My name is Leif Arne Thorstensen.  I was born in Notodden in Telemark, Norway, in 1947, and my family moved to Nordagutu in the same area in 1954.  At an early age I became  interested in music, and in 1962 I took part in the foundation of the band “FLAMING STARS”.  We played at dancing arrangements round about in Southern Norway up to 1966.  After that I went to the sea for a while, until I started working at the railway in 1970.  I was not a practising musician again until1995, but I listened a lot to music, in particular country music.

 My good friend Einar started a radio program called “HIGHWAYEXPRESSEN” (“The Highway Express”) in Radio Midt-Telemark (RMT) in the summer of 1995, and I was invited to join in as co DJ in February 1996.  “HIGHWAYEXPRESSEN” is a program with special focus on traditional country music. The program is still   on the air every week on fridays. In 1997 I encountered some old musician friends, and this made me feel like starting working with music again, but now in a different way than I did in the 60s.  I began thinking about making an album of country music.  This resulted in my first CD “Straight From The Heart” in 1998.  The album sold so well that I was enabled to afford another CD.  I started writing tunes which I wanted to include in   this new CD.  The result was "Memories" in 2000.  I also started writing texts in Norwegian; my plan was to include tunes with both Norwegian and English texts.  The result was "Remember" in 2003.  My latest album is called "Stories"; it was issued in 2006 and contains a mixture of texts in Norwegian and English.  

 As time went by I gathered a few musicians and we formed the band “Leifen & Friends Band”" We play at dancing arrangements.  I frequently have ideas about music that I would like to have recorded in a studio, both my own stuff and others’, so another CD is likely to crop up, probably in 2009.

I would like to thank all radiostations that have played my music.  Without them, the situation would have         been a different one.  I also want to thank all those who have given me support in  various ways.

 Special thanks to Einar Flaatin for his assistance with pictures, and his extensive work with my homee page, in making it and keeping it updated.