PRUDENCE was one the most important bands on the Norwegian prog scene in the 1970s, a scene that included the likes of AUNT MARY, JUNIPHER GREENE, TITANIC, POPOL VUH (ACE), RUPHUS, FOLQUE and HØST. They fused rock with old party/dance music from Trøndelag and (on their last album) sang in their local dialect, thereby creating a rock style dubbed Trønderrock.Hailing from Namsos, a small town in Nord-Trøndelag county in Middle Norway, their roots can be traced to 1967 and the band THE TUNES, later named WHOOPEE CHOOP. At that time the band consisted of Kaare SKEVIK jr. (drums), Per Erik Prikken WALLUM (vocals and later also flute), Sturla HUSTAD (keyboards), Per FORMO, Hans Jacob BUSCH (both guitar) and Terje TYSLAND (bass), who left to work as a sailor and was replaced by Kjell Ove Nille RISETH (bass) shortly before Åge ALEKSANDERSEN (vocals and guitar) joined in October of 1968. In 1970 PRUDENCE released their first of three singles on the newly formed label, Experience Records. Side A was a cover of DEEP PURPLE's "Into the Fire", while side B contained an original composition "Kom, bli med til København" (Come to Copenhagen), a song about having fun with drugs in the Danish capital that was banned from radio airplay. PRUDENCE's sound was created from three equal approaches. ALEKSANDERSEN mostly listened to Bob DYLAN and American rock and TYSLAND had a strong relationship with jazz, gammaldans and the music of Jimi HENDRIX, while WALLUM was obsessed with JETHRO TULL and British folkrock. Other significant influnces were THE BEATLES, BLACK SABBATH, BLODWYN PIG, KING CRIMSON and DEEP PURPLE. This mix made their sound unique and something not heard before in and from Norway.Two new singles were released on Experience - "Small Things in Life"/"Happy Fairies" and "My New Day"/"The Sky Gets Blue" before the band signed with Polydor and released their first LP 'Tomorrow May Be Vanished', cryptically subtitled 'Victoria Så bærre pass dæ!' (Victoria so just watch out!) in 1972. The album received great reviews, in which the band was compared to greats as JETHRO TULL and THE BAND.The album hit the market the week after PRUDENCE's very successful performance at The Kalvøya Festival where they, according to Paul KARLSEN (the man behind the festival) went on stage as total unknowns and left half an hour later as Norway's most popular band, upstaging the headlining act FAMILY in the process.In 1973 they released their second LP 'Drunk and Happy' which opened doors in Denmark, where the band was a great succes at The Roskilde Festival of that year. There were talks of launching the band in Europe, but instead of getting rich and famous PRUDENCE ended up disappointed, and also broke, because they were always investing in the newest equipment available even though success outside of Scandinavia eluded them. The following year they released their third LP simply called 'No. 3', which was a great success in Denmark. But with increasing debt the band had to tour nonstop all around the country and some of the members also had to get side jobs to make a living. The rough life on the road, RISETH's tragedy and the fact that the label wasn't going to launch the band in Europe after all were the most important reasons for the band deciding to break up, but not before releasing a fourth album, with Norwegian lyrics this time, and going on a farewell tour. Frode VIKEN (later a member of the popular trønderrock band D.D.E.) had a short period in the band as bassist, before RISETH was permanently replaced by Jan DEVIK.Their fourth and last studio album, released in 1975 'Takk te dokk' (Thank You). The last tour was a triumph where ever they went. Their last concert, at Studentersamfunnet in Trondheim, 11. December 1975, was recorded, with Jahn TEIGEN (of POPOL ACE and, later, one of Norway's most popular pop artists) as producer, and released as a double LP.In February 1976 after the band had split up, they won Spellemannsprisen (the Norwegian equivalent to the Grammys) for best pop/rock album with 'Takk te dokk'. Line-up / Musicians Age Aleksandersen/guitar,vocals Per Erik Wallum/flute,vocals Terje Tysland/guitar,accordion,vocals Kaare Skevik jr./drums Johan Tangen/mandolin,congas,vocals Kjell Ove Riseth/bass,vocals Discography(Album) Tomorrow May Be Vanished 1972
1.North in the Country 2.Mild Grey Fog 3.Tomorrow May Be Vanished 4.What Man Has Made of Man 5.14 Pages 6.Going Through This Life 7.Oh, Grandpa 8.Lost in the Forest 9.Kerre Volin 10.Daida
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