home
Psychology of fear
Composition of a group of flowers by years. "Flowers

Composition of a group of flowers by years. "Flowers

12.06.2019

The group "Flowers" was created in Moscow in 1969 by the lead guitarist - at that time a first-year student at the Institute of Foreign Languages. M. Torez - Stas Namin.

Having got acquainted with rock music early, already in 1964 Stas created his first group "Sorcerers", then in 1967 - the group "Politburo", and in 1969, having entered the Institute of Foreign Languages. Maurice Torez, becomes the leader-guitarist of the famous Inyazovsky group "Bliki" among the students.

First composition. Namin, as before playing the solo guitar, was the first to invite Vladimir Chugreev to the group. Vladimir Solovyov played keyboard instruments in the first part of the "Flowers", in the past he was a musician of the "Red Devils" group at the Bauman Institute. Even then he had his own electric organ, which gave the group solidity and a "signature" sound. There was no permanent bass player, and the bassist from Blikov (A. Malashenkov) alternately played in the group, then from Vagabundos, another Inyazov group. Elena Kovalevskaya, a student of the French faculty of foreign language, became the vocalist of the group. Such was the first composition of the Flowers group. The repertoire at that time was mainly the most fashionable hits from the repertoire of Jefferson Airplane, Janis Joplin and others.

Six months later, at some party, Namin saw Alexander Losev singing the song “Horses Can Swim” to the guitar (music by V. Berkovsky, lyrics by M. Slutsky), and decided to try him in a group, despite the fact that Sasha sang pop songs and rock didn't get involved. Stas suggested that he learn the bass guitar and learn a few songs in English from the repertoire of "Flowers". Then it was the songs of Jimi Hendrix, Deep Purple, etc.

"Flowers" performed at student and school parties and became more and more popular among Moscow youth. Then the group was invited to television for the first time - they were even filmed at the studio, but they did not get on the air.

Copper group experiment. In 1971, when Elena Kovalevskaya graduated from the institute and left the group, and Solovyov and Chugreev also received professions and quit music, Stas replenished the group with new musicians. He invited pianist Igor Saulsky to keyboards, Vladimir Zasedatelev to drums, Namin and Losev remained on solo and bass guitars. Under the influence of the bands “Blood, Sweat, Tears” and “Chicago” that appeared then on the musical horizon, Stas decided to try to include a “copper section” in the “Flowers”. He invited his friend from the Suvorov Musical School, trumpeter Alexander Chinenkov, trombonist Vladimir Nilov, and two saxophonists - first Vladimir Okolzdaev, and then Alexei Kozlov.

Return to the small composition. Six months later, Namin abandoned the experiment with wind instruments and even keyboards, deciding to leave only a rock trio in the tradition of Jimi Hendrix and Cream. He also replaced the jazz-rock player Vladimir Zasedatelev with Yuri Fokin, a drummer who, from Stas's point of view, had a better feel for rock music. And all the remaining musicians of the Flowers became in fact the first composition of the Arsenal ensemble, created by Alexei Kozlov immediately after leaving the Flowers.

If Stas Namin was an adherent of the music of Hendrix, the Rolling Stones and The Beatles, and Losev gravitated more towards the stage like Tom Jones and the Carpenters, and under the influence of Namin leaned towards Deep Purple, Chicago and Blood, Sweat, Tears", then the arrival of Fokine, an ardent fan of Led Zeppelin, made the group even more fatal.

In 1972, when Namin transferred from Inyaz to Moscow State University, he took his group "Flowers" with him. Regularly performing in the lobby of the 2nd floor of the building of the humanities faculties of Moscow State University and in the 8th dining room of Moscow State University, famous for its rock parties, the group gathered not only University students, but also fans from all over Moscow.

Carier start. Recording the first disc. In 1972, "Tsvety", as a student ensemble that won the festival of student ensembles in Moscow, managed to release a soft-rock flexible record, which sold 7 million copies, and made them famous in the USSR.

In 1973, after the second single, sold by Melodiya in an even larger circulation, Flowers consolidated their popularity, despite the fact that they did not appear on radio, television, or in the press.

The first recordings of "Flowers" both in style and performance were a compromise that the group was forced to make in order for the recordings to pass the artistic council. But even two minions released by Melodiya were enough for Flowers to gain significant popularity.

In 1974, "Flowers" were called in the Moscow press "Soviet Beatles" and began a professional tour of the USSR. But in the same year they were stopped by the Ministry of Culture, and the name "Flowers" was banned as "propaganda of Western ideology and hippie ideas."

Stas Namin Group (1976-1980)

Having no rights to the name, "Flowers" went underground for 2 years and after a two-year break, in 1976, the group resumed activities, but under a different name - as the "Stas Namin Group", and with a changed line-up: Stas Namin (solo guitar), Konstantin Nikolsky (guitar, vocals), Yuri Fokin (drums), Vladimir Sakharov (bass guitar, vocals), Alexander Slizunov (piano, vocals) and Alexander Mikoyan (guitar, vocals). However, the ensemble was still banned from television, radio and press [source not specified 18 days]. "Flowers" were only allowed to record at the Melodiya company, since circulation brought huge profits to the company, but not to the group. In the same 1976, a new hit "Old Piano" was recorded and released, and in 1977 - another disc with the hit "It's too early to say goodbye."

