After leaving school, Alexey went to study in the regional center, in Samara. He entered the river technical school, and now he recalls this time with warmth:
There were other teachers who, despite their venerable age, were kidding like they were young. This period in my life was the best, because I made great friends.
Fresh hits were regularly played at home, and Alexey began to perceive music with interest, at first he just listened, and then he bought a guitar and began to compose himself, even managed to earn extra money at a disco as a DJ. His tastes included Led Zeppelin, AC/DC, Def Leppard, Foreigner, The Cult, Metallica and others in the same vein. He is still a fan of Jimmy Page and Hendrix.
After graduating from a technical school in 1991, he entered the Samara State Technical University - as Alexei himself recalls, "my mother influenced." He graduated in 1996 with a degree in systems engineering.
He worked at the radio station "Europe-plus" in Samara, hosted the program "Nursery from Potekhin." In Tolyatti, he created the Uncle Ray and Company group together with Sergei Zhukov. It was the beginning of a great future called "Hands Up!". But so far, these were only hopes that could not even bring income. To earn some money, the duo held a series of discos in Tbilisi.
Then they returned to Moscow and began working at the Pavian Records recording studio, creating arrangements for other groups for the right to simultaneously record songs for their own. By that time, a new name had been chosen - "Hands Up!".
With the involvement of a professional producer, the music business began to develop. The group became incredibly popular after the release of the first album, Breathe Evenly, and the musicians began touring the country and abroad. Since then, countless concerts have been held, many songs have been written. "Hands" was awarded many awards. After the closing of the group in 2006, Alexey has been producing young performers such as Superboys, J Well (ex-member of the group Discomafia). During the period 2006-2008, 3 collections of Potexinstyle dance music were released, combining many young performers and hits from famous groups such as Demo, Turbomoda, Planka, etc. At the moment, Alexei is engaged in his new project TREK&blues, in which he invited - vocalist gr. Turbomod Vladimir Luchnikov and ex-participant gr. His Ruslan Achkinadze. In 2007, Alessandro Materazzo, a former member of the TV show DOM-2, was invited to the TREK & blues group, who toured with them in the summer of 2008 in southern Russia. Alexei has a hobby: he loves old, antique things. She loves the book "The Twelve Chairs" and is ready to re-read it endlessly. Alexei admits that he has always been a joker by nature and loves humor and practical jokes.
Alexei Potekhin has an older brother Andrei Potekhin, a former member of the gr. Turbomoda, Boys, Revolvers. To date, Andrey is the manager and organizer of the performances of Alexey's new project TREK&blues. Alexey invited many Samara musicians to produce. Mark Melnik, Handsome, his projects.
In the late 1990s "Hands Up" became one of the most successful and popular pop groups. While music critics branded unpretentious songs and accused their performers of vulgarity and lack of taste, Sergey Zhukov and Alexei Potekhin gathered stadiums and forced tens of thousands of fans to dance.
In 2006, the group broke up, but Sergey Zhukov still performs solo, using the same group name. The former popularity of “Hands Up” is no longer there, but there are still a lot of young people at concerts, dancing to the well-known hits “Student”, “My Baby”, “And He Kisses You”, “Alien Lips”, etc. 
Group *Hands up* 
The leaders and founders of the group Sergey Zhukov and Alexey Potekhin met in 1993, when both worked at the Europe Plus radio station. Samara. They decided to create their own musical group, and a year later "Uncle Ray and Company" was the most popular group in Samara and Togliatti. But these scales quickly ceased to satisfy their needs, and in 1995 they moved to Moscow. Sergei Zhukov always calls this year the beginning of his musical career in interviews, since it was then that they began serious work to promote their songs. 
Group *Hands up*
At first, nothing worked - without the support of the producer, it was impossible to attract attention in the capital, and only rich women “over 50” were called to help them for certain services. They found another way: on pirated cassettes with the music of famous artists, they added three of their songs at the end. Soon, hits began to sound from all the stalls in the markets, which were remembered from the first note. Once they were heard by producer Andrei Malikov and offered cooperation to Zhukov and Potekhin. Since then, a rapid rise in their musical career began. The group was named "Hands Up" and released the first songs "Baby" and "Student", which very quickly became mega-hits.
Founders and leaders of the group *Hands up* 
Sergey Zhukov 
Founders and leaders of the group *Hands up*
Since 1997, the group has been actively touring the country, and then abroad, performing at dance music festivals. Thanks to the huge number of albums sold, the following year, Hands Up became multiple owners of silver, gold and one platinum disc. In 1999, the group became the winner of the annual award of the Russian recording industry in several categories at once: "Russian Radio Hit", "Album of the Year", "Golden Gramophone" award and "Best Love Song".
