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'Lordi' is a hard rock / heavy metal band from Finland, and winner of the 2006 Eurovision Song Contest. The idea of Lordi started in 1992 but the band was officially formed in 1995 by Tomi Putaansuu (known as 'Mr. Lordi')[1] of Rovaniemi, Finland. Lordi is known for their monster costumes and lyrical themes.
Lordi won the 2006 Eurovision Song Contest with a record 292 points, giving Finland its first ever victory. Lordi featured on the 2006 MTV Europe Music Awards in Copenhagen when Mr. Lordi presented the award for rock, and they were also the closing act playing their single Hard Rock Hallelujah. They also performed on Britain's Making Your Mind Up for the Eurovision Song Contest. Lordi will perform on the main stage at Ozzfest 2007.
Early days
In the beginning of the 1990s, Putaansuu played in a small band from Rovaniemi. He left the band when the other members didn't agree with the introduction of theatrical elements and KISS-style rock. Putaansuu started producing demos under the name Lordi in 1991 and continued to do so for a few years. In 1995 he made a song "Inferno" and a music video for it as a school project. The video has not been released because Putaansuu is in the video without a mask, but he has promised to put the video in the upcoming Lordi DVD.
After "Inferno", Putaansuu had a dream. In the dream he was at a concert and there was a skeleton on stage playing. When he woke up, he knew that Lordi should be a band full of monsters. The monster in the dream would eventually become the bassist Kalma.
The rest of the band members met each other for the first time in 1995 in Stockholm, where they had gone to see KISS perform. From the very beginning, they wanted their band to perform with spectacular pyrotechnics, 'monster style'. This, together with their masked image made several recording companies turn the band down, some saying that they should play black metal if they wear masks and some saying that they should play hard rock but lose the masks. Lordi almost got a record deal in 1999 but shortly after the contract the company collapsed and lost all their money. Finally, the BMG Finland recording company accepted them and in 2002 their first single Would You Love A Monsterman? became a smash hit and not long after that, their first album, ''Get Heavy'', sold 40,000 copies in Finland.
Costumes
The monster masks and costumes the band use are made of foam latex. Mr. Lordi's mask was first cast and then glued together piece by piece. The other masks are solid helmets. It takes the other monsters about 20 minutes to put the masks on but it takes about 2 or 3 hours with Mr. Lordi. Mr. Lordi mentioned that their suits still have some original pieces from 1996. He has also said that the suits cost them "a few hundred euros". [2] The band members do each others' makeup.
The monster costumes are such an integral part of Lordi's publicity image that they refuse to be photographed or even interviewed without them, even if in some cases it leads to their own discomfort. Lordi has done interviews without their masks but the interviews are always filmed from the back so that you can't see their faces. During interviews, Lordi speaks English to the cameras, not their native Finnish. In a brief segment on the BBC reporting about the band attending the Eurovision Song Contest 2006, they were shown lounging beside the pool in full sunlight, while wearing their costumes. During the segment, Lordi remarked that the costumes and the heat did not mix.
Lordi have stated that their costumes have been inspired by KISS and Horror Genre. Mr. Lordi himself has said that without KISS, Lordi probably wouldn't exist. The costumes have also drawn comparisons to the shock rock group GWAR, who wear similar foam latex monster outfits, even though their musical styles are quite different. Mr. Lordi has claimed in interviews that he had never heard of GWAR when he first formed Lordi. GWAR started wearing costumes from the day they started in 1985, 7 years before Lordi. In a recent interview Dave Brockie of GWAR called Lordi "a kiddie version of GWAR" but felt that Lordi didn't rip off GWAR, as both bands owed their image to earlier musicians such as KISS. ref
Mr. Lordi's mask was auctioned for more than 6000 euros. It was bought by a Finnish businessman, Vesa Keskinen in an auction organised by YLE.[3]
Unmasked by the media
Despite the band's strict approach in relation to their costumes, and due to their newfound success, multiple newspapers began publishing photos of the band members without makeup. On March 15, 2006, the Finnish tabloid ''Ilta-Sanomat'' published a photograph of Putaansuu (Mr. Lordi) in civilian clothing, with his face partially showing. Lordi has called this an insult toward them, and an attempt to destroy the "monster image" they have worked for ten years to create. On May 22 2006, the ''Daily Mail'' published what was believed to be an old picture of the band without their makeup or masks. It was later revealed that the band in the photo was actually Children of Bodom, a different band altogether. This was acknowledged on Children of Bodom's official website.[4] The photograph did feature Erna Siikavirta, who went on to join Lordi as Enary, the band's keyboard player. However, Enary left Lordi in 2005, well before their victory at Eurovision, replaced by Awa. On the same day, ''Bild-Zeitung'', a German tabloid, published what they claimed was a photograph of Putaansuu without his mask in its section "Bild Uncovered" with the German headline "He is the Grand Prix Monster: All of Germany discusses the Ugliest Winners of all Time". Later many other European tabloids and newspapers have published the same or similar photographs.
