# Ruffus

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Estonian indie rock band

Ruffus Origin Estonia Genres Indie rock, pop rock Years active 1997–2003 Members Vaiko Eplik Jaan Pehk Ivo Etti Margus Tohver Siim Mäesalu

**Ruffus** was an [indie rock](/source/Indie_rock) band from [Estonia](/source/Estonia) that was originally known as **Claire's Birthday**. They represented their country in the [Eurovision Song Contest 2003](/source/Eurovision_Song_Contest_2003).

## Members

Vaiko Eplik (2007)

- [Vaiko Eplik](/source/Vaiko_Eplik) (vocals) was born in 1981 in [Rapla](/source/Rapla), into a music-loving family (as most of the band) of [collective farm](/source/Collective_farm) workers. Eplik studied music at the Tallinn Music School, specialising in pop-jazz singing and also studied the guitar, which he now teaches.

- [Jaan Pehk](/source/Jaan_Pehk) ([guitar](/source/Guitar)) was born in 1975 in [Palivere](/source/Palivere). He has a degree in [environmental protection](/source/Environmental_protection). He studied pop-jazz singing at the Tallinn Music School and is now an active [poet](/source/Poet) in the literary group Tartu Young Poets' Club (NAK).

- Ivo Etti (bass) was born in 1979 in Väike-Maarja. He studied at the Children's Music School in Rakvere and graduated from the Tallinn Music School, where he specialised in playing the [clarinet](/source/Clarinet). He is also the brother of former Estonian Eurovision representative, [Ines](/source/Eda-Ines_Etti).

- Margus Tohver (drums) was born in 1971 in [Tallinn](/source/Tallinn). During the 1980s he played in the first Estonian [thrash metal](/source/Thrash_metal) band Palat.

- Siim Mäesalu (keyboards) was born in [Kohila](/source/Kohila_Parish) in 1984. While he has been a keen music student, he has also studied other subjects. He graduated from the Tallinn Secondary School of Music and is currently studying electronic music at the [Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre](/source/Estonian_Academy_of_Music_and_Theatre).[1]

## History

Vaiko Eplik formed the band Claire’s Birthday in 1997. It became a national pop sensation, releasing three albums and winning Estonian Music awards. As a joke in 2003, the band entered [the Estonian selection](/source/Eurolaul) of [Eurovision Song Contest](/source/Eurovision_Song_Contest) and won it with the song "[Eighties Coming Back](/source/Eighties_Coming_Back)".[2]

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-bbc_1-0)** ["Ruffus. Eighties Coming Back"](https://web.archive.org/web/20050930111439/http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio2/eurovision/2003/contestants/estonia.shtml). [BBC](/source/BBC). Archived from [the original](https://www.bbc.co.uk/radio2/eurovision/2003/contestants/estonia.shtml) on 2005-09-30.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-creative_2-0)** ["Vaiko Eplik YCE Finalist"](https://creativeconomy.britishcouncil.org/people/vaiko-eplik/). British Council Creative Economy.

## External links

- [Claire’s Birthday](https://musicbrainz.org/artist/cd67249c-53bf-485f-aa9a-a5eef45157c2) discography at [MusicBrainz](/source/MusicBrainz)

Awards and achievements Preceded by Sahlene with "Runaway" Estonia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2003 Succeeded by Neiokõsõ with "Tii"

v t e Estonia in the Eurovision Song Contest National selection: Eesti Laul Participation 1993 1994 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 Artists 2XL 5miinust Alika Dave Benton Birgit Elina Born Camille Tommy Cash Victor Crone Maarja-Liis Ilus Ines Getter Jaani Kreisiraadio Laura Ott Lepland Ivo Linna Malcolm Lincoln Elina Nechayeva Neiokõsõ Sandra Oxenryd Gerli Padar Tanel Padar Jüri Pootsmann Puuluup Stig Rästa Ruffus Sahlene Evelin Samuel Janika Sillamaa Stefan Suntribe Uku Suviste Tanja Koit Toome Urban Symphony Vanilla Ninja Silvi Vrait Songs "Amazing" "Bridges" "Diamond of Night" "Eighties Coming Back" "Espresso Macchiato" "Et uus saaks alguse" "Everybody" "La forza" "Goodbye to Yesterday" "Hope" "Kaelakee hääl" "Keelatud maa" "Kuula" "Let's Get Loud" "Leto svet" "The Lucky One" "Mere lapsed" "Muretut meelt ja südametuld" "Nagu merelaine" "(Nendest) narkootikumidest ei tea me (küll) midagi" "Once in a Lifetime" "Partners in Crime" "Play" "Rändajad" "Rockefeller Street" "Runaway" "Siren" "Storm" "Through My Window" "Tii" "Too Epic to Be True" "Verona" "What Love Is" Note: Entries scored out signify where Estonia did not compete. Italics indicate an entry in a future contest.

v t e Eurovision Song Contest 2003 Countries Austria Belgium Bosnia and Herzegovina Croatia Cyprus Estonia France Germany Greece Iceland Ireland Israel Latvia Malta Netherlands Norway Poland Portugal Romania Russia Slovenia Spain Sweden Turkey Ukraine United Kingdom Artists Louisa Baïleche Claudia Beni Beth Birgitta Lynn Chircop Stelios Constantas Sertab Erener Fame F.L.Y. Rita Guerra Esther Hart Mickey Harte Jostein Hasselgård Ich Troje Jemini Karmen Lou Mando Mija Martina Lior Narkis Nicola Olexandr Alf Poier Ruffus t.A.T.u. Urban Trad Songs "Cry Baby" "Deixa-me sonhar" "Dime" "Don't Break My Heart" "Eighties Coming Back" "Everyway That I Can" "Feeling Alive" "Give Me Your Love" "Hasta la vista" "Hello from Mars" "I'm Not Afraid to Move On" "Keine Grenzen – Żadnych granic" "Let's Get Happy" "Monts et merveilles" "Nanana" "Ne brini" "Ne ver, ne boysya" "Never Let You Go" "One More Night" "Open Your Heart" "Sanomi" "To Dream Again" "Više nisam tvoja" "We've Got the World" "Weil der Mensch zählt" "Words for Love"

Authority control databases: Artists MusicBrainz

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Ruffus](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruffus) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruffus?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.