59-year-old singer Andrei Kovalev is an enviable groom. The artist not only records songs, but also organizes festivals, and is also a producer. Kovalev's personal life for a long time was a secret. After breaking up with his wife Tatyana, the music star did not talk about his chosen ones. However, Andrei recently made an exception and spoke on the air of the First Channel program “About Love” about a 23-year-old common-law wife who gave birth to his son. Not so long ago, the celebrity family moved to luxury home Kovalev.
For three years now, Kovalev has been in a relationship with a young Odessa resident, Maria Bulgakova. The age difference between the lovers is about 40 years. However, this does not bother either the artist or his young darling, who gave birth to the star's son Nikita. “He is my smartest and most educated child,” Kovalev is sincerely proud of his heir.
According to Kovalev, he immediately distinguishes between girls who only need money from a man. “They have a sparkle in their eyes, they are predators. It cannot be hidden, and it is visible. Sooner or later, she still blurts out, ”said Kovalev.
“When my mother found out that I was dating Andrei and I would have a child from him, she was most likely upset, but did not show it. She and I burst into tears together, she supported me, said that everything would be fine, ”said Maria Bulgakova.
Kovalev met Maria while walking down the street. “She was very modestly dressed. It was clear that this was a decent girl, ”recalls the singer. Without much thought, the artist invited a pretty young lady to star in his video, and also invited her to a karaoke club. The relationship between Andrei and Mary developed rapidly. Then Kovalev decided to buy new things for the Odessa woman. According to the chosen one of the celebrity, he spent $ 500 on her - a decent amount of money at that time. However, after Maria heard the offer to go with Andrei to the hotel, she disappeared.
After some time, Kovalev returned to Ukraine. The artist's romance with an Odessa woman started spinning with new force. The girl's pregnancy was a pleasant surprise for Andrei. Now the artist does not have a soul in his heir. “It was an amazing feeling for me. After all, I already have a daughter, and every man dreams of a son, ”said Kovalev.
// Photo: Frame of the program "About Love"
However, despite the seriousness of their relationship, the lovers are in no hurry to formalize them. At the same time, Maria dreams of a white dress and a solemn ceremony, but considers the stamp in her passport a formality. Andrei himself joked that at first he was waiting for several children from his beloved. The hosts of the program Roza Syabitova and Sofiko Shevardnadze insisted that Kovalev make an offer to the chosen one on the air. But Bulgakova said that she did not want to get married in this way.
Andrei Kovalev is called a generalist, a person whose activities do not fit into the usual framework and patterns. He is an author and performer of songs, a successful radio and TV presenter, frontman of the Pilgrim group. And also - the organizer of rock festivals, producer, entrepreneur, public figure and a member of the United Russia party.
Childhood and youth
The diversified development and range of interests of Andrey Kovalev become clear after getting acquainted with his biography. Musical Talents from a Muscovite who was born in the summer of 1957, from her mother, an opera singer who appeared on the stage of the Bolshoi Theater. A tenacious and practical mind inherited from his father, a soldier who retired with the rank of colonel.
Businessman and musician Andrey Kovalev
The boy's hearing was discovered at the age of 4, which was immediately noted by his mother. The woman did not hesitate - soon the son performed simple works on the piano. To develop his talent, Andrei was taken to a music school, where he studied for 4 hours a day. Soon the son pleased his parents by playing the violin, cello and double bass.
After graduating from music school, the teenager set his sights on entering the school at the Moscow Conservatory. But to the military dad, such addictions seemed “unmanly”, and he made his “mite” - he bought his son a motorcycle. The calculation turned out to be correct: having received a school certificate, the guy entered the road university.
However, the creative streak again reminded of itself: Kovalev became interested in sculpture. So much so that he left the institute and became a student at the Stroganov Art School.
During his studies, Andrei Kovalev switched back to music. Having previously mastered the bass guitar, he gathered like-minded peers and created musical group. Soon she received the name "Pilgrim".
Business
A difficult time - the 1980s - distracted Andrei Kovalev from creativity. I had to look for an occupation that brought income, to get on my feet. The young man plunged into the world of business. Towards the end of the 1980s, he founded a furniture manufacturing company. Soon Kovalev became deputy head of the Forest Fund Department, then a place was found for him in the Ministry of Antimonopoly Policy.
The turbulent 1990s were a stern test for state-owned enterprises that closed in the capital by the hundreds. Andrei Kovalev did not drown in the muddy waves of economic chaos and found a use for closing factories. He reconstructed enterprises and created business centers on their basis.
Entrepreneur Andrey Kovalev In the summer of 2007, a successful businessman acquired the First Pasta Company, which was going through better times. It included 3 unprofitable factories - in the capital, St. Petersburg and Smolensk. The purchase cost Andrei Kovalev $55 million.
