Finnish Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from a Remote Northern Country
It was around the year 2007 when Euphonic, a Finnish record collector, put together an unofficial 2-CDR compilation called Finnish Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from a Remote Northern Country, 1963–1968. It was modelled after Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the First Psychedelic Era, a 1972 double album of American psychedelic and garage rock from the mid-to-late 1960s. This collection was curated by Lenny Kaye and released by Elektra Records.
Nuggets became a very influential release, inspiring several punk rock bands who came to prominence during the latter part of the 1970s. The compilation spawned not only several sequel albums and later, CD boxes, but also other record labels followed in its wake, with an endless series of obscure garage rock collections such as Pebbles, Rubble and Back from the Grave.
Music follows its own fashions, there always being that vast undergrowth which doesn't fit into what's currently accepted as "hip" or "authentic" or fitting into the norms of the day.
In the 1960s no one spoke about "garage rock" or "freakbeat" (a term coined by Phil Smee in the 1980s to indicate the British equivalent of the American garage sound), these genre names were only later inventions, as was the belated appreciation of many of these bands who in their own time were often dismissed as trash, at least something insignificant, clueless dabblings of some kids who could hardly play. Only post-Nuggets, these bands were recognised as actually having been "proto-punk", more or less.
Nuggets gradually became an international phenomenon. As there seemed to be a never-ending demand for rare garage rock, freakbeat and related music, collectors and archivists started increasingly to look outside the Anglo-American axis and search for the bands and rare singles also from the continental Europe, then expand to the more exotic areas such as South America and Asia, not associated in the first place with the 1960s beat music but in fact, having had extremely vibrant local scenes.
In Western Europe, The Netherlands had its "Nederbeat" scene. It was still the era of the Cold War but you could find raw rock bands even from behind the so-called Iron Curtain. In Japan, those bands of the 60s were called with the unifying moniker "Group Sounds". At the same time, Brazil developed its own "Tropicália" movement, of both art and psychedelic music. In Scandinavia, Sweden had its endless slew of great bands. Due to its geographical proximity and historical ties, Finland has always drawn influence from her neighbouring country, Western popular culture often filtered through when it had first reached Sweden.
As for Finland, the 1960s still found domestic rock music in its infancy, and only during the following decade there was a more serious approach to rock in Finland.
The Strangers - 'Kaksi kitaraa' (from Lauantaileikit, 1964)
However, in the 1960s Finnish pop and rock music underwent many changes. It started with the rautalanka (literally, "iron wire") scene which was a home-grown variation of instrumental surf music and such international bands as The Shadows and The Ventures, where old Finnish folk songs and traditional melodies found modern electric guitar renditions. As the fascination with rautalanka was largely finished when The Beatles and other "British Invasion" acts came along, these formerly instrumental bands started to recruit vocalists, thus entering the next phase in their musical evolution.
Finns were following closely such international trends as the twist craze, the folk boom (with popular "hootenanny" events), Beatlemania, mod, and the rhythm'n'blues and blues revival that started in the mid-60s Great Britain; all the way to soul music, psychedelia and early progressive rock. All styles in their turn found their domestic proponents on these Northern shores.
Despite these developments, such genres representing "the old dance music" as tango, waltz and foxtrot were still huge in the 1960s Finland; the frustrated rock bands touring Finnish countryside were often threatened with physical violence if they refused to perform these traditional styles to their rural audiences. Iskelmä (a translation of German "Schlager"), the light middle-of-the-road pop for the older audiences ruled supreme; being always considered a smart career move for a performer who had "matured" beyond the beat group years.
Jim & The Beatmakers - 'My Only One' (1965)
Eddy & The Lightnings - 'Olet paha' (1964)
Eddy & The Lightnings - 'Shut Up' (1964)
Antti "Andy" Einiö & The Islanders - Farmer John (1964)
A peculiar thing about Finnish scene has always been the fact that the same musicians could be found playing as varied and diverse genres as with the early beat groups, rhythm'n'blues, rock and pop music in general, psychedelia and progressive rock; even jazz, soul and funk. This can explained by the relative smallness of local music circles in a country where everyone virtually knows everyone else, and also the rapid succession of musical trends, which was prevalent in the 1960s and early 70s.
