01	Losing Hold						07:09
	02	Lost Without A Trace						02:32
	03	Fairyport						06:53
	04	Gray Traitors						02:47
	05	Cafffkaff, The Country Psychologist						05:21
	06	May Your Will Be Done Dear Lord						05:31
	07	How To Make It Big In Hospital						03:05
	08	Hot Mice						03:22
	09	P.K.'s Supermarket						02:22
	10	One More Try						03:28
	11	Rockin' Ol' Galway						02:30
	12	Every Fold						03:12
	13	Rave-Up For The Roadies						17:19

Wigwam - Fairyport
Country of Origin: Finland
Format: LP CD
Record Label: Love Records Siboney
Catalogue #: LRLP 44/45 LRCD 44/45
Year of Release: 1971 1990


Musicians:
Ronnie Osterberg (drums, congas, percussion, backing vocals on Fairyport),
Jukka Gustavson (vocals, piano, organ, electric piano),
Jim Pembroke (vocals, harmonica, piano on Lost Without A Trace and Every Fold),
Pekka Pohjola (bass, violins; ac. guitar on One More Try; piano on Hot Mice; piano, celeste, harpsichord on P.K:s Supermarket; backing voacls on Fairyport)
Additional Musicians:
Jukka Tolonen (guitar on Lost Without A Trace, How To Make It Big In Hospital and Rave-Up For The Roadies),
Ilmari Varila (oboe),
Tapio Louhensalo (bassoon),
Mannu Saxelin (clarinet),
Rista Pensola (clarinet),
Unto Haapa-aho (bass clarinet),
Eero Loivistoinen (spo. sax),
Pekka Poyry (sop. sax)

Tracks 3, 4, and 6 composed by Jukka Gustavson. Tracks 2, 5, 7, 11 and 12 by Jim Pembroke. Tracks 8 and 9 by Pekka Pohjola. Track 1 by Pojola/Gustavson/Pembroke. Tracks 13 by Tolonen/Gustavson/Pohjola/Osterberg.

Produced by Wigwam
Recorded at Finnvox studios Helsinki and music Network, Sweden
Engineered by Erkki Hyvonen, Thomas KLarsson, Roger Wallis
The Jam (Rave-Up For The Roadies) recorded live at Hamis Club Helsinki by Seppo Kytoniemi and Reino Iso-aho
Cover art work by Jorma Auersalo; Photography by Peter Widen

The mark up in musical quality between the first two albums and Fairyport is impressive. Even the band seemed to be at a creative peak as they composed enough material for one and a half albums. Of more importance to us is that this could be considered to be the first truly progressive rock record that the band recorded. Those days albums, unlike todays albums, had to be of a certain length and the duration of the material they had recorded was only enough for three sides of a double album. Unwilling to compromise on the material they had recorded, the band opted to include a fourth side which was taken up by a live jam called Rave-Up For The Raodies rather than discard the third side of recorded material.

The album opens with Losing Hold, long considered a live Wigwam favourite, which has a great organ-led introduction. This, the longest studio track on the album is a masterpiece of progressive rock music. The fusion of the piano and organ creates a sound unique to this band as they romp through this track with the rhythm section creating a fantastic backing. The only lull in the romp comes with the inclusion of vocals, for a short period, that allows the whole track to take a breather, though this is not for long. Lost Without A Trace comes in as a perfect contrast to Losing Hold. The instruments are completely stripped down to Jukka Tolonen's acoustic guitar work accompanying Jim Pembroke on vocals and piano.

One of the features to really come to the fore on this album is the complex musical character of Jukka Gustavson. Before this album, his compositions, though complex were limited to just the band members and possibly one or two guest musicians. This time round help is enlisted in the form of a number of wind instruments who though uncharacteristic for a rock album, manage to carry out the desired effect to perfection. Add to that the continuous shifts in time signature and minor chord progressions, and one practically has described the title track, Fairyport. The jazz influence really permeates this particular track though one does also sense a rock n' roll element at times. The highlight of the track must be the entrance of the brass and woodwinds playing out the theme of the song midway through the track.

