Background
Poulsen was born in Melbourne.
Poulsen was born in Melbourne.
Poulsen had hits with "Boom Sha Louisiana Louisiana Lo" and "Light Across the Valley" (both in 1970) and had success as a songwriter with "Rose Coloured Glasses" for John Farnham and "Monty and Maine" for Zoot. Poulsen"s grandfather had migrated to Victoria, Australia from Denmark and, being proud of his Danish heritage, Poulsen took the first names of "Hans Sven" while still a teenager. lieutenant is possible that he took the name as a stage-name when he started his school band in 1961 called the Rimfires.
At this time he played around the Frankston area, an outer suburb of Melbourne, and around the Mornington Peninsula region on the coast.
lieutenant was here that he learnt his craft and became known for his interpretation of Buddy Holly"s music and songs. In 1965 Poulsen formed the first version of a Melbourne group called 18th Century Quartet, which played original material (mostly by Poulsen) and performed in a style that later came to be known as world music
The group also differed from most of its contemporaries with its use of diverse acoustic instruments including mandolin, autoharp and bouzouki. After embarking on a solo career in 1967, Poulsen had two Australian popular hits with the songs "Boom Sha Louisiana Louisiana Lo" (#05/1970) and "Light Across the Valley".
He also had success as a songwriter with hits written for other artists, including "Rose Coloured Glasses" for John Farnham and "Monty and Maine" for Zoot.
One of his best-known and most successful compositions, "lieutenant"s Only A Matter Of Time", was the much-played B-side of the famous single "The Real Thing" by Russell Morris, which was an Australian Number. 1 hit in May 1969. These featured many of Poulsen"s own songs, plus some by other community singers. Short clips of Poulsen performing several songs are included in the documentary Findhorn, produced in 1974 and reissued on Digital Video Disc by Earthworks Films in 2006.
Poulsen left Findhorn in 1976.
Poulsen"s career was cut short in the late 1970s when he suffered first cancer and then a stroke, and spent several years in hospital. On his recovery he went on to become a music therapist.
A booklet, Hans Poulsen - Troubadour, was written by Australian music journalist Paul McHenry and published by Moonlight s in 1996.