Do you still remember? Dingo’s first demo flopped properly – This is why

From Dingo band’s first single You and me turned 40 in January. At the end of April 1984, the band’s first album was released My name is Dingo.

The album sold a total of around 108,500 copies. After its release, it immediately became number one in Finland’s list and remained on the list for more than a year. It was also awarded a platinum disc.

Dingo’s success was expected at the record companies at the time, because the first single “Sinä ja mien” that came out in January started playing immediately in the listeners’ heads when it was played Jukka Virtanen hosting in Levyraad.

According to Dingo’s soloist Pertti “Nipa” Neumann, Fazer Finnlevy’s marketing manager at the time, Lasse Norres, had stated after the program that “the landing gear is in, the jet is taking off now. Contact Lido Salose of the Kaleva band”.

At that time, Salonen handled e.g. Remun, Pelle Miljoona, Paul Oxley’s Unit and Hanoi Rocks concert sales.

In the following years, Finland saw such hysteria around Dingo that has not been experienced since. On top of all that, Dingo’s second album Kingdom of the Beggars sold double platinum with 190,800 records.

“We jumped on the tables”

But behind many success stories there are disappointments, so does Dingo. First, the members of Dingo were disappointed, and then the representatives of other record companies, because before their breakthrough, the band had sent a demo tape to all major record companies.

The then production manager of Finnlevy was finally named as the discoverer of Dingo Timo Lindström. Lindström organized a talent scouting tour that would also visit Pori’s Cumulus.

– We went there with Jontu and figuratively jumped on the tables to get Lindström’s attention. After that, things progressed quickly, says Neumann.

Since Lindström has already moved from time to eternity to join the heavenly players, Iltalehti asked the then representatives of the record companies that rejected Dingo, why they rejected Dingo.

Sony’s then marketing manager in charge of production Hans Rautio74, had signed a contract with Paul Oxley’s Unit, which became very popular, a few years earlier.

– It would have been hard if I had signed a contract with Dingo right after, Rautio admits.

Rautio doesn’t remember which songs Dingo’s demo contained.

– I received from one to ten demos every day. Dingo’s tape was a low-quality basement recording, but it was an honor for me to respond to the bands in a constructive way, Rautio says.

Neumann remembers that Rautio urged him to return to his old profession as a sailor.

– Not true. I didn’t know his profession at that point, Rautio states and laughs.

– A copy of all letters should be found in Sony’s archives. I replied in the letter that the soloist has an original sound and the band has good energy, but the singer still needs to develop, and the songs are not structurally ready, Rautio recalls.

– In my opinion, Dingo made a new demo for Finnlevy’s tour. Maybe they had listened to feedback, Rautio reflects.

Neumann confirms that they had a new demo with Jontu in Cumulus.

– When the single came out, I immediately realized that Dingo is a really good and unique band. And of course it was a pity – like other representatives of record companies – that I hadn’t examined the band more closely. But the decision was made on the basis of the first demo, and in the same way Finnlevy had also initially rejected it, Rautio states.

With Nipa at a gig

Rautio, who spends a lot of time in Fuengirola, Spain, played for the first time as a drummer last May at Neumann’s solo gig at restaurant Kuko.

– The same thing happened again this fall. In total, we have played together at five gigs, Rautio calculates.

The founder of Poco Records, Epe Helenius, informed IL that he does not want to dig up the past. He says that he already rejected Dingo when the band was introduced to him.

– We could not take another band from Pori to the record company, Helenius communicated.

The previous year, Poco Records had released the Yö group’s debut album, Varitee, which was the first Finnish rock band to sell 50,000 records, i.e. the amount entitled to a diamond record.

All in all, Varitee sold almost 85,000 copies.

In public, they tried to create some kind of rift between Yö and Dingo. The callers went along with it themselves.

– We were actually friends, Neumann says.

The then CEO of Johanna Records, Atte Blom, 80, never heard Dingo’s demo.

– There were a lot of demos at that time. It could be that someone listened to it with us or we never received it, says Blom.

Iltalehti could not reach the person responsible for the production of Emi Records at the time Heikki Puhakkaa, 71.