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Megaphone - The
purveyors of New Decadence.
What would
happen if Madonna and Mick Jagger had a four-headed love-child?
Megaphone is what you´d
get!
It all started in 1999 when
singer Bjarki moved from his native Iceland to Finland with only guitar and a hair-dryer
and met guitarist Kris, who was equally skint but needed the hair-dryer. The pair
shared a mutual love of energetic rock´n´roll and started to write together.
Both being sub-urban hooligans, they were influenced by the music of the Stones,
Queen and Hanoi Rocks, the movies of John Waters, the photographs of Helmut Newton
and Nan Goldin and throw-away romance novels.
Gorgeous! Glossy!
Glam!
High on beer and the fumes
of cheap hair-dye they set about thrashing out a collection of tunes that would suit
their vision. The first song they wrote was called "Shaking My Fist at the Sun"
as a statement of intent. Soon after they hooked up with bassist Rikki London (ex-Johnny
Thunders and Andy McCoy) and drummer Mikko Sirén. This line-up quickly recorded
more songs and started gigging as much as they could. After Rikki left to concentrate
on solo ventures Mikko´s old friend Ilari stepped in on bass and the band, in
Kris´s words, "just exploded".
More cat-walk than
side-walk!
All four members of Megaphone
are natural dandies, and therefore they slipped into the band's Vogue-meets-wasted
look effortlessly. After having played numerous riotous shows in Finland and Sweden
in 2001-3, they decided to record a single in february 2004 with the tracklisting
based on audience response. "Toyboy" and "Movie Queen" are prime
examples of Megaphone´s ear for a catchy tune and witty lyricism. In early 2005
they got together with producer Johnny Lee Michaels (69 Eyes et.c.) who produced
two fan-favorites, "Supernova" and "So Alive". The band has earned
a reputation for sweaty and manicly exuberant live-shows, with plenty of dazzle for
the eye and ear.
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