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| Archive from 17-08-13 to 17-08-15 |
| 17 August 2015 |
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| HAPPY BIRTHDAY LENE! |
Dear Lene,
by looking at our homepage one may think that in the last year nothing much happened. But it happened much, probably among the most important things in your life. You told and taught us many things that go beyond music itself, which is important indeed, no doubt it is the reason why our community came to existence and keeps going, but how important is it compared to happiness? So, we wish you a happy birthday leading to another year full of good vibrations and fulfillments.
We always wish nothing but the best for you, that whatever you do makes you feel good and proud of yourself even more than we are.
Even though it's been a long time since we last met here in Italy and we miss you, we always follow and support you.
Happy birthday Lene! |
| 28 May 2015 |
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| Lene Marlin - a woman in time |
Tomorrow, May 29th, is a very particular day for Lene Marlin, and for her fans too. Lene will take part as a speaker in three conference events, entitled "Kvinner i tiden" (women in time): motivational talks will be given by known women (and men) from Norway sharing their experiences about topics such as job satisfaction and cooperation. The events will take place in Oslo on May 29th, in Tromsø on June 5th, and in Bergen on June 12th.
Lene's speech will be roughly the same in all three dates, it will last about 45-60 mins, and it will focus on her story and all that came after the chronicle published last September on Aftenposten, in which Lene confessed that she had tried to take her own life in the early years of her career after her international breakthrough:
Lene Marlin - Living life as you want
- From the outside everything seemed perfect
- Getting lost in other people's expectations
- Not wanting to live anymore - and back
- Being aware of the right choices to find your happiness
After talking of her story publicly, Lene was praised for her courage and openness by almost everyone, from common people to professionals and politicians. The strength of her story was so touching that she received several awards in the weeks following the publication of the chronicle. Last October she was awarded the Åpenhetsprisen 2014 (Openness award 2014), for openness about mental health issues. In November she received the "Role model of the year" award from the Se og Hør magazine, and in December she was awarded again as "Role model of the year" by the KK magazine. Finally, last March Lene received the Fredrikke Award, The Norwegian Women's Public Health Association's Honorary Award.
Such a wide appreciation is indeed a recognition of the importance of Lene Marlin's testimony: by being open about suicide, not only she brought attention to it, but she brought hope to people who are struggling, encouraging them to seek help and not to give up. Such an intense response means also that in the end all the tears, the pain, the suffering from those dark times were not just a waste, that all the worst one can experience can be turned into something positive, into new possibilities for oneself and for the others too. This is what Lene Marlin has been doing in the last months, and for that she has our utmost admiration: even though we are speaking from the "fans' corner" represented by the community of lene.it, even though we have always avoided commenting on anything that did not strictly deal with Lene's music, this time we want to praise not only the musician Lene Marlin, but also the courageous and generous woman who is helping making some people's life better with her words and her story.
And now, after many interviews, congratulation calls, Facebook messages, and awards, Lene is about to face an audience in an intense unprecedented event: in "Kvinner i tiden" Lene is getting back on a stage to give to an audience a piece of herself, though this time it's not through songs, but through honest, powerful words. And that piece of herself contains also a piece of advice, and a piece of hope for all those who are struggling. We believe that even though recalling the difficult times will be painful, the good vibrations that Lene will receive will overcompensate the tough moments.
Congratulations Lene, from all your proud fans! |
| 02 September 2014 |
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| "I can tell about the times you know when I wished to leave this world" |
On August 11th the world was shocked learning about Robin Williams committing suicide in his home. He will be remembered as one of the most talented and loved actors of Hollywood, but this was not enough to save him from that struggle within, that black hole that often drains someone's life form the inside. He's not the first (and we can only utopicly hope he will be the last) celebrity showing one more time that fame, success, and popularity don't make happiness. On the contrary, too often the life we live on the outside has nothing to do with what's inside, where we cannot hide from ourselves, from our uncertainties, our anxieties, our hopes turned into disappointments, our sensitivity, and our fears, where masks don't work for we cannot run from what we are and from what we really feel.
