Biography
Kirka, real name Kirill Babitzin, was a Finnish singer. As a child, he played the accordion, but soon he discovered his love for rock ‘n’ roll. In 1962 Kirill became the lead singer of the rock band The Creatures, for which he gained the stage name Kirka. In 1964, the band performed on television. They played a movie in 1966. In 1967, Kirka released his first solo single “Anna Suukko Vain” / “Silloin Ihminen Kaunein On”. Shortly after that The Creatures broke up. Then he joined pop band The Islanders. In1967, the song “Hetki lyö” was released – Kirkas breakthrough. The successful single brought him a first several-week tour in northern Finland. Hetki lyö reached # 3 in the Finnish charts in January 1968, followed by two other top-5 hits. Kirka released his first album in February 1969. The album rose to number 1 in the charts. In the same year he made his second album Kirka, more albums followed. His siblings had also chosen musical careers, resulting in a number of collaborations. In 1979 Kirka released a whole album with his sister Anna, the following year one with Muska and Anna. Joint tours were also organized. Kirka participated already since 1972 in the Finnish national final for the Eurovision Song Contest. In 1974 Muska and Ykä also contributed. In 1979, Kirka tried the qualification together with Anna and Muska. Only his eighth attempt Kirka was successfull. He represented Finland at the Eurovision Song Contest 1984 in Luxembourg with the song Hengaillaan. In the same year he received his first Golden Record for an album and was awarded the Emma, the most important Finnish music prize, for his achievements as a solo artist. In 1991, he received an honorary Emma another Emma as best Finnish individual artist. 1985 was not such a good year for Kirka. The tax office demanded the additional payment of outstanding taxes in the amount of 1.5 million Finnmark. Despite the release of more successful albums, the settlement of his debts made the musician hard to manage. In 1988, he even had to apply for social assistance. This was also the year when the album “Surun pyyhit silmistäni” was released, which is still one of the most successful albums in Finland with over 200,000 copies sold. Kirka continued to participate in the Finnish preliminaries for the Eurovision Song Contest, but never won it anymore. In the fall of 1997, Kirka hosted a grand tour for his 30th anniversary as a singer. Originally, 18 concerts were planned. In the end, he sold out 56 concerts. His concerts in the next few years were well attended, even though he performed around 200 times a year. Together with three other Finnish musicians – Pepe Willberg, Pave Maijanen and Hector – he also founded the quartet Mestarit. Kirka died unexpectedly on January 31, 2007 at the age of 56 at his home in Kruununhaka.
