Urmas Alender

The band was influenced by Western acts such as Genesis, Yes, Emerson, Lake & Palmer and King Crimson, and often incorporated the poetry of Estonian writers Juhan Viiding and Ott Arder into the lyrics. The band was nationally commercially successful. Alender would remain with the band until its demise in 1988. From 1979 until 1980, Urmas Alender also fronted the Estonian punk rock band Propeller. Other bands Alender performed with were Teravik (1973–1976), and Data (1988–1989), and in 1983, he briefly played in an outfit called Kaseke. In 1987, Alender appeared in the Estonian rockumentary Pingul keel (Tightened String) alongside popular Estonian musicians Tõnis Mägi, Ivo Linna and Anne Veski. After years of being harassed by the Soviet KGB and other local authorities, Alender temporarily emigrated to Sweden in 1989. On 28 September 1994, while en route from Tallinn to Stockholm, Sweden, Urmas Alender died when the cruiseferry Estonia sank in the Baltic Sea. He was survived by a daughter, Yoko Alender, and a son, Ion Alender. In 2003, Liia Sakkos made a documentary about Alender, titled Teisel pool vett (English: On the Other Side of the Water, also a title of a song by Ruja).

• Name — Urmas Alender • Birth Name — Urmas Alender • Born — 22 November 1953 • Birthplace — Tallinn, then part of Estonian SSR, Soviet Union • Died — 28 September 1994 • Place of death — Baltic Sea • Instruments — Vocals • Genre — Rock Progressive rock Folk rock Punk rock • Occupation — Vocalist • Years Active — 1969–1994 • Past Member Of — Shades (1969–1970) Andromeeda (1971–1974) Teravik (1973–1976) Data (1988–1989) Propeller (1979–1980) Ruja (1971–1988) Kaseke (1983)