COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Danish rebel singer, songwriter and guitarist Kim Larsen, who enjoyed huge popularity in his home country, has died. He was 72.
Danish media dedicated many pages Monday to Larsen's career that started in the early 1970s. Prime Minister Lars Loekke Rasmussen said that despite Larsen's known opposition to mainstream society, "he was one of us."
Larsen wrote dozens of catchy tunes, played in several rock bands, including Gasolin and Kjukken — which announced Larsen's death via Twitter — and also sold records in neighboring Sweden. In the 1980s, he briefly attempted an international career but was not successful.
A heavy smoker, he vehemently criticized a smoking ban in bars and cafes and supported the free-wheeling Christiania enclave in Copenhagen.
Larsen died Sunday at home of prostate cancer.
