Kirill "Kirka" Babitzin (Russian '' Кирилл Бабицын'', 22 September 1950 – 31 January 2007) was a Finnish vocalist and musician. One of the most commercially successful artists from Finland, his career lasted from the late 1960s until his death in 2007. Previously associated with Ilkka Lipsanen's band, The Islanders, Kirka went on to record a wide array of rock and pop music. Some of his most famous songs include "Hetki Lyö" (Beat the Clock), "Leijat" (Kites) and "Varrella virran" (Down by the River). His 1988 album ''Surun Pyyhit Silmistäni'' (The Sadness in Your Eyes) went on to be one of the best sold records in Finnish history. He also represented Finland in the

1984 Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest 1984 was the 29th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest, held on 5 May 1984 in the in Luxembourg City, Luxembourg. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster (RTL), the contest was hel ...

Early life

Kirill Babitzin was born in

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

in 1950 to a Russian family. His father, Leon Babitzin was from

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city had a population of 5,601, ...

and fled to Finland in the aftermath of

the October Revolution The October Revolution, also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution (in Soviet historiography), October coup, Bolshevik coup, or Bolshevik revolution, was the second of two revolutions in Russia in 1917. It was led by Vladimir Le ...

. His mother, Elizaveta Babitzin (née Zarubina) was partially of German-Russian descent and was born in

Lappeenranta Lappeenranta (; ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of South Karelia. It is located in the southeastern interior of the country and in the Finnish Lakeland. The population of Lappeenranta is approximately , while the Lappeenranta sub-r ...

. He first got into music at the age of five when his grandmother gave him an

accordion Accordions (from 19th-century German language, German ', from '—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a Reed (mou ...

. He won an accordion competition at the age of ten.

Musical career

His first band was ''The Creatures'', which he joined in 1964 assuming stage name Kirka. Kirka began attaining fame when he joined the band ''The Islanders'' in 1967. Originally led by Ilkka "Danny" Lipsanen, the band became hugely popular. Kirka also recorded with

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 ...

. Kirka used his fame to launch into a solo career soon-after. Kirka cited his 1960's breakthrough ''Hetki lyö'' (orig. ''Beat The Clock'' composed by Gottehrer-Stroll, a 1968 ''Elfstone'' B side) with The Islanders as his greatest achievement. Despite his initial success in the late 1960s and early 1970s, Kirka suffered from money-troubles through the late 1970s. Kirka represented Finland in

Eurovision Song Contest 1984 The Eurovision Song Contest 1984 was the 29th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest, held on 5 May 1984 in the in Luxembourg City, Luxembourg. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster (RTL), the contest was hel ...

, finishing a strong ninth with the song ''Hengaillaan''. Four years later, he got his greatest chart success with ''Surun pyyhit silmistäin'', a melancholic pop-schlager. Babitzin was awarded the Emma award for best male singer twice, first in 1984 and then in 2000. He died suddenly on 31 January 2007 at his home due to a ruptured aortic aneurysm. His widow Paula Nummela is a jewellery designer.

Family

Several Babitzin siblings are established musicians in their own right. In 1978, Kirka released a duet album with sister

Anna Anna may refer to: People Surname and given name * Anna (name) Mononym * Anna the Prophetess, in the Gospel of Luke * Anna of East Anglia, King (died c.654) * Anna (wife of Artabasdos) (fl. 715–773) * Anna (daughter of Boris I) (9th–10th c ...

; the next year, another sister Marija ("

Muska Marija "Muska" Babitzin (born 28 June 1952 in Helsinki, Finland) is a Finnish singer. She became famous in 1971 with "Kirjoita postikorttiin" ('Write on the postcard'), a cover version of Send Me a Postcard by Shocking Blue. Her first, eponymo ...

") joined in. Kirka's brother was popular rock musician

Sammy Babitzin Aleksandr "Sammy" Babitzin (11 July 1948 – 29 April 1973) was a Finnish popular music singer, the brother of Kirka and Muska. Babitzin was born into a Russian family in Helsinki, and he was of partial German-Russian descent through his mot ...

, who was killed in a car crash in 1973. Sammy's signature hit ''Daada daada'' tells a story of high-speed automotive cruising.

Discography

Kirka Babitzin released 78 singles and almost 60 albums, including 15 collections. Kirka's album ''Surun pyyhit silmistäni'' (1988) became the biggest selling album in Finnish history; it has now been relegated to all-time third place.

Albums

* ''Kirka keikalla'' (1969) * ''Kirka'' (1969) * ''Saat kaiken'' (1971) * ''Nykyaikaa'' (1972) * ''Rautaa ja kettinkiä'' (1973) * ''Kirkan parhaita'' (1974) * ''Tiukka linja'' (1975) * ''Babitzinit konsertissa'' (1975) * ''Lauantaiyö'' (1976) * ''Kaksi puolta'' (1977) * ''Anna & Kirka'' (1978) * ''Kirkan parhaat'' (1979) * ''Kirka'' (1981) * ''Täytyy uskaltaa'' (1983) * ''Hengaillaan'' (gold, 1984) * ''Älä sano ei'' (1985) * ''Isot hitit'' (1985) * ''

R.O.C.K. R.O.C.K. is a 1986 hard rock/ heavy metal album by Finnish musician Kirka. A major departure from Kirka's typical easy listening albums, the album featured English language lyrics, written by Kassu Halonen, and was largely hard rock oriented. A ...

'' (gold, 1986) * '' The Spell'' (gold, 1987) * ''Surun pyyhit silmistäni'' (quadruple platinum, 1988) * ''Anna käsi'' (double platinum, 1989) * ''Iskelmäkansio'' (1989) * ''Parhaat, uudet versiot'' (1990) * ''Ota lähellesi'' (double platinum, 1990) * ''Kasvot peilissä'' (platinum, 1991) * ''Babitzin'' (1991) * ''Pyydä vain'' (gold, 1992) * ''Kirka'' (gold, 1994) * ''Sadness in your Eyes'' (1995) * ''Tie huomiseen'' (gold, 1996) * ''Hetki lyö: 1967–1997'' (platinum, 1997) * ''Mestarit Areenalla'' (triple platinum, 1999) * ''Suuri hetki'' (2000) * ''Sinut siinä nään'' (2002) * ''Elämääni eksynyt'' (2005) * ''40 unohtumatonta laulua'' (2006) * ''The Best of Kirka'' (2007)

References