Having made the factories profitable, the entrepreneur sold them to Italian businessmen, turning his attention to other industries. In 2008-MS light hand Kovalev, who never forgot about main love- music, the 1Rock media holding appeared. It consisted of a satellite television channel, a radio station whose main focus was rock, a magazine and a rock club, which were called the holding. A small "rock empire" existed until 2010.
Andrey Kovalev on the Forbes list In 2011, Forbes magazine compiled a list of the largest rentiers in Russia, in which it ranked the company of a Moscow businessman in 23rd place. Andrey Kovalev managed to earn a fortune of $ 55 million by renting out real estate.
After 2 years, Kovalev shared in an interview that he had gone into “pure creativity”: he composes poems for which songs appear. His ex-wife took over the business.
Music
Andrey Kovalev really did not forget about music. In early 2005, remembering his student years, he founded a rock band, which he gave the same name - "Pilgrim". The musicians took songs in the heavy metal genre into their repertoire, the theme of the compositions is patriotic motives and lyrical ballads.
Andrey Kovalev and the group "Pilgrim" - "Pilgrim"The frontman and musician of the group Kovalev attracts stars of show business, and not only domestic ones, to cooperation. She came to Moscow to shoot a video clip for the rock ballad "Roar of Motors". The star played the oligarch's bride, who was stolen from the wedding by a biker. Andrei Kovalev assigned this role to himself.
The Pilgrim team starred in an action-packed film Hollywood star, which was released under the name "Dangerous Tour", and recorded the soundtrack for it.
Andrey Kovalev, Pamela Anderson and the Pilgrim group The rock group collaborates with foreign fellow rockers. In the second album of "Pilgrim", called "There is no choice", there was a place for a joint composition recorded by a Russian group and a quartet of cellists from Finland "Apocalyptica". There was a spectacular video for the song.
In the spring of 2010, the frontman presented the fans with the album "7.62", "encoding" the caliber of small arms in the title. After 6 months, music lovers, faithful fans of "Pilgrim", received a new present - a double album "Marta".
Andrey Kovalev, Pamela Anderson and the Pilgrim group - "Roar of Motors"In 2011, Andrei Kovalev recorded a lyrical solo album, calling it "My Woman". The presentation of the album took place in April 2012 on the stage of the Moscow Variety Theater, and in October of the same year, the singer and composer celebrated his 10th anniversary on this stage creative activity. The show was attended by the group,.
Andrey Kovalev and Anastasia Panina - "Airports"Today, the musician remains true to creativity and gives fans 3-5 new compositions annually. From 2011 to 2015, viewers saw clips for Andrey Kovalev's songs on Russian music TV channels, in which show business stars shone.
They starred in the video for the song "Road" and, and appeared in the video for the song "Airports". Later, videos appeared for Kovalev's hits, in which, and.
Andrey Kovalev and Agata Muceniece - "And I keep dreaming about your eyes"Andrey Kovalev proved himself as a radio and TV presenter. He is also the author of 4 collections of poems. The last one, titled "Only Love Can Save", was released in the spring of 2017. The poet and musician is working on the 5th book.
Andrey Kovalev also has critics. With devastating articles on his work and the Pilgrim group, he “walked”, reproaching the musician and his team for vulgarity and indulging the tastes of the “stupid public”. Shenderovich was especially furious with Kovalev's remake of the revolutionary hit "Change".
Personal life
A wealthy and talented artist does not lack female attention. In the first marriage with a girl named Tatyana in 1990, a daughter, Yulia, was born. And although Andrei Kovalev married, being far from a young man - at the age of 30, the marriage broke up for unknown reasons.
The man did not remain lonely for long and soon met love - the Odessa beauty Maria Bulgakova, who is much younger than him. In 2014, Masha gave her husband a son, Nikita, but the couple is in no hurry to register the marriage.
The desire of Andrei Kovalev to become the official guardian of his son caused rumors and speculation. There were those who explained this desire by the paternity of the musician.
But friends of Kovalev and Kalashnikova claim that Andrei - Godfather boy, so he does not want the godson to grow up without a parent.
Andrey Kovalev now
In the spring of 2018, it became known that the composer and singer acquired the Grebnevo estate in the Moscow region. The complex, founded in the 16th century and completed in XVIII-XIX centuries, has a historical and architectural value. Once it was the residence of the princes Trubetskoy, Bibikov and Golitsyn
A private investor and the authorities of the Moscow region announced their intention to restore the estate, organize private museum to hold festivals on its basis.
The singer is a frequent guest on talk shows and TV projects. In March 2018, he became a guest of the show "Word for a Word" on the Mir TV channel, where he was accompanied by a psychic, actor, singer and composer Django, model Emilia Vishnevskaya.
Andrey Kovalev - "Sunflowers Art & Food"So, get acquainted: Andrey Kovalev is a person whose work is quite difficult to fit into any framework.
