Jim Pembroke
{{Short description|British musician (1946–2021)}}
{{expand Finnish|topic=bio|date=July 2012}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2021}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name = Jim Pembroke
| image = Jim Pembroke Svenska lyceum.jpg
| caption = Pembroke in 1969
| background =
| birth_name = James Francis Pembroke
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1946|1|27|df=y}}
| birth_place = London, England
| death_date = {{death date and age|2021|10|8|1946|1|27|df=y}}
| death_place = Kansas City, Missouri, US
| genre = Rock
| occupation = Singer, songwriter, keyboardist
| years_active =
| associated_acts = Wigwam
| website =
}}
James Francis Pembroke (27 January 1946 – 8 October 2021) was a British music producer, musician and the vocalist of the Finnish progressive rock band Wigwam.{{cite book|last=Simmonds|first=Jeremy|title=The Encyclopedia of Dead Rock Stars: Heroin, Handguns, and Ham Sandwiches|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bMBf3TYZigQC&pg=PA141|accessdate=3 August 2012|year=2008 | publisher=Chicago Review Press | isbn=978-1-55652-754-8 | pages=141–}}
Life and career
Pembroke was born in London,[https://www.hs.fi/kulttuuri/art-2000008322372.html "Yle: Wigwam-yhtyeen keulahahmo Jim Pembroke on kuollut."] Helsingin Sanomat, 9 October 2021. Retrieved 10 October 2021. and played with London group Taverners' Guild before arriving in Finland in 1965.
He immediately found himself in some demand, gigging on an ad hoc basis with various lineups such as the Beatmakers, later renamed Jormas, until forming The Pems. He joined Blues Section in 1967, recording a blues-jazz-pop fusion album now considered seminal in Finnish rock. After the band folded, Pembroke taught himself piano, then joined Wigwam in early 1969. He remained their frontman and principal songwriter, while also releasing occasional solo records. In 2013, Pembroke was granted an artist's pension by the Finnish state.{{Cite web | title=Wigwamin nokkamiehelle taiteilijaeläke | work=Yle | url=http://yle.fi/uutiset/wigwamin_nokkamiehelle_taiteilijaelake/6705118 | date=26 June 2013 | accessdate=27 June 2013}}
In the mid-1990s, he moved to the United States, married, and later lived in Kansas City, Missouri.Järvi, Esa: [http://www.wigwam.fi/members/jim_london_helsinki_kc2.htm "Jim Pembroke: London to Helsinki to Kansas City."] Wigwam. 2000. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
Pembroke died in Kansas City on 8 October 2021, aged 75.{{Cite web|date=|title=Jim Pembroke - Cremation Center of Kansas City|url=https://www.cremationcenterkc.com/jim-pembroke/|access-date=2021-11-16|website=|language=en}}
Solo discography
- Wicked Ivory (under the pseudonym "Hot Thumbs O'Riley"), Love Records 1972
- Pigworm, Love Records 1974
- Corporal Cauliflowers Mental Function, Love Records 1977
- Flat Broke (as the "Jim Pembroke Band"), Ponsi 1980
- Party Upstairs, Johanna 1981
- If the Rain Comes, TUM Records 2014
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [http://www.wigwam.fi/members/jim_london_helsinki_kc1.htm 2000 interview]
- {{discogs artist|Jim Pembroke}}
- {{imdb name|0671498}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pembroke, Jim}}
Category:Wigwam (Finnish band) members
{{UK-singer-stub}}
{{Finland-musician-stub}}
{{Finland-singer-stub}}