On 24 May 2006, the Finnish tabloid magazine ''7 Päivää'' (7 Days) published a picture of Lordi's face on the front page, and two days later another tabloid, ''Katso!'' (Look!), published unmasked pictures of the other four band members.[5] Both magazines were heavily criticised by their readers for publishing these pictures, which led to swift apologies from both magazines and promises not to publish unmasked pictures of Lordi anymore.[6]
On 26 May 2006, video footage was shown on television in Lithuania. It featured four men and one woman, dressed in black, sitting by the table at the airport in Athens. After a few seconds, Heikki Paasonen (the Eurovision Finnish commentator) in a black Lordi shirt came and stood in front of the camera, covering the view.
Lordi's costume is in the historical costumes section in Turku Castle.
Eurovision Song Contest 2006
Lordi's Eurovision-winning performance
Lordi represented Finland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2006 finals in Athens with the song "Hard Rock Hallelujah" after getting through the semi-finals. The band won by a significant margin, scoring 292 points, 44 points over second placed Dima Bilan, representing Russia with the song "Never Let You Go".
Having been voted for by all countries except Albania, Armenia and Monaco, Lordi scored the highest number of points for any entry in any Eurovision Song Contest to date. They received 12 points from eight countries: Denmark, Estonia, Greece, Iceland, Norway, Poland, Sweden and the UK. Coincidentally, Lordi also scored 292 points in the semi-final held two days earlier. They were also the first Eurovision entrant to win in both the Semi-Final and Final stages. Lordi were congratulated on their victory by both Finnish President Tarja Halonen and Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen. Lordi opened the 2007 Eurovision contest.
''See also Eurovision Song Contest 2006: Full Point Table.''
Controversy
The choice of Lordi to represent Finland spawned some controversy in both Finland and Greece.
In Finland the choice was criticised by some and a group of religious leaders went as far as calling President Halonen to veto their entry.[7] In Greece, a number of organisations were trying to stop Lordi from competing. The Greek restaurant and bar owners' union President, Mrs. Niki Constantinou made a public plea directed to the people of Finland and Greece not to allow Lordi to perform in the contest, claiming the group is Satanist. Three other organisations in Greece initiated legal action against Lordi.[8]
Mr. Lordi himself responded to the accusations and strictly denied Satanism. He said a Satanist group would not write songs such as "Hard Rock Hallelujah" or "Devil is a Loser".[9]
Despite, or maybe because of,[10] the controversy, Greece ended up awarding Lordi 12 points, the highest possible, in the contest final.
Concert in Helsinki
Lordi at the Market Square
To celebrate their victory in the Eurovision Song Contest, Lordi held a public, free, open-air concert in the Market Square in Helsinki, Finland, on 26 May 2006. At the concert, President of Finland Tarja Halonen made an official appearance to give Lordi a bronze key flag award for exemplary Finnish work. The concert was reported to have been attended by over 90 thousand people from all over Finland and even other countries, some even on their first ever trip to Helsinki. [11] The concert was the biggest public event to that day in Helsinki. On this occasion, the world record for most people ever to sing karaoke was (successfully) attempted[12] by approximately 80,000 people, singing ''Hard Rock Hallelujah''. The previous record was held by 50,000 Irish rugby fans. [13]
New record label
Lordi on stage at Ruisrock
On December 16, 2006, it was announced on The End Records website that the band had signed on to the label and would be releasing their latest full-length entitled The Arockalypse on March 20, 2007 with three bonus tracks and a DVD release. This same album was released in Finland as The Arockalypse Special Edition.[14]
Tributes
A square in the centre of Rovaniemi, Finland, the home town of the lead singer Mr. Lordi, was renamed after them shortly after their victory at the Eurovision Song Contest. It was part of a redevelopment of Rovaniemi city centre.[15]