Lene does know this well, and not only because of the recurrency of such topics in her songs. Unexpectedly, in an open-hearted and courageous chronicle published on Aftenposten on Monday 1st September and translated by Lene herself on her Facebook page, Lene unveils for good the most terrible experience she went through during the years of silence after her breakthrough. Lene did not want to live anymore. Lene actually tried to take her own life.
If today she opens up about this (and thankfully she's here to do it) it's because those moments, even despite the echoes and the scars within, belong to her past now, and Lene hopes her story can help other people.
As fans, we're sitting here right now with our heads full of thoughts. Lene has spoken several times so far about the difficult years following her breakthrough, and that is something everyone of us has made up their mind about somehow. Though, it's just a shocking nonsense that while her music has always been a comfort, a heal, and often even more (yes) to all of us, all that came along with it had become such an unbearable burden to her that she found death preferable. That in the end, part of the reason for that ultimate choice was "us" who wanted to give her success, the excitement and the happiness during meet-and-greets, all that "forced" her (clearly due also to economic interests of who had everything to gain from that) to live that life she just couldn't change even though she knew she should have, as she states in the article.
Lene's words today are filled with hope and positivity, they're not scary now. Still, indeed it feels like a punch in the stomach to listen from her own voice what she's actually been through. As true and loyal supporters, the suffering of someone we've always loved respectfully and patiently (who is first of all a person just like us) is not even the last thing we want, it is something we just don't want at all. Many times we've been so grateful to her for what she is: well, today we couldn't be more, because of the example this little great lady, vulnerable and strong at the same time, is giving us with her story. Here is her massage, with the hope it can be of help to anyone who may need it.
Dear all!
I've been thinking about this for a very long time. And now I've finally done it, the story is out there. I hope it can be of some help to you or someone you love! It can be scary to make yourself vulnerable, to let go of your disguise. But honestly, it feels more good than scary!
I've had some really dark times in my life. But luckily I've made some changes. And I'm so happy that I did!
I know quite a few of you don't speak Norwegian, so I got the article translated into English so you can read it too. Read the translation below.
:) Lene
I didn't want to live any longer
Everything seemed perfect from the outside. That just made it worse, Lene Marlin writes.
I had decided that I would never speak of this publicly. Not because I am ashamed. I am not. But because I just wanted to be done with it all. As the years have passed I've come to realize that I will never be completely done with it. It is a part of who I am. I live with it each and every day and will carry it with me for the rest of my life. So I might as well say it out loud:
I tried to end my own life.
I couldn't handle the pressure.
It's strange, isn't it, how you can go from living life for yourself, to suddenly realizing you are living it for everyone else; their expectations and their dreams. How easily one is lost in the demands of others. How easily one takes to living other people's lives. Now I see it all the time, kids struggling. Even older people; imagine still feeling the pressure after all those years. What kind of hope is left us then?
A different kind of pressure
I wish I could tell you that the pressure lets off, as you grow older. The one thing I can say is that it changes. You simply have more choices. I decided that I was the only one that could make myself happy. This process included making some choices that seemed very strange to people close to me, but I have no regrets. Because even while living this hectic dream-life I knew I had to put a stop to it.
I let it go too far
Because I at that time lacked both the strength and the ability to listen to myself instead of others, years passed before I was fully healed. This is my only regret. It has, however, made me live my life in a different way. For better or for worse, I discovered at an early age how I didn't want to live my life, and that is something for which I am thankful. Others take much longer to see this and might end up never having lived the life they really want.
Went home during recess
I still have bad dreams about high school; that they call me up telling me I need to come back, do it all over again. I felt like I didn't fit in. Like I was weird and different from everyone else. Every time we had free time, even in the middle of the day, I would go home: Play the guitar for as long as I could and run back when I had to. That's where I found the strength I needed. I kept thinking that if I just got through those three years everything would be all right. And it was. Sometimes you just have to hold on for a little while longer.