The shorter Gray Traitors maintains the uncommercial style of Gustavson compositions. However, one must admit that all Gustavson compositions have an unexpected twist in them. Just as the track seems to be winding up into another quirky tune, it takes off, picking up in tempo, progressing into a great instrumental section and merging with Caffkaff, The Country Psychologist. Possibly the most unconventional track on the album, the chord sequences are totally uncharacteristic, in true Gustavson fashion, with Pembroke's mournful vocals accompanying the piano. Suddenly the track seems to break down with the electric piano indulged in some jazzy runs while Ronnie Osterberg makes full use of his congas and percussion. The last of Gustavson penned tracks on the album is May Your Will Be Done Dear Lord. One of the masterpieces on this album, the track manages to show Gustavson in a different light. Here he manages to combine his complex nature with a relatively more straight forward and accessible feel. However he cannot resist including sudden twists, and at the first chance, in come the woodwinds and brass instruments to take over the reins of the track albeit for a short while.

With How To Make It Big In Hospital one sees the return to the Pembroke penned tracks. One immediately senses the simplification of the presentation as well as the accessibility of the music. Pekka Pohjola's could be best described as standing somewhere between those of Gustavson and Pembroke. With a predilection for instrumental tracks, his music is strong in the jazz approach yet at the same time manages to retain a certain amount of ear friendly characteristics. Both Hot Mice and P.K:S Supermarket are instrumentals with the latter having an Eastern European touch to it both in terms of beat as well as style. In fact another characteristic of Pohjola is his predilection in introducing a certain amount of traditional themes into his music. The inability to conceive lyrics led Pohjola to collaborate with Jim Pembroke on those tracks he felt required them. Such is the case with One More Try which has the Pohjola touch written all over it with its clever shifts in time signature pausing only for the occasional vocal interlude.

Rockin' Ol' Galway is the typical Pembroke composition. Direct, concise and more importantly extremely pleasing to the ear with catchy hooks yet at the same time retaining just the right amount of zaniness to make it stand out from any other run of the mill "pop" composition. Every Fold, with Pembroke playing the piano is one of the most moving tracks in the Wigwam repertoire.

As mentioned before, the final track on the album is a seventeen minute plus jam that was recorded live just for the sake of filling up the final side on the record. Called Rave Up For The Roadies, the track also features Jukka Tolonen on guitar, who by then was almost a regular member for Wigwam live performances. The track also allows an insight into what a Wigwam concert must have been like. Unlike their carefully calculated and structured studio material, the Wigwam live performances were very free and improvisational. One could consider them as the Grateful Dead of progressive rock as they would merge tracks and play on for lengthy periods of time. Suffice to say that this particular track was an improvised jam session. Another interesting note is the fact that Pembroke is not listed on the credits, a sign that he had not yet started to play the organ/electric piano onstage, which also meant that he spent a large part of the Wigwam concerts waiting in the wings!

Nigel Camilleri


http://www.dprp.vuurwerk.nl/forgotten/wigwam/index2.html


Wigwam - Fairyport


Release Date: 1971

Track Listing
1) Losing Hold (Pohjola-Gustavson, Pembroke)
2) Lost Without A Trace (Pembroke)
3) Fairyport (Gustavson)
4) Gray Traitors (Gustavson)
5) Cafffkaff, The Country Psychologist (Gustavson)
6) May Your Will Be Done Dear Lord (Gustavson)
7) How To Make It Big In Hospital (Pembroke)
8) Hot Mice (Pohjola)
9) P.K.'s Supermarket (Pohjola)
10) One More Try (Pohjola-Pembroke)
11) Rockin' Ol' Galway (Pembroke)
12) Every Fold (Pembroke)
13) Rave-Up For The Roadies (Tolonen-Gustavson-Pohjola-Цsterberg)


