Ruffus was an

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the mu ...

band from

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...

that was originally known as Claire's Birthday. They represented their country in the Eurovision Song Contest 2003.

Members

Vaiko Eplik Vaiko Eplik (born 1 August 1981) is an independent Estonian pop-composer, producer, singer and multi-instrumentalist. Eplik was born in Rapla, Estonia, into a music-loving family. Eplik studied music at the Tallinn Music School, specialising ...

(vocals) was born in 1981 in

Rapla Rapla (German: ''Rappel'') is a town in central Estonia, the capital of Rapla County and the centre of Rapla Parish. The oldest records date back to 1241 in the Danish Census Book, when it was said that it was a small village with 8 acres of ...

, into a music-loving family (as most of the band) of

collective farm Collective farming and communal farming are various types of, "agricultural production in which multiple farmers run their holdings as a joint enterprise". There are two broad types of communal farms: agricultural cooperatives, in which member ...

workers. Eplik studied music at the Tallinn Music School, specialising in pop-jazz singing and also studied the guitar, which he now teaches. * Jaan Pehk (

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

) was born in 1975 in

Türi Türi is a town in Järva County, Estonia. It is the administrative centre of Türi Parish. Since 2000, Türi is known as the "spring capital" of Estonia. It has a railway station on the Tallinn - Viljandi railway line operated by Elron (rail tra ...

. He has a degree in

environmental protection Environmental protection is the practice of protecting the natural environment by individuals, organizations and governments. Its objectives are to conserve natural resources and the existing natural environment and, where possible, to repair dam ...

. He studied pop-jazz singing at the Tallinn Music School and is now an active

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or writte ...

in the literary group Tartu Young Poets' Club (NAK). *Ivo Etti (bass) was born in 1979 in Väike-Maarja. He studied at the Children's Music School in Rakvere and graduated from the Tallinn Music School, where he specialised in playing the

clarinet The clarinet is a musical instrument in the woodwind family. The instrument has a nearly cylindrical bore and a flared bell, and uses a single reed to produce sound. Clarinets comprise a family of instruments of differing sizes and pitches ...

. He is also the brother of former Estonian Eurovision representative,

Ines Ines or INES may refer to: People * Ines (name), a feminine given name, also written as Inés or Inês * Saint Ines or Agnes (), Roman virgin–martyr * Eda-Ines Etti (stage name: ''Ines''; born 1981), Estonian singer Places * Doña Ines, a volca ...

. *Margus Tohver (drums) was born in 1971 in

Tallinn Tallinn () is the most populous and capital city of Estonia. Situated on a bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, Tallinn has a population of 437,811 (as of 2022) and administratively lies in the Harju ' ...

. During the 1980s he played in the first Estonian

thrash metal Thrash metal (or simply thrash) is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music characterized by its overall aggression and often fast tempo.Kahn-Harris, Keith, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'', pp. 2–3, 9. Oxford: Berg, 2007, . ...

band Palat. *Siim Mäesalu (keyboards) was born in

Kohila Kohila (formerly also Kapa-Kohila, german: Koil, Kappakoil) is a borough ( et, alev) in Rapla County, northern Estonia. It is the administrative center of Kohila Parish. Kohila has a population of 3,505 (as of 1 January 2006). Kohila has a railw ...

in 1984. While he has been a keen music student, he has also studied other subjects. He graduated from the Tallinn Secondary School of Music and is currently studying electronic music at the

Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre The Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre (''Eesti Muusika- ja Teatriakadeemia'') began as a mixed choir of the Estonia Society Musical Department (EMD) on the eve of World War I. The assembly of the Estonia Society created the Tallinn Higher Musi ...

History

Vaiko Eplik formed the band Claire’s Birthday in 1997. It became a national pop sensation, releasing three albums and winning Estonian Music awards. As a joke in 2003, the band entered the Estonian selection of

Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest (), sometimes abbreviated to ESC and often known simply as Eurovision, is an international songwriting competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), featuring participants representing pr ...

and won it with the song " Eighties Coming Back".

References

External links

* {{Authority control Eurovision Song Contest entrants for Estonia Eurovision Song Contest entrants of 2003 Estonian indie rock groups Estonian pop music groups Estonian pop rock music groups Musical groups established in 2003