Finnish metallers Lordi are one of the most recognisable Eurovision winners ever, but claim the song contest didn’t have that much of an impact on the band’s lives in the long run.
After their controversial win in 2006 with song Hard Rock Hallelujah, the band - who dress as monsters - saw their third album, The Arockalypse, became a hit throughout Europe.
Lordi also scored a lucrative series of promotions including their own branded soft drinks, boiled sweets and credit cards.
They performed at the MTV European Music Awards, had a square in the Lapland city of Rovaniemi renamed in their honour, and there was even a Lordi postage stamp issued in Finland.
“It opened a lot of doors of course,” concedes front man Mr Lordi speaking to the Standard.
“[But Eurovision] didn’t change our lives. We were doing the same thing before Eurovision and we continued to do the same thing afterwards.
“The media exposure that we got at that time, it’s something that you cannot buy with money and if you’re a rock band, a metal band there’s absolutely no way that you could get that kind of media exposure with any marketing budget that we had then.
“ These days it’s impossible to do that because the whole internet and social media came afterwards pretty much so now the information is all fragmented everywhere.”
Regardless of how they did it, 18 years later and after a few line-up changes, they are still going strong and gearing up for the release of their 19th studio album early next year.
They are also teaming up with OnePlus to release new single, Made Of Metal (out now), inspired by the world's first all-metal smartphone, the Nord 4.
“Never settle, I am made of metal,” Mr. Lordi roars on the track and he is proudly using his new phone when we speak to him.
During our chat, he reveals he has possibly the coolest ring tone on the planet.
“I always have to brag about my ringtone as I have Gene Simmons saying ‘Hello Mr Lordi’ – that has been my ringtone since 2008,” he explains, adding: “That’s pretty special.”
He also has an unexpected contact saved - Santa Claus.
“I live in the capital of Lapland, this is where I was born and raised. It is located on the Arctic Circle, the hometown of Santa Claus and we have lots of reindeers. I’m not kidding, I have a phone number on my phone that says Santa Claus, he is the guy, he does the official Santa Claus of Finland. He opens the Christmas tree, turns the lights on and he’s like, the official dude.”
Despite his connections, Mr Lordi says you’re still unlikely to find him on the nice list which is just as well as he admits he’s a bit of a hoarder.
“You know the hoarders on the TV shows? I’m one of those guys. I’m a hoarder. I’m not kidding, I have never thrown anything away in my life, I have every single thing that I have had since I was a kid, every single toy, everything. Never threw anything away.
“I am a collector of many things. I have a bunch of Muppets stuff, probably I have the biggest KISS collections in Scandinavia, if not one of the biggest in Europe. I have a lot of movie memorabilia, I love horror movies, I love ET and have a lot of ET stuff, Star Wars, I am a Gremlin collector too. I have tonnes of Gizmo… I have an extra house which is my work room which is where I’ve got my collection,” he adds with a deep laugh.
You can stream Lordi’s new single Made Of Metal on Spotify and Apple Music now. The OnePlus Nord 4 goes on sale on August 8.
