The name Ville Valo is closely associated with the work of the Finnish rock band HIM. Music has always been in the first place for Ville; from early childhood he dreamed of a stage and a career as a musician and singer. Valo began his musical experiments during his school years, and over time he was able to achieve recognition and fame.
Ville Hermanni Valo was born in one of the less affluent districts of the city of Helsinki, Finland. This place was mainly inhabited by families of workers. Valo's date of birth: November 22, 1976. His father, named Corey, worked for a long time as a taxi driver. He later opened his own adult store with a matching assortment. Ville Valo's mother, a Hungarian named Anita, was a housewife. When Ville was 8 years old, another child appeared in the family - a boy. Ville Valo's brother's name is Jesse.
Childhood and adolescence in the biography of Ville Valo
Ville Valo grew up as a very energetic, mobile, active child. From an early age, he was fascinated by music, so by the age of seven, the boy began to learn to play the guitar. This instrument, which little Valo dreamed of, was presented to him by his parents, deciding to support the child's craving for creativity and music. While studying in a junior school in the city of Helsinki, Ville Valo was already actively performing various covers of popular music at that time and classical rock songs.
It is worth noting that the parents of little Ville willingly supported their passion for music. Despite the fact that neither father nor mother knew how to sing or play musical instruments, from early childhood they introduced Ville Valo to the classic, traditional songs of Finland. Later, when Ville got older, he became seriously interested in rock. He was conquered by the songs Kiss and Black Sabbath. Perhaps, it was this passion for the rock genre that later affected the musical work of Ville Valo.
In addition to his craving for music, Ville was interested in sports since childhood. Due to the large amount of energy in the child, the parents sent little Valo to the section by dozen. Hard training led Ville Valo to participate in local martial arts competitions several times. In addition to Duzo Valo, he was also fond of skating and went out on the ice with pleasure.
Valo's creative nature also showed itself in his craving for drawing.
In the process of obtaining basic school education, Ville Valo was very carried away by reading, which favorably distinguished him against the background of 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 any doubts that he wanted to become a musician, singer, songwriter and connect his life exclusively with music.
When Ville Valo turned 18, his parents bought him a separate apartment, where he moved safely. At the same time, he got a job as a seller in his father's store, and, I must say, Valo is not at all shy about this fact in his biography. Even at the dawn of his musical career, he willingly told in interviews how he worked in an adult store.
The first musical groups of Ville Valo
Oddly enough, Ville Valo began his confident path in music at school. Then he formed a group, which he called B. L. O. O. D. The team included his peers. The group did not exist for a very long time, but the guys managed to perform several times at school events.
The next musical group was the Aurora team. This group was also created by Ville Valo during his school years. This time the young musicians decided not to limit themselves only to performances in their own educational institution. Working part-time where they could, they collected 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 the city of Helsinki. Which, however, performed only at local parties and themed festivals.
HIM and Ville Valo's musical career
In 1991, a rock band was created, which initially received a long and complex name - His Infernal Majesty. However, in the end, the group's full name was shortened to HIM. Ville Valo became the permanent frontman of this group. It was the work in the HIM group that brought fame to the Finnish musician and vocalist.
The young group quickly signed a contract with one of the leading music studios in Helsinki. But at first, the guys did not create their own tracks, thinking over the further concept of the group. They played mainly covers of the cult rock compositions of various famous bands. At the same time, Ville Valo finally gave up work in his father's store, deciding to devote himself entirely to creativity. In addition, at that time, music was already bringing him a good income.
In 1997, the band released their first album, 'Graetest Lovesongs vol. 666 '. This disc 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, the single in support of the second album - 'Join me (in death)' - hit the German and European charts. A little later, he soared to the top of the world charts. In Germany and Finland, the track was at the top of the charts for a long time. As a result, the song, for which two versions of the video were filmed, became the soundtrack for two films: "The Thirteenth Floor" and "Resident Evil 2".
Despite the fact that the line-up changed during the existence of the HIM group, 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 would be disbanding. They went on the final world tour, gave farewell performances in Russia, together with another Finnish band, The Rasmus.
Since 2018, the already famous Ville Valo has been tightly 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 give up performing on stage.
Some interesting facts
- Ville Valo "invented" a new musical style - lovemetal, which he used to describe what the group HIM does.
- There are more than 20 different tattoos on the body of the Finnish musician, each of which has a specific 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 been struggling with his tobacco addiction for a long time. There was a time when he steadfastly did not smoke, but in 2013 he returned to the addiction again.
- One of Valo's close friends is Bam Margera, an American whose crazy show once aired on MTV. Bam also directed several videos for the HIM group.
The personal life of a Finnish singer
From 2003 to 2007, Ville Valo dated a girl named Jonna Nigren, who was a Finnish TV presenter and model. The couple was even engaged, but the marriage never happened.
Ville Valo's next passion was a model from France - Sandra Mittika. For some time they lived in a civil marriage in Helsinki, but in the end they broke up anyway. One of the reasons for the breakup, Ville called the difficulties in maintaining relations due to the too busy touring schedule of the HIM group.
Since 2016, Valo has been dating Christel Karhu, who is also a model.
