Popular Danish band plans biggest China tour

The classically trained musician, who learned flute and cello and then the piano as child, rewrote the song several times and he is proud to present this version.

"We cannot think of a better time than now to share this with our fans to close off our 25th anniversary celebrations," says Richter, adding that the song is dedicated to the band members' wives and children. The band started touring on the occasion of their 25th anniversary in 2013.

Crushing Blue is the drummer's personal favorite because of the slow and romantic melodies, which is typical of the group's sound.

The band was formed in the spring of 1988 by Richter, Wanscher and guitarist Mikkel Lentz. That summer the band won a local talent competition and started out on a nearly two-year tour around Denmark.

"We were quite surprised when it turned out that we'd won, and so we had to come up with a name quickly. At that time, Michael Jackson was someone we admired very much, which is one of the reasons we decided to call ourselves Michael Learns to Rock," says guitarist Lentz.

Unlike almost all other Danish bands at that time, Wanscher says, they started out by singing in English because they were very clear about their goal－to have success all over the world.

The drummer also notes that the longevity of the band came from each member's different influences. Richter was influenced by ABBA, Supertramp and Elton John, while Lentz was more into the Beatles and the Rolling Stones and Wanscher was listening to Bob Marley and Stevie Wonder.

"I will say that what inspires our music most is to be alive in the world as human beings trying to bring all we see and experience into our music," Wanscher says. "The joy of playing music kept us together and we still love that more than anything."