Member: monkzek -04/13/03
From the beginning, Wigwam were a dichotomized band, pulled in seemingly disparate directions by the strongly individualized musical visions of certain band members. Their 1969 debut album Hard 'N' Horny had been a study in contrasts, with the first side mostly being written by keyboardist/vocalist Jukka Gustavson and side two being penned by vocalist Jim Pembroke. 1970's follow-up Tombstone Valentine introduced another outstandingly talented composer/musician in the person of bassist Pekka Pohjola, so by the time the band got around to recording 1971's double-LP Fairyport, Wigwam had become a full-blown trichotomy, and the stress placed upon the band by the three distinctive musical ideologies would eventually lead to their dissolution. But for an all too-brief period, the alliance of Gustavson, Pembroke and Pohjola led to the creation of some of progressive rock's most indispensable music, and Fairyport is one of the sweetest fruits of that alliance.

The opening track of Fairyport serves as a tantalizing taste of what might have been had Wigwam's three principals come to a lasting meeting-of-the-minds; "Losing Hold" is the only Wigwam track co-written by Gustavson, Pembroke and Pohjola, and it is in this reviewers opinion one of the finest and most emotive pieces of progressive rock ever recorded. After a lengthy instrumental introduction (featuring Gustavson and Pohjola matching each other note-for-note on a delicious descending run), "Losing Hold" settles into two brief and melodically bittersweet verses, and then shifts into a hectic instrumental conclusion. By contrast, Pembroke's brief piece "Lost Without A Trace" serves as a warm coda to "Losing Hold" and allows the listener to settle in for the remainder of the album.

Religious, political and philosophical themes were inherent to Gustavson's work with Wigwam, and the next section of Fairyport- including the title cut, "Gray Traitors", "Cafffkaff, The Country Psychologist", and "May Your Will Be Done Dear Lord" -displayed Gustavson's "Joined To Conscience" convictions in brilliant fashion. Melodically complex, chordally diverse, and lyrically prolific, this suite of tunes covers a wide stylistic territory, utilizing a woodwinds-and-soprano sax section to fill out the arrangements. It might not be an immediate rush for every listener, but it is ultimately some of Fairyport's most rewarding listening. "May Your Will Be Done Dear Lord" ends the suite and comes across all at once as an ebullient song of praise and progressive music manna.

By contrast, Pembroke's "How To Make It Big In Hospital" seems heathen, complete with beat-style percussion and some schizy, incendiary guitar by guest Jukka Tolonen. Lyrically it displays Pembroke at his quirky best:

"Yes I roam my town for a red or brown
with my house-trained pet mongoose
well he's pretty tame 'til he gets cut loose
and I knot my tie in a hangman's noose
and I thrown out my Stanley Mathews tips on
how to make it big on the right-wing."

Side three (of the original LP release) gave Pohjola a brief chance to shine. The Zappa-esque instrumental "Hot Mice" is another of this album's many high points, and once again only hinted at the quality which would infuse his prolific solo career. "P.K.'s Supermarket" is another Pohjola instrumental, combining an "oom-pah" 1-2 rhythmic approach with some vaudevillian piano. It is followed by the haunting Pohjola-Pembroke collaboration "One More Try". The side is rounded out by two Pembroke tunes: "Rockin' Ol' Galway" displays the writer's trademark sense of humor, and "Every Fold" is punctuated by a wonderful emotional ascending chord progression which perfectly wraps up the studio portion of Fairyport.

The album's last side is filled with a live improvisational piece recorded at Homis Club in Helsinki on June 6th 1971. Although the sound quality is less than optimal, "Rave-Up For The Roadies" gives a taste of what the band was capable of onstage; once again Tolonen joined as a guest, and his fretwork helps to make this a memorable display.

