James Francis Pembroke (27 January 1946 – 8 October 2021) was a British musician who was the

vocalist Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

of the

Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...

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. Init ...

band

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'' ...

Life and career

Pembroke was born in London, and played with London group Taverners' Guild before arriving in Finland in 1965. He immediately found himself in some demand, gigging on an ad hoc basis with various lineups such as the Beatmakers, later renamed

Jormas Jormas was a Finnish pop band in the 1960s. They had previously appeared as the Beatmakers, but were renamed by their manager Jorma Weneskoski. They were active from 1965 - 1968. Line up in 1965 was Raul Wikström (vocals), Pepe Willberg (vocal ...

, until forming The Pems. He joined

Blues Section Blues Section are a Finnish rock music group. They started in 1967, formed around the vocalist Jim Pembroke, a British expatriate songwriter now living in Finland. The other members of the band were Eero Koivistoinen (saxophone), Ronnie Österbe ...

in 1967, recording a blues-jazz-pop fusion album now considered seminal in Finnish rock. After the band folded, Pembroke taught himself piano, then joined Wigwam in early 1969. He remained their frontman and principal songwriter, while also releasing occasional solo records. In 2013, Pembroke was granted an artist's pension by the Finnish state. In the mid-1990s, he moved to the United States, married, and later lived in

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the 36th most-populous city in the United States. It is the central ...

. Pembroke died in Kansas City on 8 October 2021, aged 75.

Solo discography

*''Wicked Ivory'' (under the pseudonym "Hot Thumbs O'Riley"),

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 ...

1972 *''Pigworm'', Love Records 1974 *''Corporal Cauliflowers Mental Function'', Love Records 1977 *''Flat Broke'' (as the "Jim Pembroke Band"), Ponsi 1980 *''Party Upstairs'', Johanna 1981 *''If the Rain Comes'', TUM Records 2014

References

External links

2000 interview
* * 1946 births 2021 deaths Singers from London Wigwam (Finnish band) members {{Finland-singer-stub