After 1978, the composition of the group changed again: Yuri Fokin, Sergey Dyachkov and Vladimir Sakharov emigrated abroad, and in order not to stop the group's activities, Stas invited session musicians to the ensemble - Vladimir Vasilkov (drums), Vladislav Petrovsky, Valery Zhivetiev, Sergey Dyuzhikov, Nikita Zaitsev and others. As a result, a new line-up was formed: Igor Sarukhanov (guitar), Vladimir Vasiliev (bass guitar), Mikhail Fainzilberg (drums) and Alexander Slizunov (piano). In 1979, the band's disc was recorded with another hit, "Summer Evening".

In 1980, the first solo album of the Stas Namin Group "Flowers" "Hymn to the Sun" was released, which included the hits "After the Rain", "Tell Me Yes", "Heroic Power", "Rush Hour", "Dedication to the Beatles", "Bach creates ”, etc. In addition to the main composition, Alexander Fedorov (vocals), Alexander Pishchikov (saxophone) and others took part in the recording. In the same year, the group participated in the Olympics-80 and was first shown on television.

In the same year, the group visited Poland and performed at the festival in Sopot, together with the Baltic singer M. Zivere.

Taking advantage of the “warming”, immediately after the disc “Hymn to the Sun”, the group recorded two more discs at the Melodiya company - as an experiment in other genres that are not similar to the style of “Flowers”: dance “Reggae, Disco, Rock”. Namin wrote all the music for the disc in just a week, and the recording took two weeks. Music, lyrics and arrangements were finalized and invented right in the studio. And the album "Surprise for Monsieur Legrand" in French in the style of symphonic jazz, and Namin invited Vladimir Belousov to arrange it.

"War" with the authorities (1981-1985)

In 1981, "Flowers" performed at the festival in Yerevan and at the end of the concert brought the audience, playing until 2 am. Both the whole festival and the performance of the Flowers became another target of the authorities. The group was again officially accused of "undermining the ideological foundations of the country", the press was ordered to boycott the festival, and the video recording of the festival (dir. E. Ginzburg) was demagnetized. The only information was preserved only in the Time magazine, which published a large article about the festival and the group. During this period, the pressure of the authorities especially intensified, the group was not only closed again in all media and banned from giving concerts in big cities. The prosecutor's office of the RSFSR began to pursue her and follow her every step, not hiding the goal of starting a criminal case, investigating where Flowers got equipment and tools.

"Flowers" offered the artistic council of the company "Melody" a more rigid repertoire in rock style with social poems: "Nostalgia for the present" (A. Voznesensky), "Idol" and "I do not give up" (E. Yevtushenko), "Empty Nut" ( Yu. Kuznetsov), “Once at night” (D. Samoilov) and others. The Melodiya company refused them.

In 1982, Flowers filmed a video clip for the song "Old New Year" (verses by A. Voznesensky) with openly political overtones. The clip did not even reach the artistic council and first hit the air only in 1986 in the USA on MTV.

Even Namin's unambiguously positive song "We wish you happiness", written in 1982 and, as it were, completing the romantic period of the 1970s, was banned in the media until 1985 [source not specified 18 days] and only with the help of the same A. Pakhmutova appeared on television during the Festival of Youth and Students, where "Flowers" were able to perform several times with great success. During the festival, Stas Namin's group managed to illegally record a double album with the participation of foreign musicians. The disc, of course, was never released in the USSR. But at the same festival, by a decision of the Collegium of the Ministry of Culture, “Flowers” were accused of “Pentagon propaganda” and “contacts with foreigners” (minutes of the Collegium of the Ministry of Culture).

The beginning of a free life (1986-1990)

Apart from several trips to the socialist countries with performances for the Soviet troops, for the first time the group "Flowers" went abroad in 1985. It was a five-day trip to West Germany through the Friendship Society (SOD), which happened by chance on days when the leadership of the Ministry of Culture was away.

But the real foreign tour of the Flowers began in 1986. It was the very beginning of perestroika. In 1986, the Stas Namin Group, after a 6-month scandal with the Ministry of Culture and the Central Committee of the party, and only thanks to the trends of the new time associated with Gorbachev's coming to power, was still able to go on a 45-day tour of the USA and Canada. Advertising of the concerts of the Stas Namin group in the USA was organized at a serious national level in the largest media, and the scandal with the cancellation of the tour could have a bad effect on the image of the beginning perestroika.

In addition to participating in the play "Child of the World", the group gave concerts for American audiences in New York, Boston, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Minneapolis, Seattle, Washington and other American cities. There were also jam sessions and meetings with Yoko Ono, Peter Gabriel, Kenny Logins, Paul Stanley and many other legendary musicians.

This trip opened up new opportunities for the Stas Namin Group. The group flew to Japan immediately after the USA at the invitation of Peter Gabriel to the rock festival Japan Aid 1st. Then for several years the group toured Eastern and Western Europe, Africa, Australia, South and North America and many other countries.