After Fairyport, Wigwam went on an unofficial hiatus until 1974. Pohjola released his first solo album, Pihkasilma Kaarnahorva; Pembroke released Wicked Ivory (augmented by all the band members and considered by some to be an unofficial Wigwam album) under the pseudonym "Hot Thumbs O'Riley"; and Gustavson began work on what would become the band's signature progressive rock masterpiece, Being.

If you are a fan of progressive rock and you do not have Fairyport, get it. It is an essential work by a sadly underappreciated band.




Wigwam [Finland]

Updated 4/20/01
Discography
Hard and Horny (69)
Tombstone Valentine (70)
Fairyport (71)
Wigwam (72)
Wicked Ivory (72)
Being (73)
Live Music From the Twilight Zone (75)
Nuclear Nightclub (75)
Lucky Golden Stripes and Starpose (76)
Dark Album (78)
Rumours on the Rebound (79, Compilation)
Light Ages (93)
Fresh Garbage (00, Unreleased Studio & Live material)

Reviews
With the talents of Jim Pembroke and Pekka Pohjola, Wigwam are a classic of the Scandanavian progressive scene. There is some great interplay between all the musicans. The music is dominated by piano and organ. There is somewhat of a Canterbury feel to the music, though it is unmistakably Scandanavian in nature. It gives you the feeling they were doing this to stay warm! :-) Fairyport has a great jam called "Rave-up for the Roadies" which includes a guest appearance by well-known Finnish guitarist Jukka Tolonen and makes this album a great starting place. Being is also recommended. A must have of Scandanavian progressive.

Wigwam is back after fifteen years with a new studio album (Light Ages) and continues straight from where they left in '78. This is a very strange reunion because it's just as if they never disbanded but continued to do the same stuff and even improved themselves during the fifteen-year-gap. As good a place to start listening Wigwam as any, and a promising start (or continuation) for the future of this cult band.

I only have heard Nuclear Nightclub, which is only sporadically progressive. On the whole, it's mostly a vehicle for the quirky songs of Englishman Jim Pembroke. Save the vocals, this is not unlike some of Kevin Ayers' work. Best songs: "Kite" and "Simple Human Kindness". Most progressive: "Pigstorm," an instrumental, and the spacy "Bless Your Lucky Stars," which might as well be (the vocals are phase-shifted beyond comprehension). -- Mike Ohman

Wigwam's existence as a band was divided clearly in two periods: first with Pekka Pohjola and Jukka Gustavson as creative forces. The second period (Nuclear Nightclub and since) with guitarist Rekku Reckhardt and Jim Pembroke. Pohjola and Gustavson left the band after English tour about 1975, Gustavson for religious reasons and Pohjola for his solo carieer. Wigwam's first albums were heavily influenced by Beatles (Hard and Horny), The Band and Stevie Winwood. First progressive album was Fairyport. Being was almost totally Gustavson's vision. -- Sasha Makila

1969 Hard N' Horny Love
1970 Tombstone Valentime Love
1971 Fairyport Love
1972 Wigwam Love
1972 Wicked Ivory Love
1974 Being Love
1975 Live Music from the Twilight Zone Love
1975 Nuclear Nightclub Virgin
1976 The Lucky Golden Stripes and Starpose Virgin
1977 Dark Album Love
1993 Light Ages