Family and education
Andrey Kovalev was born in Moscow in the family of a colonel in the Soviet army and an artist of the Bolshoi Theater. Mom introduced her son to music from childhood, at the age of four he was already learning to play the piano. IN music school Andrei studied cello, intending to enter the school at the Moscow Conservatory after school. However, his father did not want his son to become a musician, and in order to distract Andrei from music lessons gave him a motorcycle. The father's calculation was justified - the son became interested in motocross and eventually entered the Moscow Road Institute (MADI). However, Andrei Kovalev did not forget about his musical preferences either - in his second year at the institute, he began playing bass guitar in the Pilgrim vocal and instrumental ensemble.After graduating from MADI, Andrey Kovalev worked in a closed design bureau. After some time, he became interested in furniture design and entered the Higher School of Industrial Art (formerly Stroganov). Soon he created one of the first furniture production cooperatives in our country. Years of work in business and public service followed.
Andrei has worked in senior positions in three ministries:
- Deputy Minister of Forest Industry of the Russian Federation,
- At the Ministry for Antimonopoly Policy of the Russian Federation,
- At the Ministry natural resources RF.
However, the love of music did not fade away, and, already being a successful businessman, Andrey Kovalev began to write poetry and music, as well as perform his own own works. To date, Andrei Kovalev has created more than 800 songs - in the most different genres, from romances and art songs to pop music and hard rock. Only in the last six months, on the air of radio "Chanson", "Russian Radio", "Radio Dacha", "Police Wave", "Road Radio", etc., such songs as "Forgot", "Only Love Can Save", “My woman”, “Give me back that fire”, “And I still dream about your eyes”, “Airports”, “This will not be erased from memory”, “All trains go to St. Petersburg”, and many of his works have become real hits - suffice it to recall "Man and Woman" - a duet with Katya Lel and "9 Months" - a duet with Diana Gurtskaya.
Musical career
Pilgrim Group
At first 2005 Andrey Kovalev created his own rock band, and from that moment on, his work was inextricably linked with heavy music. It is interesting to note that the name search new group was long and difficult, but at some point Andrey Kovalev remembered his first team - and as a result new composition found historical name"Pilgrim". The group's repertoire includes real men's songs, lyrical ballads and patriotic works "Glory to Russia!", "Judas", "Roar of Engines", "Predators", "Do not extinguish the candle", "In memory of Viktor Tsoi", etc.
The creative asset of the Pilgrim group is cooperation with the stars of world show business: everyone remembers the visit of Pamela Anderson to Moscow, when famous model played leading role in the video clip of the group "Pilgrim" "Roar of motors". According to the script, Pamela reincarnated as the bride of an oligarch, who was kidnapped right from the crown by a biker, whose role was played by the leader of the "Pilgrim" Andrey Kovalev. The group "Pilgrim" took part in the filming of Dolph Lundgren's film "Dangerous Tour", and the song "Do not extinguish the candle" became the soundtrack to the film. Footage from this film was included in the group's video for the song "Don't Extinguish the Candle" - the main idea of the video, as well as the film itself, was the theme of the confrontation between good and evil, world order and chaos. "Pilgrim" does not forget about cooperation with foreign "brothers in arms" - the second album of the group "No Choice" includes the composition "Judas", recorded together with the world-famous Finnish cello quartet Apocalyptica. Finnish musicians also took part in the recording of a large-scale and spectacular video for this composition.
In June 2008 the Pilgrim group decided on a large-scale and ambitious project- a full-length concert DVD, due to filming in not the most ordinary and simple conditions dubbed "Concert in the Rain". This program was filmed during the performance of "Pilgrim" in the Green Theater of the Central Park of Culture and Culture named after. Gorky, and other groups played in front of the Pilgrim group for five hours, and the Pilgrims were sure that the spectators, who had stood in the downpour for so long, would no longer be able to continue this musical marathon. But when the musicians took the stage and saw a sea of people standing under the jets of water, they were shocked! That's why "Concert in the Rain" is permeated with a real live drive and true love to music - both the musicians themselves and the audience, which, of course, are essential components of a serious concert video. And the presentation of this DVD took place in November of the same year, together with the presentation of the album “No Choice” at a large-scale and very spectacular concert at the 1ROCK club.
In April 2010 Andrey Kovalev, together with the Pilgrim group, presented the album 7.62, named after the caliber of small arms. And just six months later, the musicians presented the fans with another gift - a double album "Marta", timed to coincide with the band's fifth anniversary.
