Band history
In 1994, Olli Virtaperko heard about a political song contest held by the Finnish Democratic Youth League, the youth organisation of the Finnish People's Democratic League. He entered the contest with his friend Kerkko Koskinen, who composed several songs based on lyrics from his friends and assembled a group of singers and musicians. The new band won the contest with their song "Ampukaa komissaarit, nuo hullut koirat" ("Shoot the commissioners, those mad dogs").
Ultra Bra's first EP, Houkutusten kiihottava maku ("The Exhilarating Taste of Temptation") was published in the summer of 1995. The band's name was invented during the recording sessions, and a steady lineup was settled on towards the end of 1995. By the end of the year Anni Sinnemäki, Koskinen's wife, later the most celebrated of UB's lyricists and a Green Party politician, began writing lyrics, starting with "Sankaritar" ("Heroine") and "Ken Saro-Wiwa on kuollut" ("Ken Saro-Wiwa is dead").
The band toured throughout 1996 and published their first full-length album, Vapaaherran elämää ("Lordly Life"), in the autumn of 1996. The band gained national fame with publication of the second album: Kroketti ("Croquet", 1997) remains the band's best selling album and contains some of their biggest hits, namely "Sinä lähdit pois" ("You Went Away") and "Minä suojelen sinua kaikelta" ("I Will Protect You From Everything").
In 1998, the band partook in a contest to represent Finland in the Eurovision Song Contest. While Ultra Bra did not win, their entry, "Tyttöjen välisestä ystävyydestä" ("About a Friendship Between Girls"), became a hit. The third album, Kalifornia, was released in the spring of 1999. In early 2000, Ultra Bra again participated in the Finnish Eurovision song selection process, with "Kaikki on hetken tässä" ("In This Moment, Everything's here"), not reaching the final round. In the spring, the band released several new singles, of which the song "Heikko valo" ("Weak Light") also featured in the Finnish movie Restless .
By summer 2000, Ultra Bra had decided to disband in the near future. The band's fourth and final album, Vesireittejä ("Waterways"), was published on 13 October 2000. It went number one – and sold gold – on its first week in the Finnish charts. [1] In October 2001, a compilation album, Sinä päivänä kun synnyin ("On The Day I Was Born") was published. It consisted of one CD of previous hits and another of new songs and many rarities, along with a music video tape and a book. The band held a small tour of seven gigs, quitting on 20 October 2001, with maximum media coverage, surrounded by thousands of fans.
Comebacks
Ultra Bra made a comeback on 30 January 2012 at Kokoaan suurempi Suomi 2012, a fundraiser concert for Pekka Haavisto's presidential campaign. [2] Tickets to the concert sold out in two hours on 25 January and the rush crashed the online ticket service Tiketti. [3]
The band toured again in the summer of 2017 and performed another set of three concerts at the Hartwall Arena in Helsinki from 15 to 17 December 2017. The 2017 comeback also included a new compilation album, Sinä päivänä kun synnyimme ("The Day We Were Born"), [4] and limited-edition releases of their studio albums on coloured vinyl. [5]
The band published two new singles in the summer of 2024 and performed at Olympiastadion in Helsinki in August 2025. [6]
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