Biography
Active for multiple decades, this Finnish rock & roll outfit has built an extensive discography and cultivated a loyal audience. Its sound draws directly from the 1950s and 1960s rock tradition, with particular emphasis on the beat style. The group was established in 1979 with an initial lineup of Pekka Rytkönen on vocals, Esa Pulliainen on lead guitar, Hans Etholén on rhythm guitar, Kai Pulliainen on bass, Juha Takanen on drums, and Jukka Ollila on keyboards. Although frequent personnel shifts occurred afterward, Esa and Kai Pulliainen stayed central to the band throughout. Three of its former lead singers—Rauli "Badding" Somerjoki (1981-1985), Topi Sorsakoski (1985-1992), and Jorma Kääriäinen (1992-2006)—each launched solo careers once their tenures with Agents ended.
The band launched its recorded output on the Johanna label, issuing Agents (1980), Ikkunaprinsessa (1982), and Tähdet, Tähdet (1983); a double-disc set titled In the Beginning: Johanna Years 1979-1984 later gathered highlights from that early period in 2003. In 1986, with Topi Sorsakoski having replaced Rauli "Badding" Somerjoki, Agents made its major-label bow via the EMI release In Beat. Additional EMI albums featuring Sorsakoski include Besame Mucho (1987), Pop (1988), and Half and Half (1990). Several years elapsed after Sorsakoski’s exit in 1992 before fresh material appeared.
Agents Forever (1995) marked the first album with Jorma Kääriäinen, followed on EMI by Agents Is... Back! (1996), Agents Is... More! (1997), Agents Is... Best! (1998), Agents Is... Here! (2001), Agents Is... Rock!, Vol. 1 (2001), Agents Is... Tonight (2003), Pop Show (2004), Agents Is... Best, Vol. 2 (2004), and Agents Is... Allright (2006). This run represented the band’s strongest commercial period, as its releases consistently reached the Finnish Top Ten from the late 1990s into the early 2000s, and Agents Is... Here! attained the number-one spot in 2001. After Kääriäinen departed in 2006, Agents rejoined former frontman Topi Sorsakoski for the Top Five-charting Renegades (2007). An instrumental effort, Agents Is... Beat! (2008), also entered the Finnish Top Five.
The band launched its recorded output on the Johanna label, issuing Agents (1980), Ikkunaprinsessa (1982), and Tähdet, Tähdet (1983); a double-disc set titled In the Beginning: Johanna Years 1979-1984 later gathered highlights from that early period in 2003. In 1986, with Topi Sorsakoski having replaced Rauli "Badding" Somerjoki, Agents made its major-label bow via the EMI release In Beat. Additional EMI albums featuring Sorsakoski include Besame Mucho (1987), Pop (1988), and Half and Half (1990). Several years elapsed after Sorsakoski’s exit in 1992 before fresh material appeared.
Agents Forever (1995) marked the first album with Jorma Kääriäinen, followed on EMI by Agents Is... Back! (1996), Agents Is... More! (1997), Agents Is... Best! (1998), Agents Is... Here! (2001), Agents Is... Rock!, Vol. 1 (2001), Agents Is... Tonight (2003), Pop Show (2004), Agents Is... Best, Vol. 2 (2004), and Agents Is... Allright (2006). This run represented the band’s strongest commercial period, as its releases consistently reached the Finnish Top Ten from the late 1990s into the early 2000s, and Agents Is... Here! attained the number-one spot in 2001. After Kääriäinen departed in 2006, Agents rejoined former frontman Topi Sorsakoski for the Top Five-charting Renegades (2007). An instrumental effort, Agents Is... Beat! (2008), also entered the Finnish Top Five.
Albums
