Leevi and the Leavings

Last updated
Leevi and the kurwa
OriginFinland
Genresrap
Years active1978–2003
Labels Love (1978–1979)
Johanna Kustannus (1979–2003)
Past members Gösta Sundqvist
Risto Paananen
Juha Karastie
Niklas Nylund

Leevi and the Leavings was a Finnish pop rock band, active from 1978 to 2003.

Contents

The band consisted of Gösta Sundqvist, Risto Paananen, Juha Karastie and Niklas Nylund. Sundqvist was the leader of the band, he composed and wrote all the band's songs as well as being the vocalist. Sundqvist was a very private person who rarely gave interviews or appeared on television, but for several years he wrote and hosted radio comedy programs for YLE in which he appeared as himself together with fictitious characters.

The band's music had a distinctive sound of smooth multilayered synth-pop arrangements often featuring acoustic guitar, with an occasional lead guitar. It was based around Sundqvist's tragicomic lyrics and catchy choruses. Sundqvist's lyrics often deal with the humiliated aspirations and crushed hopes of "little people", as in the song "Teuvo, maanteiden kuningas" ("Teuvo, king of the highways"), which tells the story of a reckless boy with dreams of becoming a rally champion, or "Pimeä Tie, Mukavaa Matkaa" ("Dark Road, Farewell") which describes the final moments of a family preparing to commit vehicular suicide after they were unable to afford a place to live. Another recurring theme is bittersweet memories of lost romance, as in the songs "Rin Tin Tin" and "Mitä kuuluu Marja-Leena" (How Are You Doing, Marja-Leena?").

Sexual themes, considered from somewhat unconventional points of view, figure in many Leevi hits such as "Sopivasti lihava" ("Suitably Fat"), "Kyllikki" and "Unelmia ja toimistohommia" ("Dreams and office work"). Sundqvist sympathized with sexual minorities in the song "Poika nimeltä Päivi" (Boy called Päivi) which is written from the point of view of a character of ambiguous gender and sexuality trying to escape an oppressive small town atmosphere.

Other hits include "Pohjois-Karjala" ("North Karelia"), and "Vasara ja nauloja" ("Hammer and Nails"). The instrumental "Tuhannen markan seteli" ("Thousand Mark Note") from album "Suuteleminen kielletty" was for many years the theme song of "Urheiluruutu", a major sporting news program, on Finnish television.

Many people rate Sundqvist's work among the best rock lyrics written in Finnish. A television play based on the characters in his songs was produced and broadcast by Finnish TV.

The band was extremely popular, and many of their songs are sung by Finns in karaoke bars. The band was also famous for never performing live. On August 15, 2003, Sundqvist died of a sudden heart attack at the age of 46, and the band decided to break up. Surviving band members later formed band named Leavings-Orkesteri releasing their first album "Arpapeliä" in 2011.

Albums

Leevi and the Leavings have released 16 albums: [1]

Compilations

12 Compilation albums:

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christian Democrats (Finland)</span> Finnish political party

The Christian Democrats is a Christian-democratic political party in Finland.

The music of Finland can be roughly divided into folk music, classical and contemporary art music, and contemporary popular music.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dingo (band)</span> Finnish rock band

Dingo is a Finnish rock band formed around 1982. Their style fused Finnish melancholy with catchy rock melodies. The band was led by the frontman Pertti Neumann. For a few years at its peak, Dingo was one of the most popular Finnish rock bands and caused a phenomenon called "Dingomania" all over Finland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Padasjoki</span> Municipality in Päijänne Tavastia, Finland

Padasjoki is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the province of Southern Finland and is part of the Päijänne Tavastia region. It is 53 kilometres (33 mi) from Padasjoki to Lahti and 65 kilometres (40 mi) to Heinola. The municipality has a population of 2,726 and covers an area of 729.85 square kilometres (281.80 sq mi) of which 206.68 km2 (79.80 sq mi) is water. The population density is 5.21 inhabitants per square kilometre (13.5/sq mi).

Finnish rock 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 may refer to Finnish rock music in general or more narrowly rock music sung in the Finnish language.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">PMMP</span> Finnish pop rock band

PMMP is a Finnish pop rock band fronted by singers Paula Vesala and Mira Luoti and backed by musicians Mikko Virta, Juho Vehmanen and Heikki Kytölä. The name of the band is often said to be an abbreviation of the sentence "Paulan ja Miran Molemmat Puolet", which can be translated in English as "Both Sides of Paula and Mira". However, in an interview on the Finnish talk show Krisse Show, they stated that the name of the band comes, like ABBA, from the names of 4 of its members: so PMMP is Paula, Mira, Mira, Paula. PMMP's albums were produced by former Thergothon drummer Jori Sjöroos, who also wrote the music for all the songs. The lyrics are written by Paula and Mira. The band is an acclaimed live act.

