Manserock

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Manserock is general term for rock music from Tampere. In the local slang Manse means Tampere. "Manse" comes from "Manchester", as Tampere was one of the first industrial towns in Finland, and thus was similar to Manchester.

Although there was some rock movement in Tampere earlier, Manserock was considered to start in August 1969 when famous musical Hair was played for the first time in a local theater. Reijo Paukku brought the musical to Tampere from the USA. Several local musicians participated in the show. The show received a lot of publicity in Tampere and in the whole Finland.

The 70's can be considered the golden age of Manserock and the word Manserock was introduced in early 70's. Several local rock bands were popular in Finland and the reputation of Tampere as a rock city grew. The biggest name of that age is Juice Leskinen. Some other noteworthy names are Virtanen, Kontra, and Kaseva. All of these bands played rock music with Finnish lyrics.

In 1977 Poko Records was founded. This was the first record company in Tampere and it played an important role in the support of Manserock.

In the Late 70's Tampere was know for several new wave bands although other styles of rock also existed. Bands like Eppu Normaali, Popeda, and Karanteeni spread the knowledge of Manserock in Finland.

In the 80's many new bands were formed. However some of the older bands continued and increased in popularity. Juice Leskinen, Eppu Normaali, and Popeda even published new recordings in early 2000s.