Already in the 87th year, planning to stop the work of the Flowers in 2-3 years after the world tour, Namin began to help the musicians subsequently start their own careers. So, within the group "Flowers", especially for Sergei Voronov, the ensemble "League of Blues" was created, for which musicians were accepted: Arutyunov and Yaloyan. Alexander Solich became one of the founders of the Moral Code ensemble under Namin's tutelage, Alexander Malinin, having received the Flower School, began his career as a soloist. Namin also helped Losev to make an ensemble, arranging it at his Center, which also included Vladislav Petrovsky (keyboards) and Grigoryan (drums). On the basis of the musicians who also worked in the "Flowers" (A. Yanenkov, A. Marshal, A. Belov, A. Lvov), in 1987 Stas Namin created and by 1989 he promoted the Gorky Park group to the whole world Thus, in 1989, after the end of his historic world tour, Stas Namin officially stopped the activities of the Flowers group and all the musicians began to work on other projects.

that only Namin owned and owns the official rights to the name "Flowers" and no one except him has either a legal or moral right to use it, impostors began to appear in some places on the periphery. In addition, helping Losev in creating his own group, Namin, given that Losev himself did not write songs, temporarily allowed him to perform his songs from the Flowers repertoire and even sometimes use this name. Subsequently, Losev in his solo touring activities sometimes (under the guise) also used him. But, given his difficult life situation at that time - addiction to alcohol, and already poor health, no one made legal claims against him. Moreover, Namin supported him, allowing him to record his famous and new songs at the SNC studio, and also patronized and represented Losev himself in the press, on radio and television, in order to facilitate the development of his solo career.

During the 10-year break in the group's activities, Namin officially used the name "Flowers" only 2 times: once in 1989 for a trip to Alaska, and in 1996 on the Vote or Lose tour of Russia. Losev's group actually participated in these projects.

After a 10-year hiatus (2000-2008)

In 1999, Stas Namin again assembled "Flowers" himself, no longer playing in the ensemble, but doing theater and other projects. The basis of the group was: Oleg Predtechensky - vocals, guitar, Alexander Gretsinin - vocals, bass guitar and Yuri Vilnin - guitar, then Alan Aslamazov - keyboards joined them, and occasionally performed with the group: Oleg Litskevich, Valery Diorditsa, Armen Avanesyan, Natalya Shateev. The group "Flowers" began concert activity, as well as the musicians of "Flowers" participated in the Russian production of the musical "Hair", in the production of the rock opera "Jesus Christ Superstar" and in other projects of the Stas Namin Theater.

Theater projects

The group "Flowers" participates in performances not only as an instrumental ensemble. Oleg Predtechensky, Oleg Litskevich and Natalya Shateeva perform the main vocal parts in musicals and rock operas and the main roles in dramatic performances. "Flowers" became the musical basis for the theatre's first premiere performance, the famous anti-war rock musical Hair, and the first domestic production in the original language of the legendary rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar.

For more than 35 years, various musicians and soloists have played and recorded songs in a group with Stas Namin, and at the same time, the "handwriting" and the individuality of the group's melodic lyrical style have remained unchanged. Famous hits: “To be honest” was recorded by S. Dyachkov, “My clear asterisk” - A. Losev and O. Predtechensky, “Old piano” and “It’s too early to say goodbye” - K. Nikolsky and A. Slizunov, “Summer Evening” - V .Vasiliev, the entire disc “Hymn to the Sun”, including the songs “Heroic Strength”, “After the Rain”, was performed by A. Slizunov, I. Sarukhanov, A. Fedorov, V. Vasiliev, “We wish you happiness” - recorded by Stas Namin and other soloists of "Flowers", etc. Throughout the history of "Flowers" a few times appeared on TV, and the phenomenon of their popularity is that it arose and was supported only thanks to concerts and recordings. The liberality of the Melodiya company, which allowed a semi-legal group to write, is simply explained: during the existence of the Stas Namin Group, more than 50 million records of the group were sold, while only Melodiya received the entire royalty for circulation, traditionally not paying performers. "Flowers" was the first rock band that came out of the "underground" and met with the reality of the Artistic Council and the official Soviet censorship. But even the forced compromise in the group's early recordings, released by Melodiya, which softened its style to soft and pop-rock, revolutionized the then official Soviet song. "Flowers" became, as it were, the forerunner of Russian rock in the mass culture of the country. Several generations have been brought up on their music, many modern stars of rock and pop music have studied on it. "Tsvety" is one of the few Russian rock bands born in the late 1960s that still exists today. Their songs are still remembered and loved by millions of people, and Namin's song "We wish you happiness" has become truly popular.

The vocal-instrumental ensemble "Flowers" appeared in 1969, but only since 1972 has it become a super-popular VIA in the USSR, thanks to the first disc released by the Melodiya record company. The Mignon sold a multimillion-dollar circulation, literally turning the idea of the Soviet pop music of the 1970s ... The ensemble included: bass player Alexander Losev and drummer Yuri Fokin, later they were joined by pianist and composer Sergei Dyachkov - author of popular youth songs. Among the ideological inspirers of the new group was another no less popular composer and arranger Vladimir Semenov (it was his song "My Clear Star" to the verses of Olga Fokina that opened the first record of the ensemble). On that "amateur" disc, the songs "Flowers Have Eyes", "Don't" and "My Clear Star" were recorded. The symphony orchestra led by Y. Silantiev and the orchestra of the Bolshoi Theater took part in the recording of this disc. The success was complete, the record literally did not leave the players, these songs were sung on the streets and in apartments.