Suomen Posti Oyj, the Finnish postal service, will issue a Lordi postage stamp in May 2007 in recognition of their Eurovision win. Posti had already released Lordi's Christmas single, "It Snows in Hell" as a special Christmas card edition.[16]
A brand of soda named "Lordi Cola" was named after them and was launched in September 2006, featuring labels designed by Mr Lordi and depicting either one of the individual members or one with the whole band.[17]
Members
| Original (1996–1997) | ★ Mr. Lordi – vocals ★ Amen – guitar ★ G-Stealer – bass guitar |
|---|---|
| (1997–1999) | ★ Mr. Lordi – vocals ★ Amen – guitar ★ G-Stealer – bass guitar ★ Enary – keyboards |
| (1999–2000) | ★ Mr. Lordi – vocals ★ Amen – guitar ★ Magnum – bass guitar ★ Enary – keyboards |
| (2000–2002) | ★ Mr. Lordi – vocals ★ Amen – guitar ★ Magnum – bass guitar ★ Kita – drums ★ Enary – keyboards |
| (2002–2005) | ★ Mr. Lordi – vocals ★ Amen – guitar ★ Kalma – bass guitar ★ Kita – drums ★ Enary – keyboards |
| (2005) | ★ Mr. Lordi – vocals ★ Amen – guitar ★ Kalma – bass guitar ★ Kita – drums ★ Awa – keyboards |
| Current (2005–) | ★ Mr. Lordi – vocals ★ Amen – guitar ★ OX – bass guitar ★ Kita – drums ★ Awa – keyboards |
Members of Lordi always wear masks at interviews and have stated their desire for their personal identities to remain private. The band has not confirmed or denied the accuracy of these names, however, they have been widely published in the media and on websites as follows: [18]
Current members
★ "Mr. Lordi" - vocals
★ "Amen" - electric guitar
★ "OX" - bass guitar
★ "Awa" - keyboards
★ "Kita" - drums[19]
Former members
Lordi's line-up between 1999 and 2002.
★ "G-Stealer" - bass guitar (1996-1999)
★ "Magnum" - bass guitar (1999–2002)
★ "Kalma" - bass guitar (2002–2005)
★ "Enary" - keyboards (1997–2005)
Festivals & Tours
Bamboozle '07
In May 2007 Lordi performed on both days of the Bamboozle Festival in East Rutherford, New Jersey on the Saints and Sinners Stage. They were one of the few bands to use pyrotechnics.
Ozzfest 2007
It has been confirmed that Lordi will play on the Main Stage at Ozzfest 2007. Mr. Lordi said, "it is a great honor for us to be on Ozzfest and obviously it's gonna be a great opportunity for us to show the people in the U.S. what we can do or what we think we can do." They have received mixed reaction while on tour, going as far as (in rare cases) being booed in certain cities and chants of other band names during their shows. Later in the tour Lordi was forced to cancel some of their club shows booked during the Ozzfest 2007 tour. The official reasoning given by the band is that they did not want to downgrade the shows and put on their live act in a small club where their pyrotechnics could not be used. On August 8, before their Columbus show, the band's tour bus was hijacked outside a Red Roof Inn, but they were able to locate it before the show started. [4]
Bloody Holly Festival
Lordi is scheduled to perform at the Bloody Holly Festival in Lubbock, Texas on August 3, 2007.
Discography
Albums
★ ''Get Heavy'' (2002) FIN #3
★ ''The Monsterican Dream'' (2004) FIN #4
★ ''The Monster Show (Hybrid album of "Get Heavy" & "Monsterican Dream" for marketing in UK)'' (2005)
★ ''The Arockalypse'' (2006) FIN #1 UK #100
★ ''The Arockalypse Special Edition (2006)(The Arockalypse with 3 bonus tracks and DVD with Hello Athens, Live at the Market Square and Hard Rock Hallelujah and Who's Your Daddy? Music videos)
Singles and EPs
★ ''Would You Love a Monsterman?'' (2002) FIN #1
★ ''Devil is a Loser'' (2003) FIN #9
★ ''Blood Red Sandman'' (2004) FIN #17
★ ''My Heaven Is Your Hell'' (2004)
★ ''Hard Rock Hallelujah'' (2006) FIN #1, UK #25, IRL #4
★ ''Who's Your Daddy?'' (2006) FIN #1
★ ''Would You Love A Monsterman? (2006)'' (2006)
★ ''It Snows In Hell'' (2006) FIN #2
★ ''They Only Come Out at Night'' (2007)
Music videos
★ "Would You Love a Monsterman?" ''(Directed by Pete Riski)'' (2002)
★ "Devil is a Loser" ''(Directed by Pete Riski)'' (2003)
★ "Blood Red Sandman" ''(Directed by Pete Riski)'' (2004)
★ "Hard Rock Hallelujah" (winning song of Eurovision 2006) ''(Directed by Pete Riski)'' (2006)
★ "Who's Your Daddy?" ''(Directed by Pete Riski)'' (2006)
★ "Would You Love A Monsterman 2006 version" ''(Directed by Pete Riski)'' (2006)
★ "It Snows In Hell" (2006)