Solo career
IN 2011 Andrei Kovalev decided to return to the origins of his work - to the lyrics. His new album“My woman” is just like that - calm, romantic, at the junction popular music, pop rock and art song. The presentation of this disc took place on April 28, 2012 in the Moscow state theater Stages. And on October 30, 2012, at the same venue, Andrey Kovalev celebrated the 10th anniversary of his creative activity with a grandiose concert show, in which Katya Lel, Diana Gurtskaya, the Reflex group, Irakli, Alena Sviridova, Danko and others took part. Currently, Andrei, despite being busy in concerts, uploads 3-5 new tracks every month.Activities on TV and radio
In addition, a significant part of the biography of Andrei Kovalev is occupied by the role of the host of programs on TV and radio. Many people remember his radio program "Man and Woman" on the "First popular radio”, which the author himself recalls with warmth: “Our program was adult, went at night, talked about different sides and nuances of the relationship between the sexes. I decided - we need to help people find their soul mate, I read dating ads on the air, connecting lonely hearts. Andrei hosted several programs on the radio "Moscow speaking". On the radio "Pioneer-FM" the program "He and She" was released. His TV programs “Visiting Andrei Kovalev”, which aired on Ren-TV and the Stolitsa TV channel and “ Different people with Andrey Kovalev”, which aired on the TV channels Mir, Music Box and others.Andrey Kovalev's performance is incredible - in 2011-2015 alone, dozens of new clips with the participation of popular actors and actresses appeared on the screens of the leading Russian music channels: "Road" with Alexei Panin and Vladimir Gostyukhin, "Airports" with Anastasia Panina, "And I dream of everything your eyes” with Agata Muceniece, “My woman” with Elena Korikova, “God given to me” with Olesya Sudzilovskaya and others. almost 2 million users. Most fresh video- a video for the song "This will not be erased from memory" - it is noteworthy that a popular actress, the heroine of the series "Univer" starred in it - Nastasya Samburskaya.
Poetry
In addition to writing songs, Andrey Kovalev released four collections of poems: the book "Pearls and Velvet" was published in 2004, "The Sky is Blue" - in 2006, the collection "You alone" - in April 2012, and the book "Only love can save" in March 2017.Now Andrei Kovalev is working on the fifth book of poetry.
Andrei also tried himself as a film producer. The film "Cook", directed by Yaroslav Chevazhevsky, was a success on the screens of our country.
Notable Facts
Andrei Kovalev is an active opponent of singing to a phonogram. He himself always sings live, which he encourages other representatives of the musical community to do as well. An important initiative of Andrei Kovalev as a deputy of the Moscow City Duma was the draft law on the prohibition of the phonogram. “I wanted to pass a city law clarifying the application of the Law on Consumer Rights in Moscow, but it turned out that this topic is under the jurisdiction of the federal authorities, i.e. such a law can only be passed The State Duma RF. But there are still achievements: a resolution was adopted according to which at all concerts in Moscow, held with the use of budget money, ONLY live sound can be played, ”says Andrey Kovalev. Today Andrei actively gives concerts all over Russia. Concert program Andrey Kovalev is accepted with a bang by the audience of the City Day and the elite public of the custom event. The program includes the best lyrical compositions of the singer and composer, written for last years- “I forgot”, “Airports”, “Only love can save”, “I am not a hero”, “My woman”, “Airports”, “It will not be erased from memory”, “The sky is blue”, “Man and woman”, "9 months", "Salt, tequila and a slice of lime", etc.
Andrey Kovalev is people's artist Republic of Ingushetia!
Andrey Kovalev wrote the song "Glory to Russia", which is very popular.
He wrote poetry and music for the song "Work, brothers", dedicated to the Hero of Russia Magomed Nurbagandov.
He wrote the song "Eagle's Land, Dagestan" and "Steppe and Freedom" to the verses of the Dagestan poet Abu Sufyan.
Andrei Kovalev gave several concerts for military personnel at the Khmeimim base in Syria.
Andrey Kovalev awarded diploma for his contribution to the aesthetic, cultural and moral education of the military personnel of the ODON named after. F.E. Dzerzhinsky.
Discography
As a soloist:"Salt, tequila ..." - 2004
"The sky is blue" - 2005
"Nine Months", "Ice and Fire", "Man and Woman" - 2007
"Author's song", " Best songs Andrey Kovalev", "Romances" - 2008
"My Woman" - 2012
As part of the Pilgrim group:
"Glory to Russia" - 2007
"No Choice" - 2008
Concert in the Rain (on DVD) - 2008
"Trizzy $" (single) - 2009
"7.62" - 2010
"March" - 2010
Russian businessman and public figure. Owner of the Ecooffice group of companies, singer, songwriter, radio and TV presenter, leader of the Pilgrim group, music producer, organizer of rock festivals.
Andrey Kovalev was born in Moscow in the family of a military man and an opera singer. Andrey's mother sang for 35 years in Bolshoi Theater, father - Colonel Soviet army.
Divorced, daughter born in 1990
Education
Andrew mastered musical instruments even in the preschool period: "violin, cello, double bass - four hours of lessons every day." After school, Andrei planned to enter the school at the Conservatory in the double bass class. However, fate decreed otherwise and he graduated from the Moscow Automobile and Road Institute. Later, carried away by sculpture, he entered the Stroganov Higher art school where he studied for several years.