Wigwam have the rare distinction of being the only '70s band from Finland to have made any impact outside the country, as well as being an incubator for the country's top prog musicians - the only catch was that the anticipated massive breakthrough never happened. The group came together in the late '60s, when drummer Ronnie Цsterberg, expat English singer/keyboard player Jim Pembroke, guitarist Nikke Nikamo, and bassist Mats Hulden, all of whom had been in Blues Section, decided to form a new band. They drafted in keyboardist Jukka Gustavson, and Wigwam was born. Their first album, 1969's Hard'n'Horny, had Gustavson's work on one side, Pembroke's on the other. For their second album, Tombstone Valentine, both Hulden and Nikamo had vanished, having experienced disputes with the producer, American scenester Kim Fowley. But the record did see the debut of virtuoso bass player Pekka Pohjola. While well received, it still didn't sell many copies, which was also true of their next disc, Fairyport. Following that, both Pembroke and Pohjola made solo albums, leaving Gustavson to put together the next band effort, the dark and prog-ish Being, which won Album of the Year in Finland. But even awards couldn't keep Pohjola and Gustavson in the band, although before they left, they took part in the shows that made up 1975's Live Music From the Twilight Zone, a concert mix of solo material and covers of the Beatles and the Band. Following that, the band split briefly. The reformation brought plenty of new personnel and Pemboke as the central figure, Wigwam went on to enjoy their most successful period, releasing Nuclear Nightclub, which was licensed for international distribution by Virgin, who brought the band to England to tour - at which point they also recorded their next disc, Lucky Golden Stripes and Starpose. Wigwam seemed on the verge of real success, but couldn't quite cross over, and when the follow-up, tentatively titled Daemon Duncetan's Request, was turned down by Virgin, the bottom seemed to fall out. The record was revamped and released in Finland in 1977 as Dark Album. But by the time it hit the shelves, Wigwam had played an unofficial farewell show and split for the second time. Pembroke moved to Kansas, and continued to record solo albums, and in 1993 the band regrouped to record Light Ages. Occasional shows have been played since, but while best-of and rarities CDs have been released, the group definitely isn't officially together. - Chris Nickson


http://members.surfeu.fi/mmerilai/wigwam/

http://www.dprp.vuurwerk.nl/forgotten/wigwam/index.html



Wigwam
update: 11 July 2001

A Brief History

Without a shadow of doubt, the most popular band in the progressive rock scene to emerge from Finland in the seventies, was the group Wigwam. One of the most important features of this band was their ability to condense music of high progressive quality coupled with pop hooks into "short" tracks, a feat that the majority of bands from that time and of the same genre, were unable to do. Unfortunately, as happens to many bands that do not hail from either the U.K. or the U.S.A., they were always on the brink of breaking through internationally, but for some reason or another they never quite cut it. The history of Wigwam can be subdivided into two separate eras: 1969 - 1974 and 1974 - 1977. The nineties, however, has seen Wigwam with a new lineup playing and recording under the same moniker.

The band has its origins in another group, namely Blues Section, a group that has its place within Finnish rock history as being one of the pioneering jazz-rock bands. Inspired by John Mayall's Bluesbreakers this band had only lasted a year and a half, but in that period released a number of recordings, as well as made a name for itself on the local circuit. The split up of Blues Section led to the formation of Wigwam.

Thus the first Wigwam line-up was formed in 1968 and consisted of former Blues Section drummer Ronnie Osterberg, bassist Mats Hulden, guitarist Nikke (Vladimir) Nikamo and English expatriate singer Jim Pembroke who had also had a stint as a vocalist with Blues Section. The Blues Section influence was still tangible when the band recorded their first single in 1969 on Love Records (the same company who had released the Blues Section material), which was Must Be The Devil / Greasy Kids' Stuff (Love Records LRS 1021).

The band's creativity would be further augmented by the arrival of Jukka Gustavson, a seventeen year old classically trained pianist and composer. Thus the band had the luxury of having amongst its ranks two distinctively different composers and organists, a factor that would characterise the sound of the band (at least initially). 1969 also saw the band release two further singles, one of which is an obscure release and a valuable collector's item. In December 1969, Luulosairas / Highway Code (Love Records, LRS 1028) was released and reached number 14 in the Finnish charts while a single was also released in America on the Imperial label as True Confession / Helsinki (Imperial 66400). What makes this single peculiar is the fact that the tracks laid down were Blues Section tracks, that were originally titled End Of The Poem and East Is Red. Strangely enough, Luulosairas was the single released to promote the band's first album, yet while had garnered a certain amount of success in Finland, it was left off the album. It seems that the Procol Harum virus also affected Wigwam!

