Ismo Kullervo Alanko (born November 12, 1960, Helsinki, Finland) is a popular Finnish rock singer/songwriter. Raised in Joensuu, Finland, he catapulted to fame in 1980 in a band called Hassisen Kone (Hassinen's Machine, after a local sewing machine shop), which won finnish championship in a band competition. In the year 1982, the band started experiencing internal problems and broke up. Alanko started a new band called Sielun Veljet (Soul Brothers). Sielun Veljet's style was completely different from Hassisen Kone's one, and some fans protested, but Sielun Veljet was a great success mainly for its famous live-shows. In 1997, after Sielun Veljet broke up, Ismo Alanko started the originally named Ismo Alanko Säätiö (Ismo Alanko Foundation). Säätiö has continued to be a very popular band. Even thought Säätiö is a band, it can be said that it is a solo-performance of Ismo Alanko, as members of the band have changed rapidly.
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