Business and charity
In the late 80s, Andrei Kovalev organized the Prestige company for the sale of furniture. At the same time, he led a political career, was the Deputy Department of the Forest Fund, a member of the Ministry of Antimonopoly Policy.
In the late 1990s - early 2000s, he began to create large business centers on the territories of Moscow factories that were closing, reconstructing them according to his own sketches.
In August 2007, Andrei Kovalev bought three unprofitable pasta factories in Moscow, St. Petersburg and Smolensk, as well as the Extra M and Noble trademarks. The deal amounted to $55 million.
In 2008, he created the 1Rock media holding, which included the 1Rock rock club (the current name of the club is Pipl), the 1Rock magazine, a satellite TV channel, an Internet portal and a radio station dedicated to rock music. In 2010 the project was closed.
Andrey Kovalev is actively involved in charity concerts and promotions aimed at social support residents of Moscow, helps students of boarding schools for orphans, pupils of Preobrazhensky cadet corps, veterans of war and labor, single mothers and other representatives of the categories of socially unprotected citizens.
Musical career
With the Finnish team "Apocalyptic"
In his student years, he played the bass guitar in the Pilgrim band. The musician himself recalls:
Our own group was called Wings of Anger, later Rus. At almost every festival we had a new name, and so it went on until I accidentally met the same guitarist who suggested that we return the old name "Pilgrim". And on the same day I wrote the song "Pilgrim" ... We performed everything more music « deep purple»
In 2004 Andrey Kovalev resumed creative career, again began to write poetry and songs. He has released several solo albums, recorded duets with famous pop artists(Lyubasha, Sasha project, Katya Lel, Tutsi), which were actively broadcast on leading TV channels. Several songs by Andrei Kovalev are performed by pop stars (Danko and Katya Lel). In 2006, together with Diana Gurtskaya, he recorded the duet "Nine Months" (music by Kim Breitburg, lyrics by Ilya Reznik). The song, dedicated to young mothers, was included in the soundtrack of the film of the same name. The work was appreciated by Alla Pugacheva.
In 2006, Andrei Kovalev became interested in heavy metal, recreated the Pilgrim group. In 2007, at the BASINFIREFEST rock festival (Czech Republic), Andrey Kovalev and his "Pilgrim" represented Russia. In 2008, guitarist Alexei Strike and drummer Alexander Karpukhin moved to Pilgrim after a split in the Master group. The band has released several heavy metal albums.
In 2005-2008 he held rock festivals “Glory to Russia! Glory to Moscow!”, “Glory to Russia! Glory to the Eagle! and “Glory to Russia! Glory to Nizhny Novgorod! At the largest of them in Moscow, the number of spectators reached 40,000.
He is the organizer of the festival for young groups "On the rise!", created and finances free rehearsal venues for his bands.
In 2011, the artist resumed his solo career and returned to creating and performing lyrical compositions.
Video clips
The team with Pamela after filming the video
Andrey Kovalev, talking about the work on the video “Salt, tequila and a slice of lime” (directed by Alexander Solokha and cameraman Eduard Mashkovich, 2004), which involved the author’s own Harley Davidson and a rare 1964 Cadillac convertible, noted that the plot borrowed from Robert Rodriguez's "Desperado": "el mariacho" confronts a biker gang:
“Despite some comical hyperbole, this ‘action’ is very close to me and kind of reminds me of my biography”
Along with the passion for "heavy" music, Kovalev is fond of riding bikes, which, like the passion for music, is rooted in his childhood, when his father-colonel gave him a Tula scooter. The biker theme is the leitmotif of many video clips of the Kovalev team. Pamela Anderson starred in the sketch "Roar of Engines" (year of release of the video - 2008), which is a mini-movie. The musician recalls:
I have been friends with Pamela Anderson for a long time. I even wrote a song about her, revealing the history of our relationship. The last two lines there are: “If you don’t return to Moscow, I’ll cheat on you with Lady Gaga.” Pamela was married twice, but never wore a wedding dress, and she never had a real wedding. That's why,
when she found out that she was offered to appear in a wedding dress, she immediately agreed to participate. In addition, she liked our song “Roar of Engines”.
Dolph Lundgren starred in another video for Pilgrim (Don't Extinguish the Candle, 2009). In his interviews Andrey Kovalev says:
Dolph Lundgren called and said that he was making a film "Command Performance" and wanted us to play ourselves there. He chose one of our songs, which we performed in the film. There according to the plot music festival terrorists took hostages, including the president of Russia - in the picture he shoots at the bandits with a machine gun ... And we made our video after filming based on frames from the film.
In 2009, the video clip "Judas" was released, filmed in collaboration with the band Apocalyptica.
