Built in 1894 by municipal counsellor Robert Åström, the patrician villa became a student house in 1962, after many twists and turns. The student union jazz club organised jam evenings there, and the Oulu Student Theatre organised popular disco nights called “Discoteque Harha-askel” (Discoteque Misstep). Pop bands regularly played at the restaurant.

In 1968, the legendary summer restaurant La Hacienda operated in Rauhala for a few summers. The place was called the Patio, and the word established itself in the Oulu dialect as referring to restaurant terraces. From 1969 to 1971, Rauhala operated under the name Kesäleski (Summer Widow). The programming included jazz, pop and dance bands but also more “daring” entertainment, such as strip tease.

In the 1970s, Rauhala, which was in financial difficulties, saw several changes in its use. It even acted as a nightstead for alcoholics, and the house went into rough shape. In 1979, there was a rebel movement demanding that Rauhala be restored as a student house. In addition to the Oulu Student Union, the northern Finland live music association PELMU ry, founded in the preceding year, and the rhythm music association RYMY, founded in 1979, were also involved in the rebel movement. The takeover of the building was left at the planning stage, as a decision was made to renovate Rauhala.

The student house was opened and renovated in 1981, and the restaurant Club Clementine opened in 1982. Despite the expectations, the restaurant did not turn out to be a gold mine and was close to shutting its door for good. To remedy the situation, the student council decided to set up a committee, which started running live music clubs at the restaurant. The limited number of customer seats prevented more notable artists and bands from visiting but allowed new noisemakers to make their entrance. By the mid-1980s, the establishment had become Oulu’s most interesting alternative rock café. The changing cultural secretaries of the student union shared a positive attitude towards rock, and concert activities were organised accordingly. The music offer ranged from rising national talent to local grassroots players. The sophisticated milieu of Rauhala was the perfect hotbed for the Oulu sound that was conceived in the 1980s.

The concept of the male choir Huutajat (screaming men’s choir) has always entailed surprise performances in unexpected places, but its official debut took place in Rauhala at the student union’s Independence Day celebrations in 1987. Foreign performers also made appearances at Rauhala.

It was early winter of '92 when an American band called Kelvynator came to perform at Rauhala, and it raised great expectations. The band’s leader and guitarist was Kelvyn Bell, who had previously played as a guitarist in a funk band called Defunkt. And this Defunkt was a big favourite of mine and my circle of friends. Word trickled out about this Kelvynator and suddenly it just burst onto the stage at Rauhala. Didn’t really know at all what was to come. However, Rauhala got pretty full. The gig started and three black guys came on stage, Kelvyn Bell, a bassist, and a drummer, and they started playing some basic heavy funk. Merciless syncopated beat. The audience had their heels in the ceiling and socks spinning around their feet. The gig was absolutely relentless. Kelvynator received an explosive popularity at Rauhala. It was the best gigs I’ve ever seen. Afterwards, I heard a rumor, just a rumor, that Kelvynator had wondered in some interview, what was that place in some small northern village, in the middle of nowhere, in the middle of darkness. Some small old wooden house, where there was an absolutely incredible explosive atmosphere. – Jarno Mällinen, Radiopuhelimet

By the end of the millennium, queues to the restaurant were becoming a distant memory. In 1994–1995, Café Clementine only operated in the summer and, in 1998, the restaurant was closed. The trendsetter’s baton had been passed, and Rauhala cleaned itself up and continued as a lunch and banqueting restaurant.

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Sources:

Mällinen, Jarno, Member of Radiopuhelimet band. Oulu. Interview 10.3.2024, interviewer Esa Nissi.

Wikipedia. 2023. https://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rauhala_(Oulu)

Oulu City Library. 2023. Pohjoista musiikkia. www.ouka.fi/oulu/pohjoista-musiikkia/klubit-ja-ravintolat

Savolainen, Marjatta, telephone interview 11.12.2023

Oulu-lehti 13.6.1968, 25.5.1969, 25.1.1973, 26.9.1974, 4.2.1975, 5.3.1981, 9.11.1981 Oulun ylioppilaslehti 27.2.1970, 15.5.1970, 18.3.1976, 6.2.1981. Kaleva 6.3.1964 Rättilä, Markku. Kaleva 15.1.2002 Interview: Karjalainen, Hannu.

Kuivamäki, Santtu, ”HALUTTIIN VAAN SAADA JAMIT PYÖRIMÄÄN OULUSSA” Oululainen jazzkulttuuri 1965–1975, Tampereen yliopisto etnomusikologian pro gradu -tutkielma

Mällinen, Jarno, Kaleva http://kirjastolinkit.ouka.fi/kaleva/tammi12/11174123.xml

Ervasti, Antti, Kaleva http://kirjastolinkit.ouka.fi/kaleva/elo09/8617474.xml

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Photo: Kalevan archive, 22-Pistepirkko at Rauhala in 1983.

Video: 22-Pistepirkko: Onion Soup, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUngcJA\_5tk