Sami Yaffa
| Sami Yaffa | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Sami Lauri Takamäki |
| Born |
4 September 1963 , Espoo, Finland |
| Genres | Rock, glam punk, glam rock, blues |
| Occupation(s) | Musician |
| Instruments | Bass guitar |
| Years active | 1977–present |
| Associated acts | Hanoi Rocks, Michael Monroe, Pelle Miljoona Oy, Jetboy, Jerusalem Slim, Demolition 23., New York Dolls, Mad Juana, American Heartbreak |
Sami Yaffa (born Sami Lauri Takamäki September 4, 1963 in Espoo, Finland) is a bass guitarist best known for his work in New York Dolls, Michael Monroe's bands and Hanoi Rocks. He is currently the bassist for the Michael Monroe band and Compulsions. He also plays guitar in his own band Mad Juana.
Yaffa first began playing music in 1977, when he was fourteen years old, with a band called Babblers. He went along with another member of the Babblers (Pepe Seivo) and formed a punk rock band, Suopo, in 1979. They did not record any material and stayed relatively unknown even in the Finnish punk rock scene. Around this time Yaffa also played with another Finnish punk rock band, Pohjanoteeraus.
In 1980 Yaffa joined future Hanoi Rocks bandmate Andy McCoy in a legendary Finnish punk/rock band Pelle Miljoona Oy. The two of them took part in the band's most successful album "Moottoritie On Kuuma". Before the group toured they both decided to leave and to join Hanoi Rocks.
Hanoi Rocks became the biggest band in Finland at the time, releasing a string of successful albums. The group moved from Stockholm to London and continued to gain fans and influence the music scene there. Yaffa played bass in all the Hanoi Rocks albums released in 1980s. In London, Yaffa, along with Hanoi Rocks bandmates Nasty Suicide and Razzle, as well as Knox of the Vibrators, recorded an album under the name Fallen Angels. Knox continued to perform as Fallen Angels after, though the Hanoi Rocks members including Yaffa never played with the band on stage.
After Razzle's death in 1984, Yaffa left Hanoi Rocks and formed Chain Gang with Pelle Almgren in . They recorded one EP under the name Pelle Almgren & Sam Yaffa. 1987 saw Yaffa doing a couple of gigs with then London based Johnny Thunders. Another member of the New York Dolls, Jerry Nolan, was also in the group.
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