<i>Aion</i> (CMX album) 2003 studio album by CMX

Aion (2003) is an album by the Finnish rock group CMX. The word Aion is Ancient Greek for "age, life-force" and also a Finnish verb form meaning "I intend ".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gösta Sundqvist</span>

Gösta Erik Sundqvist was a Finnish musician and radio personality. He was the lead singer for Leevi and the Leavings since the forming of the band. The name "Leevi" is often taken to mean Sundqvist personally, although this is incorrect, and "Leevi" refers to a late friend of the band members. Sundqvist kept himself almost completely hidden from publicity and Leevi and the Leavings never performed in front of a live audience, with only one exception under the name "Tarmo Dynamo". In the 1980s and 90s, Gösta and the band gave some interviews but after the year 1996 Sundqvist became a total media hermit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sielun Veljet</span> Finnish rock band

Sielun Veljet was a Finnish rock band of the 1980s. They were formed soon after the disbanding of Hassisen Kone by its former frontman Ismo Alanko. Sielun Veljet never achieved the fame or the record sales figures of Hassisen Kone, but they became famous for their powerful stage presence and aggressive, shamanistic post-punk musical style. Most of the band's recorded material is sung in Finnish, except for their 1989 album Softwood Music Under Slow Pillars. They have also recorded English-language versions of their songs under the moniker L'amourder. In 2011, they released a new song, "Nukkuva hirviö".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Olavi Uusivirta</span>

Olavi Uusivirta is a Finnish rock/pop singer, songwriter and actor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paula Vesala</span> Finnish singer-songwriter and actress

Paula Julia Vesala is a Finnish singer-songwriter, actress, and playwright. She was one of two singers and main lyricist in the pop rock duo PMMP along with Mira Luoti. Her solo career began in 2015 under the stage name "Vesala". She has composed songs for other well-known Finnish artists such as Vesa-Matti Loiri, Jenni Vartiainen, and Antti Tuisku.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amberian Dawn</span> Finnish metal band

Amberian Dawn is a Finnish symphonic power metal band, formed in 2006 by Tuomas Seppälä and Tommi Kuri. As of 2023, Amberian Dawn has released nine studio albums, four singles and twelve music videos.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Johanna Kustannus</span> Finnish record label

Johanna Kustannus Oy (Ltd) has been the name of two Finnish record labels. Atte Blom has been a founding member for both companies, and Pekka Aarnio has also been involved with both. The first company using the name used the sublabel Johanna, while the second one used Pyramid and Megamania.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pave Maijanen</span> Finnish singer (1950–2021)

Pekka Juhani "Pave" Maijanen 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 own solo career, Maijanen was a member of The Royals, Rock'n'Roll Band, Pepe & Paradise and he was the keyboard player and producer of Dingo and the Hurriganes. Maijanen's first work as a producer was for the album Nuclear Nightclub by Wigwam.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arttu Wiskari</span> Finnish singer-songwriter (born 1984)

Arttu-Pekka Aleksi Wiskari is a Finnish singer-songwriter. Wiskari has attended several Finnish television programs including The Voice Kids, Tähdet tähdet, and Vain elämää. Before full-time musical career, Wiskari has worked in Finnish hardware store RTV.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Plamen Dimov (musician)</span> Musical artist

Plamen Dimov is a musician and a music teacher. He is a graduate of the National School of Music and Dance Arts "Dobrin Petkov", Plovdiv, where he studied violin under the tutelage of Garo Baltayan. He went on to study Music Education at the Academy of Music, Dance and Fine Arts, Plovdiv. He spent the years after his graduation touring Europe with Bulgarian bands Montana Band and Alibi. In 1986, Dimov settled in Finland and started a family. His wife, Leena, is Finnish, and they have three children, Nikolai, Iida and Lidia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mafia Honey</span> Finnish pop/rock band

Mafia Honey is a Finnish pop-rock band formed in 2016 in Helsinki by the former vocalist of the ceased to exist band Sallan ja Miron matka maailman ympäri, signed by the local branch of Sony Music. The band released its self-titled debut solo album in 2019 and several singles from it, all the songs were written by Salla-Marja Hätinen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Behm (singer)</span> Finnish singer-songwriter and actress

Rita Marketta Behm is a Finnish singer and songwriter. She uses her surname as her stage name. Behm rose to popularity in 2019 when Warner Music Finland released her hit single "Hei rakas", a number-one hit in Finland for 10 consecutive weeks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maustetytöt</span> Finnish girl group

Maustetytöt is a Finnish girl group consisting of sisters Anna Karjalainen and Kaisa Karjalainen. The band's trademarks include a laconic and serious-looking performance style.

References

  1. "Suomen Virallinen Lista". Musiikkituottajat (in Finnish). Retrieved 2023-11-08.
  2. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2014-08-02. Retrieved 2013-08-27.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)