Rock Frontman Bjørn Müller Has Died

Bjørn Müller, the longtime vocalist for the Norwegian rock band Backstreet Girls, has died. Müller passed away on Monday, Nov. 18 at the age of 64, the group confirmed on its Facebook page. A cause of death was not disclosed.

“We are in shock after the horrible message we woke up to,” Backstreet Girls wrote while also changing their profile image and header to black. “Our thoughts are with the family, children, friends, fans. We love you Bjørn!!”

Born in Fredrikstad in 1960, per Dagbladet, Muller enjoyed a four-decade long music career with Backstreet Girls. The band was formed in 1984 by brothers Pål and Tom Kristensen on bass and vocals respectively, guitarist Petter Baarli and drummer Petter Hafstad. The band went through numerous iterations, with Muller joining on vocals in 1986. He played on some of the group’s earliest albums, including 1988’s Boogie Till You Puke, 1989’s Party on Elm Street, and 1990’s Coming Down Hard.

Although Muller left Backstreet Girls in 1991, and was replaced by Ole Hillbor on vocals, he rejoined the band as lead vocalist in 1995. He remained with the band through his death, performing on albums including Hellway To High (1999), Tough Tough Tough (2001), Black Boogie Death Rock’n’Roll (2002), Sick My Duck (2003), Shake Your Stimulator (2007), and Just When You Thought Things Couldn’t Get Any Worse… Here’s the Backstreet Girls (2009).

Earlier this year, Müller and his bandmate Petter Baarli were awarded the Music Publishers’ Honorary Award 2024. Accepting the award, Muller said, per NRK, “If you had told me 40 years ago that there would be people in tuxedos and cross-the-street bow ties and really like punk rock and heavy, I hardly would have believed it.”

Muller’s passing comes as the band continues to celebrate their 40th anniversary this year. In addition to the upcoming December release of an LP box, the group is also scheduled to play concerts in both Oslo and Trondheim next month. It’s unclear if those dates will be changed amid news of Muller’s passing.

In a statement following their father’s passing, Muller’s children, Max and Iben, said, “We wish to thank for all the greetings and support we have received so far from acquaintances, friends and fans on the occasion of the passing of our dear, inimitable father. Unfortunately we do not have the capacity to reply to everything right now, but please know that every greeting is read and means a lot. We now have a need for peace to process grief with our loved ones and hope the media will respect this.”