Leningrad Cowboys
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| Leningrad Cowboys | |
|---|---|
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| Background information | |
| Origin | Finland |
| Genres | Rock and Roll Hard Rock Heavy Metal |
| Years active | 1986–present |
| Labels | Megamania Johanna Sony BMG SPV Recordings |
| Associated acts | Sleepy Sleepers |
| Website | http://www.leningradcowboys.fi |
| Members | |
| Ville Tuomi Sakke Järvenpää Tume Uusitalo Varre Vartiainen Pauli Hauta-Aho Sami Järvinen Timo Tolonen Okke Komulainen Pemo Ojala Pope Puolitaival Jay Kortehisto Anna Sainila Hanna Moisala |
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| Past members | |
| See below | |
The Leningrad Cowboys is a Finnish rock band famous for humorously making rock and roll covers of popular songs, exaggerated pompadour hairstyles, long, pointy shoes, often featuring a Russian military band, the Alexandrov Ensemble.
Contents |
[edit] Beginnings
The band was an invention of the Finnish film director Aki Kaurismäki, Sakke Jarvenpää and Mato Valtonen, members of the Finnish pop-punk band Sleepy Sleepers. The band was conceived in a bar in 1986 as a joke on the waning power of the Soviet Union. Jarvenpää and Valtonen expressed their wishes that Kaurismäki would direct their first music video, which resulted in the short film "Rocky VI" (1986). After two further short films, "Thru the Wire" (1987) and "L.A. Woman" (1988), Kaurismäki decided to direct a feature film about them, Leningrad Cowboys Go America (1989).[1] In these films they are joined by Nicky Tesco, founding member of the UK punk rock band The Members.
[edit] After Leningrad Cowboys Go America
After the film, the band took on a life of its own, recording music, making videos and giving concerts. The band appeared in two other Aki Kaurismäki films, the Leningrad Cowboys Meet Moses (1994) and the Total Balalaika Show (1994), which is a film of a concert performed by the band and the full 160-member Alexandrov ensemble in Helsinki, Finland in June 1993. Kaurismäki also wrote and directed two videos featuring the band: their cover of the 60's folk standard "Those Were The Days" (1992) and "These Boots" (1993).
In 1994, the band appeared together with 70 members of the Alexandrov ensemble at the 11th annual MTV Music Awards, at the Radio City Music Hall in New York, where they sang the Lynyrd Skynyrd classic Sweet Home Alabama. The show was seen by an estimated 250 million people worldwide. That same year, the band and ensemble again joined forces for the "Nokia Balalaika Show", a concert held in Berlin. In 1998 they featured in the film L.A. Without a Map.
In 1996 the Leningrad Cowboys granted the Swiss-Italian singer-songwriter David Buzzi permission to write lyrics for the instrumental "Ten Lost Gringos" from the Go America soundtrack. This song was released in Italy and Switzerland in 1998 on the album "Il Diavolo Rosso: Romaneschi" with the title "Gringo".
Currently, the band has 11 Cowboys and two Leningrad Ladies. The songs, all somewhat influenced by polka and progressive rock, are performed in English and have themes such as vodka, tractors, rockets, and Genghis Khan, as well as folkloric Russian songs, rock and roll ballads and covers from bands as diverse as The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Modern Talking, and Lynyrd Skynyrd, all presented with lots of humour.
Ten years after the Total Balalaika Show, on August 23, 2003, the Leningrad Cowboys and the Alexandrov ensemble returned to the Senate Square in Helsinki with UMO and various international performers for the spectacular Global Balalaika Show, was released on DVD directed by Timo Suomi, on November 21, 2003.
In 2006 the album Zombies Paradise was released. This album features a hard rock sound, and draws influences from speed metal, groove metal, and industrial metal. However, covers of famous old songs sounds chaotically effective (especially "Manic Monday"). The album also includes the 1994 Studio version of "Happy Together" as well as a new 2006 version. The music video for the album's cover of the song "You're My Heart, You're My Soul" – is made totally in animated 3D computer graphics as a road-thriller movie.
One more show with the Russian Military Band was played in Finland on November 22, 2008. A newly-released publication, Bio-Book PRAVDA – The Truth About The Leningrad Cowboys also appeared. Promotional lines included: "Here it is finally, The Leningrad Cowboys book "Pravda"!"
October 2011 saw the release of the Kaurismäki Leningrad Cowboys features and short films as a box set by the The Criterion Collection as of their Eclipse series of releases. This month also featured the new album Buena Vodka Social Club, their first album of all-original material since 2000's Terzo Mondo.