Sergey Zhukov and Alexey Potekhin 
Sergey Zhukov
However, for a long time, Zhukov and Potekhin received nothing but public recognition and love letters from girls. They lived in a rented apartment and dressed in the market. The producer took most of the profit. Then Zhukov and Potekhin decided to go on an independent voyage. They terminated their contract and became an independent band. So many people gathered at their concerts that people often pulled down barriers and maimed each other in a stampede. Popularity turned out to be the other side for them: obsessed fans sent them poisoned food and letters written in blood, several girls committed suicide, demolished chairs and stands at concerts, trampled each other. Artists could not appear on the streets, they often had to change phone numbers and hide from the persecution of female fans. In order to get out unscathed after the concert, they often had to change into the uniform of "OMON" and run out with them in helmets and masks.
Group *Hands up* 
Alexey Potekhin 
Alexey Potekhin and Sergey Zhukov
By 2001, the band members were tired of the frantic concert schedule, and from the persecution of female fans, and from each other. In the early 2000s, their popularity began to decline, although albums continued to be released with enviable regularity. The producers had a certain strategy, which for some time remained quite effective: “Within the Hands Up group, a clear fulfillment of a certain super-task was required. Every May, when school ended, we had to release an album so that people would take it with them on vacation - to the south, to the country. It was dance music that set the mood for summer. And I confess that we were experienced psychologists, we specially thought about what topic to write lyrics on so that the song would become popular.
Concert in Moscow, October 2011
In 2005, the 13th album "Hands Up" was released. In the same year, the group broke up, but Sergey Zhukov continued to record solo songs, released the album "In Search of Tenderness" and shot several videos. Aleksey Potekhin started producing, and Sergey Zhukov is still gathering the halls on the wave of popularity of the music of the 1990s.
Alexey Evgenievich Potekhin (b. April 15, 1972 (38 years old) Novokuibyshevsk (Samara region) - Russian musician, producer. Member of the Hands Up! group (the group officially broke up in 2006).
Biography
Alexey was born into a very musical family: a tape recorder was constantly playing at home, listening to records. Mom liked symphonic music more, and dad - pop music. The elder brother carried him away with foreign music. The boy had a lively and cocky character, but his parents insisted that he study at an art school and a basketball section.
After leaving school, Alexey went to study in the regional center, in Samara. He entered the river technical school, and now he recalls this time with warmth:
There were other teachers who, despite their venerable age, were kidding like they were young. This period in my life was the best, because I made great friends.
Fresh hits were regularly played at home, and Alexey began to perceive music with interest, at first he just listened, and then he bought a guitar and began to compose himself, even managed to earn money as a DJ at a disco. His tastes were* Led Zeppelin, AC/DC, Def Leppard, Foreigner, The Cult, Metallica* and others like that. He is still a fan of creativity Jimmy Page And Hendrix.
After graduating from a technical school in 1991, he entered the Samara State Technical University - as Alexey himself recalls,
"Mom influenced."
Graduated in 1996 with a degree* in Systems Engineering.*
Worked at the radio station "Europa Plus" in Samara, broadcast "Amusement from Potekhin". Created a group in Tolyatti "Uncle Ray and Company" together with Sergey Zhukov. It was the beginning of a great future called "Hands up!". But so far, these were only hopes that could not even bring income. To earn some money, the duo held a series of discos in Tbilisi.
Then they returned to Moscow and began working at a recording studio. "Pavian Records", creating arrangements for other groups for the right to simultaneously record songs for their own. By that time, a new name had been chosen - "Hands up!".
With the involvement of a professional producer, the music business began to develop. The group became incredibly popular after the release of their first album. "Breathe Evenly", and the musicians began to travel with tours around the country and abroad. Since then, countless concerts have been held, many songs have been written. "Hands" many awards have been given. After the closure of Ruk in 2006, Alexey has been producing young performers such as Superboys, J Well(ex-participant of gr.Diskomafiya).
During the period 2006/2008, 3 collections of Potexinstyle dance music were released, combining many young performers and hits from famous groups, such as At the moment, Alexey is working on his new project TRACK&BLUES, in which he invited the ex-vocalist Gr. Turbomod (Vladimir Luchnikov) and Ruslan Achkinadze, ex-participant of Svoi group. In 2007 Alessandro Materazzo, a participant in the TV show DOM-2, was invited to the TREK & Blues group, with whom the group toured in the summer of 2008 in the south of Russia and abroad.
Alexey has a hobby:
Alexei has an older brother Andrei, a former member of gr. T*urbomoda, Boys, Revolvers.* To date, Andrey is the manager and organizer of the performances of Alexey's new project TRACK & blues.
