Ville Valo

Ville Hermanni Valo (born November 22, 1976) is the vocalist, songwriter and frontman of the Finnish band HIM. Valo is one of the founding members of HIM, a band that have gone on to enjoy success across Europe and the US. He currently lives in Finland and is known to be friends with skateboarder and 'Jackass', Bam Margera, Valo also appeared in Bam's MTV show Viva la Bam.

The somber and often introverted Valo has drawn comparisions to late Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain and Jim Morrison of The Doors (whom Ville played in The 69 Eyes video 'Wasting The Dawn'). Ville Valo's first musical step was as a three year old bongo drummer. Aged nine, Valo attended the Pop and Jazz Conservatory in Helsinki, where he studied several different musical genres. Soon after his birth his family moved to the riverside community of Oulunkylä, where his father eventually opened a sex shop; during his late teens Ville spent a period working in the shop before launching his career in music.

As a child he was influenced by his music-loving parents, who exposed him to the songs of popular Finnish performers such as Tapio Rautavaara and Rauli Badding Somerjoki, while an older cousin introduced him to the heavier sounds of bands like Kiss, Black Sabbath and Iron Maiden. His interests gradually expanded to include reggae, early blues and country-oriented material such as Johnny Cash, Roy Orbison and Neil Young. From a young age, Valo's enthusiasm for music also took a more active form of expression, and he participated in a large number of different Helsinki-based bands: B.L.O.O.D. (1986-89), Eloveena Boys (1987-88), Kemoterapia (1989-97) and numerous other, more obscure projects.

Discography

HIM:

666 Ways To Love: Prologue (EP) (1996)
Greatest Love Songs Vol. 666 (1997)
Razorblade Romance (2000)
Deep Shadows and Brilliant Highlights (2001)
Single Collection (Box set) (2002)
Love Metal (2003)
And Love Said No: The Greatest Hits 1997-2004 (2004)
HIM Video Collection DVD
HIM love metal archives DVD
Dark Light (2005)

Other:

1997: Wrap your troubles in dreams (The 69 Eyes; Valo as background singer)
1998: Hunningolla (Neljä Ruusua; Valo as guest in the video)
1998: Laulava Sydän (Agents; Ville Valo sings 3 Songs on this album in Finnish)
1999: Ikkunaprinsessa (Agents and Ville Valo)
1999: Paratiisi (Agents and Ville Valo)
1999: Jykevää on rakkaus (Agents and Ville Valo)
1999: Freak Out (Tehosekoitin; Valo as background singer)
1999: Wasting The Dawn (The 69 Eyes; Valo as background singer)
1999: Sweet Desire (Valo wrote 'Whispers in the Chaos' for Lullacry)
2000: Blessed Be (The 69 Eyes; Valo as background singer)
2001: Thulsa Doom (HIM as Thulsa Doom, Warm-Up Band for The 69 Eyes in Tavastia club)
2001: Death Of A Clown (5.15 - Five Fifteen; Valo as background singer)
2001: The King Of Rock'n Roll (Daniel Lioneye; Valo as drummer and background singer)
2002: Hedonis Hellcats (The Skreppers; Valo as background singer together with Migè & Lily)
2002: Support Band von The Skreppers (Lux Airam/Ville, Miguelo/Migé & D. Lioneye/Lily)
2002: Paris Kills (The 69 Eyes; Valo as background singer)
2002: AurA (The Mission; Valo as background singer)
2004: Saturnalia (Lowe Motor Corporation; Valo as background singer)
2004: Bittersweet (Apocalyptica; Ville Valo feat. Lauri Ylönen of the Rasmus )
2004: The Call Of The Trash (The Skreppers; Valo as background singer)
2004: Devils (The 69 Eyes; Valo as background singer)
2005: American Idle (Isabelle's Gift; Valo as background singer in the song 'If I Die Tonight')
2005: Something Diabolical (Bloodhound Gang; feat. Ville Valo)
2006: The Byronic Man (Cradle Of Filth; feat. Ville Valo)

Trivia

He has a younger brother, Jesse Valo, (born 1984) who is a Muay Thai Kickboxer^{[citation needed]}..
"Ville" translates to either "William" or "Bill", Valo means light in Finnish
He is half Hungarian on his mother's side.
Ville has stated many times that he hates The Beatles^{[citation needed]}.
He has many tattoos, one of which is a design on his entire left arm.
He suffers from Asthma^{[citation needed]}..
Ville got a tattoo of on his left breast which symbolizes his love and passion for music

External links