In 2011-2012, 12 new clips were released on the screens of the leading music channels in Russia, Ukraine and Belarus: “Marta”, “Forgotten”, “If only you could”, “Fly”, “ Maple Leaf"," I'll be waiting for you all my life", "I'm not a hero", "Pamela", "My woman" with Elena Korikova, "God given to me", in which theater and film actress Olesya Sudzilovskaya starred, "Give me back that fire "with the participation of Olga Budina and a New Year's video for the song" It is snowing».
Poetry
Andrey Kovalev is the author of music and words for most of his songs (he wrote more than 600 songs in different styles). In 2004 he published a book of poems "Pearls and Velvet", in 2006 - "The Sky is Blue". In April 2012, a collection of poems "To You Alone" was published.
Television and radio
Andrey Kovalev hosted a number of programs on television and radio, including:
"Formula of Success" (channel "Capital"),
"Man and Woman" (radio "Pops"),
"Live sound" (Public Russian radio).
Policy
In 2005-2009 Member of the Moscow City Duma.
In politics, Kovalev is known for promoting a bill to ban the use of a phonogram (co-author of the Moscow bill "On the procedure for informing consumers when using a phonogram"), as well as the fight against audio piracy. In this endeavor, he was supported by well-known domestic musicians, including Alexander Gradsky.
The deputy himself noted in his public speaking:
Why in America or in Germany no one sings to the phonogram? Because if someone takes a risk, then everything else he will become the object of the most severe ridicule - the Western press smears such performers on the wall.
When asked if the fighter against “plywood” is afraid of infringing on the financial interests of show business players and “repeating the sad fate of banker Andrei Kozlov or singer Abraham Russo,” the deputy replied:
I have good security, and in general I'm only afraid of colds. In general, there are a lot of dishonorable people in show business. No other business has that many. Black cash, bribery and shootouts remained in the 80s and 90s with red jackets, and only in show business these birthmarks. We must eliminate them!
As a deputy, Andrey Kovalev initiated concerts in Moscow on the City Day in 2006 "Pop music without a phonogram".
Star performances were held under his patronage domestic stage"We are for live sound!".
Andrey Kovalev was the organizer of the series musical events, among which are the touring patriotic rock festival "Glory to Russia", the festival for young groups "On the rise!", Concerts of the group "Master".
Criticism
The personality and work of Andrei Kovalev is actively covered in the media, receiving conflicting reviews from journalists and critics.
Viktor Shenderovich published several devastating articles about the Pilgrim group, where he wrote that Kovalev's songs and performance lacked a soul, and “instead of a meaningful action, there was a vulgar show designed for a foolish public. And excesses of temperament break out of the wrong places. Also, the journalist was extremely dissatisfied with the remake of Viktor Tsoi's song "Change".
Nikolai Fandeev has the same opinion about Kovalev. Reviewing the album "The sky is blue", he wrote that it " futile attempt unlucky singer to perform a mixture of restaurant music and tasteless Soviet stage 70s of the last century".
Sonya Sokolova evaluates Andrey Kovalev and his results creative work more positively: “Andrey Kovalev is doing very, very well: some of the best arrangers and musicians work with him, he organizes festivals and actively helps young bands, and at the same time became a co-owner of a large news agency”,“ if you look at Kovalev more closely, you understand: in front of you is a person who has very skillfully and humorously constructed a public image for himself and painstakingly working for him.
Many neutral and positive publications are devoted to the fight against phonogram performances.
Andrei Kovalev is the godfather of Emilia, daughter of Katya Lel (godmother - Lyudmila Narusova).
On June 30, 2010, attackers stole the musician's exclusive bike, which was assembled by special order in the most famous tuning studio in Europe, Fred Kodlin. The motorcycle was soon found
Andrey Kovalev and Elena Korikova, song "My Woman", video
Andrey Kovalev
Singer, producer, organizer
Andrey Kovalev during his creative life tried himself in a variety of guises. He writes poetry and music, performs his own compositions, broadcasts on radio and television, and organizes rock festivals. To many lovers national music he is known as the front man of the Pilgrim group. In the mid-2000s, thanks to him, a series of festivals "Glory to Russia" took place in various cities of the country: Moscow, Orel, Nizhny Novgorod. They enjoyed well-deserved popularity: for example, about forty thousand spectators came to the festival in Zlatoglavaya. Andrey shares his skills with novice musicians. So, he organized the festival "Takeoff!", In which young groups try their hand. He has also created, oversees and finances a number of rehearsal venues where up-and-coming bands can hone their skills for free. In 2011, Kovalev actively engaged in solo career, preferring to perform lyrical songs.
Family and education
Andrei was born in Moscow. His father devoted his life to serving the Motherland, becoming a colonel in the Soviet Army. Mother, Opera singer, performed arias at the Bolshoi Theater for three and a half decades. Mother's influence creative plan affected my son early. From an early age, Andrei mastered the double bass, violin, and cello every day for four hours. The father in his own way influenced the formation of his son as a real man. He gave Andrey a motorcycle, which the young man was very happy about and even wanted to connect his life with technology. In 1979 he became a graduate of the Moscow Automobile and Road Institute. His first job was at an enterprise with a secrecy regime. But Andrey did not part with the motorcycle, and even was permanent member motocross competition. But also creativity was not ruined: he became interested in sculpture and from the first entry became a student of the famous Stroganov School.
