James Francis Pembroke (27 January 1946 – 8 October 2021) was a British music producer, musician and the

vocalist Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define singi ...

of the Finnish

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog) is a broad genre of rock music that primarily developed in the United Kingdom through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early-to-mid-1970s. Initially termed " progressive pop", the ...

band

Wigwam A wigwam, wikiup, wetu (Wampanoag), or wiigiwaam (Ojibwe, in syllabics: ) is a semi-permanent domed dwelling formerly used by certain Native American tribes and First Nations people and still used for ceremonial events. The term ''wikiup'' ...

Life and career

Pembroke was born in London, and played with London group Taverners' Guild before arriving in Finland in 1965. He immediately found himself in some demand, gigging on an ad hoc basis with various lineups such as the Beatmakers, later renamed

Jormas Jormas was a Finland, Finnish Pop music, pop band in the 1960s. They had previously appeared as the Beatmakers, but were renamed by their manager Jorma Weneskoski. They were active from 1965 - 1968. Line up in 1965 was Raul Wikström (vocals), P ...

, until forming The Pems. He joined

Blues Section Blues Section are a Finnish rock music group. They started in 1967, formed around the vocalist Jim Pembroke, a British expatriate songwriter now living in Finland. The other members of the band were Eero Koivistoinen (saxophone), Ronnie Österb ...

in 1967, recording a blues-jazz-pop fusion album now considered seminal in Finnish rock. After the band folded, Pembroke taught himself piano, then joined Wigwam in early 1969. He remained their frontman and principal songwriter, while also releasing occasional solo records. In 2013, Pembroke was granted an artist's pension by the Finnish state. In the mid-1990s, he moved to the United States, married, and later lived in

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City, Missouri, abbreviated KC or KCMO, is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri by List of cities in Missouri, population and area. The city lies within Jackson County, Missouri, Jackson, Clay County, Missouri, Clay, and Pl ...

. Pembroke died in Kansas City on 8 October 2021, aged 75.

Solo discography

*''Wicked Ivory'' (under the pseudonym "Hot Thumbs O'Riley"),

Love Records Love Records was a record label from Finland established in 1966 by . It specialized in Finnish rock and also released jazz, leftist political songs, and ethnic music. Love released 384 LPs, 253 C- cassettes, 347 singles and 24 EPs. It wa ...

1972 *''Pigworm'', Love Records 1974 *''Corporal Cauliflowers Mental Function'', Love Records 1977 *''Flat Broke'' (as the "Jim Pembroke Band"), Ponsi 1980 *''Party Upstairs'', Johanna 1981 *''If the Rain Comes'', TUM Records 2014

References

External links

2000 interview
* * 1946 births 2021 deaths Singers from London Wigwam (Finnish band) members {{Finland-singer-stub