From a punk festival in Aarhus to a single
In November 1978, Kliché played a punk festival at Huset in Aarhus. The festival led to the compilation Pære Punk, released the following April, and it carried an early version of “Militskvinder” next to the band’s song “Farvel.” In 1979 the two songs also came out as a single, “Militskvinder/Farvel.”
Kliché formed in Aarhus in 1977. The lineup was Lars H.U.G. on vocals and guitar, Johnny Voss on bass and vocals, Jens Valo on keyboards (later replaced by Nils Torp) and Anders Brill on drums. Steffen Brandt of TV-2 and Hilmer Hassig, later of Love Shop, both played in the group for short spells. That link puts “Militskvinder” in the same Aarhus scene that produced TV-2.
Supertanker and the Mao connection
The band recorded a new version of the song for its debut album Supertanker, released in 1980, where it runs 2:50. The songwriting credit reads Kliché/Mao, and Jan Bredsdorff translated the text into Danish. “Militskvinder,” which means “militia women,” and “Masselinjen,” another song on the album, both quote the Chinese Communist leader Mao Zedong. Danish critics praised Supertanker as a groundbreaking work of art.
A second single, “Aldrig Mere/Militskvinder,” followed in 1980, so the song came out on 45 twice in two years. The karaoke market still credits the original recording to Kliché and its singer Lars H.U.G.
Later years and the collected recordings
Kliché recorded its second album, Okay Okay Boys, in spring 1982 at Svinkløv Badehotel, which the label Medley rented for the band. The album came out in October 1982. The band played Roskilde Festival every year from 1981 to 1983. In 1984 Lars H.U.G. released the solo album City Slang, and Voss, Torp and Brill released Dobbelt plus as Voss/Torp/Brill. Kliché broke up for good in 1985.
In 2011 EMI released De Samlede Klichéer, a 21-track compilation of 78:21. It holds both studio albums plus the two Pære Punk songs, so it contains “Militskvinder” twice: the Supertanker recording as track 4 and the 2:45 Pære Punk version as track 20. The Pære Punk version is also streamed through Parlophone Denmark.
FAQ
– Who wrote Militskvinder?
The credit reads Kliché/Mao: the band wrote the music, and Jan Bredsdorff’s Danish translation of Mao Zedong’s words supplied the text.
– When was Militskvinder first released?
An early version appeared on the Pære Punk compilation and on the 1979 single “Militskvinder/Farvel.” The studio version followed on Supertanker in 1980.