Born in Tallinn, Estonia,[2] Alender began his musical career in the rock band Shades in 1969 but left the following year to become the vocalist for Andromeeda.
The band was influenced by Western acts such as Genesis, Yes, Emerson, Lake & Palmer and King Crimson, and often incorporated the poetry of Estonian writers Juhan Viiding and Ott Arder into the lyrics.
Other bands Alender performed with were Teravik (1973–1976), and Data (1988–1989), and in 1983, he briefly played in an outfit called Kaseke.
[4] After years of being harassed by the Soviet KGB and other local authorities, Alender temporarily emigrated to Sweden in 1989.
[5] On 28 September 1994, while en route from Tallinn to Stockholm, Sweden, Urmas Alender died when the cruiseferry Estonia sank in the Baltic Sea.