Ville Valo

Ville Valo
Background information
Birth name	Ville Hermanni Valo
Also known as	Don Vittu,[1] Valo, Rakohammas
Born	22 November 1976 (1976-11-22) (age 33) Helsinki, Finland
Origin	Finland
Genres	Alternative rock
Occupations	Musician, Songwriter, Singer, Guitarist, Bassist, Drummer, Pianist
Instruments	Vocals, Guitar, Bass, Drums, Piano
Years active	1991 - Present
Labels	Warner Brothers, Sire Records, Warner Music Group, Helsinki Music Company
Associated acts	HIM Daniel Lioneye The 69 Eyes
Website	Official website

Ville Hermanni Valo (born November 22, 1976), is a Finnish singer, songwriter, and frontman of the Finnish rock band HIM. Valo was also the drummer for the Daniel Lioneye project. Ville has a baritone vocal range.^[2]

Early life

Ville Hermanni Valo was born in a district of Helsinki, called Vallila. His father, Kari, is Finnish and his mother, Anita, is of Hungarian descent.^[3] Soon after his birth, the family moved to the riverside community of Oulunkylä where they lived throughout his teenage years. In 1984 his younger brother and only sibling Jesse, a professional Thai boxer (now a bassist for the finnish band 'Iconcrash'), was born.^[4] In his late teens, he worked at his father's sex shop^[5] and later moved out on his own when he was 18.

As a child, Valo was exposed to the songs of popular Finnish performers such as Tapio Rautavaara and Rauli Badding Somerjoki by his music-loving parents, while an older cousin introduced him to the heavier sounds of bands like Kiss, Black Sabbath and Iron Maiden.^[3]

Former projects

Valo was in Helsinki based bands B.L.O.O.D 1987-1988, Eloveena Boys 1987-1988, Kemoterapia 1989-1999 and Daniel Lioneye. He has also starred in one videos by Finnish band The 69 Eyes (Wasting The Dawn). He has also taken part as a backing vocalist for their first two albums.

Current

Valo is frontman of the Finnish rock band HIM, who have released six studio albums and four compilation albums. They became the first Finnish rock band to achieve a gold record (more than 500,000 copies) in the United States. Valo was also the drummer for the Daniel Lioneye project which featured HIMs guitarist Linde Lindstrom on vocals/lead guitar and Migé Amour on bass. He presently resides in his 4 story tower in the Munkkiniemi district of Helsinki. . Ville's band HIM also have a forthcoming album, Screamworks: Love in Theory and Practice, expected release date: February 9, 2010.

Movies and TV

Ville is close friends with CKY, Jackass and Viva La Bam star Bam Margera, who shares many of Valo's tattoos. Valo can be seen in the movie Jackass Number Two and the movie Bam Margera Presents: Where the #$&% Is Santa?, which includes the whole band playing "Dead Lover's Lane." He also acts the role of Moto-Moto in the Finnish version of Madagascar 2. He is also in CKY 3. Valo also portrayed Jim Morrison in the 69 Eyes music video "Wasting The Dawn".

HIM and other side projects

Main articles: HIM (Finnish band) and HIM discography

• Skreppers & Ville Valo (1995)
• Apocalyptica & Ville Valo (1996)
• The 69 Eyes & Ville Valo (1997)
• Tehosekoitin & Ville Valo (1999)
• The 69 Eyes & Ville Valo (1999)
• Neljä Ruusua & HIM (1999)
• Agents & Ville Valo - Paratiisi, Jykevää On Rakkaus, Ikkunaprinsessa, Valo Yössä (Tuomari Nurmio Cover) (1999)
• Tributti Tuomari Nurmio: Ville Valo & Others (2000)
• The 69 Eyes & Ville Valo (2000)
• Musta Paraati, Ville Valo, Gas Lipstick & Others (2001)
• Daniel Lioneye And The Rollers/Daniel Lioneye And The Blues Explosion (2001)
• The 69 Eyes & Thulsa Doom (2001)
• Five Fifteen & Ville Valo - The Prostitute & Season Of The Witch (2001)
• The 69 Eyes & Ville Valo (2002)
• The Skreppers, Ville Valo, Migé Amour & Lily Lazer (2002)
• The Mission & Ville Valo (2002)
• Lowemotor Corporation & Ville Valo - Love Me (2003/2004)
• The Skreppers & Ville Valo (2004)
• The 69 Eyes & Ville Valo - Beneath the Blue (2004)
• Apocalyptica feat. Ville Valo & Lauri Ylönen - Bittersweet (2004) (FIN: #1, D: #6)
• Two Witches & Ville Valo - Dracula Rising (2005)
• Bloodhound Gang feat. Ville Valo - Something Diabolical (2005)
• Isabelle´s Gift feat. Ville Valo - If I Die Tonight (2006)
• Cradle of Filth feat. Ville Valo - The Byronic Man (2006)
• Daniel Cavanagh feat. Ville Valo - Inner silence(Acoustic)(2006)
• Ville Valo & Tommi Viksten - Kun Minä Kotoani Läksin (2006)
• Kari Tapio & Ville Valo - Täällä Pohjantähden Alla (2006)
• Ville Valo & Natalia Avelon - Summer Wine (2007) (FIN: #1, D: #2, AU: #4, CH: #2, GR: #1)
• Ville Valo & Mariam "Manna Lindström" Jäntti - Just for Tonight (2007)

References

External links

• Official website of HIM
• UK HIM website of HIM
• Ville Valo at Notable Names Database
• Ville Valo at Internet Movie Database
• Ville Valo interview on SuicideGirls 2007