The Crash was a pop rock band from Turku, Finland, originally influenced by Britpop but later taking its lead from a diverse range of genres including Motown, disco, new wave and 80's rock. The band formed after Teemu Brunila and Samuli Haataja met in 1991, with both Erkki Kaila and Dani Aavinen joining to complete the line up. Originally, the band was called Ladies & Gentlemen, but later changed its name to New Deal, then again changed it to The Crush. In 1998, the name was changed to The Crash and Dani Aavinen was replaced by keyboard player, Toni Ahola. History Their debut album, Comfort Deluxe, was released on Warner Music Finland in 1999, and was followed by a tour of Europe including Sweden, Germany, and Austria, as well as a successful performance at the In The City festival in Manchester, England. This caught the attention of Melody Maker and MTV Nordic. By this time Toni Ahola had left the band to further his studies and Jussi Lehtinen stepped in. A second Warner Music album, Wildlife, was released in 2001, with the single from that album, "Lauren Caught My Eye", (later, re-recorded and released on the album Pony Ride as just "Lauren") becoming the first video by a Finnish artist to be powerplayed on MTV. This, along with the music video for follow-up single "Star" (later, re-recorded and released on the album Pony Ride as "Solitudinarian") earned the band a nomination for Best Nordic Artist at the MTV Europe Awards held in Barcelona in 2002. Other nominated artists were Röyksopp, Saybia, The Hives and, eventual winners, Kent. It was at this time that Jussi Lehtinen left the band to be replaced by Tomi Mäkilä. The band's third album, Melodrama – also on Warner Finland – showed a marked departure from their earlier melancholic sound, with lead single "Still Alive" particularly helping to find a whole new audience for the band. The album entered the Finnish charts at #2 and stayed on the list for 11 weeks. It was at this time that "Star" was picked to be used on an eBay commercial on German TV, proving to be one of the most successful German TV campaigns to date. The Crash toured Germany intensively as a headline act as well as opening on large tours with local bands Reamonn and Sportfreunde Stiller. "Star" eventually reached #21 in the German sales chart.