04 July 2017Alexey Potekhin and Sergey Zhukov have not communicated for a long time.
Soloist of the group "Hands up" Alexey Potekhin / Photo: https://www.instagram.com/potekhinalex/In the 90s, the group "Hands Up!" was incredibly popular. Sergey Zhukov and Alexey Potekhin toured the country, many knew and loved their songs “My Baby”, “I'm 18 Already”, “He Kisses You”. After the breakup of the group, the participants divided the entire repertoire among themselves. Sergei Zhukov continued to tour the country with hits, and Alexei Potekhin, together with Vladimir Luchnikov, created the Raise Hands Up group. According to the musician, he does not collect many thousands of fans, but he does not worry about this either.
“We do not travel to large cities, but most often to villages, Sergey Zhukov will not go there, for example. Like most of the people you see on TV. They only know that walking on red carpets, putting on masks, dancing on skates and receiving various awards in the form of plates, which are of little use, ”admits Potekhin. When asked by journalists about why the once-popular “Hands Up!” team actually broke up, the man replies that the reason was the disagreement between the participants.
“Everyone is asking me why I left Hands Up!” I will answer you: because we have all become adults. But Sergei did not think so, he was comfortable. He is comfortable now. He always wanted fame, but I didn't. Do we communicate? Ask him. Although you are unlikely to get through to him. He is a VIP, ”the publication quotes the words of the artist.
At the turn of the century, the group "Hands Up" churned out one teenage anthem after another. The duet of two charming guys won the hearts of the Russian audience and surpassed even "Tender May" in terms of the number of performances. The ex-member of the band, Alexey Potekhin, continues to write music and release compositions to this day, oriented both to a time-tested audience and to young people.
Childhood and youth
Potekhin Alexey was born on April 15, 1972 in Novokuibyshevsk (Samara region). His father worked as an engineer, and his mother worked as the head of the personnel department. Despite the fact that the parents were not creative people, music was constantly playing in the house. Mom was a fan of symphony orchestras, and dad listened to the stage. Elder brother Andrei also instilled in Alexei a love for foreign performers (Led Zeppelin, AC / DC, The Cult, Metallica)
At school, Potekhin earned a reputation as a bully. He brought teachers to nervous breakdowns and often made fun of classmates. The obstinate young man also could not boast of exemplary studies. Teachers gave him grades for drawing wall newspapers.
Parents, in order to rein in their son, who had gotten out of hand, sent him to the basketball section. There, Alexei was "knocked out of all the nonsense." He was not only instilled with a love for sports, but also taught to strictly follow the daily routine (after classes at 14.00 he went to art school, then at 5 pm for training).
After leaving school, Alexey went to study in the regional center - Samara - and entered a technical school there. Having received a diploma as a shipbuilder, the guy continued to gnaw at the granite of science already at the Samara Technical University, from which he graduated in 1991 with a degree in systems engineer.
But, as time has shown, the “techie” did not work out of Alexei.
"Hands up"
And Aleksey Potekhin worked at the Europa Plus radio station (Samara), where Sergey hosted a musical program (“Hit-Hour”), and Alexei a humorous one (“Potekhin's Nursery Rhymes”). Despite the fact that the guys worked side by side for a long time, they met only in 1991.
Already at that time, the glory of radio hosts "did not cover" the relentlessly growing ambitions of young people. They decided to go to the next level and create the Uncle Ray and Company group. The next three years were spent in creative search and musical experiments.
In 1994, at a rap festival in Moscow, where they got by chance, their performance was recognized as the best. But from a commercial point of view, the project was unsuccessful. Fame came to the musicians only two years later, when they finally moved to the city of great opportunities.
Producer Andrey Malikov, who previously worked with the Tekhnologiya and Van Moo groups, helped Zhukov and Potekhin to rise to the heights of the musical Olympus. The guys met him in 1996 at the Pavian Records studio. First of all, the man recommended that the guys change the long, non-binding name of the group to a capacious and sonorous “Hands up!”. Malikov then convinced the record company J.S.P. to invest in the shooting of the first videos and the release of the band's debut album.
The first hits of the group "Hands up!" - "Baby" and "Student" - "blew up" the radio. Later, clips were shot on them, which were often broadcast by both TV channels and radio stations. The songs quickly gained popularity and became the favorite hits of the discos of the time. Inspired by the success, the creative team released the album Breathe Evenly.
After that, tours around the cities of Russia began. Tickets for concerts were sold out long before the arrival of the group, and the performances of the artists were held with large houses.
