Leevi and the Leavings was a popular music group in Finland, which existed from 1978 to 2004.
The group consisted of Gösta Sundqvist, Risto Paananen, Juha Karastie and Niklas Nylund. Gösta Sundqvist was the leader of the band, he composed and wrote all the songs and he was the singer. He was an interesting character, rarely giving interviews and appearing only slightly on television, even though he hosted a radio program on YLE, the national radio and television group.
The group's music was largely based on the mixture of Gösta Sundqvist's tragicomic texts used in couplets with catchy choruses. The best example of the band's style is perhaps the song "Teuvo, maanteiden kuningas" ("Teuvo, the king of highways"). The text of this song tells the story of an imprudent driver dreaming rally driver. Other well-known songs include "Rin Tin Tin", a bittersweet memory of a long-standing love story, "Unelmia ja toimistohommia" ("dreams and office"), "Pohjois-Karjala" ("Karelia north ") and" Itkisitkö onnesta "(" would you cry with happiness "). Many people in Finland consider Leevi and the Leavings' song lyrics to be among the best Finnish pop groups have ever written. A television program, based on the characters of their songs, has been broadcast in Finland.
The band was extremely popular in Finland and many songs are featured in the country's karaoke bars. As popular as it is, Leevi and the Leavings has the particularity of never having played in concert. On August 15, 2003, Gösta Sundqvist dies at the age of 46, the group will not survive this disappearance and will officially separate in 2004.