Among other amateur groups, the group stood out for its "live" sound, interesting arrangements, searches for expressive means from the big-beat arsenal, suitable for synthesis with the traditions of Russian melos. Stas Namin defined the style of "Flowers" as "lyrical rock".

In 1973, the ensemble won the competition of the youth groups of the capital, where it won personal prizes and the right to record a record. The appearance of the second disc with the songs "To be honest", "Lullaby" and others even more clearly outlined the lyrical plan of the ensemble's creative style. The secret of such success lies in the painstaking work, high individual skill of the performers and, of course, in the sincerity of their creativity. The ensemble's songs are notable for their original arrangements, expressive instrumental solos and unique, penetrating vocals.

Young musicians faced a problem: either to follow the well-trodden and rather clear path - to graduate from the institute and become a young specialist, or to embark on an unknown and dangerous path - to enter the path of professional musicians. They preferred the latter, and since 1974 "Flowers" has been a professional touring band. Difficult but joyful days began, devoted to your favorite work. A huge number of worries fell on young artists: artistic councils, directors' boards, searches for equipment, learning a new repertoire, rehearsals, concerts, run-throughs, tours: The load is colossal, there were almost no houses. Although the skill grew, the requirements for the game grew, and the lack of the necessary equipment was increasingly felt. All this led to a crisis. And, despite the fact that the “Flowers” had recognition of success: 1st place at the All-Union competition “Silver Strings” in Gorky, 1st place in Tallinn at the All-Union Soviet Song Contest - in 1975 the guys stopped professional work.

"In 1975-76, we had a break, which, as you know, also gave rise to rumors about the breakup of the group, but in fact it was due to the fact that Sasha and I had to complete our studies at universities (Sasha majored in radio electronics, I am a philologist)" - Stas Namin (1983)

"Yes, in 1974 we became a professional team, and Stas Namin could not work with us: he is a philology student at Moscow State University" - Alexander Losev (1975)

The guys dispersed, resumed their studies at the institutes, which they nevertheless graduated from. But time passed, the Soviet stage developed, new names appeared. And the former "Flowers", jealously watching the heyday of popular music, were convinced with joy that their place was not taken, and no one works in their style, lyrical rock is a blank spot on the stage.

A new stage of creativity began in 1977. Stas Namin, having come to realize the need for a new, more modern and expressive style in his work, returns to the professional stage. His new band starts right from the recording, because. at this time from the company "Melody" comes an offer to record a record. The work on the new disc became, as it were, the preparation of the ensemble's further program; during rehearsals, the guys tried to implement new ideas, tried to formulate their attitude to the new in popular music. An attempt by S. Namin, A. Slizunov and K. Nikolsky to revive the team turned out to be the most successful. The studio recording of the composition by V. Semenov and V. Dyunin "Red Poppies" - Alexander Podbolotov sang it on the disc, not only "restored" all the advantages of "Flowers", but also discovered new horizons of creativity. In the comic song-parable "Old Piano", the ensemble in a soft humorous manner, as if inadvertently reminds the listener of the importance of enduring human values, and in this special climate of sincerity and recognition, in approaching human existence, in attention to it, the main potential grew stronger and multiplied. groups.

On the opening day of the XVIII Congress of the All-Union Leninist Young Communist League in a concert dedicated to this event, the "Stas Namin Group" participated with a concert number "Solidarity", dedicated to the World Festival of Youth and Students in Havana. In preparation for the festival, the guys prepared Cuban songs, youth protest songs in the languages of the peoples of the world, songs of Soviet composites. At the same time, Stas Namin began to actively collaborate with the poet V. Kharitonov - the song "Friendship" was written on his poems, which in 1978 was first performed by Renat Ibragimov at the festival of youth and students in Havana.

In 1979, another EP was recorded with Stas Namin's songs "It's too early to say goodbye" and "If you're not there"; the ensemble participated in the recording of V. Kharitonov's CD "White Wings".

« Flowers"- a popular legendary Moscow pop-rock band, was created by a young musician Stas Namin in October 1969. Stas Namin (Anastas Alekseevich Mikoyan) was born on November 8, 1951 in Moscow - guitarist, composer, producer, manager. In his youth, when our country was shaken by the Beatlemania boom, Stas studied at the Suvorov Military School (1961-1969), took classical guitar and piano lessons. Before creating his offspring - VIA "Flowers", he played in amateur youth groups: the rock trio "Magician" (1964), the "Politburo" group (1967) and the student group "Bliki" (1969).

At the end of 1969, Stas gathers a new group of musicians consisting of: Stas Namin - solo guitar, Alexander Losev - bass guitar, vocals, Vladimir Chugreev - percussion instruments, Elena Kovalevskaya - soloist of the group. Earlier, musician A.Malashenkov worked in the group - bass guitar. In parallel with this, Stas studies at the Maurice Thorez Moscow Institute of Foreign Languages, later at the Lomonosov Moscow State University at the Faculty of Philology. The musicians are working on their repertoire, actively rehearsing, playing on the dance floors on professional instruments of one of the first Moscow ensembles - VIA Moskvichi. December 29, 1969 the musicians give their first concert.