Kirka & The Islanders - 'Beat the Clock' (1968)
One example of these genre-hopping artists was Kirka (a.k.a. Kirill Babitzin, 1950 – 2007). On Finnish Nuggets Kirka lends his vocals to 'Beat The Clock', originally by The McCoys (UK), with Seppo "Paroni" Paakkunainen's wah-wah guitar and violin-flavoured arrangement, backed by The Islanders. Kirka started as singer for The Creatures, then did a brief stint with Mosaic but after embarking on a solo career, found himself becoming one of the biggest iskelmä vocalists in Finland even though he always considered himself to be rock singer who by default performs pop.
Nevertheless, some rare gems could be found among these early guitar bands and beat groups, who by nature often were not much more than fly-by-night, in an era when rock music was not considered a life-long career option; not to speak about the tracks that were just little curios in the total output of their creators more adjusted to accommodating the conservative domestic tastes.
Music and trends were changing rapidly in the heady days of the 1960s. As was the case with the original Nuggets, many of these bands would leave behind them only one released single before splitting, the members moving on to other groups or giving up their musical careers altogether. The concept of Nuggets (and similar compilations) has always been about unveiling secret history, rediscovering lost gems and rarities, forgotten "one-hit wonders" or bands that in their own time stayed under the radar altogether.
For Finnish Nuggets Euphonic had also written extensive liner notes that were included with the CDRs as a PDF file. There you could find loads of background information on Finnish rock scene in the 1960s, detailed band biographies with line-ups, the original releases' record labels, catalogue numbers and so on.
Euphonic had plans to offer the compilation for some record label willing to publish the material as an official release, but it seems in the end there was no interest, and finally it was only the torrent sites where you could find Finnish Nuggets, if you were lucky.
A majority of these tracks were quite easily available on different domestic compilation albums but when Euphonic's Finnish Nuggets started its circulation, there were still some rarities included, with no official re-release in sight. Gladly, this was to change, if only gradually. In 2021 Busy Bee Production label from Sweden published some of these tracks in the album series called Diggin For Gold, as its Volume 12. Finally, there was a release that was as close "Finnish Nuggets" as you could get.
In 2021, there was also a 6-CD box on UK's Rubble label, called We're Gonna Change The World! (Savage Garage Punk From Valhalla 1964-1968). Featuring bands from the Nordic countries, Finland was represented by The Holders, The Savages, Jormas, The Scaffolds, The Hitch Hikers, The Mods, King Albert & His Strolling Bones, The Beat Stones, Jim & The Beatmakers, The Rondo Four, and Blues Section.
Incidentally, most of the tracks found on both these compilations are the same as on Euphonic's Finnish Nuggets, so it can be assumed that this unofficial assortment has circulated and attracted attention among international music enthusiasts.
The Beat Stones - 'V.I.P.' (1966)
Jim Pembroke & The Pems - 'I Don't Mind, I Got Mine' (1966)
The Rondo Four - 'Get on the Road' (1966)
The Hitch Hikers - 'Meditation' (1966)
Some memorable moments from the compilation: The Beat Stones' 'V.I.P.', perhaps following somewhere in the footsteps of The Yardbirds; 'Meditation' by Mariehamn's Hitch Hikers (a bluesy excursion featuring some protopsychedelic-sounding guitar modulations reminiscing Indian music), and Blues Section's hard-driving, sound FX-laden 'Hey Hey Hey'. Also 'A Happier Man' by the short-lived Mosaic is a real psych-pop gem.
'Get on the Road' by The Rondo Four, a R&B style of stomper, features some risqué lyrics: "All I gotta do is take my pack, get on the road again and smoke my hash" (probably no one at Broadway, a Finnish label that released the single back in 1966, paid attention to what they were actually singing about in English). 'I Don't Mind, I Got Mine' by Jim Pembroke & The Pems, with its pumping organ sound, wouldn't sound out of the place even on the original Nuggets album, among American bands of the era.
