Don't Dream It- Be It
1987 ANNE & JYRKI STARTED THE BAND "NOIDAT" (= WITCHES) WHEN THEY REALIZED THAT THERE WEREN'T ANY GOOD GOTHIC-BANDS IN FINLAND THOSE DAYS
1988 JYRKI BEGAN TO SING IN ENGLISH AND AT THE SAME TIME THEY CHANGED THEIR NAME TO "TWO WITCHES". THE FIRST GIG WAS IN MARCH IN THEIR HOMETOWN TAMPERE. THE BAND'S FIRST RELEASE, 7" SINGLE "PIMEYDEN JOUSI" CAME OUT IN OCTOBER FROM THEIR ORIGINAL LABEL CALLED DARKLANDS RECORDS.
1989 AFTER MANY DIFFERENT LINE-UP'S, ANNE & JYRKI FINALLY FOUND NAUKU & TOBY, ANOTHER COUPLE WHICH SEEMED TO UNDERSTAND TWO WITHCES - ATTITUDE, IMAGE AND MUSIC. SINCE THEN THOSE FOUR HAVE BEEN TOGETHER. 1990 CAME OUT ONLY ONE TWO WITCHES - SONG IN RARE MAGAZINE'S SAMPLER - EP, AND ONE SONG UNDER THE NAME CLICK!. IN OCTOBER IT WAS TIME FOR THE FIRST EUROPEAN TOUR. THE PLAYERS ON THE "THE WITHCES ARE BURNING TOUR" WERE: ANNE, JYRKI, NAUKU, TOBY, ARI AND JUHA. TWO WITCHES WERE TOURING IN DENMARK, GERMANY AND ITALY. IN DECEMBER THEY WERE THE HEADLINER IN THE BIGGEST GOTHIC-FESTIVAL EVER IN FINLAND.
1991 VERY QUIET YEAR. LINE-UP CHANGED (SURPRISE!!) WHEN JUHA WENT STUDYING AND JYRKI'S FRIEND TIMO R. FROM THE SAME MAGAZINE (RARE) CAME TO PLAY BASS. ONLY A FEW GIGS AND TWO RELEASES - IN THE WHOLE YEAR.
1992 TWO WITCHES DEBUT- CD "AGONY OF THE UNDEAD VAMPIRE PART II" CAME OUT FROM DARKLANDS, AND THE BAND WAS ALSO HEARD IN TWO COMPILATION RELEASES. IN OCTOBER ANNE, JYRKI, NAUKU AND TOBY WENT TO GERMANY WITH THEIR FRIEND TIMO V. ( SHADE FACTORY). IT WAS TIME FOR "THE UNDEAD VAMPIRE TOUR". IN THE SAME TOUR THEY SIGNED A RECORDING DEAL WITH A GERMAN LABEL CALLED TALITHA RECORDS, A DIVISION ON MUSIC RESEARCH GMBH. AT THE END OF THE YEAR ARI AND TIMO R. LEFT THE BAND.
1993 THE FIRST GERMAN RELEASE "THE VAMPIRE'S KISS"- CD CAME OUT IN SEPTEMBER FROM CLEOPATRA RECORD. AT THE SAME TIME TWO WITCHES WAS ALSO IN TWO COMPILATION CDS. IN OCTOBER BAND WON THE TITLE " THE BEST BAND OF THE YEAR" BY CITY MAGAZINE, FINLAND. IN SAME MONTH CAME OUT THIRD TWO WITCHES CD CALLED "PHAERIEMAGICK" AND BAND STARTED EUROPEAN TOUR ( FINLAND, GERMANY, SLOVAKIA) UNDER SAME NAME. AFTER THE TOUR ANNE LEFT THE BAND AND JOINED A SWISS BAND LACRIMOSA.
1994 A VERY QUIET YEAR AGAIN, BECAUSE TOBY TOURED WITH A GERMAN BAND LOVE LIKE BLOOD IN THEIR "EUROPEAN ODYSSEE" - TOUR FROM MARCH TO MAY AS THEIR GUITARIST, AND JYRKI TOURED WITH ANOTHER GERMAN BAND SEPULCRUM MENTIS IN JULY SINGING TWO WITCHES- SONGS.
NAUKU REPLACED ANNE AS A KEYBOARDIST. AFTER SOME LINE-UP CHANGES A NEW DRUMMER PAVE AND A NEW BASS-PLAYER LINDE WERE FOUND.