At the beginning of 1970, the group was replenished by the musician of the ex-group "Red Devils" Alexander Solovyov - keyboard instruments. In fact, since that time, the foundation has been laid for the creation and creation of a professional team on the national stage. The musicians play guitar improvisations from the repertoire of Jimi Hendrix and other foreign authors, then work in the jazz-rock style.

In the autumn of 1971, the group, instead of the departed musicians, was temporarily replenished with musicians: Igor Saulsky - keyboards, Alexei Kozlov - alto saxophone, Vladimir Okolzdaev - tenor saxophone, Alexander Chinenkov - trumpet, percussion, Vladimir Nilov - trombone, Vladimir Zasedatelev - drums tools. The base and numerous rehearsals of the group took place in the Palace of Culture Energetikov. The legendary group with its own repertoire performs a lot for Moscow youth at evenings of rest in educational institutions and Palaces of Culture. Over time, almost all musicians leave the group and create the Arsenal Jazz Ensemble. At this time, the group consists of musicians: Stas Namin - solo guitar, Alexander Losev - bass guitar, vocals, Yuri Fokin - (ex-group "Skomorokhi") - percussion instruments.

In 1972, the musicians successfully performed on behalf of the Moscow State University named after M. Lomonosov at the festival of student amateur performances on the stage of the Moscow Luzhniki Sports Palace. At this time, Stas Namin met the popular Moscow composer Sergei Dyachkov, whose songs: “Alyoshkin’s Love”, “School Ball”, “Words” are sung by our whole country and invites him to write a number of songs for his group. To implement this project, Sergey Dyachkov invites his friend, one of the first leading guitarists of our country, a member of the VIA "Korobeiniki" Vladimir Semyonov. Sergey Dyachkov recalled: “We sat down with Volodya, wrote something, tried. It seems to have worked out. Although half of what we wrote in the scores is not heard on the recording. Firstly, the equipment then was not as good as it is now, and secondly, not everyone played. Recording time was limited."

So, thanks to their cooperation and organizational activities of Stas Namin, in the spring of 1972 hit songs appeared both on the national stage and in the history of the vocal and instrumental movement in our country. Two musicians-composers Sergey Dyachkov and Vladimir Semyonov, together with the musicians of the Flowers group, created truly brilliant masterpieces of the Soviet stage! Artists also took part in the recording of these songs: Vladimir Sakharov - bass guitar, Alexander Slizunov - harpsichord, singer Anatoly Alyoshin - backing vocals, later soloist of VIA Vesyolye Rebyata, the rock group Araks and others, as well as vocal group of Mira Korobkova singer: Olga Danilovich, Tatyana Vorontsova and Nina Palitsyna. The symphony orchestra conducted by Yuri Silantiev and the orchestra of the Bolshoi Theater also took part in the recording of these songs.

Sergei Dyachkov recalled his collaboration with Vladimir Semyonov when recording songs at the studio of the All-Union Recording Company Melodiya: “We did a lot of songs with him. We sat, looking for some kind of image. We didn't do it for the money. The money still came. And we did it from the heart. Purely creative work." These songs, preserving the traditions of urban romance, included elements of lyrical rock, which was an innovation on our stage. Truly, the bouquet of all these songs has become the hallmark of Stas Namin's group "Flowers" for all time.

At the end of 1972, the first flexible LPs with these songs were released at the Melodiya All-Union Recording Company and sold in millions of copies. Songs were recorded on the minions: “Don’t” (S. Dyachkov - O. Gadzhikasimov), “Flowers have eyes” (Oscar Feltsman - Rasul Gamzatov, translated by Y. Kozlovsky), “My clear star” (V. Semyonov - O Fokina). "I bought this record in the summer of 1973 in the Soyuzpechat stall in the city of Popasnaya, Voroshilovgrad, now the Lugansk region in Ukraine, along with a record of the already well-known Moscow VIA. After listening to the songs, I, of course, gave preference to VIA" Flowers ", as well as my childhood friends. We were very struck by the words of the songs with a philosophical meaning and the arrangement of the songs, this has never happened in our country. VIA "Flowers" became one of my favorite ensembles for all time. And I was very happy and glad, after many years receive as a gift autographs of the masters of the Soviet stage, composers Sergei Dyachkov and Vladimir Semyonov!

In 1974, another star minion was released with the songs: “To be honest” (S. Dyachkov - M. Nozhkin), “You and I” (A. Losev - S. Namin), “More Life” (V. Semenov - L. Derbenev), "Lullaby" (O. Feltsman - R. Gamzatov, translated by Y. Kozlovsky). Basically, all the songs were recorded by the singer Alexander Losev, and the song "To be honest" was performed by Sergey Dyachkov. The classical female vocalization sounds very beautiful against the background of rock music in the song “You and I” (A. Losev - S. Namin). The Lviv violist Yuri Bashmet also took part in the recording of these songs, later a world-famous musician. I was also lucky to get this record in a store in the city of Kommunarsk, now Alchevsk. Songs from this minion only consolidated my good attitude towards the work of the "Flowers" ensemble. Only on the eve of their arrival with a concert in the city of Kadievka, now Stakhanov, I did not manage to get to their concert because of my conscription for military service in the USSR Armed Forces.

