© EBU/Thomas Hanses
Biography
Pertti Kurikan Nimipäivät gained national attention in the spring of 2009 when Kalle Pajamaa, the instructor at the workshop, created a music video for the song and uploaded it to YouTube. Within a few weeks, it garnered over ten thousand views, and soon the band was offered a gig at the F*cking Disco punk club in Helsinki. In February 2010, Pertti Kurikan Nimipäivät performed at Tavastia Club, and that same winter, they embarked on their first concert tour outside the Helsinki metropolitan area, playing in Tampere.
Following that, the band played hundreds of concerts and also performed internationally in countries such as the United States, Germany, Canada, Kosovo, Switzerland, the Netherlands, and Norway. In May 2014, the band performed at a charity concert in Rovaniemi alongside Mr. Lordi of the band Lordi. In December 2014, Pertti Kurikan Nimipäivät embarked on a ten-concert tour in the United Kingdom with the English punk band Hard Skin.
Pertti Kurikan Nimipäivät participated in Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu, the Finnish national final for the Eurovision Song Contest, in 2015 with their song “Aina mun pitää” (“I Always Have To”). The band eventually won. However, in the Eurovision Song Contest, the band did not qualify for the final and was eliminated in the first semifinal, not among the ten acts that advanced.
Pertti Kurikka announced his retirement from playing rock music after turning 60, and the band ceased its activities on Kurikka’s birthday, December 26, 2016. The tickets for their final show at On the Rocks club in Helsinki cost 60 cents. Otto Talvio from Helsingin Sanomat described the band’s last performance as sweaty, cramped, and emotional.
However, on December 5, 2017, Pertti Kurikan Nimipäivät performed one last time at Kansalaistori Square in Helsinki. The band had promised to do one more show if the “Ei myytävänä!” (“Not for Sale!”) citizens’ initiative received over 50,000 signatures, which is the requirement for the initiative to be considered by the Finnish Parliament. The citizens’ initiative opposes the outsourcing of housing and daily life services for people with disabilities.