Alexey Potekhin in the duet "Hands Up" When the project began to bring serious income, Zhukov and Potekhin "escaped" from Malikov and opened their own production center "Dancing Men" (2000). Having failed to defend his rights to the name and songs, the producer tried to promote other artists and made the then sensational "Jealousy Rat" with the then little-known. But the man could not achieve such a stunning success with anyone else.
In 2006, fans are shocked by the news that their favorite group has broken up. The fans had only one question: why did Alexei Potekhin leave? The answer was simple: once best friends could no longer exist harmoniously within the same project. Their views on what product should be released to the masses diverged. The mental connection was lost.
Zhukov was tired of being a hostage to the image of "the guy singing about Alyoshka." The charismatic performer wanted to develop further and conquer new heights, but already alone.
Each of the participants went their own way. Potekhin began to produce young performers, and Sergey took up a solo career, continuing to use the promoted name of the group in his work.
Zhukov explained this by the fact that an agreement had previously been concluded with Potekhin, according to which the rights to “Hands Up”, which previously belonged to both of them, passed into his sole possession. Alexey claimed that he was a victim of deception and at one time even planned to sue a former colleague, but it never came to lawsuits and noisy proceedings.
During the existence of the team "Hands up!" released 14 official and 12 unofficial albums. Each new song of the group became a hit. “My baby”, “He kisses you”, “Ataman”, “I’m already 18”, “Alyoshka”, “Territory”, “Tears are dripping” - this is not a complete list of tracks that fans all over the world still know by heart country.
Among other things, the guys have repeatedly become winners and laureates of prestigious music festivals, charts and awards (Album of the Year, Golden Gramophone, Song of the Year, Russian Radio Hit).
Solo career
After the collapse of "Hands Up!" Alexey Potekhin released a collection of dance music Potexinstyle-3
In the spring of 2008, the artist, together with the vocalist of the Turbomoda group Vladimir Luchnikov and a member of the Svoi group Ruslan Achkinadze, toured the country.
Their group "Track and Blues", despite the sincerity, did not find popularity among young people. And even cooperation with the infamous participant in the reality show "Dom-2" Alessandro Materazzo (2008) did not bear fruit.
In 2013, the artist, together with his wife, presented the new track "Summer-Winter" as part of the Russian internet television (PeoplestarTV) project. In 2014, the Arena Moscow club hosted a presentation of the singer's debut solo album entitled "I Can't Otherwise".
Later, the enterprising composer returned to the Track and Blues project and changed both the name and the soloist of the band. At the moment, Alexei, together with a good friend Sergei Bogdanov, is promoting their common group “Raise your hands up”.
Personal life
In the Popular Truth program (2011), Potekhin said that in his biography there was a moment when, in his youth, he and his best friend Sergei Zhukov fell in love with the same girl. At that time, the guys had friendship as a priority, and neither one nor the second thought about arranging their personal lives. The comrades agreed that no one would take care of the beauty.
It is authentically known that the performer was married twice. The man met his first wife, Irina Tolmilova, as part of the Hands Up! team. The girl danced and “sang along” to the duet to the soundtrack. The charismatic young lady won the heart of romance, and in April 2002, young people legalized their relationship.
For two years, the couple unsuccessfully tried to have a child. There were rumors that in a marriage with Alexei, a woman had a miscarriage, and Irina could no longer have children. Potekhin and Tomilova unanimously denied this information. Before finally breaking up, young people lived separately from each other for a short time. "Pause" did not become a "savior" and finally separated the lovers.
September 12, 2009 Potekhin married a second time. The chosen one of Alexei is called Elena. The girl has nothing to do with show business and worked as a veterinarian before meeting the singer. Despite the fact that the couple did not sign "incognito", this event was not covered in the press. The fact is that on the day of their marriage there was also a wedding at and, so the attention of the media was riveted to the eminent figure skater and music producer.
In March 2010, the artist shared with fans the news that he had become a dad. The wife gave birth to Potekhin's daughter, whom it was decided to name Maria. During childbirth, the musician was in Moscow and personally delivered his wife to the Family Planning Center.
Despite the fact that Elena left work for the sake of her daughter, the young mother does not sit idle: the young lady works as a makeup artist and often participates in professional photo shoots.
Alexey Potekhin now
At the moment, Alexei continues to tour the country, performing at concerts songs from both his personal repertoire and the favorite hits of the Hands Up! group. It is authentically known that the star of the 90s is now working on new material and promises to release a fresh composition in the near future.
Among other things, the artist as an invited guest performs at various festivals and shows (“Brides of the Moscow Region”, “Big Disco”).
T-shirt with the image of Alexei Potekhin In 2017, Potekhin began to cooperate with a company that produces textile products, and on his page