Topmost - 'The 'In' Crowd' (1966)
Topmost, originally active from 1966 to 1968, were Vasilij "Gugi" Kokljuschkin (vocals, 1947 – 2025), Eero Lupari (guitar, backing vocals), Heimo "Holle" Holopainen (bass, backing vocals), Harri Saksala (saxophone, vocals), Arto "Poku" Tarkkonen (organ, 1948 – 2007) and Kristian "Kisu" Jernström (drums, backing vocals). 'The 'In' Crowd', written by Billy Page, was originally a hit for Dobie Gray back in 1964. Topmost played and recorded both in English and Finnish, churning out Finnish hit versions of 'Black Is Black' by Los Bravos, 'A Whiter Shade of Pale' by Procol Harum and 'Two Kinds of Lovers' by The Gibsons. Topmost was voted in 1967 the most popular band in Finland.
Jormas - 'I Can't Break the Habit' (1968)
Jormas had previously appeared as The Beatmakers, but were renamed by their manager Jorma Weneskoski. They were active from 1965 to 1968. 'I Can't Break the Habit', originally a 1967 single for The Ferris Wheel (UK), appeared on the Jormas album Sincerely (1968). After some personnel changes, their line-up here was Pertti "Pepe" Willberg (vocals, rhythm guitar), Seppo "Sepi" Keurulainen (guitar, 1945 – 1981), Christer "Kikke" Bergholm (bass guitar, 1946 – 2025), Arto "Mamba" Koskinen (organ) and Matti "Keisari" Oiling (drums, 1942 – 2009). In 1969 Pepe Willberg launched Pepe & Paradise, and after that, a successful solo career, best known for melancholic soft pop songs.
About the Finnish Nuggets bands themselves, most of them hailed from Helsinki, though represented here are also such towns as Espoo, Tampere, Turku, Hämeenlinna, Jyväskylä, Porvoo, Kuusankoski, Somero (the pre-fame Rauli "Badding" Somerjoki covering Chuck Berry), Tornio and Mariehamn; indicating that a vibrant beat scene was found all over the country, not only in its most obvious urban spots.
The double-album also prominently featured some bands who were not Finnish but instead recorded or enjoyed their biggest popularity here.
The Renegades - 'Cadillac' (1964)
The Renegades - 'Cadillac' & 'Seven Daffodils' (live in Turku, Finland, 1965)
The Renegades - Live performance and interview in the film Topralli (1966)
The Renegades - '13 Women' (from Loco-Motion, 1966)
The most notable of these were Birmingham's Renegades, who busted Finnish charts with their 'Cadillac'. Other Brummies were The Andicaps featured here. From Liverpool hailed The Kirkbys, and from Blackpool Reverend Black & The Rocking Vickers; the latter band featuring in its line-up one Ian Willis, later better known as Lemmy of Motörhead and Hawkwind. Such British expats as Jim Pembroke (The Pems, Blues Section) and Frank Robson (of Mosaic) also have their important role here.
The most curious foreign guest on the compilation must be, though, Petr Novák, appearing with George & The Beatovens, hailing from Communist Czechoslovakia, but enjoying a brief Finnish stint.
The Creatures - 'Where Can She Be' (1966)
All interesting Finnish bands of the era never ended up on vinyl record. One of them were The Creatures, where vocalist Kirka Babitzin and drummer Henry "Remu" Aaltonen (later of The Hurriganes) started their respective careers. Gladly, film director Mikko Niskanen captured the band for his 1966 movie Käpy selän alla ("Under Your Skin"). In this brief snippet The Creatures cover 'Where Can She Be' by The Shanes from Sweden.
Finnish Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from a Remote Northern Country, Vol. 1 (Disc One)
