This year marks the 80th anniversary of Irwin Goodman’s birth. In honor of that, Ari Lahti and Veikko Tiitto wrote a new kind of biography about the folk artist.
– Irwin and Vexi just wanted to confuse. Those songs didn’t even have an actual political agenda, because every time a new government came in, it was long sniffed.
That’s what it says Ari Lahti, a long-time friend of Antti Hammarberg aka Irwin Goodman, a creditor from the 1980s and co-author of a recent memoir. He closely followed the life of the Finnish protest singer and folk artist from the 1980s until his death. Lahti wrote the book together with a domestic light music expert, Veikko Tiiton with.
Hammarberg’s birth will be 80 years this year. However, the man spends his birthday in heavenly bands, because the singer’s life ended tragically in 1991 at only 47 years old.
– You don’t necessarily live to be eighty with such lifestyles. Even though the man was in good physical condition.
Ari Lahti is also one of the composers of the song Härmäläinen perusjuntti. Sara Valavaara
From five to the sauna, from six to the tube
Hammarberg and Veikko “Vexi” Salmi had already known each other as children. At the dawn of adulthood, they started making songs more seriously and offered Hammarberg to various record companies to record.
– Antti was musical and had a really swinging way of singing. As such, he just wouldn’t have been so-called as a regular pop singer and yes Vex had to admit it after several rounds of record companies. That’s probably why he invented the whole character, Lahti says.
In the mid-1960s, folk protest singers such as Bob Dylan and Donovan increased their popularity worldwide. Finland also wanted a musician who would sing for the people, whose songs would not only be translated.
– According to legend, Vexi ordered a denim suit for Antti, which it then crumpled and even pulled back on the dusty floor of its music store. At the same time, they practiced away from Antti’s own voice and took a model from, for example, Dylan. Even then, Vex had a crazy obsession with these things.
Antti Hammarberg and Veikko “Vexi” Salmi knew each other since childhood. Photo taken in 1990. KARI VALLEY
Irwin Goodman released his first records in 1965. Another single, gaining cult fame Worker’s Saturday – the song was banned on Yleisradio. The song is familiar to many Finns “From five to the sauna and from six to the tube” – about his lyrics.
– It was perceived as mocking the workers. Some radio reporter then recorded it on tape and asked a technician to cut the T out of it. Then, while playing a bit, it started to waver, but the song was received Night Man’s Saturday to ring.
Lahti tells how many of Goodman’s songs ended up being banned because they were interpreted as immoral. However, the singer and his audience were big change factors in the fact that the playing bans were lifted.
– After all, Antti has a record for how many songs have been censored, Lahti laughs.
Considered to be Finland’s most famous protest singer, Irwin Goodman was never particularly interested in politics. However, he was courted for parliament and in 1987 he ran for the Finnish Rural Party.
– He felt that he was Veikko Vennamon with, as it were, the voices of a spirit tribe, the voices of a forgotten people, Lahti says.
However, a place in the parliament did not open up, despite the Venna-like world of thought. Today’s Perusuomalainen party has been influenced a lot by Vennamolanism and SMP’s politics.
– Maybe it’s good that Antti didn’t end up in politics, Lahti laughs.
Irwin Goodman had enough admirers. IL ARCHIVE
The roles are mixed
When Lahti got to know Hammarberg, he was a young man in his twenties. Originally, Lahti played Irwin’s songs in a cover band. Hammarberg heard about the band and was even brought along to the band’s gigs, and this started not only friendship but closer cooperation on the gig front.
The friendship was not only limited to gigging, but also spent free time together.
The young men admired the musician’s iron professionalism, but also his hard drinking and alcohol consumption.
– Everything completely absurd, like “it pulls four bottles of koss in one trip” and we joked and made fun of it. Although it was a cautionary example.
As the popularity grew, Hammarberg, who had a reputation as a drunkard, moved from one dance floor to another, and free drinks were constantly brought to the front.
– At that point, the culture was already a bit such that you almost got hit with a bottle of water in your hand when you entered the venue.
After gig trips to Hammarberg and this one Ritta– according to Lahti, Irwin could return to his wife’s house instead of Anti.
– If there was a grudge left, it wasn’t always as nice a guy as the warm-hearted Antti.
Ari Lahti also brought photo memories with him. In the pictures, he plays together with Hammarberg. Lahti is the man in the white shirt on the right singing into the microphone in the top picture. Sara Valavaara
According to Lahti, Irwin was, as it were, a “substitute exterminator” for the people.
– And people could see that he dares to do all that. At the same time, it was the boy next door, and not such a proud star. That’s why it was easy to identify with it.
Liquor began to be exported to Hammarberg and in the early 1980s it began to influence the cooperation with Vexi Salme. The singer lived a quiet life and did not record new music. Already long before, Hammarberg had a run-in with the taxman, and he lost, among other things, the handsome Ryysyranta house he had built and got into financial difficulties.
– Vexi had partially lost her trust when Antti’s alcohol problem deepened.
Ari Lahti and Veikko Tiitto co-wrote the Reteesti vaan, Irwin Goodman book. The anniversary edition was published at the end of March 2023. Sara Valavaara
However, the differences between the childhood friends were eventually mended when the band from Lahti performed with Irwin in Helsinki and Salmi was watching the show.
– There in the back room was their reunion. Vexi stated that the man was in much better shape and decided that of course we would make another album.
Irwin often raved about how he could compose a perfect Eurovision song at any time. However, that never happened.
– It was often the same thing. Did it in the mid 70’s though It’s minimal -song, the performance of which went wrong in “UMK” at the time, when there was a bit of a slur left over and there was still some inflammation of the larynx. It couldn’t be pulled properly in the live broadcast.
Photo taken in 1989, two years before Hammarberg’s death. IL ARCHIVE
Hammarberg composed his own songs until the 80s, after which Kassu Halonen mainly took over the compositions. Vexi Salmi, on the other hand, had written Irwin’s songs from the beginning.
– Vexi was the engine. Antti sang everything it did.
Even foreboding death, published in 1990 Dark current – song was recorded. Salmi doubted that Hammarberg would agree to sing the song, as the man’s health had been in decline for a long time.
– Antti had told them to just sing.
Antti Yrjö Hammarberg died on January 14, 1991. He is buried in Hämeenkyrö in the Mäntyrinte cemetery. IL ARCHIVE