Līvi was a Latvian hard rock and heavy metal band that was influential in the formation of Latvian rock culture. They were known for their poetic lyrics and guitar solos. The band was founded by Ēriks Ķiģelis and Juris Pavītols in Liepāja in the USSR, in the Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1976. They started out as a pop rock band playing various gigs around Latvia. From 1977 to 1985, the band experimented while trying to find their own musical style, resulting in songs from pop to heavy rock. Throughout this period, however, the band espoused patriotism and anti-Sovietism. After the death of Ķiģelis in 1986, Ainars Virga joined the band, leading to a new era of anthemic ballads, heavy rock, and rebellious themes. Virga went on to compose some of the best-known Latvian hard rock songs. Līvi recorded nine albums during their existence. Their songs include "Dzimtā valoda", "Dzelsgriezējs", "Meitene zeltene", "Saldus saule", "Piedod man", "Zīlīte", "Tikai tev un man", and "Pāri visam." History 1976–1985 Līvi is considered to have begun in 1976, although another band named Līvi existed for a short time before that, also founded by Juris Pavītols, a well known guitarist in the 1970s. Līvi was founded by Pavītols and Ēriks Ķiģelis, a young guitarist from Saldus. Both were determined to create a distinct sound for Latvian rock. Along with Pavītols's wife Ingrīda, drummer Andris Krūmiņš, and "the dinosaur of rock" Jānis Grodums, the pair formed a band, taking the name of Pavītols's first band. "Līvi" is Latvian for the Livonians, a now nearly extinct ethnic group living in the vicinity of Liepāja who had a reputation in legend for making their living by pirating and fighting foreign oppressors. The band played small-time gigs in their early years, mostly performing sad songs written by Pavītols and sung by his wife. They also performed some faster, harder songs composed by Ķiģelis. In 1978, Ķiģelis left the band, stating that his and Pavītols's artistic differences were impossible to overcome. He then formed his own band, Corpus, and tried to distance himself from his former musical partners. Līvi replaced him with Modris Šterns. In 1980, Ķiģelis returned to the band, along with three new members: 17-year-old singer Rodrigo Fomins, drummer Vilnis Krieviņš, and the band's sound engineer Juris Jakovļevs. Krūmiņš and Šterns left the band around this time. Ķiģelis immediately returned to songwriting, and Līvi's popularity rose, leading to