Lordy! Another first for Finland at Eurovision
The competition is hotting up for this year's Eurovision Song Contest and Finland's entry is notable for a number of firsts for the competition.
By Mark BosworthBBC World Service PKN (Pertti Kurikan Nimipaivat) is the first punk band to perform at the event, and it is also the first Eurovision band made up entirely of people with learning difficulties. Since being chosen to represent their home nation, life for the band has been a rollercoaster of interviews and photo shoots. Amid a of crowd of people swathed in leather and denim, camera crews jostle with photographers at the Austrian embassy in Helsinki to get a shot of the guests of honour. Sami Helle, the bass player in PKN, is clearly enjoying himself. "This is really nice to be with friends and family," says Helle. "It means a lot to us. We need the support because if we don't have the support we won't do well in Vienna." Today's celebration for PKN is typical of what life has been like for the quartet since the Finnish public chose them to represent their country at Eurovision in February. PKN - whose members have autism and Down's syndrome - first got together at a workshop for adults with learning disabilities in Helsinki in 2009. Since then they have been a regular fixture on the Finnish gig circuit with their songs which rail against the obstacles disabled people face and the pedicurists who cut their toenails. They have built up a strong fanbase in Finland but now they are set to compete in Vienna, they are attracting fans from all over the world. Their 85-second song Aina Mun Pitaa (I Always Have To) is ranked among the favourites to win Eurovision by bookmakers. In between mouthfuls of Viennese apple strudel, guitarist Pertti Kurikka, who the band is named after, says getting to Eurovision has been his life-long dream. "Lordi really inspired me. Their song was great," he says. Lordi's Hard Rock Hallelujah won Eurovision in Athens in 2006 and is Finland's only Eurovision win to date. The band were celebrated throughout Finland; part of Lordi's hometown, Rovaniemi, was renamed Lordi Square, Lordi Cola was sold in shops and the Finnish postal service issued a Lordi postage stamp. PKN already have their own stamp. A set has just been issued in celebration of the band ahead of the Vienna final. At the Austrian Embassy, Elisabeth Kehrer, the Austrian ambassador to Finland, admits to having a soft spot for PKN. "I think they are a very special group. What I found most moving about their story is that all they ever wanted to do was to make music, and that's what they're doing," she says. "Disabled or not, it's about them being musicians and enjoying it." Kehrer says she grew up with opera and classical music and says PKN is her first introduction to punk music. "Punk is a bit leftfield for me but I think their song is enjoyable, but if I don't have to listen to an hour of that music, that's fine! "I think PKN will do well and my fingers are definitely crossed for them." Helle - a lifelong Leeds United supporter since his grandfather travelled there for work, bringing home replica football shirts - says changing attitudes to disabilities is only part of the band's mission. "Our first objective is to go over there, put on a good show and put the music first because music is the big thing for us." Creative tension? Helle's relationship with the band, in particular with the band's frontman Kari Aalto, is similar to that of the Gallagher brothers in Oasis. "You get a bit frustrated with them and there's been some little fights," he says. "When I have days off I don't want to be with the guys. It's normal when you spend so long with the same people." With Eurovision just around the corner, the band are now spending a lot more time together. "Things have changed. Now people want us all the time and everybody notices us. Sometimes it's good, sometimes not," says Helle. "When people start to ask you the same questions then I get really annoyed, but right now it's ok." Among the legions of new fans, one in particular stands out. Tom Morello - the guitar player in Rage Against The Machine - recently tweeted his admiration for PKN. Helle is still in shock: "I was like, 'what is going on, Rage Against The Machine?!' Now I know the world is going crazy - he likes us?! I'm proud." So does this mean we can look forward to a Tom Morello and PKN collaboration? "Hopefully, yeah. I don't know what the future holds, we'll see after Eurovision." The Eurovision Song Contest 2015 takes place in Vienna, Austria, on Saturday 23 May. The semi-finals can be seen live on BBC Three on Tuesday 19th and Thursday 21st of May at 20:00BST. The grand final will be broadcast live on BBC One and BBC Radio 2.