Sometime during my twenties I found myself lying on a cold kitchen floor weak from crying my eyes out. I don't know how many hours had passed, but I found one can actually run out of tears. That your body can only take so much. I was completely worn out; but I had come to peace with the fact that this was to be my last night. I felt surprisingly cold and detached as I wrote notes to people I cared about. I did really want to end my life that night. When my eyes closed I felt at peace. I awoke several hours later, confused and in terrible pain. Ironically I didn't have the strength to try again; I was too weak to even die.
The importance of being heard
Not being heard is painful. It can take a good while to finally say the words that are needed, but when you do, it is important that those around really listen and take you seriously. Failing that, it is so much easier to just crawl back into your shell, sure that your heavy thoughts are yours to live with alone. That kind of loneliness is the worst.
End it all? You? You've lived everyone's biggest dream. You travel the world; you make lots of money, win awards, what can possibly be bothering you? They told me I was ungrateful. The incredible pressure, the expectations, I just couldn't take it anymore.
The pain you know
One time I ended up in the ER and was told I had been very lucky. I didn't feel lucky. I had wanted to die, yet there I was. That night I found myself in the back of a dismal room listening to a girl on the other side of a curtain. She was talking about why she did it, and I remember her talking about the boy who had left her and how she had thought it would be them forever and now she didn't have a reason to live. Or something like that; I was drifting in and out of sleep and can recall only fragments. No boy had put me in that bed, but I recognized the pain in her voice as my own.
We are who we become. Sometimes the road ahead is long and hard, especially when you are in your teens, when everything hurts and it is hard to believe it will ever end. You just don't believe it will! I see it myself today with people I know who are struggling. It is hard just trying to get them to believe that life does get better. In those instances I use my own experiences; I can tell them that I know what it's like to feel so tired and small that there seems to be no hope left. When they imagine that as they are sitting across from who I am today, that's when I see that they understand what I am saying.
Hang in there!
You can't change the past, but you can change how you live with it. I sometimes get flashbacks of what's gone before. Often times I have forgotten all about it, so when the images appear it can be a lot to take in. My whole body reacts, as if it remembers what my mind has forgotten. That's when I panic, I feel trapped and out of breath and need some time before I can tell myself that it's all behind me. Once that happens my body settles down, but it's a terrible feeling while it's going on.
There is so much more contained in a tear than one might imagine. I have been seen crying on TV, which was something I never planned to do, it happened when songs and conversations took me back there. That experience was both painful and good at the same time because what I felt the most was the feeling of having weathered it and come through on the other side. A heavy thought for someone who didn't expect to live past 30.
Those tears don't make me feel ashamed, I know I should have cried them a long time ago.
So if you're not in a good place when you're reading this and can't imagine life getting any better, please hang on for just a little longer and hear this; it will all be worth it!
Lene will appear on the TV show Senkveld on Friday 5th September at 22:15. |
| 18 August 2014 |
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| Birthday cakes |
Happy, happy, HAPPY birthday to you, northern star!
Time goes by and your voice is with us and in our hearts every day, especially on your birthday. We're always happy to wish you the best because to celebrate you is to remind us how much you've been giving us these years, and how much we are proud of you!
Let it be no coincidence that our birthday comes just a couple of days away from yours. Tomorrow, in fact, there will be one more candle on Lene.it's birthday cake... another milestone in the story of this fanclub.
Lene, we're waiting for you to breach into our hearts again!
P.S. Yeah, sorry for being "unforgivably" late with this news. Summer and vacations make us a little less reactive, though we're always here :)
![](http://i57.tinypic.com/348277t.jpg"align="center")
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| 22 January 2014 |
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| Sad moments |
Lene.it participates in the sorrow for the sudden passing away, at 54, of Per Eirik Johansen, on January 15th.
