Copenhagen. On the first night after his arrival in Copenhagen, Robert was singing and playing in the Pilegården, and subsequently at other places in the capital and surrounding suburbs. After a couple of months of living in Copenhagen, Robert left to travel to Sweden, then soon hitchhiking the whole way to Rome, Italy. In Rome, some troublemakers who wanted to take his passport beat Robert. Leaving Rome, Robert then travelled on to Greece, Belgium, then back again to Copenhagen in the middle of 1965. Here, he got in contact with friend Maia Aarskov, who together with the Social Democratic minister Bodil Koch, and together they helped Robert to obtain a "foreign passport" as his French passport had expired. With the residence permit in order, Robert then joined his friends - the folk music duo Cy & Maia - and together they became the folk trio Cy, Maia & Robert. *About Cy and Maia: Cy Nicklin (Born in London 1942) first met Danish singer Maia Aarskov at a mutual friend's summerhouse up in North Zeeland, Denmark in 1964. They had both been invited for dinner at the house, and at some point during the day; Cy felt the urge to entertain the other guests with some songs on such a fine Autumn's day. His impulsiveness inspired Maia to join him in song. A member of 'Folk club of Denmark' immediately asked them to entertain at his club, and the success of this performance established them as a couple. In 1965, prior to Robert joining them as a trio, Cy and Maia recorded a single together titled Portland Town / Chickens Are Coming.

Cy, Maia & Robert were unique in that all three members were of three different origins - French, English and Danish. Cy, Maia & Robert first release was an LP titled On The Scene for the Sonet label in 1966. A subsequent single "Green Rocky Road/Harvest of Hate" was also released that year. The trio's second album Out of Our Times and follow-up single "A Church Is Burning/Take a Look Inside", both came out the following year in 1967. Also in '67, Robert and Cy both played guitar on Scottish folk singer Alex Campbell's Alex Campbell At the Tivoli Gardens LP. The trio's last recording together was the 1968-released single "Cheers Dears/Natural Man", with the trio credited as Maia & Full Limit. The trio of Cy, Maia & Robert split up during the height of their success in November 1967, in part due to the changing musical ambitions each member was then seeking, brought on the likes of such music as The Beatles' Revolver LP, and Jimi Hendrix's unique song writing. The fact that their records did not sell as hoped for also added to their problems. Robert looked back on his years with Cy, Maia & Robert with fond memoirs. Robert once said the following about his time in Cy, Maia & Robert (BT, May 1970): “Of course, one becomes disappointed, but on the other hand disappointments make man better. I have learnt a lot about playing the guitar since that time. And I also started writing better songs. “We did what we were feeling was right. Writing songs, playing, becoming slightly popular and maybe a little bit self-obsessed. We started thinking what we were doing and it went wrong.” After Cy, Maia & Robert's split in 1967, Cy would go on to form legendary Danish band Culpeper's Orchard and also Day of Phoenix, while Maia continued her career as a music teacher and among other things, released two singles, collaborated with Finn and Torsten Olafsson (from Ache), and did background vocals for various bands, including another legendary Danish group, The Savage Rose.

The following year in March 1968, Robert recorded an album with Scottish folk singer Iain Campbell in Copenhagen called Alliance, which was sent out later that year by Metronome in October 1968.  In December 1968, Robert, wife Michelle, and photographer friend Teit Jørgensen, travelled to London for a month to meet with legendary influential American impresario, music manager and record producer Giorgio Gomelsky, in the hopes of securing a contract with the then newly-established Apple Records label. Robert, Michelle, and Teit, lived at first in a rented basement flat, though soon moved out to stay with UK rock band Blossom Toes (who were friends with Julie Driscoll and Brian Auger) just off Kings Road. During the trio's stay in London, they visited Apple Corps in Savile Row the night before Christmas Eve, chatting with John Lennon and Yoko Ono, among others. With Apple, Robert was given a contract draft, which apparently was a 5-year deal. However, after meeting with Giorgio Gomelsky and The Monkees producer Chip Douglas on Boxing Day, Robert instead chose to sign a deal as a songwriter and studio musician (and record a solo LP titled The Hare) with Polydor (who Giorgio Gomelsky was working for at that time). For Polydor, Robert recorded at least two known songs - "Dis-Toi-Bien" and "J'ai Vu Ton Visage" – at London's Advision studio in January 1969, though it is still unknown whether any further songs were ever recorded at the Advision studio. Both mentioned recordings were later released as a single and b-side respectively, on Gomelsky's own label Marmalade Records - which he formed after leaving Polydor not long after signing Robert to the former label. Teit Jørgensen was present in the studio for a single session, but went back home to film school by New Year, therefore cannot attest to any further recordings ever being made. "Dis-Toi-Bien" appeared on Marmalade's 1969 sampler compilation Marmalade 100 Proof (with Robert credited on the LP as 'Le Lievre (The Hare)'). Marmalade Records soon folded however not long after the release of their sampler LP, some time around the start of 1970. On the back cover of the Marmalade 100 Proof LP, Robert and his music is described by Giorgio Gomelsky as the following: "Music knows no boundaries. The Hare is a Frenchman and he's running, politically exiled in Denmark, where we met him a few months ago, and heard his songs for the first time. It may seem strange to include a French song in this album (we are in fact working on an English version at the moment) but the musical content and performance are so strong that we hope the spirit of it will come through. "Tell yourself, young girl, that if I am coming back it's not for your blue eyes, But because I want to put my feet up in front of the fire".