The songs of the “Flowers” ensemble are sung by our whole country, they sound everywhere from the windows of houses, as well as at evenings of rest. Many musical groups and performers take these songs into their repertoire. The era of VIA "Flowers" is coming to our country. Numerous philharmonic societies give applications - invitations to concerts of the popular ensemble "Flowers". In fact, these songs were recorded in the studio conditions of the Melodiya company by many musicians of other groups, so Vladimir Semyonov and Sergey Dyachkov gather a group of professional musicians and begin their successful tour of our country from the Moscow Regional Philharmonic. VIA "Flowers" tour with: Vladimir Semyonov - solo guitar, 12-string guitar, Alexander Losev - bass guitar, vocals, Sergey Dyachkov - keyboards, vocals, Yuri Fokin - percussion instruments. At this time, the composer People's Artist of the USSR Arno Babadzhanyan noted about the work of VIA "Flowers": "It is too early to talk about the great popularity of the ensemble, since, according to the participants themselves, it is only beginning to" find itself ".

But the most important thing, in my opinion, is that the guys understand very well that the secret of any success lies in painstaking and thoughtful work. Frequent and long rehearsals, improvement of individual skills and, of course, the sincerity of creativity - that's what drives the ensemble. The songs of "Flowers" are originally arranged, expressively instrumental performance, vocals touch with their lyricism.

In the same 1974, musicians also took part in Stas Namin's tour: guitarist Konstantin Nikolsky, Vladimir Polissky - bass guitar, keyboardist Alexander Slizunov, singer Sergei Grachev and the female vocal trio of Mira Korobkova. Later, musicians join the ensemble: Vladimir Sakharov - bass guitar, vocals, Sergey Dyuzhikov - guitar, vocals, Vladislav Petrovsky - keyboards. They perform in joint concerts with Vladimir Vysotsky, the ensembles "Festival", "Magistral", working on the stage for more than 60 concerts a month. In each city, the ensemble "Flowers" collected entire stadiums and Sports Palaces. The name "Soviet Beatles" was assigned to him. During 1974–1975, VIA “Flowers” traveled virtually all over our country, visited many cities of my native Voroshilovgrad, now Luhansk region. Stas Namin at this time also pays his attention to his studies at Moscow State University named after M. Lomonosov.

In 1975, the Stas Namin group takes part and gets 1st place at the All-Union Rock Festival "Silver Strings" in the city of Gorky, and the musicians are also awarded 1st place at the All-Union Soviet Song Competition in the city of Tallinn. In 1975, the main soloist of the ensemble, Alexander Losev, left the band and worked at the VIA " Red Poppies from the Tula Philharmonic. At this time, Stas is taking a course in composition and playing the piano with the popular composer, master of the Soviet stage Arno Babajanyan.

In 1976, the following musicians worked in the Stas Namin group: Sergey Dyuzhikov - solo guitar, vocals, Vladimir Sakharov - bass guitar, vocals, Alexander Mikoyan - rhythm guitar, harmonica, vocals, Vladislav Petrovsky - keyboards, Yuri Fokin - percussion instruments. Over time, instead of Sergey Dyuzhikov and Vladislav Petrovsky, Konstantin Nikolsky - guitar, vocals and Alexander Slizunov - keyboards, vocals come to the group. In the same year, the All-Union Recording Company Melodiya released another EP of the Stas Namin Group with the songs: Red Poppies (V. Semyonov - V. Dyunin), Oh, Mom (V. Sakharov, S. Dyachkov - S . Namin), "The Old Piano" (A. Slizunov, K. Nikolsky - V. Soldatov), "In the Evening" (S. Namin - I. Kokhanovsky). In the recording of songs, along with the main composition of the group, also took part: Alexander Podbolotov, Vladimir Soldatov, Yulia Bolshakova and others. The Bulgarian record company Balkanton includes the song "Old Piano", performed by Stas Namin's band "Flowers", on its giant disc, along with songs performed by foreign artists: Donna Summer, Andriano Celentano, groups "Eagles", "Irapshn" and others.

After graduating from Moscow State University, Stas Namin pays close attention to his offspring. In addition to the main line-up, Stas Namin always has a backup group. New musicians come to work in the group: Andrei Sapunov, Valery Zhivetiev - soloists, Vladimir Vasilkov - percussion instruments. At this time, the group begins to work in the style of "lyrical rock". At the Melodiya company, the group in this vein releases two regular minions. For comparison, how it sounded in a new way in their performance, you can listen to the song "It's early to say goodbye" (S. Namin - V. Kharitonov), which they covered and re-recorded at the Melodiya All-Union Recording Company.

