The name Ville Valo is firmly connected with the work of the Finnish rock band HIM. Music was always in the first place for Ville; from early childhood, he dreamed of a stage and a career as a musician, singer. Valo began his musical experiments in his school years, and over time was able to achieve recognition and fame.
Ville Hermanni Valo was born in one of the poorest areas of the city of Helsinki, Finland. Mostly families of workers lived in this place. Valo's date of birth: November 22, 1976. His father, Corey, worked for a long time as a taxi driver. He later opened his own adult store with the appropriate assortment. Mom Ville Valo - a Hungarian named Anita - was a housewife. When Ville was 8 years old, another child appeared in the family - a boy. Brother Ville Valo's name is Jesse.
Children and youth in the biography of Ville Valo
Ville Valo grew up a very energetic, mobile, active child. From an early age he was fascinated by music, because by the age of seven the boy began to learn to play the guitar. This instrument, about which little Valo dreamed, was presented to him by his parents, having decided to support the child’s craving for creativity and music. While studying at the Helsinki Junior School, Ville Valo was already actively performing various covers of popular at that time musical compositions and classical rock songs.
It is worth noting that the parents of little Ville eagerly supported the enthusiasm for music. Despite the fact that neither father nor mother knew how to sing or play musical instruments, they from early childhood introduced Ville Valo to the classic, traditional songs of Finland. Later, when Ville got older, he was seriously interested in rock. He was captivated by the songs of Kiss and Black Sabbath. Perhaps, it was precisely such a passion for the rock genre that later affected Ville Valo's musical work.
In addition to craving for music, Ville from childhood was interested in sports. Due to the large amount of energy in the child, the parents gave little Valo into the section twice. Persistent training led to the fact that Ville Valo several times participated in local martial arts competitions. In addition to the duzo, Valo was also fond of ice skating and went out on the ice with pleasure.
The creative nature of Valo declared itself and in his desire for drawing.
In the process of receiving basic school education, Ville Valo was very interested in reading, which favorably distinguished him from his peers. Edgar Alan Poe remains one of Valo's favorite art authors to this day.
In addition to studying at a regular school, Ville Valo also studied at the Conservatory in Helsinki. As a teenager, he no longer had doubts that he wanted to become a musician, singer, songwriter and associate his life exclusively with music.
When Ville Valo was 18 years old, his parents bought him a separate apartment, where he safely and moved. At the same time, he got a job as a salesman in his father’s store, and I must say that Valo is not at all embarrassed about this fact in his biography. Even at the dawn of his musical career, he willingly told in an interview how he worked in an adult store.
The first music groups of Ville Valo
Ville Valo began his confident path in music, oddly enough, back in school. Then he gathered a group, which he called BLOOD. In the team were his peers. The group did not exist for a very long time, but the guys managed to speak at school events several times.
The next musical collective was the Aurora team. This group was also created by Ville Valo while studying at school. This time, young musicians decided not to confine themselves only to performances in their own educational institution. Earning money wherever they could, they raised money and went with their amateur concerts to schools in Sweden and Denmark.
As a teenager, Ville Valo also played drums and keyboards in various rock bands in Helsinki. Which, however, performed only at local parties and theme festivals.
HIM band and music career Ville Valo
In 1991, a rock band was created, which was originally given a long and complex name - His Infernal Majesty. However, in the end, the full name of the group was reduced to HIM. Ville Valo became the permanent frontman of this team. It was the work in the HIM band that brought glory to the Finnish musician and vocalist.
The young group quickly enough signed a contract with one of the leading music studios in Helsinki. But at first the guys did not create their own tracks, thinking about the further concept of the group. They played mainly covers of cult rock compositions of various famous groups. At the same time, Ville Valo finally refused to work in his father’s store, deciding to devote himself completely to creativity. In addition, at that time, music already brought him a good income.
In 1997, the team released their first album - 'Graetest Lovesongs vol. 666 '. This record did not become a global breakthrough in the career of musicians, but gradually the group attracted more and more attention from the general public and music critics.
In 1999, a single in support of the second album - 'Join me (in death)' - hit the German and European charts. A little later, he flew to the top of the world charts. In Germany and Finland, the track has long been in the first places of the charts. As a result, the song, which was shot two versions of the clip, became the soundtrack for two films: "Thirteenth Floor" and "Resident Evil 2".
Despite the fact that during the existence of the HIM group the composition changed, the guys managed to release 8 studio records. The peak of popularity of Ville Valo and his team came in the 2000s.
In 2017, it was announced that the group ceases to exist. They went to the final world tour, gave farewell performances in Russia together with another Finnish group The Rasmus.
Since 2018, the already famous Ville Valo has been closely engaged in his solo career and work on other projects. Despite the state of his health - the singer has asthma - he is not going to refuse to perform on stage.
Some interesting facts
- Ville Valo “invented” a new musical style - lovemetal, which described what the band HIM does.
- On the body of the Finnish musician there are more than 20 different tattoos, each of which has a certain meaning and is associated with various memorable events.
- For a long time - more than 10 years - Ville Valo lived not in a simple house or apartment, but in a tower where grain was once stored.
- Ville Valo has long struggled with his tobacco addiction. There was a time when he persistently did not smoke, but in 2013 he returned to addiction.
- One of Valo’s close friends is Bam Margera, an American whose crazy show was on MTV for some time. Bam was also the director of several HIM music videos at one time.
