Jim Pembroke

James Francis Pembroke (27 January 1946 – 8 October 2021) was a British musician who was the vocalist of the Finnish progressive rock band Wigwam.[1]

Jim Pembroke
Pembroke in 1969
Pembroke in 1969
Background information
Birth nameJames Francis Pembroke
Born(1946-01-27)27 January 1946
London, England
Died8 October 2021(2021-10-08) (aged 75)
Kansas City, Missouri, US
GenresRock
Occupation(s)Singer, songwriter, keyboardist

Life and career

Pembroke was born in London,[2] and played with London group Taverners' Guild before arriving in Finland in 1965.

He immediately found himself in some demand, gigging on an ad hoc basis with various lineups such as the Beatmakers, later renamed Jormas, until forming The Pems. He joined Blues Section in 1967, recording a blues-jazz-pop fusion album now considered seminal in Finnish rock. After the band folded, Pembroke taught himself piano, then joined Wigwam in early 1969. He remained their frontman and principal songwriter, while also releasing occasional solo records. In 2013, Pembroke was granted an artist's pension by the Finnish state.[3]

In the mid-1990s, he moved to the United States, married, and later lived in Kansas City, Missouri.[4]

Pembroke died in Kansas City on 8 October 2021, aged 75.[5]

Solo discography
  • Wicked Ivory (under the pseudonym "Hot Thumbs O'Riley"), Love Records 1972
  • Pigworm, Love Records 1974
  • Corporal Cauliflowers Mental Function, Love Records 1977
  • Flat Broke (as the "Jim Pembroke Band"), Ponsi 1980
  • Party Upstairs, Johanna 1981
  • If the Rain Comes, TUM Records 2014

References
  1. Simmonds, Jeremy (2008). The Encyclopedia of Dead Rock Stars: Heroin, Handguns, and Ham Sandwiches. Chicago Review Press. pp. 141–. ISBN 978-1-55652-754-8. Retrieved 3 August 2012.
  2. "Yle: Wigwam-yhtyeen keulahahmo Jim Pembroke on kuollut." Helsingin Sanomat, 9 October 2021. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
  3. "Wigwamin nokkamiehelle taiteilijaeläke". Yle. 26 June 2013. Retrieved 27 June 2013.
  4. Järvi, Esa: "Jim Pembroke: London to Helsinki to Kansas City." Wigwam. 2000. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
  5. "Jim Pembroke - Cremation Center of Kansas City". Retrieved 16 November 2021.


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