Olli Lindholm, the legend of the band Yö, who died five years ago, left a longing behind when he left. Now Karri Kivi and Lenni-Kalle Taipale tell how they have dealt with grief on their own.
The legendary singer of the band Yö Olli Lindholm’s it will be five years since the death on Monday, February 12. The memory of the musician buried in Pomarkku is still strongly present in the lives of friends.
Jazz pianist known from The Voice of Finland program a couple of weeks ago Lenni-Kalle Taipale was moved to tears while talking on the phone, when something reminded him of Olli in an instant.
– I talk a lot Arttu Wiskarin with on the phone, and we are developing a similar connection as with Olli. We were talking when suddenly déjà-vu came. Olli came to mind strongly, Taipale tells Iltalehte.
– The sadness is still on the surface. I don’t think I’ll ever recover from that. Vesku Loirin you could prepare for death when he said goodbye to everyone warmly and the way he approached death. Olli’s departure was different. It came so suddenly that it will leave traces for the rest of your life.
Lindholm’s death at the age of 54, shortly after the 2019 Emma gala, came as a surprise to everyone.
Lenni-Kalle Taipale was in the promotional filming of the Napakymppi program when she realized something had happened.
– It was an absolutely absurd morning. I started getting wonderful messages from all sides and little by little the matter became clear. It was a big shock, as it certainly was for everyone close to him, he states.
Lenni-Kalle Taipale became friends with Olli Lindholm thanks to the program The Voice of Finland. LENNI-KALLE TAIPALE’S HOME ALBUM
A long way to a friend’s grave
Ice hockey coach Karri Kivelle my best friend is still on my mind every day.
However, he was unable to visit Olli’s grave for years. Kivi visited the grave site in Pomarku for the first time very recently.
– It took more than four years, he says.
– I was going many times. I can’t explain why I wasn’t allowed to go. It’s really not about not being able to drive there. I also coached in Pori for a year and a half. I wonder because it is the right time to go there.
The matter bothered Karri Kive, and she pondered it in her mind several times.
– A person who knew Olli said that. He stated that “you just didn’t leave anything unsaid”. I said, damn it, that was it! It was an exhaustive answer.
The two had a long friendship of 20 years, which started at Pori’s Ässie rink. Over the years, the men discussed life’s events and feelings directly.
Nothing was embellished, it was the only right way.
After a great sadness, everyone continues life in their own way. Kivi says that he is not a “grave visitor”, but he is strongly present in people’s lives when they are here.
It felt peaceful when Olli was at the grave. Kivi stopped, turned his thoughts to his friend.
– He is on my mind especially when it is difficult, and would like to call someone, says Kivi.
Karri Kivi was waiting for the right moment to visit her friend’s grave. Pete Anikari
There are pictures of Olli in Karri Kive’s home. Pete Anikari
“We were the same kind of villains”
A similar hollow feeling has been noticed by Lenni-Kalle Taipale, who used to have long phone calls with Lindholm – now not anymore.
There was brotherly banter in the two’s friendship. Although the musicians were musically at different extremes, a deep connection was found.
The musicians got to know each other properly during the making of Nelonen’s The Voice of Finland program. The night legend previously seemed like a stiff person, and only closer acquaintance brought out Olli Lindholm’s sociability and considerate nature.
– We quickly realized that we are both such stupid Petters. I hadn’t liked Yö’s music that much, I thought it was such a pathos. When I met Olli and started playing it, I got excited.
In the episodes of The Voice of Finland, we could see some kind of banter between Olli and Lenni-Kalle. Here, the shirt has also come off. Roni Lehti
In the years 2016-2018, Lindholm and Taipale did duo gigs together, where they toasted each other from behind the shoulder during the music break. The gigs are memorable. When Taipale played jazz-inspired piano solos, Lindholm began to shake with laughter, because this was “just right” for him.
There was a similar trickery in The Voice of Finland recordings as well.
– Olli could come grinning on stage and give the band some practical advice, and then come and whisper a sniff in my ear.
One moment has remained forever in Taipalee’s mind.
– Olli was going through a divorce in 2016. We were at a hotel breakfast around the time of The Voice of Finland recordings and Olli explained the pain when it’s a scandal, how all the magazines are playing. I answered and stated in a side sentence, it’s not hell if the shells don’t come off this egg. Olli continued with his accounts, we went to the recordings and our own expenses.
Two days later, a surprise was found at the hotel reception.
The receptionist handed over the ovum and said it was a shipment from Olli Lindholm. There were six perfectly boiled eggs in the cage, the shells of which came off easily.
– Olli was there in the middle of his own pain, he heard my talk about eggs, and then he had made eggs for me. It shows that he always listened to others even if he himself was in a situation.
Even in a difficult moment, Olli Lindholm kept surprising his friends with a little egg trick. IL