The band released their first album Hard And Horny (Love Records LRLP 9) and the schizophrenic compositional material there was within the band, was immediately apparent. The first side was entirely devoted to compositions by Jukka Gustavson, who sung in both Finnish and English, featuring a progressive blues style. The second side was a concept devised by Pembroke, which dealt with the life of a certain Henry. One of the problems that the band faced when recording the album, was the fact that they had overrun the budget allocated to them by Love Records and had no money left for the cover. So the first pressing of the album involved hand painted covers by the members of the band themselves! Needless to say they are now valuable items for collectors.

Few people heard the debut album outside of Finland, but the band were making a name for themselves on the live circuit, as their concerts consisted of one long jam session that incorporated material from groups as The Band and The Beatles, together with their original stuff. The band caught the attention of veteran producer Kim Fowley, who also agreed to produce the band's second album, Tombstone Valentine. Fowley was convinced that the band's ability to condense so many musical ideas into a short time span, as well as clever hooks would make them the next Beatles. When he approached the band, they were working out with the production of the musical Hair to make ends meet, and his association with the band also brought about the first casualty. Guitarist Nikamo fell out with Fowley, resulting in Nikamo's departure from the fold. Furthermore, bassist Mats Hulden also left the band (to further pursue his studies) and his place was taken by another brilliant composer and bassist, Pekka Pohjola.

Tombstone Valentine (Love Records,LRLP) was released in 1970 and has the distinction as being the first ever Finnish rock record to be released in the USA (Verve Forecast FTS 3089). In the USA, it was released as a double album in 1971 with added tracks taken from the band's first album plus some Blues Section songs and material from other Love Records artists. One of the important factors to appear on the album was Pohjola's contribution, showing that he was equally adept at coming up with a jazz-flavoured track (1936 Lost In the Snow) as well as a more pop-orientated piece (Frederick & Bill). With the loss of Nikamo during the recording of the album, the band resorted to Jukka Tolonen, guitarist with fellow Finn prog-rockers Tasavallan Presidentti to help out on the album. Further to the release of the album, a promotional single was also released in the USA called Wishful Thinker / Call Me On Your Telephone (Verve Forecast KF5114).

Back home, the band were a household name, helped nonetheless by the fact that their second album was being released in the States. However, when one would analyse the material the band was playing, one could sense that the three composers within Wigwam were all pulling in three different directions. This became even more apparent when they came to record their third album, Fairyport (Love Records, LRLP 44/45). Fairyport nowadays is considered a classic within progressive rock circles and it has a number of features that make it stand out as one of the great progressive albums of the seventies. Opener Losing Hold is the only track that features a collaboration from all three of the band songwriters (Pohjola, Pembroke and Gustavson), while the rest of the album is divided into Pembroke's shorter "pop" tunes, Gustavson's complex brass-laden tracks and Pohjola's avant-garde, Zappa-esque tunes. Gustavson was not only maturing as a songwriter, but also as a lyricist with various references on his part to his Joined To Conscience theme which was featured in no less than four of the album tracks. When the band came to record the album they realised that they only had material that could occupy one and a half records, so the last side of the second vinyl disc is taken up by a live jam session (very typical of Wigwam concerts) with the help of Jukka Tolonen once again. Tolonen would join the group unofficially for many concerts and recording sessions.

However, there friction was brewing within the ranks of the band. It was obvious that the creative nature of the band needed to be released elsewhere. And so Pohjola and Pembroke set about recording solo albums. Furthermore, the band were having difficulty in playing much of their material live as it was too complex, especially the Gustavson penned tracks. This surely must have irked Gustavson, making his days in the band numbered. However, he would not leave without leaving his masterpiece as a legacy.

