Credits
Written by
Published
Source(s)
News
Finland 1984: Hengaillaan
Kirka died last night
Kirka, or Kirill Babitzin, was born on 22nd September 1950 in Helsinki. He started his career in 1962 being the solist in various bands before having his first solo hit in 1967 with Hetki iyö. In 1984 he won Euroviisut and went on to the Eurovision Song Contest in Luxembourg, where he gained a respectable 9th place. In 1988 he won the Syksyn sävel contest in Finland with the song Surun pyyhit silmistäni. This song is one of the biggest hits of the past 20 years in Finland. The album containing the song is the third best selling album in Finland to date with over 200.000 copies sold. Kirka has released 27 albums and he has been awarded the Emma award for best Finnish male singer twice, first in 1981 and then in 2000.
In his long career Kirka has sung everything from schlager to pop and heavy rock. He died last night at home in Helsinki, only 56 years old.
Watch Kirka at the Eurovision stage, 23 years ago:
Related polls
- Finland decided: How much do you like Työlki ellää?
- esctoday.com National Final Awards 2010: Best SONG not to qualify in FINLAND?
- esctoday.com National Final Awards 2010: Best PERFORMANCE not to qualify in FINLAND?
Go directly to the reactions
Reactions
When reacting to a news item, please stick to the topic. Inappropriate messages (swearing, racism, hate, etc.), messages in other languages than English and spam (which includes URL advertising) will be deleted and you risk your account being removed. Reacting on newsitems is only possible when logged in as a member. Still don't have member account?
Click here to react Click here to become a member (free!)
Very sad - what happened?
Oh my god - he is only 56...
My condolences to Finland - you've lost a great guy...
I am very sad ... good song and nice interpretation back in 1984!!!
I am shocked. I stil remember the funny video clip pf the song. Our Spanish commentator of 1984 seemed to be in love with his eyes. Very sad, only 3 months to the ESC, and he will not see it.
.jpg)
Unbelievable! And only 56..........
oh my god , what a shock, thats very young. condolences to all fiinish fans here
Thank you Kirka. R I P.
my condolences to the family and all his friends..
"Hengaaillaan" was so funny and nice song, I like it! Rest in peace, Kirka 
!
R.I.P.
that was the absolute best song in 84!
My deepest condelances to his family to the Finish people and to whole the Eurovision Community :'(
He was a great performer and had IMO the best entry of all participating countries in 1984 and THE best entry of all for Finland to this day.
I love "Hengaillaan", a song that really puts you in a good mood!
You will be missed, Kirka!
R.I.P
Too bad, so young.
Kirka, hope you may rest in peace
My condolences to his family and friends
Awwww, Kirka.
The man who had a beautiful smile. 
R.I.P
RIP
Still sad to see this kind of news.
You could recall all of your profiles here to make your support more impressive
I don`t think Kirka would appreciate fighting in this thread..
RIP Kirka.
People shouldn’ t die at this age means he is too young to die…
And I hope he rests in peace means that all souls don’ t necessarily rest in peace because that would depend on their deeds in current life according to almost all religious beliefs…
Now get out of my sight
What a sad news. My condoleances to his family and friends. I loved his song "Hengailaan. R.I.P. Kirka
its very sad to hear such news from the host country. I am sorry for this.
May he rest in peace...
"Hengaillaan" was a song with very "funny" words for the Dutch people !
But what a catchy song it was !! I also liked Kirka's preselection songs like "Oo Marie".
I hope Kirka will rest in peace !
R.I.P.
good night Kirka, I bet there will be a big smile on your face when you look down on the competition in Finland later this year. Thanks for the memory
Very sad news to hear
I love this song! Very sad indeed
This is indeed sad news, he was still so young... R.I.P.
from his best song Hetki lyö:
"Hetki lyö, viime hetki lyö
Kukaan aikaa lahjomaan ei käydä voi milloinkaan..."
(This is the hour, the final moment
No one can ever bribe Time...)
Kirka, Rest in peace.
The list of 41 reactions is divided into 2 pages. Choose a page:
1 | 2
React yourself
This news article is older than one week. Reacting to articles is only possible in the first week after publication.