Since 1977, the Stas Namin group has been collaborating and recording songs at the Melodiya company with pop singers: Sofia Rotaru, Larisa Dolina, Galina Uletova, Lyudmila Senchina, Tatyana Antsiferova, sisters Tatyana and Elena Zaitsev, the master of the Soviet stage Valery Obodzinsky, Jaak Yoala, Arno Babajanyan and others. In the same year, at the Mosconcert, VIA "Flowers" are reformed into " Group of Stas Namin". Since 1978, the group has been closely collaborating with the poet Vladimir Kharitonov, recording songs on his author's disc - giants: "White Wings" (1978) - "Through a dream", "It's too early to say goodbye" music by Stas Namin, "Photographs of loved ones" (1980 .) - “Something is in you” music by David Tukhmanov, “You wait for an answer” soloist Valery Obodzinsky, “Wheels are knocking”, “Summer evening”, “If you are not there” music by Stas Namin.

In 1979, Stas Namin's group took part in the International Festival in the Polish city of Sopot, as an accompaniment to the Riga singer Mirdze Zivera. Strong vocalists come to the group, who went through the school of pop art in the ensemble of Anatoly Vasiliev "Singing Guitars" - Vladimir Vasiliev, not much later Alexander Fedorov and Olga Levitskaya. At this time, after serving in the USSR Armed Forces with Alexander Slizunov, Igor Sarukhanov, who previously worked in the popular Blue Bird VIA, joined the group instead of Konstantin Nikolsky.

At this time, the group begins to work on recording their first album " Hymn to the Sun", and by 1980, in fact, the release of the album on a giant disk, the group consists of musicians: Igor Sarukhanov - lead guitar, 12-string guitar, vocals, Vladimir Vasilyev - bass guitar, vocals, Alexander Pishchikov - saxophone -tenor, string group, Alexander Slizunov - keyboards, vocals, Alexander Fedorov, Valery Zhivetiev, Vadim Malikov - vocals, Mikhail Fainzilberg - percussion instruments.

The musicians successfully showed their new concert program "Hymn to the Sun" in the Lensoviet Palace of Culture in the city of Leningrad, where songs from the album "Hymn to the Sun" were performed in the first part, and songs by foreign authors and potpourri on the group's early hit songs were performed in the second part. Alexander Fedorov, in his interview about the role of the group leader, noted: “Stas is a creative person. He was always looking for ways to build a concert, feeling the need of the public.” Stas Namin's group successfully performs at youth festivals in the city of Tbilisi, "Kiev Spring", "Moscow Stars", in the cultural and musical program "Olympics-80", performing the song "Heroic Strength" (A. Pakhmutova - N. Dobronravov). WITH

Tas Namin and Alexander Slizunov write music for the films "Fantasy on the theme of love" by Aida Manasarova and "Hourglass" by S. Voronsky. Stas Namin's group becomes the laureate of the television contest "Song of the Year - 80", performing the song "After the Rain" (O. Feltsman - M. Ryabinin) and the song "Heroic Strength" (A. Pakhmutova - N. Dobronravov) from the film "Ballad of Sports ". At this time, Stas Namin puts his programs on Leningrad singers - Valery Zhivetyev, who mainly performed hit songs of the 70s, instead of Alexander Losev, Alexander Fedorov and Vladimir Vasilyev, whose voices are mainly heard in the songs in the album "Hymn to the Sun" and in the movie "Fantasy on the theme of love." This year the group is collaborating with composer Alexander Dvoskin and recording songs on his author’s giant disc: “I won’t say about love” to the words of V. Malkov - soloist Igor Sarukhanov, “Everything will be ground” to the words of V. Tatarinov, “Lyrical Tango” to the words of B. Rakhmanin - soloist Galina Uletova. At this time, Stas Namin begins to work on his new solo project in "Arm-Concert".

In 1981, the group took part in a pop-rock festival in the city of Yerevan, where they successfully performed in front of the audience, performing an encore of Stas Namin's song "Jurmala" to the words of the poet Vladimir Kharitonov. The all-Union record company "Melody", annually, until 1982, releases minions with new songs of the group. In 1982, after leaving the group of many musicians who organized the rock group Krug, musicians work with Stas Namin: Sergey Dyuzhikov - solo guitar, vocals, Yuri Gorkov - bass guitar, vocals, Nikita Zaitsev - guitar , violin, Vladislav Petrovsky - keyboards, Alexander Kryukov - percussion instruments, Alexander Losev - vocals.

Alexander Fedorov and Olga Levitskaya are returning to the city of Leningrad. At the end of the 90s of the last century, they were invited by Grigory Kleymits to revive the work of the legendary VIA "Singing Guitars", where they successfully worked again. As a pleasant memory of those years of work in the Stas Namin group, Alexander Fedorov, before his departure to Canada, included in his repertoire the song “You just listen” (A. Slizunov - S. Namin) from the disc “Hymn to the Sun”.

In 1982, the All-Union Recording Company Melodiya recorded another disc - the giant of the Stas Namin group - “ Reggae Disco Rock”(or“ Discoclub - 7 ”). "This disc," says Stas Namin, "was created specifically for the Disco Club series. It includes eight songs written in different dance rhythms, reflecting the trends of modern dance music. So, the reggae style is represented by the song" I will find. views represent the style of "disco": in the style of "modern disco" the song "Transparent Wall" was written, in the style of "classic disco" - "But you don't know", and in the style of "disco-funky" - the song "Carousel". the program also included four songs in the style of "rock". "Modern rock and roll" is represented by the song "Oh, these dances", "classic rock" (rockabilly) - by the song "Our secret", here the rock ballad "Everything , as before", performed in the style of "soul". The disc ends with the song "Let me know", created in the style of "lyrical rock".