Pohjola released an all instrumental album, Pihkasilma Kaarnakorva (Love Records LRLP 71), which immediately showed Wigwam fans that this musician was being somewhat stifled within the constraints of the band and that his best material would be reserved for his solo outings.

On the other hand, Pembroke's solo outing was a very different kettle of fish to what he was known for composing with Wigwam. The album was released under the pseudonym of Hot Thumb's O'Reilly and titled Wicked Ivory (Love Records LRLP 52), with the other members of Wigwam acting as backing band. The album saw complex arrangements and obscurity being the order of the day, very different to the commercial material he would produce with Wigwam. The aim of the album was to mimic a Battle Of The Bands recorded live in a pub, and so fake crowd noises were used together with various fragments of tunes. One important composition to find its way on the album would be Grass For Blades, a track that would become a live favourite with Wigwam and which was recorded one verse short on the album, because the engineer ran out of tape during the recording of the track! Of interest is the fact that this album was also released in England on the Charisma label (Charisma CAS 1071) in 1973. However, the history of Jim Pembroke's solo output is a Forgotten Sons tale in itself and will be dealt with as such!

While Pohjola and Pembroke were busy recording their solo albums, Gustavson was set at working on the new Wigwam album, a feat which took him two years. Today, this is considered as being the Wigwam masterpiece. Though the album does have small contributions from Pohjola and Pembroke, one can sense that the brunt of the material can be attributed to Gustavson. The album Being was released in 1974 (Love Records LRLP 92) and immediately began to receive rave reviews, not just in Finland but also overseas. Ian MacDonald of the NME wrote "...Gustavson's compositions happen to be the most technically elliptical outside those of Henry Cow [with] bizarre 'free-verse' lyrics... giving way to outrageous electric piano/VCS 3 solos, delightful in their sheer fluency alone". The buzz brewing about the band also brought the attention of Virgin Records who brokered a licensing deal with Love Records and planned a tour of the UK for Wigwam and Tasavallan Presidentti, whose last album Milky Way Moses was co-written with the help of Pembroke. The future for the band was looking bright and they enlisted multi-instrumentalist Pekka Rechardt on guitar and cello for the tour.

Furthermore, Pembroke released his second solo album, Pigworm (Love Records LRLP 103) in Spring of 1974, once again with the help of his Wigwam band mates (except for Gustavson!). The album featured My Situation, a song which would become a live favourite for the band in years to come. However, for some time it seemed that the end of Wigwam had come, as Gustavson and Pohjola gave in their notice a few months after the release of Being.

With the band on a high, Love Records decided to record the last gigs of the band and release them as a double live album, Live Music From The Twilight Zone (Love Records LXlP 517/518). Once again, the whole track listing is evidence of the band's reluctance to play any Gustavson material due to his critical nature, and the album consists of cover versions, new material from Rechardt, and one song each from Pohjola's and Pembroke's solo albums.

Pohjola would go onto record one more album for Love Records, B The Magpie, which was also licensed to Virgin and released in the UK. Following the release of his album, he would team up with the first touring band of Mike Oldfield and also appear on the live album Exposed.

Less than a year after Wigwam had been officially disbanded, Jim Pembroke and Ronnie decided to get the band back together again. They re-enlisted Rekku Rechardt on guitar and cello together with bassist Mans "Mosse" Groundstroem. Groundstroem knew Wigwam, having played in Blues Section, Tasvallan Presidentti as well as having been the producer for Pembroke's solo albums and Wigwam's Being.

In 1975, the "new" Wigwam released Nuclear Nightclub (Love Records, LRLP 129). For the recordings of the album, the band brought in Esa Kotilainen on keyboards and electronics, but since he was already a member of Jukka Tolonen's latest band, he could not join the band. Heikki "Pedro" Hietanen was brought on instead. The album was released to rave reviews and became the band's biggest commercial success, receiving accolades not just from the Finnish music press. The release of the album in the UK (under license to Virgin) was promoted by a free concert in Hyde Park as well as the release of a single from the album Freddie Are You Ready / Kite (LRS 2028). Whilst in England, the band also recorded a new single, Tramdriver / Wardance (LRS 2100). However, the record label wanted a different B-side and so the English single was changed to Tramdriver / Nuclear Nightclub (Virgin VS 128).

