Leningrad Cowboys

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Leningrad Cowboys
Background information
Origin	Finland
Genres	Rock and Roll Folk rock
Years active	1989 - present
Labels	Megamania Johanna Sony BMG
Associated acts	Sleepy Sleepers
Website	http://www.leningradcowboys.fi
Members
Tipe Johnson Sakke Järvenpää Vesa Kääpä Teijo "Twist Twist" Erkinharju Pemo Ojala Ykä Putkinen Silu Seppälä Antti Snellman Mauri Sumen

The Leningrad Cowboys is a Finnish rock band famous for its humorous songs, ludicrous hairstyles and concerts featuring the Russian military band Alexandrov ensemble.

[edit] Beginnings

The band was an invention of the Finnish film director Aki Kaurismäki, contributing music in his short films "Rocky VI" (1986), "Thru the Wire" (1987) and appearing as a fictional band in the short film "L.A. Woman" (1988) and in the feature film Leningrad Cowboys Go America (1989). The fictional band, however, was made up of Sakke Järvenpää and Mato Valtonen, members of a real Finnish band the Sleepy Sleepers with some additional musicians. In the film, they are joined by Nicky Tesco, founding member of the UK punk rock band, The Members.

[edit] Performances

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 Thru The Wire (also featuring Tesco) (1992).

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.

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, and Lynyrd Skynyrd, all presented with lots of humour.

Ten years after the Total Balalaika Show, on August 23^rd 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^th 2003.

[edit] 2006

Album "Zombie's Paradise"

The album has a hard-rock sound even closer to alternative speed-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.

[edit] 2008

One more show with the Russian Military Band was played in Finland on 22nd November 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"!

[edit] Discography

[edit] Albums

[edit] Singles and EPs

[edit] Filmography

[edit] External links

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