Sunday, August 9, 2009

Russian Spy And I - Salainen asiapoika


Robin - our Finnpick veteran - recorded "Salainen asiapoika" (Secret errand boy) in 1967. It was the B-side of his "Riders In The Sky" -cover "Aaveratsastajat". Neither of these was a hit. The original song wasn't a hit in Finland, either. But it was quite interesting early specimen of Dutch pop/rock that usually was not known, let alone covered in Finland. It was originally called "Russian Spy And I" and performed by a band called The Hunters. This single released in 1966 became The Hunters' most famous song, recieving much radio airplay. The virtuoso guitar lick brought lead guitarist Jan Akkerman instant recognition all over Holland. At the time he was only 18. In 1970 he formed the famous Focus and some years later, Akkerman was awarded by the UK pop publication, Melody Maker, as the "Best guitarist in the world"!

p,s. The unintentional(?) humour of this Finnpick seves as a introduction to Finnpick Humour Week. Stay tuned ...

Here's the pair:

2 comments:

raffaele said...

Hi! :)
My name is Raffaele from Rome. Italy.. can you contact me on my email?
( prugnosibillinux@hotmail.com )
I m looking for some finnish oldies and you are my last hope.. I have loads of audio rarities from all over the world to give in return :)
Hope to hear from you soon :)

DM said...

I'm rather shy in exchanging email -addresses. If you have some specific Finnish oldies that you like to have, please list them here in the comments. Perhaps I can be of help ...