We have never had direct contacts with him, but no doubt that we owe him our gratitude. He was the man behind Lene's breakthrough in 1999. First with Virgin, then with EMI, he followed and supported her career as a friend, not only as a professional.
Lene thanked him publicly in her recent sad farewell message on her Facebook page, stressing that Johansen never tried to change her when others wanted her to be what she was not.
"The most important thing for us and Lene is that everything now ought to be pleasurable", said Johansen in 2003 in an interview to Aftenposten right after Lene's long-awaited comeback, a few days before her first performance ever, at the Oslo City. A mature and respectful attitude that we feel close to, and that we like to emphasize.
Sadly bad things, just like good things, often don't come alone. Our heartfelt condolences go to Lene for the loss of a dear friend of her, journalist and author Anbjørg Sætre Håtun: yesterday Lene wrote to her a touching open letter on Facebook. It's always sad when someone leaves us, indeed it's unconceivable and unfair when that someone still has so many dreams, and would deserve a whole life to make them come true.
Our deepest sympathy to Anbjørg's and Per Eirik's families, and to all who carry them in their heart.
Let us conclude this message quoting a thought Anbjørg herself shared on instagram a few months ago: "Start each day like it's your birthday". We feel it can help us think, and realize how precious life is. |
| 24 September 2013 |
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| Neeve |
Neeve is an Irish singer and actress living in London; she has released Still around and Circus boy.
As reported in the credits, Lene Marlin and Niamh Perry (also known as Neeve) have written the songs, which are produced by Nick L. Webber (son of legendary composer Andrew Lloyd Webber) and Matt Weir. Pete Wallace (who has collaborated with Pink, Backstreet Boys, Jessica Simpson) is also a producer for Still Around.
Thanks gio and Knox for this piece of news!
Neeve- Still Around (live acoustic)
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| 19 August 2013 |
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| "Surround me with your friendly faces" |
It's a line from a Lene song that we want to use to celebrate the birthday of this fanclub. The words are from "Faces" and truly reflect the spirit of the fanclub today, thirteen years after its foundation on 19th August 2000. Common passion and time spent together, both in meetings with Lene and gatherings, gave us the opportunity to make special friends and create a great family.
This fanclub grew thanks to fans, and we believe it will keep growing with a little help from everybody. Our official channels, the Forum and the Facebook page, are always open to thoughts and contributes, especially in these days of Lene-celebration. The most beautiful present so far was by Lene herself, who wrote on her Facebook page replying to the birthday wishes:
Dear all! Thank you so much for your birthday wishes!!! I really appreciate it!!! 33! Another year gone by… Is it just me or does time go faster as we get older? :) Ha ha, feels like it! Getting older really doesn't bother me. I don't know why, but I like it. Perhaps that will change and a year from now I'll be crying my eyes out :) So I found this photo of me the other day. From a time when a year felt like forever! You know it's cold outside when your parents add a Santa hat to the hat you're already wearing Then again, I was 2 years old, so I probably had strong opinions about what to wear!
And here's the picture, together with the photo she took at the presentation of her album "Twist The Truth" in Milan (15 May 2009)... a tribute to all of her fans!!!
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| 17 August 2013 |
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| Here we are, again :) |
Here we are, united as we've been for many years, to celebrate your birthday, Lene!!!
To thank you for what you've given us will never be enough and this year we want to do it in a different way: sometimes a video may tell more then a thousand words.
Bern 2006, Switzerland. A night full of laughs together, unforgettable for its simplicity, an exciting chat with lots of photographs to review the milestones of a link built with patience and passion! Thank you for the memories and for what you will give to your followers, always more and more fascinated by your talent and your art.
A thank you to the founders of YouTube channel "Lene.it TV", on which we can see the full meeting. Don't forget that in our "Experiences" section you'll find pictures and stories from our meetings with Lene.
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