Ruja was one of the foremost

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 ...

rock band A rock band or pop band is a small musical ensemble that performs rock music, pop music, or a related genre. A four-piece band is the most common configuration in rock and pop music. In the early years, the configuration was typically two guita ...

s of the 1970s and 1980s.Central Europe Review: Rock Estonian Style
/ref> The name of the band comes from a

neologism A neologism Greek νέο- ''néo''(="new") and λόγος /''lógos'' meaning "speech, utterance"] is a relatively recent or isolated term, word, or phrase that may be in the process of entering common use, but that has not been fully accepted int ...

"ruja", for

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...

, though there are people who believe that "ruja" is actually made up of the first letters of the band's important members (R –

Rein Rannap Rein Rannap (born 6 October 1953 in Tallinn) is an Estonian composer and pianist. Since 1968, Rannap has given numerous public piano performances. Rannap has been active in management and composition for Ruja, Noor-Eesti and Hõim. Pianist c ...

, U –

Urmas Alender Urmas Alender (22 November 1953 – 28 September 1994) was an Estonian singer and musician, the vocalist of popular Estonian bands Ruja and Propeller. Born in Tallinn, Estonia, Alender began his musical career in the rock band Shades in 196 ...

, J –

Jaanus Nõgisto Jaanus Nõgisto (born 21 January 1956 in Tallinn) is an Estonian director, producer, composer and guitarist. Since 1982, he worked at Eesti Televisioon as the director of music and entertainment programs. In 2000, he created his own production com ...

and A – Andrus Vaht). The band released their first and self-titled album in 1979. Many of the original melodies of Ruja were composed by

. The band was created by Rein Rannap in 1971 while in the 11th grade. Ruja's 3 first members were Rein Rannap, Urmas Alender and Andrus Vaht. On September 28, 1994, the band's lead singer,

, died in the sinking of passenger ferry

M/S Estonia MS ''Estonia'' was a cruiseferry built in 1980 at the West German shipyard Meyer Werft in Papenburg. In 1993, she was sold to Nordström & Thulin for use on Estline's Tallinn–Stockholm route. The ship's sinking on 28 September 1994, in the B ...

. After Alender's funeral concert a couple of days later, the remaining members of the band decided never to perform under the name of "Ruja" again.

Members

1971–1975

(

vocals 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 ...

) *

(

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 ...

) *

Tiit Haagma Tiit Haagma (5 April 1954 – 27 May 2021) was an Estonian sailor and musician. He was born in Tallinn. He started his sailing exercising in 1961, coached by Enn Metsar, and Peeter Leola. In 1984 he won World Championships in Ice Sailing (DN-cla ...

(

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

) *

(

keyboards Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

) * Andrus Vaht (

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

) * Toomas Veenre (guitar) * Andres Põldroo (guitar)

1975–1978

* Urmas Alender (vocals) * Jaanus Nõgisto (guitar) * Tiit Haagma (bass) * Priit Kuulberg (bass 1978–1980) * Margus Kappel (keyboards, 12-string guitar) * Andrus Vaht (drums) * Ivo Varts (drums 1978–1980)

1980–1983

* Urmas Alender (vocals) * Jaanus Nõgisto (guitar) * Tiit Haagma (bass) * Rein Rannap (keyboards) * Jaan Karp (drums)

1985–1988

* Urmas Alender (vocals) * Indrek Patte (vocals 1987) * Jaanus Nõgisto (guitar) *

(bass 1985–1986) * Igor Garšnek (keyboards) * Toomas Rull (drums, vocals 1985–1986) * Rein Joasoo (drums, 1986–1986) * Arvo Urb (drums 1987–1988) * S.P. Gulliver (bass 1987–1988) * Nevil Blumberg (guitar 1988) * Raul Jaanson (guitar 1988)

Discography

*''

Ruja Ruja was one of the foremost Estonian rock bands of the 1970s and 1980s. The name of the band comes from a neologism "ruja", for science fiction, though there are people who believe that "ruja" is actually made up of the first letters of the b ...

'' (EP) (1979) *''

'' (LP) (1982) *''

Kivi veereb ''Kivi veereb'' (''Stone Rolls'') is the third album by Estonian rock band Ruja. Track listing A-side #"Veerev kivi" (''Rolling Stone'') ( Jaanus Nõgisto/Vladislav Koržets) - 5:46 #"Murtud lilled" (''Broken Flowers'') (Igor Garšnek/Hando R ...

'' (1987) *''

Pust budet vsjo ''Pust budet vsjo'' (russian: Пусть будет все) is the fourth album by Estonian rock band Ruja. The album contains Russian language versions of Ruja's songs. It's controversial for the band, because since there was Soviet occupation ...

'' (1989) *''

Must lind ''Must lind'' (''Black bird'') is a compilation album by Estonian rock band Ruja. It was released after the tragedy of M/S Estonia, where the band's lead singer Urmas Alender died and is dedicated to him. Track listing #"Must lind" (''Black bir ...

'' (1994) *'' Need ei vaata tagasi... Osa 1'' (1999) *'' Need ei vaata tagasi... Osa 2'' (1999)

Videos

*"Rujavisioon" (1999). Video cassette (VHS)

References

External links

* *
Estonian progressive rock website
Estonian rock music groups Musical groups established in 1971 Musical groups established in 1988 {{Estonia-band-stub