Eppu Normaali is one of the most popular rock bands 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 band formed in 1976 in
Ylöjärvi
Ylöjärvi () is a town and a municipality in the Pirkanmaa region, northwest of Tampere and north of the capital city Helsinki in Finland. The town has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is .
...
, a small town near
Tampere
Tampere ( , , ; sv, Tammerfors, ) is a city in the Pirkanmaa region, located in the western part of Finland. Tampere is the most populous inland city in the Nordic countries. It has a population of 244,029; the urban area has a population o ...
. The band is the best-selling music artist in Finland, with
certified
Certification is the provision by an independent body of written assurance (a certificate) that the product, service or system in question meets specific requirements. It is the formal attestation or confirmation of certain characteristics of a ...
sales of nearly two million records,
and it has also gained success especially in the use of the
Finnish language
Finnish ( endonym: or ) is a Uralic language of the Finnic branch, spoken by the majority of the population in Finland and by ethnic Finns outside of Finland. Finnish is one of the two official languages of Finland (the other being Swedish ...
in rock lyrics. In addition to their studio albums, Eppu Normaali also released live records, DVDs, and over 20 singles.
Eppu Normaali's most famous songs include "Vuonna '85" (In the Year '85), "Kitara, taivas ja tähdet" (The Guitar, the Sky and the Stars), "Murheellisten laulujen maa" (The Land of Sorrowful Songs), "Pimeyden tango" (Tango of Darkness), "Suolaista sadetta" (Salty Rain) and "Tahroja paperilla" (Stains on a Paper).
History
The members of the original band were Juha Torvinen (guitar), Mikko Saarela (bass), Aku Syrjä (drums), and brothers Martti Syrjä (vocals) and Mikko "Pantse" Syrjä (guitar). (The brothers are the sons of accomplished writers
Kirsi Kunnas
Kirsi Marjatta Kunnas (14 December 1924 – 8 November 2021) was a Finnish poet, children's literature author and translator into Finnish. Her oeuvre consists of poems, fairy tale books, drama, translations (e.g. Lewis Carroll, Federico Garcí ...
and Jaakko Syrjä).
[Europopmusic's Eppu Normaali profile](_blank)
/ref> In 1979, bassist Mikko Saarela left the band, and Mikko Nevalainen played bass with Eppu Normaali until 1989. The current bassist is Sami Ruusukallio.
The band took its name from a character in the Mel Brooks
Mel Brooks (born Melvin James Kaminsky; June 28, 1926) is an American actor, comedian and filmmaker. With a career spanning over seven decades, he is known as a writer and director of a variety of successful broad farces and parodies. He began h ...
movie ''Young Frankenstein
''Young Frankenstein'' is a 1974 American comedy horror film directed by Mel Brooks. The screenplay was co-written by Brooks and Gene Wilder. Wilder also starred in the lead role as the title character, a descendant of the infamous Dr. Victor F ...
'', and the subtitler translated the name of the character ''Abby Normal'' (''abnormal'') into the Finnish equivalent ''Eppu Normaali'' (''epänormaali'', roughly 'abnormal'; a Finnish equivalent of the original play with words).
In 1977, the band participated in a local rock music competition. Finnish folk/pop legend Juice Leskinen
Juhani Juice Leskinen (officially Pauli Matti Juhani "Juice" Leskinen; 19 February 1950 – 24 November 2006), better known as Juice Leskinen ( as if the word ''juice'' were Finnish) was one of the most important and successful Finnish singer- ...
was present and issued a demand that they "must win", but the judges were unimpressed—the band did not win. The band began sending demos
Demos may refer to:
Computing
* DEMOS, a Soviet Unix-like operating system
* DEMOS (ISP), the first internet service provider in the USSR
* Demos Commander, an Orthodox File Manager for Unix-like systems
* plural for Demo (computer programming)
...
to various record companies and they were soon signed to Poko Rekords.
They initially released albums in a punk
Punk or punks may refer to:
Genres, subculture, and related aspects
* Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres
* Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...
pop style that gained favourable reviews, but the band did not gain mainstream acceptance until 1984 with what had evolved into a more AOR-oriented music style. ''Rupisia Riimejä Karmeita Tarinoita'' was released in 1984, and it was followed by ''Kahdeksas Ihme'' in 1985 and ''Valkoinen Kupla'' in 1986. This trio of albums were all hits, with combined sales of over 300,000 copies. ''Kahdeksas Ihme'' is their top-selling non-greatest hits record to date.
Although their albums all sold well, the band decided to take a break in 1989 after intensive tours around the country and when Mikko Nevalainen left the group. In 1993, they released ''Studio Etana'', which was to become their last studio album for eleven years. The band came close to breaking up, citing "lacking inspiration" as the primary cause. Their 1996 release ''Repullinen hittejä'', a greatest hits compilation sold over 240,000 copies,[Finnish Charts](_blank)
/ref> reaching the top of the Finnish charts. This record also stayed on the charts for over two years, a duration which is second of all time in Finland. After its release, the band effectively stopped touring or performing live.