Robert came back to Copenhagen, Denmark in June 1969, and hooked up again with Cy Nicklin (who had just left Day of Phoenix) again to form folk-rock band High Crossfield with former Burnin' Red Ivanhoe bassist and jazz musician Arne Würgler. Organist Niels "Pind (Stick)" Pedersen, and drummer Bjørn Uglebjerg also soon joined the group, and Englishman Rich St. John was apparently also a member of the group at some point. High Crossfield never officially record any songs, though they did play together with Niels Jørgen Steens Beatkapel for the series Beat & Jazzbeat – which was recorded in July, and aired the following month sent on the radio's P2. Shortly afterwards, the band recorded a broadcast for the series Radiobeat, which went to air on September 19th 1969. Except for these programmes, the group recorded no other material together prior to the split, which happened after only a couple of months' existence. High Crossfield would soon evolve into Pan, this time adding to the line-up former Delta Blues Band's guitarist Thomas Puggaard-Müller, his brother drummer Michael Puggaard-Müller, and jazz organist Henning Verner (from Henning Verners Trio). The three new members replaced Nicklin, who would go on to form legendary Danish rock band Culpepers Orchard, and Pedersen and Uglebjerg; who would both end up in other groups or embark on solo careers of their own.

Pan's only release was their 1970 self-titled LP, though since 2005, live recordings from 1971 of the band have been issued. The band also did some film-related work, contributing background music to a short film for Trafikradet as well as background music to the Stellan Olsson's 1971 Swedish-Danish film Deadline aka Sidste Frist. The group would go through several personnel changes over the year, with the last incarnation of the group consisting of only Robert, Thomas, and Michael, plus new members Torben Enghoff (from Maxwell's) on sax and flute, and Jens Elbøl taking over bass from Arne, who had left Pan in order to form Blast Furnace. The remaining band with the new line-up dropped Pan as their band name and were advertised only as: Robert Lelievre, Nils Tuxen, Thomas Puggaard-Müller, & Henning Verner. The new line-up's final show was on March 5th 1971 for the series Dansk Beat, and featured both new and old compositions. Musician Niels Skousen also temporarily took up singing with the band for a very short period, providing vocals when Robert didn't wish to sing. It was soon clear however, that Robert was the best one to interpret his own songs, resulting in Skousen leaving to join Peter Ingemann in Skousen & Ingemann. Not long after, Robert recorded, with a few Pan members, a new album for Sonet in 1971, though the record was eventually abandoned due to the fact that the songs were very folk-oriented, and quite different from Pan's previous electric-guitar dominated rock LP. All of the songs that were to appear on the new album, except one, were written by Robert and sung in French. The titles of the songs were as follows: "Je Ne Sais Plus Si'je Crois", "Il N'ya Pas Si Longtemps De Sa", "If Think I'm Gone See A Friend", "Ma Fiere Amante", "Don't You Know", "Samba For One", "Tristesse", "Instrumental", "Les Feux De La St. Jean", and "Try To See".

Robert once said of Pan: "To begin with we try to win the ear in Denmark, after which we'll turn towards the foreign countries, if we can trace one whose progress. All things considered, Denmark is a springboard, because you cannot go so awfully far as a beat-group here. Its land is too small". Many other Danish groups since also acknowledged this fact, but at the same time a small country such as Denmark also has certain advantages. Robert agreed, stating: "It is the only place where you really can live relaxed". Robert also said the following about Denmark (BT, May 1970): “Denmark is a small social paradise”, says Robert. “People can look like they want, wear clothes they want, have long hair. That is why it irritates me when once in a while I can hear somebody screaming “spaghetti” or something similar at me in the café. Imagine if I really looked like a Hispanic or Italian. No, these teenagers are lucky here. I wish I were 15 now here, in Denmark”. During his residence in Denmark, Robert lived in a modest apartment on the 4th floor on Bådsmandsstræde in the Christianshavn district with wife Michelle and young son Renaud.

Disenchanted with the lack of Pan's success, Pan began to disintegrate in the autumn of 1970. According to Arne Würgler, the team spirit was a little tense. The spoken language in the group was English, as Robert did not speak Danish. Thus this caused a conflict, with the Danish musicians often speaking their native language together around Robert, making Robert become more and more restless and feeling somewhat left out. As much as he liked living and recording in Denmark, Robert was disappointed that it never became the springboard for an international breakthrough as he had hoped for deep down.

In 1972, after the demise of Pan, tried to work in some musical projects on return to Denmark; among other things was a possible reunion of Cy, Maia, and Robert, but neither Cy Nicklin or Maia Aarskov were interested. Robert had talent, but also an unclarified mind. He made a living be working various small jobs such as making handmade belts, and in his spare time was improving his guitar skills to aspire to the lofty heights musically that of Jimi Hendrix. He attempted to establish a solo career but Sonet left a completed 1971 album unreleased. It was scheduled for release in 1980 on Sonet's series of double album re-issues (coupled with the Pan album), but the idea in the end was terminated due to low sales.

On the 24th or 26th of August 1973, Robert took his own life in Copenhagen, Denmark. He left behind a loving wife, Michelle, and a young son and daughter - Renaud and Anne. For years he had struggled with inner demons, sometimes making it difficult to cooperate with fellow other musicians, and after years of misconceived bad luck within the music industry, among other things in his personal life, it seemed Robert had simply had enough. With his passing, an ignorant world lost one of the most talented songwriters of his generation. Robert Lelievre will be truly missed, not just by those who knew the man or had heard his songs, but will be missed also by those who haven't yet had the fortune to hear his music… now is the time.