Musical career
Seriously, Andrei did not plan to engage in music. But, in his life happened fatal love and feelings demanded embodiment in real world. Kovalev expressed them in music, and the first compositions were immediately positively evaluated. professional musicians. The first success inspired him to think about musical career. In 2006, Andrey Kovalev headed creative team Pilgrim group. Five years later, he preferred solo career. Today, his performances are held in the capital's Variety Theater and the Alma Mater club. Their halls are not empty during these performances.
Rock band "Pilgrim"
The rock group "Pilgrim" was born at a time when Andrei Kovalev was still studying at MADI. Together with like-minded people at the institute, he organizes a vocal and instrumental ensemble. Our hero started playing the bass guitar. According to the memoirs of the musician himself, the group changed its name almost every festival in which it took part. There were also "Wings of Anger" and "Rus". But one day he met a guitarist who came up with an idea that became brilliant: “Bring back the old name of the band -“ Pilgrim ”. So the musicians did. And Kovalev himself on the same day, under the influence of this idea, created the composition "Pilgrim".
The presentation of the video for this song took place in October 2006. The composition became debut single to the new album. The clipmaker was directed by Alexander Solokha. The video accompanying the song turned a gloomy routine into unreal world future.
The very next year, Kovalev and the Pilgrim group performed from Russia at the BASINFIREFEST international rock festival in the Czech Republic.
Opponent of the phonogram
Andrey Kovalev is one of the few contemporary musicians opposing the use of the phonogram. This position of his is manifested not only in the fact that he sings “live” at all his concerts. He initiated a number of concerts in support of his beliefs, such as "We are for live sound!" and "Pops without a phonogram", which featured the stars of the Russian music scene.
Kovalev also took part in the creation of the Moscow legislative initiative, which provides for informing the audience of concerts about the use of phonograms by performers. The bill, unfortunately, was not adopted. However, Andrei Kovalev believes that the very fact of voicing this problem is already important. In the mid-2000s, when these concerts were held, the leaders of the Russian music market, and, in particular, the central TV channels, were firmly convinced that there would never be live sound. Yes, and journalists were convinced that the audience comes to the concert to see the star, and he does not care how she sings.
- And today the most rated television musical projects, as the "Voice" of Channel One, "Factor A" with A.B. Pugacheva of the TV channel "Russia 1" suggest only live sound. Same with national music awards– MUZ TV, RU TV. So the creator of the New Wave, Igor Krutoy, emphasized that at this year's festival everyone would sing live, which led to the fact that half of the participants immediately dropped out. My undertakings of that time, as you can see, are being realized. Everything these days more performers come to the idea, which we then actively promoted: “Singing to the veneer should be ashamed,” says Andrey Kovalev.
Discs and star duets
The release of Andrey Kovalev's first album "Salt, tequila and a slice of lime" took place in 2004. The record was named after the song, which quickly became a hit. The video clip for this composition is reminiscent of Roberto Rodrigueso's film "Desperado" in its plot. Mexican musician - El Mariacho fights with a biker gang. According to Andrei himself, such an action is close to him, since some facts of his biography are no less rich. For the filming of the video, a Harley Davidson motorcycle and a rare Cadillac car of the musician himself were involved.
The following year, the musician's second disc, Sky Xin, was released. The video for the title track, as well as videos such as “ Christmas story”and“ Spring of the 45th ”were actively rotated on TV channels and were remembered by the audience.
Andrey has repeatedly performed a duet with the most famous domestic performers. Together with Sasha Project, they performed “The Song of Santa Claus”, with the “Tutsi” group - “Train of Love”, with Lyubasha - the composition “We Fall”, with Katya Lel - two songs at once: “ new year story” and “Man and Woman”, with the rapper Loc-Dog - “Slowly it snowed”.
But perhaps the most popular for Kovalev was the duet with Diana Gurtskaya. Their composition "Nine Months", released in 2006, is still in rotation on many radio stations to this day. The song became the soundtrack in the film of the same name shown on Channel One. And almost immediately, "Nine Months" began to lead many radio charts.
Video clips
Foreign stars starred in several video clips of the musician. So, in the "Roar of Engines" (2008), which is more of a mini-movie than a video, Pamela Anderson starred. Andrey Kovalev has been friends with the model for a long time. Pamela agreed to take part in the filming for several reasons. First, she liked the composition itself. And besides, she married twice, but she never had a real wedding. And miss the opportunity to put on, albeit on film set, Wedding Dress, she could not.
