Blues Section are a

Finnish rock Finnish rock (Finnish: ''suomirock'' or ''suomirokki''—also known as Finnsrock, Finnrock or Finrock) refers to rock music made in Finland. The initial rock and roll boom of the 1950s was preceded by a long tradition of popular culture. ''Suomirock ...

music group. They started in 1967, formed around the vocalist

Jim Pembroke James Francis Pembroke (27 January 1946 – 8 October 2021) was a British musician who was the vocalist of the Finnish progressive rock band Wigwam. Life and career Pembroke was born in London, and played with London group Taverners' Guild befo ...

, a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

expatriate songwriter now living in

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

. The other members of the band were

Eero Koivistoinen Eero Koivistoinen (born 13 January 1946, in Helsinki) is a Finnish jazz musician and saxophone player, who started his career in the mid-1960s. Koivistoinen has worked as a musician, composer, arranger, conductor, producer and educator. He first h ...

(saxophone), Ronnie Österberg (drums),

Hasse Walli Hannes Mikael Waldemar "Hasse" Walli was born on 10 February 1948 in Helsinki. His father Aarno Walli was a musician and bandleader, his mother Anne-Marie Strandberg a singer. Hasse Walli was about ten years old when he started playing drums. ...

(guitar), and Måns Groundstroem (bass). Their influences came above all from John Mayall's Bluesbreakers and Jimi Hendrix, who had played a gig in

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the capital, primate, and most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of Uusimaa in southern Finland, and has a population of . The city ...

in May 1967. One can also hear in Pembroke's British-flavoured song-writing some echoes from

The Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developmen ...

and

The Kinks The Kinks were an English rock band formed in Muswell Hill, north London, in 1963 by brothers Ray and Dave Davies. They are regarded as one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s. The band emerged during the height of British rhyt ...

. Blues Section released a self-titled album late 1967 on Helsinki's

Love Records Sean Combs (born Sean John Combs; November 4, 1969), also known by his stage names Puff Daddy, P. Diddy, Puffy, or Diddy, is an American rapper, actor, record producer, and record executive. Born in New York City, he worked as a talent directo ...

. In 1968 Groundstroem and Pembroke left the band, being replaced by Pekka Sarmanto and (another British vocalist) Frank Robson, respectively. Also Koivistoinen would leave the band during the same year, and by the end of 1968 Blues Section was over. The Blues Section members would continue in such acclaimed

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. In ...

bands as

Wigwam A wigwam, wickiup, wetu (Wampanoag), or wiigiwaam (Ojibwe, in syllabics: ) is a semi-permanent domed dwelling formerly used by certain Native American tribes and First Nations people and still used for ceremonial events. The term ''wickiup' ...

and Tasavallan Presidentti. Eero Koivistoinen was to become an internationally acclaimed jazz musician, and Hasse Walli would discover world music, playing in such bands as Piirpauke.

Singles discography

* Blues Section & Jim Pembroke: ''Call Me On Your Telephone'' / ''Only Dreaming'' (7", 1967) * Blues Section & Jim Pembroke: ''Hey, Hey, Hey'' / ''Shivers Of Pleasure'' (7", 1967) *

Kirka Kirill "Kirka" Babitzin (22 September 1950 – 31 January 2007) was one of the most commercially successful Finnish musicians. His career spanned from the late 1960s until his death in 2007. Previously associated with Ilkka Lipsanen's The Islan ...

Babitzin & Blues Section: ''Anna suukko vain'' / ''Silloin ihminen kaunein on'' (7", 1967) * Kirka Babitzin: ''Avaruuslaulu'' / Otto Donner: ''Riemun siemenet'' - ''Tanssi'' - ''Kampaamon riemu'' (1968) * Jim Pembroke & Blues Section: ''Semi-Circle Solitude'' / ''Cherry Cup-Cake Twist'' (7", 1968) * Blues Section & Frank Robson: ''Faye'' / ''Sun Of Love'' (7" 1968) * Ronnie Österberg & Blues Section: ''Kauan kuljen'' / ''Hei vaan'' (7", 1968) * Ronnie Österberg & Blues Section: ''Ei kauempaa'' / ''Kun yö hyväilee'' (7", 1968) * Otto Donner & Blues Section: ''Pääskytorni'' / ''Kuka kertoisi minulle'' (7", 1968)

Album discography

* ''Blues Section'' (1967) * ''Some Of Love'' (compilation, 1969) * ''Once More For The Road'' (1980) (compilation, 1980) * ''Classics - The Ultimate Collection'' (compilation, 1990) * ''Blues Section 2'' (compilation, 1995)

Appearances on compilation albums discography

* ''Football'' (on "Perspectives '68 - Music In Finland", LP, 1968) * ''For Mods Only'' - ''Lucy Jane'' (on "Reunion", LP, 1970)

External links

Blues Section

Historien om klubb Filips del 1. (The history of club Filips pt. 1)

Historien om klubb Filips del 2. (The history of club Filips pt. 2)
Finnish rock music groups {{Finland-band-stub