[edit] Band Members
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Current members[2]
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Former members
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[edit] Discography
[edit] Albums
[edit] Studio albums
| Title | Label | Year |
|---|---|---|
| 1917–1987 | Megamania | 1987 |
| We Cum From Brooklyn | Johanna | 1992 |
| Happy Together | Johanna | 1994 |
| Go Space | Johanna | 1996 |
| Mongolian Barbeque | Johanna | 1997 |
| Terzo Mondo | Johanna | 2000 |
| Zombies Paradise | Sony BMG | 2006 |
| Buena Vodka Social Club | SPV Recordings | 2011[3] |
[edit] Soundtracks
| Title | Label | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Leningrad Cowboys Go America | Megamania | 1989 |
[edit] Live albums
| Title | Label | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Live in Prowinzz | Johanna | 1993 |
| Total Balalaika Show - Helsinki Concert | Johanna | 1993 |
| Nokia Balalaika Show (promo only) | Johanna | 1995 |
| Global Balalaika Show | Leningrad Cowboys Ltd. | 2003 |
[edit] Compilations
| Title | Label | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Thank You Very Many - Greatest Hits & Rarities | BMG | 1999 |
| Go Wild | BMG | 2000 |
| Those Were the Days - The Best Of Leningrad Cowboys | Leningrad Cowboys | 2009 |
[edit] Singles and EPs
| Title | Format | Label | Year | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| "L. A. Woman" | 7" | AMT | 1987 | Tracks: "L.A. Woman", "Thru the Wire" |
| "In the Ghetto" | 12" | AMT | 1987 | Tracks: "In the Ghetto", "The Beast in Me" |
| "Thru The Wire (Short Film)" | 7", CD | BMG Ariola | 1991 | Tracks: "Thru The Wire" (Short Film), "L.A. Woman" (Short Film), "Ballad Of The Leningrad Cowboys", "Mambo From Säkkijärvi" |
| "Those Were The Days" | CD | BMG Ariola | 1991 | Tracks: "Those Were The Days", "Get On", "Chasing the Light" |
| "Thru the Wire" | CD | BMG Ariola | 1992 | Tracks: "Thru the Wire" (soft version), "Thru the Wire" (album version), "Sally is Something Else", "Fat Bob Dollop" |
| "Those Were The Days" | 7", CD | BMG Ariola | 1992 | Tracks: "Those Were the Days", "Sauna", "Kassaka" |
| "These Boots" | CD | BMG Ariola, Megamania | 1993 | Tracks: "These Boots" (Single Edit), "Thru The Wire" "Sabre Dance" (Instrumental), "Life Is A Bitch (Elämässä Pitää Olla Runkkua)" |
| Nokia Balalaika Show | CD (Promo) | Megamania | 1994 | Tracks: "Delilah", "Gimme All Your Lovin'", "Happy Together" |
| "Jupiter Calling" | CD | BMG Ariola, Megamania | 1996 | Tracks: "Jupiter Calling", "Galina", "Showtime" |
| "Where's The Moon" | CD | BMG Ariola, Megamania | 1996 | Tracks: "Where's the Moon", "Universal Fields", "Answering Machine Space Messages" |
| Mongolian Barbeque | CD (Promo) | Megamania | 1997 | Tracks: "There Must Be an Angel (Playing with My Heart)", "Bad Wind", "Sweet Home Alabama" (Stalker Mix) |
| "Be Worry Don't Happy" | CD (Promo) | Megamania | 1999 | Tracks: "Mardi Gras Ska", "Happy Being Miserable", "Nolo Tengo" |
| "Happy Being Miserable" | CD | Roadrunner | 2000 | Tracks: "Happy Being Miserable", "Mardi Gras Ska", "Back to Moscow" |
| "Monkey Groove" | CD (Promo) | Johanna | 2000 | Tracks: "Monkey Groove", "Harem" |
| "Der Lachende Vagabund" | CD (Promo) | Leningrad Cowboys Ltd. | 2004 | Tracks: "Der Lachende Vagabund", "Pretty Fly (For a White Guy)" (Live), "Kashmir" (Live) |
| "You're My Heart, You're my Soul" | CD | Sony BMG | 2006 | Tracks: "You're My Heart, You're My Soul", "Happy Together" (2006 version), "Happy Together" (Original) |
| 007 Villain Club by Swatch | CD (Promo) | Spark Records | 2008 | Tracks: "A View to a Kill", "Goldfinger", and "James Bond Theme" |
[edit] Contributions and other releases
| Album Title | Year | Label | Song(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hit News Nro 1 | 1992 | K-Tel International |
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| Compact! 4/92 | 1992 | BMG Ariola |
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| Reindeer Rock '92 | 1992 | CD-Linja |
