Sleepy Sleepers celebrate 50 years of music and antics ahead of Valtonen’s retirement in Finland

Sleepy Sleepers released their debut album, “Sinulle Äiti,” in 1975, during a time when Finland was markedly different from today. “Finland was like a moldy house where the residents no longer noticed the smell of mold, but others did,” reflects Markku “Mato” Valtonen on the band’s early days. Their first single, “Kuka mitä häh?”, topped the charts at a time when Finnish audiences primarily listened to artists like Marion, Fredi, Erkki Junkkarinen, and Katri Helena. Just the album cover, designed by Sakke Järvenpää, sparked outrage; it featured images of women cut from men’s magazines alongside a photo of the band in garish outfits at a landfill.

Subsequent albums, “Livet i Bordell” and “Takaisin Karjalaan,” solidified Sleepy Sleepers’ status as the country’s oddballs. Valtonen recalls the delight when the Finland-Soviet Union Society questioned the anti-YYA (Finnish-Soviet Treaty) themes of their album “Takaisin Karjalaan.” “We hoped we would be banned on such grounds, but we weren’t. The more absurd we were, the better our albums sold, and more people came to our concerts,” he says, chuckling.

As their fame grew, police became increasingly interested in the band’s antics. Whenever they performed in the Lahti area, officers would arrive looking for reasons to halt the shows. Eventually, police refused to grant permits for events featuring the band. To circumvent this, the group began renting venues under fictitious names, successfully keeping their performances alive.

In the 1980s, the band participated in a campaign for selling beer at R kiosks. The thought of such an initiative felt as distant as changing the Earth’s rotation. After numerous projects, including the creation of the Leningrad Cowboys, Valtonen plans to retire from a 50-year rock career this weekend, wishing to leave on a high note. “I don’t want to be one of those acts that audiences think should retire,” he concludes.