The follow-up to Nuclear Nightclub was eagerly anticipated and the band relocated to England to record the album at Manor Studios. However, as often happens when pressure is placed on a band expected to deliver, the result is somewhat disappointing. Unlike Nuclear Nightclub, Lucky Golden Stripes And Starpose (Love Records, LRLP 166) did not have the necessary number of tracks to make the album memorable and, more importantly, commercially successful. On the other hand, the group made up for their deficiencies in the studio when they went out on tour. The early months of 1976 saw the band touring with their label mates Gong throughout the UK, as well as performing in Scandinavia and other European countries. Their live shows kept getting better and better as time went by and they soon began to make a name for themselves oversea as an excellent live band.

In the Autumn of 1976, Jim Pembroke released his third solo album Corporal Cauliflower's Mental Function (Love Records LRLP 214), once again with the help of his Wigwam buddies. However, trouble was on the horizon and the band realised that the musical world was being taken over by corporations. Punk was in and any band not commercially successful, especially progressive rock bands, was going to have a hard time to release any material. Virgin refused to release Pembroke's solo album in the UK until Wigwam had finished their new album. The demo versions of the album, to be titled Daemon Duncetan's Request, were ready. However, when Virgin heard the album they immediately dissolved the contract they had with the band saying that the album was "too low key and non-commercial". The fact that the British Press had for some time been promoting the imminent release of the new Wigwam single, Wardance, did not have any affect on the record company. Love Records, on their part, postponed the release of the album and sent the band back into the studio to re-record the album.

When the now titled Dark Album (Love Records LRLP 227) was released in late 1977, Wigwam had ceased to exist. This was a pity, as the album in itself was a great improvement from Lucky Golden Stripes And Starpose and, more important to the fans, featured Jukka Gustavson as a guest musician. Unfortunately, Love Records were facing bankruptcy by 1978, and had no means of supporting Wigwam, which also meant that the band dissolved. An (un)official Wigwam Farewell Show took place at Punkarock festival in the summer of 1978.

The ironic part about all of this was that Wardance, the proposed single off the album, was a funky number that would have surely been a hit and made stars out of this band. To rub salt into the wound, Virgin Records released a double album of Wigwam material called Rumours On The Rebound (VGD 3503) that featured a whole album's worth of material from the Dark Album which the label had previously rejected.

Following the disband of Wigwam, Pembroke kept on recording as a solo artist and eventually moved to Kansas, USA.
Unfortunately, founder member and drummer Ronnie Osterberg died suddenly in 1981 putting an end to any notion that the original lineup could ever reform.
Nikke Nikamo has been collaborating with Senegalese musicians, while Mats Hulden, Rekku Rechardt and Mosse Groundstroem have been involved in several bands and special individual projects. Jukka Gustavson has recorded a number of solo albums since his departure from Wigwam, something he does till this day.

In 1991, reformation was on the cards with a one-off gig at the Provinssirock festival. The reception was thunderous and resulted in a number of mini-tours. In 1993, the band released Light Ages on the small Polarvox label together with a single, Borders To Be Crossed / Planetstar (Polarvox HOPE-71). The line-up for this album included Pembroke, Rechardt, Groundstroem and new boy, keyboardist Mikko Rintanen. Reviews of the album were good as the band seemed to pick up and play the style with which they had left off in 1978.

The last few years have been relatively quiet on the Wigwam front, but there are strong rumours that they will be releasing a new album in early 2002, while EMI's Harvest label has released a double live album entitled Wigwam Plays Wigwam Live. Somehow it seems that the Wigwam story is still not yet over, and thank God for that!

written by: Nigel Camilleri