Wigwam is a Finnish
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 ...
band formed in 1968.
History
Wigwam was founded after the split of the seminal
Blues Section, with whom drummer Ronnie Österberg had played before. He formed the band as a trio, but soon brought in British expatriate singer/songwriter
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 ...
(also in Blues Section) and organist Jukka Gustavson. A year later,
Pekka Pohjola joined on bass.
Kim Fowley produced Wigwam's second album ''
Tombstone Valentine'' (1970). This album also featured an excerpt of
's electronic composition 'Dance of the Anthropoids'. The 1974 album ''
Being'' is often called Wigwam's masterpiece. After its release, though, Pohjola and Gustavson quit the band. Commercially the most successful Wigwam album must be the more pop-oriented ''Nuclear Nightclub'' that followed in 1975, with new members Pekka Rechardt on guitar and
Måns Groundstroem on bass. The album was recorded in Stockholm with better studios, and featured Esa Kotilainen, the Finnish equivalent of Rick Wakeman, on synthesizer. The effect of the synthesizer was to steer the group away from the organ and piano sound of Gustavson that dominated previous albums. The band from Nuclear Nightclub on had songwriters Pembroke and Rechardt often working together, and the two came to describe the style as "deep pop" instead of progressive rock.
For a time in the 1970s Wigwam seemed poised to break through in Europe, along with bands like
Tasavallan Presidentti, but even though they were highly praised by the UK press large-scale international fame eluded them, and by 1978 they had disbanded. Jim Pembroke and Ronnie Österberg formed the Jim Pembroke Band in late 1979, but following health problems with
diabetes
Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level ( hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ...
, Österberg committed
suicide on 6 December 1980.
Wigwam reformed in the 1990s with the Pembroke-Rechardt-Groundstroem core intact, and has been active to the present. In Finland they have a lasting (although limited) following, and their influence on
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 is widely recognised.
In the 2010s, the former members of Wigwam have made concerts billed as ''Wigwam Unplugged'' or ''Wigwam Revisited''. The latest line-up consists Mikko Rintanen, Jan Noponen, Måns Groundstroem and Jukka Gustavson with Pekka Nylund playing guitar.
In late 2018, the band made a short 50th anniversary tour in Finland with line-up of Jukka Gustavson, Jim Pembroke, Pekka Rechardt, Esa Kotilainen and Jan Noponen with
Pave Maijanen
Pekka Juhani "Pave" Maijanen (3 September 1950 – 16 January 2021) was a Finnish musician, who worked as a singer, songwriter, bass player, keyboard player, drummer, guitarist and producer during his long career. As well as his solo career, Maij ...
on bass.
Band leader Jim Pembroke died in October 2021, aged 75.
Band members
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Latest lineup
*
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 ...
–
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 withou ...
,
keyboards (1969–2018; died 2021)
* Jukka Gustavson – vocals,
electric organ
An electric organ, also known as electronic organ, is an electronic keyboard instrument which was derived from the pump organ, harmonium, pipe organ and theatre organ. Originally designed to imitate their sound, or orchestral sounds, it has sinc ...
(1969–1974, 2018)
* Pekka "Rekku" Rechardt –
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 strin ...
(1974-)
* Jan Noponen –
drums (1991–1993, 2018)
* Esa Kotilainen –
keyboards (1974–75, 1977, 2001-)
*
Pave Maijanen
Pekka Juhani "Pave" Maijanen (3 September 1950 – 16 January 2021) was a Finnish musician, who worked as a singer, songwriter, bass player, keyboard player, drummer, guitarist and producer during his long career. As well as his solo career, Maij ...
–
bass guitar
The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...
, vocals (2018; died 2021)
Drums
* Ronald "Ronnie" Österberg (1968–1980; died 1980)
* Jari "Kepa" Kettunen (1993–2006)
Guitar
* Vladimir "Nikke" Nikamo (1968–1970)
Bass guitar
* Mats Huldén (1968–70, 2004–2006)
*
Pekka Pohjola (1970–1974; died 2008)
* Måns "Måsse" Groundstroem (1974–2003)
* Jussi Kinnunen (2003–2004)
Violin
*
Pekka Pohjola (1970–1974; died 2008)
Keyboards
* Heikki "Pedro" (or "Hessu") Hietanen (1975–1977, 1991–1992, 1999–2000)
* Mikko Rintanen (1992–1993)
Guest musicians
*
Jukka Tolonen
Jukka Jorma Tolonen (born 16 April 1952) is a Finnish jazz guitarist.Lönnqvist, Niclas.Jukka Tolonen är musikern av Guds nåde (in Swedish), Hufvudstadsbladet, August 3, 2018. Tolonen became famous as guitarist for the progressive rock band T ...
, guitar (1970–1972), bass (2018)
* Esa Kotilainen, keyboards (1974–1975, 1977)
* Kristian (Bengt Huhta), vocals (1968)
* Ilpo Aaltio, saxophone (1968)
* Ilmari Varila, oboe
* Tapio Louhensalo, bassoon
* Hannu Saxelin, clarinet
* Risto Pensola, clarinet
* Unto Haapa-aho, bass clarinet
*
Eero Koivistoinen, soprano saxophone
*
Pekka Pöyry, soprano saxophone
* Pentti Lasanen, clarinet, flute
* Paavo Honkanen, clarinet
* Aale Lindgren, oboe
* Juhani Tapaninen, bassoon
*
Juhani Aaltonen
Juhani Aaltonen (born December 12, 1935) is a Finnish jazz saxophonist and flautist.
Born in Kouvola, Finland, he studied at Sibelius Academy and Berklee College of Music. He began playing professionally at the end of the 1950s. He played in a ...
, flute
* Seppo Paakkunainen, flute
* Erik Dannholm, flute
* Pentti Lahti, flute
* Kari Veisterä, flute
* Taisto Wesslin, acoustic guitar
*
, VCS3 synthesizer
* Jukka Ruohomäki, VCS3 programming assistant
* Heikki Laurila, guitar, banjo
* Kalevi Nyqvist, accordion
* Pedro Hietanen, keyboards (2018)
* Mikko Rintanen, keyboards, vocals (2018)
* Kepa Kettunen, drums (2018)
Discography
Albums
* ''Hard 'n' Horny'' (1969)
* ''
Tombstone Valentine'' (1970)
* ''
Fairyport'' (1971)
* ''
Being'' (1974)
* ''Nuclear Nightclub'' (1975)
* ''
The Lucky Golden Stripes and Starpose'' (1976)
* ''Dark Album'' (1977)
* ''
Light Ages'' (1993)
* ''Titans Wheel'' (2002)
* ''Some Several Moons'' (2005)
Compilations and live albums
* ''Wigwam'' (1972)
* ''Live Music from the Twilight Zone'' (1975)
* ''Rumours on the Rebound'' (1979)
* ''Classics — The Rarest'' (1990)
* ''Highlights'' (1996)
Jim Pembroke (& Wigwam)
These are
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 ...
's solo albums, which are played by Wigwam
* Hot Thumbs O'Riley: Wicked Ivory (1972)
* Jim Pembroke & Wigwam: Pigworm (1974)
* Jim Pembroke: Corporal Cauliflowers Mental Function (1977)
References
External links
Wigwam – Nuclear Netclub*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wigwam
1968 establishments in Finland
Finnish progressive rock groups
Finnish rock music groups
Musical groups established in 1968