TWO WITCHES WERE INCLUDED IN THREE COMPILATION CDS IN THRE DIFFERENT COUNTRIES (ENGLAND, GERMANY & USA.) MCD "BLOODY KISSES" WAS THE FIRST RELEASE FROM NEW LINE-UP AND IT CAME OUT FROM TALITHA IN SEPTEMBER.
1995 JYRKI AND NAUKU VISITED SAD PARADE'S DEBUT MCD "IMMORTAL ILLUSIONS" (CAME OUT FROM JYRKI'S DARKLANDS RECORDS), AFTER WHICH, DUE TO TOBY'S WORK IN ST. PETERSBURG, TWO WITCHES TOOK A SIX MONTHS BREAK FROM TOURING. JYRKI SPENT HIS TIME IN BERLIN, PLAYING TWO GIGS WITH SEPULCRUM MENTIS. "BITES"-CD WAS RELEASED IN APRIL BY GERMAN TALITHA RECORDS. TWO WITHCES FEATURING SHADE FACTORY MADE A COVER VERSION OF BAUHAUS' "KING VOLCANO" WHICH IS INCLUDED IN THE CLEOPATRA RECORDS' BAUHAUS-TRIBUTE CALLED "THE PASSION OF COVERS".
THE LONGISH TOURING BREAK ENDED WITH A GIG IN DRUM II, AN OPEN-AIR FESTIVAL IN FINLAND. IN AUGUST THE WITCHES STARTED THEIR "BITES TOUR '95" CONSISTING FOURTEEN CONCERTS IN FOUR DIFFERENT COUNTRIES (AUT, FIN, GER, U.K.). THEY PLAYED, FOR EXAMPLE, AS A HEADLINER AT THE LEGENDARY HIPPODROME IN LONDON, AS WELL AS IN BERLIN AND INNSBRUCK. AFTER THE TOUR THE BAND CHANGED ITS LINE-UP.
DURING 1995 TWO WITCHES WAS INCLUDED IN MANY COMPILATIONS, E.G. MICK MERCER'S "GOTHIC ROCK II", "WHAT SWEET MUSIC THEY MAKE II" AND "GOTHIK". THE GERMAN VUZ RECORDS RELEASED A COMPILATION OF BAND'S EARLY SONGS CALLED "INTO THE DARKLANDS - THE EARLY YEARS 1987-1989".
1996 LEVÄNEN REPLACED LINDE AS A BASS PLAYER.
IN JANUARY CLEOPATRA RECORDS RELEASED THE BEST OF TWO WITCHES -COMPILATION CALLED "BITES AND KISSES". IN FEBRUARY CLEOPATRA RECORDS RELEASED THE TRIBUTE TO BAUHAUS CD AND TWO WITCHES MADE THEIR FIRST TOUR IN LAPLAND. AGAIN TWO WITCHES SONGS WAS INCLUDED IN DIFFERENT COMPILATIONS, FOR EXAMPLE "TOUCHED BY THE HAND OF GOTH, VOL II".
IRIS (WHO SOLD MERCHANDISE IN "BITES TOUR '95") BECAME A PIANIST OF TWO WITCHES. IN SEPTEMBER THE BAND WAS ON TOUR IN FINLAND WITH TWO GERMAN BANDS SEPULCRUM MENTIS AND EXEDRA (BOTH FROM BERLIN). AFTER THE TOUR LEVÄNEN LEFT THE BAND.
1997 HAS BEEN A BUSY YEAR FOR TWO WITCHES. THE YEAR STARTED WITH A TOUR IN BRAZIL WHERE THEY GOT A VERY FAVOURABLE RECEPTION - THEIR ALL GIGS WERE SOLD OUT AND THE LOCAL MTV FILMED THEIR SOUND FACTORY GIG.
IN LATE FEBRUARY AND EARLY MARCH 2W TOURED IN FINLAND WITH MIDNIGHT CONFIGURATION.
IN THE SUMMER TWO WITCHES RELEASED A NEW CD "TALVENAIKA" (BACK ON THE DARKLANDS AGAIN) THAT GOT SOME VERY GOOD REVIEWS IN VARIOUS MAGAZINES.
TWO WITCHES HAD THEIR 10 YEARS JUBILEE TOUR. DURING THE TOUR THEY PLAYED ABOUT TWENTY GIGS IN GERMANY AND SPAIN AND LATER IN DECEMBER SOME GIGS IN MEXICO AND ARGENTINA.
1998 TWO WITCHES STARTED THEIR YEAR BY DOING A MINI-TOUR IN UK. THEY PLAYED THREE GIGS WITH MIDNIGHT CONFIGURATION. ONE OF THE GIGS INCLUDED ALSO SQUID AND REVOLUTION BY NIGHT.