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| Finland Rules | 1992 | Stars in the Dark |
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| Crossing All Over | 1993 | BMG Ariola, GUN Records |
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| Suomi-Rock 1987 | 1994 | Poko Records |
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| Best of Crossover | 1996 | BMG Ariola |
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| Die Harald Schmidt Show | 1996 | Intercord |
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| Fetenhits – The Real Classics (The 3rd) | 1997 | Polystar Records |
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| The Songs of Bob Dylan – May Your Song Always Be Sung Again | 1997 | BMG Ariloa |
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| "Il Diavolo Rosso" (David Buzzi EP) | 1998 | Pony |
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| La Musique de Paris Dernière 1 | 2000 | Naïve |
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| Top Speed Music | 2000 | BMG |
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| Jukebox – Music In The Films Of Aki Kaurismäki | 2006 | Megamania |
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[edit] Filmography
| Title | Year | Director | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Rocky VI" | 1986 | Aki Kaurismäki | short film |
| "Thru The Wire" | 1987 | Aki Kaurismäki | short film |
| "L.A. Woman" | 1988 | Aki Kaurismäki | short film |
| Leningrad Cowboys Go America | 1989 | Aki Kaurismäki | feature film |
| "Those Were The Days" | 1991 | Aki Kaurismäki | short film |
| "These Boots" | 1992 | Aki Kaurismäki | short film |
| Eurotrash | 1993 | Segment on the band included in the 2nd episode of the first series | |
| Leningrad Cowboys Meet Moses | 1994 | Aki Kaurismäki | feature film |
| Total Balalaika Show | 1994 | Aki Kaurismäki | Concert film |
| NOKIA Balalaika Show | 1994 | Concert – TV broadcast | |
| 11th Annual MTV Video Music Awards | 1994 | Performance of "Sweet Home Alabama" with the Red Army Ensemble | |
| "Jupiter Calling" | 1996 | Sakke Järvenpää | music video |
| "Leningrad" | 1996 | Sakke Järvenpää | music video |
| "Where's The Moon" | 1996 | Sakke Järvenpää | music video |
| L.A. Without a Map | 1998 | Mika Kaurismäki | feature film |
| "Happy Being Miserable" | 2000 | music video | |
| Leningrad Cowboys Go Classic | 2001 | Concert – TV broadcast (NDR) | |
| Global Balalaika Show | 2003 | Timo Suomi | Concert – TV broadcast (YLE) |
| Leningrad Cowboys Play Hurriganes | 2004 | Concert of Hurriganes music – TV broadcast (YLE) | |
| "You're My Heart, You're My Soul" | 2007 | music video | |
| "All We Need is Love" | 2011 | Dirk Behlau, Sakke Järvenpää | music video |
| "Gimme Your Sushi" | 2011 | Dirk Behlau, Sakke Järvenpää | music video |
| "Machine Gun Blues" | 2011 | Dirk Behlau | music video |
[edit] Bibliography
| Title | Author(s) | Publisher | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Merry Christmas Leningrad Cowboys | Seppo Hämäläinen Sakke Järvenpää Mato Valtonen |
Otava Publishing | 1994 |
| Leningrad Cowboys – Sweet Home Mexico | Seppo Hämäläinen Sakke Järvenpää Mato Valtonen |
Otava Publishing | 1995 |
| PRAVDA – The Truth About The Leningrad Cowboys | Roman Schatz | Johnny Kniga / WSOY Publishing | 2008 |
[edit] References
- ^ Aki Kaurismäki (1989) [DVD 2011]. Eclipse Series 29: Aki Kaurismäki's Leningrad Cowboys - Leningrad Cowboys Go America (Liner notes). The Criterion Collection. ECL136.
- ^ "SPV". Spv.de. http://www.spv.de/News/newsdetail.php?newsID=145. Retrieved 2011-12-10.
- ^ Official Leningrad Cowboys website – News section
[edit] External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Leningrad Cowboys |
- Official website
- Rocky VI at the Internet Movie Database, their first short film from 1986
- Leningrad Cowboys Go America at the Internet Movie Database
- Leningrad Cowboys Meet Moses at the Internet Movie Database
- Total Balalaika Show at the Internet Movie Database
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