Eppu Normaali
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Eppu Normaali |
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Eppu Normaali is one of the most popular bands in Finland. The band was formed in 1976 in the small town of Ylöjärvi, near Tampere.
History
The core band consisted of Juha Torvinen, Mikko Saarela, Aku Syrjä and brothers Martti Syrjä (b. 1959, vocals) and Mikko "Pantse" Syrjä (b. 1957, guitar); their parents are Kirsi Kunnas and Jaakko Syrjä, both accomplished writers.
In 1977 the band named themselves Eppu Normaali and participated in a rock music competition. Finnish folk/pop legend Juice Leskinen immediately saw the band's potential and demanded that they must win, but the judges were unimpressed. The band started sending demos to various companies and soon POKO Rekords signed them.
They released various records of Ramones type of punk pop that gained good reviews, but did not break through until 1984, with their more AOR-oriented new style. Rupisia Riimejä Karmeita Tarinoita was released in 1984 and it was followed by Kahdeksas Ihme in 1985 and Valkoinen Kupla in 1986. All three albums were hits with combined sales of over 300,000 copies, a huge amount in a country with just over five million people. In total, Eppu Normaali have sold over 1.5 million albums.
The following albums all sold well, but in 1989 the band decided to take a break after intensive tours around the country. In 1993 they published Studio Etana; the band almost broke up because of lacking inspiration.
In 1996 a collection of their greatest hits was published, selling over 200,000 copies. Soon after its release, the band stopped touring and performing live almost completely.
Fans thought the band was taking its last breaths, but in 2004 the band announced they would start recording a new album. The new album, Sadan Vuoden Päästäkin, was another great triumph.
Eppu Normaali is the first significant Finnish pop group of the new wave and it has gained success especially in the original use of the Finnish language in rock lyrics.
Studio albums
- Aknepop (Acnepop) (1978)
- Maximum Jee&Jee (1979)
- Akun tehdas (Aku's Factory) (1980)
- Cocktail Bar - Musiikkia Rantalasta ( - Music from Rantala) (1981)
- Tie vie (On the road) (1982)
- Aku ja köyhät pojat (Aku and the Poor Boys) (1983)
- Rupisia riimejä karmeita tarinoita (Scabby Rhymes and Terrible Stories) (1984)
- Kahdeksas ihme (Eighth Wonder) (1985)
- Valkoinen kupla (White Bubble) (1986)
- Imperiumin vastaisku (The Empire Strikes Back) (1988)
- Historian suurmiehiä (Great Men of History) (1990)
- Studio Etana (Studio Snail) (1993)
- Repullinen hittejä (A Bagful of Hits) (1996) - Greatest Hits album, peaked at Number 1 on the Finnish charts and stayed in the charts for 110 weeks[1]
- Sadan vuoden päästäkin (Even After a Hundred Years) (2004)
- Syvään päähän (To the Deep End) (2007)
Live albums
- Elävänä Euroopassa (Alive in Europe) (1980)
- Onko vielä pitkä matka jonnekin? (Is it still a long way to somewhere?) (1994)
Trivia
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- The band was named after a character in movie Young Frankenstein by Mel Brooks (character Abby Normal [abnormal] was translated to Eppu Normaali [epänormaali]).
- The cover of the album Akun Tehdas was modelled after the cover of Creedence Clearwater Revival album Cosmo's Factory. Aku Syrjä is the drummer of Eppu Normaali, just as Doug "Cosmo" Clifford is that of CCR. All the same elements are present on both album covers.
- The idol of the band is Creedence Clearwater Revival and specifically John Fogerty.
References
External links
- Eppunormaali.fi Official home page
- Eppunormaali.net Fan page