[1] Thomas Helmig was born and grew up in Egå, a suburb of Aarhus, where his father was a doctor.

To escape from the feelings associated with his parents' divorce, Thomas took refuge in music, most notably he spent much time teaching himself to play the piano.

Upon his return to Denmark in 1981, he joined an Aarhus-band called Kaksi Kuggas Band, with which he gigged in a number of local venues.

In 1985 Helmig was invited to contribute to the Danish Africa Aid song Afrika, leading to his discovery by the record company Genlyd who subsequently produced his first self-titled solo album, Thomas, which became a huge Danish success and for which he also received considerable critical acclaim.

The third album, Kære maskine ("Dear Machine"), was more rocking than the first two, while the following one Vejen væk (The Path Away), released in 1988, was much gloomier, reflecting his turbulent split from Fenger.

This period in his life also marked a turn in his musical style as he returned to his soul and Motown roots, inspired by Marvin Gaye.

He writes nearly all his own songs and he contributes prolifically as a songwriter to other artists like Søs Fenger, Hanne Boel, Sanne Salomonsen, TV-2, Malurt and many others.