In 2004, the band announced they would record a new album, ''Sadan vuoden päästäkin'', which became one of the band's most successful releases. In 2007, they released their most recent album, ''Syvään päähän''.
In 2016, the band celebrated its 40th anniversary with a documentary film, book, photo exhibition and a massive show on Ratina stadium. The stadium concert had over 30 000 spectators.
Discography
Studio albums
* ''Aknepop
''Aknepop'' is Eppu Normaali
Eppu Normaali is one of the most popular rock bands in Finland. The band formed in 1976 in Ylöjärvi, a small town near Tampere. The band is the best-selling music artist in Finland, with certified sales of near ...
'' (Acne pop) (1978)
* ''Maximum Jee&Jee'' (1979)
* '' Akun tehdas'' (Aku's Factory) (1980)
* ''Cocktail Bar - Musiikkia Rantalasta'' (Cocktail Bar — Music from Rantala) (1981)
* ''Tie vie'' (The Road Carries) (1982)
* ''Aku ja köyhät pojat
''Aku ja köyhät pojat'' (''Aku and the Poor Boys'') is Eppu Normaali's sixth album, released on June 5, 1983. It was different from their previous album '' Tie vie'', because they did not use piano at all; as a result, the music is more guitar ...
'' (Aku and the Poor Boys) (1983)
* '' Rupisia riimejä karmeita tarinoita'' (Scabby Rhymes and Frightening Stories) (1984)
* ''Kahdeksas ihme
''Kahdeksas ihme'' (''The Eighth Wonder'') is the eighth album of Finnish rock group Eppu Normaali. The album was produced by Mikko "Pantse" Syrjä, the guitarist and main songwriter of the band. It was released on 19 August 1985 through Poko Reko ...
'' (Eighth Wonder) (1985)
* ''Valkoinen kupla'' (White Bubble) (1986)
* ''Imperiumin vastaisku
''Imperiumin vastaisku'' (''The Empire Strikes Back'') is the tenth album of Finnish musical group Eppu Normaali, published 23 June 1988.
Track listing
The album includes the following songs (original Finnish name followed by English
English ...
'' (The Empire Strikes Back) (1988)
* ''Historian suurmiehiä'' (Great Men of History) (1990)
* ''Studio Etana'' (Studio Snail) (1993)
* ''Sadan vuoden päästäkin'' (Even After a Hundred Years) (2004)
* ''Syvään päähän'' (To the Deep End) (2007)
* ''Mutala'' (2011)
* ''Mutala'', Pure Audio Blu-ray (2012)
Live albums
* ''Elävänä Euroopassa'' (Alive in Europe) (1980)
* ''Onko vielä pitkä matka jonnekin?'' (Is there still a long way to somewhere?) (1994)
Compilation albums
* ''Pop pop pop'' (Pop pop pop) (1982)
* ''Hatullinen paskaa'' (A hatful of shit) (1984)
* ''Aku, Juha, Martti ja Mikko² - soolot'' (Aku, Juha, Martti and Mikko² - solos) (1987)
* ''Poko-klassikko'' (Poko-classic) (1987)
* ''Lyömättömät'' (Unbeatables) (1989)
* ''Hatullinen paskaa/Soolot'' (A hatful of shit/Solos) (1990)
* ''Paskahatun paluu'' (Shithat's return) (1991)
* ''Repullinen hittejä'' (A bagful of hits) (1996)
* ''Reppu 2 - toinen repullinen kuolemattomia Eppu-klassikoita'' (Bag 2 - another bagful of immortal Eppu-classics) (2003)
* ''Singlet 1978–2003'' (Singles 1978–2003) (2003)
* ''Jackpot - 101 Eppu-klassikkoa 1978–2009'' (Jackpot - 101 Eppu-classics 1978–2009) (6 CD, 2009)
Filmography
* ''The Saimaa Gesture
''The Saimaa Gesture'' ( fi, Saimaa-ilmiö) is a 1981 film by Finnish directors Aki and Mika Kaurismäki. It is a documentary about three Finnish rock groups aboard the steamboat SS Heinävesi on their tour around Lake Saimaa.
The film
The fil ...
'' (1981)
See also
*List of best-selling music artists in Finland
These are the lists of the music artists that have the highest certified record sales in Finland (and/or sales explicitly confirmed by Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland in their database). The lists consist of albums and singles (vinyl, CD, d ...
References
External links
Eppunormaali.fi
Official home page
Eppunormaali.net
Fan page
{{Authority control
Finnish punk rock groups
Musical groups established in 1976
1976 establishments in Finland