The 2009 video "Don't Extinguish the Candle" starred actor and director Dolph Lundgren. Moreover, he himself offered cooperation. The fact is that Lundgren was then filming the film “Command Performance”, where, according to the plot, terrorists take hostages at a music festival. And the musicians of "Pilgrim" were invited to play themselves in the picture, which the guys did with pleasure. And then they made a clip out of the frames of the picture. In the same year, the Judas video was released, which Pilgrim made with the Apocalyptica group.
Andrey Kovalev has always been responsible for filming video clips. In 2011-12, no less than 12 videos were released that made their way to the main music channels not only in Russia, but also in Ukraine and Belarus. And again, everyone participated in these works. famous people. So, Elena Korikova starred in the video “My Woman”, Olesya Sudzilovskaya in the video “God Given to Me”, and Olga Budina in the work “Give Me Back That Fire”.
Evidence of such attention to video works was the title "Klipoman of the Year", which RU.TV channel awarded to Kovalev and colleagues for the largest number released video clips for the year - nine!
Andrey is still actively shooting videos and attracting stars again. In the video sequence for the song “And I keep dreaming about your eyes”, the well-known for “ closed school" Agata Mutsenietse. And in the video dedicated to the actor Vladislav Galkin who left us, Alexey Panin and Vladimir Gostyukhin starred.
Poetry
Andrei Kovalev is known not only for his songs, of which he wrote about 700, but also for his poetry. The debut book of lyrics "Pearls and Velvet" was published in 2004. The lyrics of Kovalev were immediately appreciated by critics. So, famous writer Alexander Govorov in the preface to the collection was unambiguous, saying that Kovalev is a real lyric poet who will find his reader. Two years later, the second book of lyrics was published - “The sky is blue”. And last year saw the release of the third collection - "You alone."
Andrey Kovalev himself says that the engine of his work is unrequited love. His poems and songs are not artificial exercises, they are born from what the musician and poet himself experienced. Perhaps this is what attracts his fans.
TV and radio
In the diverse creative life of Kovalev, there was a place for conducting radio and television programs. His author's project was broadcast at the station "Moscow speaking", on the channel "Stolitsa" - the program "Formula of Success", on the radio "Pops" - the program "Man and Woman", and on the Public Russian Radio - "Live Sound". Today, Andrei himself is often invited to participate in various talk shows on television and on the radio.
Charity
As a deputy of the Moscow City Duma (convocation of 2005-2009), Kovalev initiated a series of concerts "Pops without a phonogram" as part of the City Day in 2006. Actively advocating "live performances" of Russian variety performers, he oversaw the project "We are for live sound!". In addition, he organized the patriotic rock festival "Glory to Russia" and the festival of beginner groups "On the rise!".
Realizing how difficult it is for young musicians to break through, Kovalev set up five special rehearsal bases in the capital. On them, young groups and performers can rehearse for free, using all the necessary musical equipment. And it doesn't matter if the guys are going to become the second Metallica, or music for them is just a hobby, an outlet in the harsh reality.
Kovalev invariably participates in charity concerts, the profits from which go to social support for various categories of residents of the capital. These are war veterans and large families, single mothers and orphans.
Interesting Facts
Andrey Kovalev in 2005 accused the Neftyanoy bank of having raiderly seized a blocking stake in the Auto-Prestige 1 company.
Andrey Kovalev's godchildren were Stepan Menshchikov's son Ivan and Katya Lel's daughter Emilia.
On June 30, 2010, Andrey Kovalev's unique bike was stolen, which was assembled for the musician by order at the famous European tuning studio Fred Kodlin. Fortunately, the stolen bike was soon found.
Andrey's work is interesting for all ages. Some of his fans are already in their ninth decade.
In May of this year, Andrey Kovalev accused the chairman of the board of Rosbank, Vladimir Golubkov, and senior vice president Tamara Polyanitsyna of extorting a large bribe. On May 15, these top managers of the bank were formally charged.
Andrey Kovalev - adherent healthy lifestyle life. This year he got rid of 25 kilograms of excess weight.
Andrei Kovalev considers love to be the main thing in his life, even if it is unrequited. He puts this feeling above career, work and all worldly affairs.
Andrey Kovalev immediately writes the music that comes to mind on the phone. And then he records in the studio, where more than 300 compositions were created.
Andrei Kovalev is fond of unusual collecting - he collects turtles. Passion was born spontaneously - with a gift from a friend. Today, every friend of Andrei knows what to give him for his birthday or bring from foreign travel so the collection is constantly growing.
Discography
(In the Pilgrim group)
"Glory to Russia" (2007)
"No Choice" (2008)
Concert in the Rain (DVD) (2008)
"Trizzy$" (single) (2009)
"7.62" (2010)
"March" (2010)
As a soloist
"Salt, tequila ..." (2004)
"The sky is blue" (2005)
"Nine Months", "Ice and Fire", "Man and Woman" (2007)
"Author's Song", "The Best Songs of Andrey Kovalev", "Romances" (2008)
"My woman" (2012).
