Pepe Willberg says that the Masters’ performance messed up Vaasa so much that Kirka had to jump off the concert bus to direct the traffic.
by Pepe WillbergPave Maijanen, Kirkan and Hector’s formed by Lasse Norrensen named Mestarit were seen together for the first time at the opening gala of the World Ice Hockey Championships in the spring of 1997.
The performance took place as a playback, but the reception was so boisterous that I invented the line-up Ande Päiväläinen began to plan a larger project built around the Masters.
No one was particularly enthusiastic, Hector in particular was wary of the idea.
However, in the summer of the following year, Päiväläinen managed to get the Masters to perform at Nokia parties organized around Finland.
At those gigs, the atmosphere became intense, so Päiväläinen’s plan for a concert aimed at a wider audience began to gain more support.
The champions became a phenomenon of their time. Bo Stranden
Someone suggested Hartwall Arena as the venue for the band’s concert. Despite the undeniable power of Pepe, Kirka, Hector and Pave Maijanen’s extensive hit catalog, the thought of a concert in such a large arena sounded dizzying to all four at first.
However, they started pushing towards it.
The cooperation of the four went well from the beginning, because everyone was a professional and everyone knew that they were part of the whole.
– No one could start cocking a cock – the rest of us would have got it right away, Pepe says in his recent biography.
There were no internal conflicts, and the repertoire was easy to put together, as all four had a rich selection of hit songs.
The concert called Mestarit Areenalla aroused enormous interest from the beginning. The tickets sold out quickly, so MTV3 decided to record the concert.
However, it wasn’t enough for the audience to see the foursome on TV – everyone wanted to experience the Masters live.
The President of the Republic, Martti Ahtisaari, made more noise and invited the entire foursome with their wives to the castle to celebrate Finland’s Independence Day.
Next up was a huge concert tour that had never been seen before under Finnish conditions, which started in February 1999.
Expectations were raised when the Masters visited the Bumtsibum program. The episode was watched by 1.7 million viewers.
The role of each champion became stronger as the tour progressed.
Kirka was always her honest self on stage. He dazzled and drove the listeners wild, and Pave Maijanen did not want to be overshadowed by him. Hector’s and especially Pepe’s restrained stage presence acted as a counterbalance to the rowdiness. The audience stopped to listen to their songs.
– I don’t mind if someone wants to be a head taller than others. I prefer to take care of my own plot by singing, Pepe states in his biography when remembering the Masters.
Champions became a phenomenon.
The champions are Hector, Pepe Willberg, Kirka and Pave Maijanen in Bumtsibum in 1999. Esa Pyysalo
During the tour, which included ice rinks in big cities and large concert halls, the Masters performed two more times at the sold-out Hartwall Arena.
They made the history of Finnish music entertainment – similar hype had never been seen before. The concert caused traffic chaos in many cities.
In Vaasa, cars jammed the road leading to Botniahalli so badly that Kirka jumped out of the bus to direct the traffic. The bus driver took a risk by driving in the wrong lane to get the artists there on time. Nevertheless, the start of the concert was delayed.
Additional concerts had to be organized for spring and summer, which were also sold out.
In the summer of 1999, the Masters conquered the Helsinki Olympic Stadium. Never before had a Finnish ensemble been seen as the main performer of a concert of this scale.
Masters became the biggest event in the Finnish music scene at the end of the millennium. The foursome’s live performances gathered a total of over 150,000 listeners, which is a huge achievement in a country the size of Finland.
The double album released in October 1998 was the icing on the cake Champions in the Arena, which quickly sold gold, then platinum, and finally triple platinum. It was awarded Album of the Year at the 1999 Emma Gala and became the best-selling album of that year.
When all the performances were done and the prizes were bagged, the four’s contact ended.
There was no particular reason for that.
– Maybe we got to spend enough time together, Pepe evaluates in his biography.
The modest man has also stated about the Mestarit success:
– I didn’t experience it as a big event through artistry. I want to be present. On the big stage, I feel like I’m on a tray. Smaller halls are more my thing.
Sauli Miettinen: Pepe Willberg – Muuttuval tiet (Otava) will be published on October 12.