To the public he is better known by the name Hector, which he has used since the release of his 1965 debut single "Palkkasoturi", a Finnish translation of Buffy Sainte-Marie's "Universal Soldier".

He has translated into Finnish works by Don McLean, Procol Harum, King Crimson, Neil Young, David Bowie and several other artists.

Some of Hector's songs are considered classics of Finnish popular music, such as "Lumi teki enkelin eteiseen" (Snow made an angel in the lobby), "Mandoliinimies" (Mandolin man) and "Olen hautausmaa" (I am a graveyard), and he can be considered a primary contributor to Finnish rock music of the 1970s.

His song "Juodaan Viinaa" (Let's drink spirits) was covered by Finnish folk metal band Korpiklaani on their 2009 album Karkelo.

[2][non-primary source needed] Hector is the Finnish voice actor of The Muskrat in the Finnish-British animated television family drama Moominvalley (2019–).