★ "Hard Rock Hallelujah" (At The Arctic Circle) Eurovision Edition ''(Directed by Antti Jokinen)'' (2007)
Eurovision live performances
★ "Bringing Back the Balls to Rock" (performance at qualifying for Eurovision Song Contest in Finland) (2006)
★ "Hard Rock Hallelujah" (performance at Eurovision Song Contest) (2006) [5]
DVDs
★ "Market Square Massacre"
★ "Bringing Back The Balls To Stockholm - The Opening Night"
★ "It Snows In Hell music video"
Other
★ "Napalm Market" (1993), first demo
★ "Bend Over And Pray The Lord!" (1999), unreleased first album
Cover songs
Midnight mover - Accept-cover, performed live, available on single of "They only come out at night"
[He's back (The man behind the mask)]- Alice cooper, performed live, currently unavailable but can be seen here [6]
Filmography
The Kin
★ Lauri Haukkamaa (Director)
★ Amanda Thurman as Anna Henderson
★ Bruce Marsland as Jonathan
★ Delia De Giovanni as Julie Henderson
★ Sirkka Runolinna as Anna's mother
★ Matti Ruuhonen as Birger Westling
★ Anna Kaarna as Possessed girl
★ Nick Lovelock as Marty
In 2004 Lordi co-wrote and starred in their own short film called "The Kin" which was released on a special edition of "The Monsterican Dream" (CD/DVD or DualDisc versions) as a way of expanding the band's mythos. It was co-written and directed by Lauri Haukkamaa and Adam Vandor also had a hand in the script. It introduces the audience to members of the band and establishes the concept of super human monsters though at no time is any of the band's music played. The plot of the film is hard to follow at best due to the disjointed manner in which it proceeds; the story is of a young female writer who loses her mother in a train wreck while she is trying to get her book on non-human creatures published. After a series of problems arise, the monsters (the band) begin to kill people as well as bend time and space to ensure the publication of the book. The film shares a lot of Lovecraftian concepts as well as style and pays homage to several B movies and horror films throughout its duration (as well as cameos from their music videos). Only a limited number of DVDs were published and therefore the film's availability has been low. The Kin has also been released on the "Market Square Massacre DVD".
Dark Floors
Main articles: Dark Floors
Other releases
Comics
★ "Monster Magazine"
★ "Lordi 1: Alkuperä" ("The Origin")
★ "Lordi 2: Verenjano" ("Bloodthirst")
Books
★ Lordi — hirviön tarina ("A Monster's Tale") - Unofficial
★ Mie Oon Lordi ("I am Lordi")
★ [The Songs For The Rockoning Day] — The Complete Lordi Song Book
See also
★ Arena rock
★ Heavy metal
★ Glam rock and Glam metal
★ Power metal
★ List of Satanists (includes those wrongly portrayed as Satanists)
★ Shadowgrounds (Lordi guitarist Amen played on the acclaimed soundtrack of this PC game in 2005)
References
1. "Finns dismayed after Eurovision monsters unmasked", ''Reuters'', 26 May 2006
2. Lordi Interview
3. Lordin maski myytiin 6 701 eurolla
4. [1]
5. Salonen, Ilpo, "Fury after magazine unmasks Lordi", ''BBC News''
6. [2]
7. Monster band has Finland fretting over face it shows
8. Three Greek organizations file legal action against Lordi Helsingin Sanomat.
9. Finland sends in the heavy metal mob for its Eurovision challenge
10. VOTE FOR LORDI!
11. Jopa 90 000 juhli Lordia Helsingissä
12. [3]
13. 50 000 to create karaoke record
14. The End Records
15. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/5006286.stm
16. Lordi's new single available in post offices, Eurovision Song Contest, 19 December 2006. Retrieved 10 February 2007.
17. Cola named after rock group Lordi - BBC News Online - Published 17 August 2006. Retrieved June 9, 2007.
18. "Eurovision winners struggle to keep true identities secret", ''The Irish Examiner'', 23 May 2006
19. Glynn, Lee, ''Gig Wise'',
External links
★ Official Site
★ Official The End Records band page
★
★ Lordi information at the Sanctuary Records site
★ NYTimes: "Finland Squirms as Its Latest Export Steps Into Spotlight"
★ Eurovision.tv interview of Lordi
★ An interview from 2003 (Helsingin Sanomat)
★ An interview from 2004 (Rytmi)
★ A review of 'The Arockalypse'
★ Italian Fanclub/Website
★ GrilliFilms: Lordi videos
Interviews
★ An interview from 2004 (Rytmi)
★ Eurovision.tv interview of Lordi
★ [7]
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