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 Österberg (drums),
Hasse Walli (guitar), and
Måns Groundstroem (bass). Their influences came above all from
John Mayall's Bluesbreakers and
Jimi Hendrix, who had played a gig in
Helsinki in May 1967. One can also hear in Pembroke's British-flavoured song-writing some echoes from
The Beatles and
The Kinks. Blues Section released a self-titled album late 1967 on Helsinki's
Love Records. In 1968 Groundstroem and Pembroke left the band, being replaced by
Pekka Sarmanto and (another British vocalist)
Frank Robson, respectively. Also Koivistoinen would leave the band during the same year, and by the end of 1968 Blues Section was over. The Blues Section members would continue in such acclaimed
progressive rock bands as
Wigwam and
Tasavallan Presidentti. Eero Koivistoinen was to become an internationally acclaimed jazz musician, and Hasse Walli would discover
world music, playing in such bands as
Piirpauke.
Singles discography
Blues Section & Jim Pembroke: Call Me On Your Telephone / Only Dreaming (7", 1967)
Blues Section & Jim Pembroke: Hey, Hey, Hey / Shivers Of Pleasure (7", 1967)
Kirka Babitzin & Blues Section: Anna suukko vain / Silloin ihminen kaunein on (7", 1967)