Danish pianist and composer Bent Fabricius-Bjerre is better known as Bent Fabric. Born in Frederiksberg on December 7, 1924, he formed a jazz band after the Second World War, and in 1950 founded the Metronome Records label, which has become one of Denmark's biggest names in the genre. He first made a name for himself as Frank Barcley with a series of four albums in 1955 entitled Evergreen of 50 Years, revisiting song and jazz classics from 1905 to 1945. In 1961, his instrumental "Omkring et flygel" became a hit in Denmark, before conquering the international market the following year as "Alley Cat", reaching No. 7 in the U.S. pop charts and winning a Grammy Award for Best Rock'n'Roll Recording. The album of the same name reaches #13 on the Billboard 200. Bent Fabric scored two more hits with "Chicken Feed" (#63 in 1963) and "The Happy Puppy " (#102). He made further albums under the Bent Fabric name during the decade, and under his real name composed numerous themes for film and TV in Denmark, returning to pop in 2004 with the album Jukebox, whose title track reached No. 3 in Denmark and "Shake" No. 10. Dance remixes of her main hits were released. In 2005, the compilation Kan du kende melodien brought together his best-known pieces for TV and film. Honored in 2017 with a Lifetime Achievement Award, Bent Fabricius-Bjerre died in Copenhagen on July 28, 2020, aged 95.