1. The Renegades (UK): Cadillac
2. The Needles: A Dying Man
3. Eero & The Boys: Route 66
4. Eddy & The Lightnings: Shut Up
5. Topmost: The "In" Crowd
6. Jim & The Beatmakers: My Only One
7. The Beat Stones: V.I.P.
8. Antti "Andy" Einiö & The Islanders: Farmer John
9. The Holders: I Only Want to Look at You
10. Rev. Black & The Rocking Vickers (UK): Zing! Went The Strings of My Heart
11. Eddy & The Lightnings: Olet paha!
12. Cay & The Scaffolds: Girls
13. The Savages: Hip Hop
14. The Renegades (UK): Far From It
15. Jormas: New Orleans
16. The Firestones: Can Anyone Be True
17. Jim Pembroke (UK) & The Pems: I Don't Mind, I Got Mine
18. The Mods: Tommy Jones
19. Silvery: There's No Other (Like My Baby)
20. New Joys: Kevät
21. The Kirkbys (UK): 'Cos My Baby's Gone
22. The Roosters: Hold Me
23. Cay & The Scaffolds: You
24. Jormas: Dance to the Locomotion
25. Topmost: I'll Go Crazy
26. The Needles: Where Can She Be
27. Buddy & The Wiremen: Shanghai
28. The Downwalkers: I Don't Believe You
29. The Esquires: Tunnen sen
30. The Coyotes: Angela
31. Eero & Jussi, with The Boys: Hello Josephine
32. Jormas: California Dreamin'
33. The Gregory Allan: Shape of Surprise
Finnish Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from a Remote Northern Country, Vol. 2 (Disc Two)
1. Blues Section: Call Me On Your Telephone
2. The Scaffolds: I Wanna Be
3. Eddy & The Lightnings: Any More
4. Eero & Jussi, with The Boys: I Just Wanna Make Love to You
5. The Renegades (UK): Take A Heart
6. The Andicaps (UK): You Make Me Happy
7. The Hitch Hikers: Meditation
8. King Albert & His Strolling Bones: The Octopus
9. The Sounds: Roll Over Bach
10. Jim & The Beatmakers: You Can't Go Away
11. Eero & The Boys: Sinä vain
12. The Scaffolds: You're Running Out of Money
13. The Islanders: Beat the Clock
14. The Kirkbys (UK): Don't You Want Me No More
15. The Roosters: What Have I Got of My Own
16. The Five Comets: I'm Coming
17. Blues Section: Hey, Hey, Hey
18. Harry & The Hound Dogs: You Better Be All Right
19. The Five Yes: Bye Bye Johnny
20. Ernos: Harha
21. The Renegades (UK): Thirteen Women
22. Jormas: I Can't Break The Habit
23. Johnny & The Sounds: I Can't Break The Habit
24. The Roosters: See See Rider
25. Topmost: I Keep Forgettin'
26. The Careless: Desolate Time
27. The Victors: I'm In Love With You
28. The Rondo Four: Get On The Road
29. The First: Olet mielessäin
30. The Tonics: Hey Mister Flowerman
31. Petr Novák, with George & The Beatovens (Czechoslovakia): Why Do You Leave Me
32. Frank Robson & Mosaic: Happier Man
33. Silvery: Free
New Joys - 'Kevät' (1967)
New Joys was a band from Helsinki, starting in 1965, its members still being schoolboys at the time. Their first line-up consisted of vocalists Benno (real name: Nils Blummé) and Tarro (a.k.a. Tapio Mäkinen), guitarist Jori Auvinen, bassist Hannu Peltonen and drummer Haraldo Bergqvist. The first New Joys single in 1967 was 'Mikset mua huomaa' ("Why don't you see me"), which was a Finnish translation of 'Happy Together' by The Turtles.
The single's flipside, a New Joys original called 'Kevät' ("Spring"), has often been voted one of the finest Finnish rock tunes of all time, with its ultra-sharp, fuzzy band sound and somewhat gloomy lyrics: during long winter nights a guy dreams of spring so he could be with his girl – and when spring finally comes along, the girl isn't anywhere to be seen.
The second single, also in 1967, was another Finnish cover version, 'Kuuluthan mulle Windy': originally 'Windy' by The Association. Their third 7", 'Tamburiinin soittaja' of 1968, also relied on American hit songs of the era; this one being the translation of 'Green Tambourine' by The Lemon Pipers.
In 1968 the New Joys sound became more soul music-orientated, changing the band's line-up and adding among all bassist Matti Bergström (also of Soulset, the most famous representatives of the late 60s Finnish soul craze) and the saxophone players Stanley Lindroos and Kai Nuorivaara. After the biggest trendy appeal of soul in Finnish pop was over, the band turned to straightforward rock style. By 1973 New Joys had split.
Finnish Nuggets YouTube playlist by pHinnWeb
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