Pelle Miljoona

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Pelle Miljoona (English:“Clown Million”), real name Petri Samuli Tiili (born 10 February 1955 in Hamina, Finland) is a Finnish musician, author and punk rock legend.^[1] He is known as "The Godfather of Finnish Punk." He was part of the first wave of Finnish punk rock in the late 1970's and has remained both active and popular in the decades since. He has also recorded reggae and folk music. His musical influences include bands like The Clash, Sex Pistols, Stooges, and MC5, while Bob Dylan and Bob Marley have also been among his greatest inspirations.

Over the years, Pelle Miljoona has formed several bands, including Pelle Miljoona & N.U.S, Pelle Miljoona & 1978, Pelle Miljoona & 1980, Pelle Miljoona Oy, Pelle Miljoona & Avoimet Ovet, Miljoonaliiga, Pelle Miljoona & Linnunlaulu, Pelle Miljoona & Rockers, Pelle Miljoona Unabomber!, and Pelle Miljoona United.

He assembled his first band Pelle Miljoona & N.U.S in 1977. The first single Olen työtön (English: I am unemployed) was released the same year and the first album Pelle Miljoona & N.U.S was released in 1978. With lyrics that mocked the Finnish army and the politics of the time, Pelle Miljoona gained significant attention when his early records were released, as such themes were unprecedented in Finland.

Pelle Miljoona & 1980 recorded albums at a rapid pace, releasing two studio albums, Pelko ja viha (1979) and Viimeinen Syksy (1979), which includes the Finnish punk rock classic "Tahdon rakastella sinua," and a live album, Näyttämökuvia(1980). By 1980, punk had already become mainstream in Finland, and Pelle Miljoona was emerging as one of the country's biggest artists.

He achieved exceptional success with Pelle Miljoona Oy's album Moottoritie On Kuuma (1980), whose title track became one of his biggest hits, perhaps the greatest of his career. The album is considered one of Finland's greatest rock albums of all time. Musicians who played on that album included future Hanoi Rocks members Andy McCoy and Sami Yaffa.

The album went platinum, and Pelle Miljoona Oy saw a bright future—until McCoy and Yaffa suddenly left the band to join Hanoi Rocks, just before Pelle Miljoona Oy's long tour in northern Finland. The classic lineup of Pelle Miljoona Oy then fell apart, and after that, the band became more or less a solo project for Pelle Miljoona.

The album Matkalla Tuntemattomaan (1981) was recorded in Germany's Hansa Tonstudio, a studio that had been used by artists such as Nina Hagen, Iggy Pop, and David Bowie.

In the 1990s, Miljoona focused mainly on travel and writing, visiting places like Goa, the USA, and Senegal. Nevertheless, he continued to release albums regularly. In 1999, the legendary club Lepakko in Helsinki was set to be demolished, and a farewell concert was held at the club with many Finnish artists. The American rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers happened to be performing in Finland the same evening and heard about the event. So the entire band, except for singer Anthony Kiedis, headed to Lepakko to join the party. Late at night, they also took the stage to jam, but since they didn't have their singer with them, Pelle Miljoona jumped on stage and started playing Bob Marley covers with RHCP.

Since 2000, Pelle Miljoona has toured with acoustic bands and with punk rock bands. The pace of recording hasn't slowed down. Pelle has written several novels and poetry collections and received the Juha Vainio Award [fi], which is awarded to Finnish lyricists, at Kotkan meripäivät [fi] festival in July 2015.^[2]

• www.pellemiljoona.net (in Finnish)

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