The group also records a minion with songs performed by the wife of Stas, popular singer Lyudmila Senchina: “My joy” (L. Quint - I. Reznik), “I am spring today” (O. Feltsman - V. Kharitonov), “Monologue” (L. Quint - N. Denisov). Over time, musicians work in the group: Alexander Minkov - bass guitar, Timur Mardaleishvili - solo guitar, Vladimir Belousov - keyboards, Anatoly Abramov - percussion instruments. In parallel with working in a group, Stas Namin creates his own project-group "Jazz-Attack" playing classical jazz, jazz-rock, avant-garde music, consisting of: Boris Andreasyan - guitar, Alexander Pishchikov - tenor - saxophone, Arzu Huseynov - trumpet, David Azaryan - keyboard instruments, arranger, Vladimir Vasilkov - percussion instruments. Sometimes Stas Namin practiced merging his two groups to enhance the development of domestic rock and jazz groups.

In 1983, the All-Union Recording Company "Melody" released another giant disc of the group called " Surprise for Monsieur Legrand to the music of the composer Michel Legrand. All songs on the album are in French. Earlier, at the MIDEM-81 festival in Cannes, the band's musicians showed a fragment of the band's future record. As critics noted at the time: "If the film "The Umbrellas of Cherbourg" was filmed now, a better performance by Legrand could hardly be desired." Interpretations of the world-famous Legrand songs performed by Stas Namin's group turned out to be so unexpected, fresh and modern that this work by Soviet musicians was a pleasant surprise for many music lovers and, above all, for the composer himself. At this time, Stas Namin is recording his hit "We wish you happiness" to the words of the poet Igor Shaferan, which has become another hallmark of the Stas Namin group "Flowers" for all time. The group collaborates with the composer Polad Bul-Bul ogly in the recording of his songs "A Lesson in Wrestling", "The Ballad of Childhood" to the words of A. Didurov for the film "Do not be afraid, I'm with you", which are also released on records by the Melodiya company.

Stas Namin shoots the first video clip of the song "Old New Year" in our country. performed by their group to the words of the poet Andrei Voznesensky. In 1984, as an honored guest, Stas Namin's group took part in the Golden Orpheus Pop Song Festival in Bulgaria.

In 1985, Stas Namin's group took part in the World Festival of Youth and Students in Moscow, where the song "We wish you happiness" performed by the American choir "Child of the World" culminated. In 1986, at the Melodiya company, Stas Namin's group recorded their double giant disc called " We wish you happiness!” with the participation of many foreign performers and leaves in the fall for a 45-day tour of the United States and Canada. In the USA, the group takes part in a musical performance together with an American children's choir, where the Soviet singer Lyudmila Senchina performed in the title role. Also, many popular rock artists from around the world perform in joint concerts with Stas Namin's group. At this time, musicians work in the group: Sergey Voronov - guitar, vocals, Yuri Gorkov - bass guitar, vocals, Alexander Solich - guitar, bass guitar, keyboards, Alexander Malinin - acoustic guitar, vocals, Alexander Kryukov - percussion instruments, Alexander Losev is the soloist-vocalist of the group. After touring America, the group takes part in the Hurricane Arena rock festival in Japan.

In January 1986, Stas Namin created the S-N-C Music Center, which includes many aspiring musicians. Since 1987, the Stas Namin group, in addition to performing on the domestic stage, begins its long-term round-the-world tour abroad as part of the Rock for Peace movement. In 1988, in parallel with his group, Stas Namin organized the Gorky Park group, which played Americanized hard rock, sang in English, consisting of: Alexei Belov - guitar, Alexander Yanenkov - guitar, Alexander Minkov (Marshall) - bass guitar, Alexander Lvov - percussion instruments, Nikolai Noskov - soloist of the group.

Many young musicians and groups, such as "Brigada S", "Rondo", "Cross", "Center", "Alexander Nevsky", "Nochnoi Prospekt", "Nicholas Copernicus" and others, passed through the Stas Namin Music Center and received support. .

In 1989, after their successful world tours, the Stas Namin group temporarily stops its activities. The musicians of the group are working on their solo projects. In 1990, the following musicians worked as part of the group: Igor Prokofiev, Sergey Grigoryan, Vladislav Petrovsky, Sergey Markin, Alexander Losev and others. In 1992, the Stas Namin group resumed its creative activity with: Stas Namin - solo guitar, Alexander Losev - bass guitar, vocals, Vladimir Dolgov - guitar, Vladislav Petrovsky - keyboards, Vladimir Rozdin - percussion instruments, Alexander Lukyanov - sound engineer. Members of many members of the group came and went, changing each other, but the artistic credo of the creator and leader Stas Namin never changed.

In 1993, as a great gift to fans of VIA "Flowers", a giant disk appeared on the shelves of record stores. Flowers"(SNC Records) with the best songs of the band members, which were previously released on the minions of the Melodiya company in 1973–1977 and truly entered the Golden Fund of Soviet pop songs. Since 1994, the band's albums with the best songs of the past have been released in our country years, "We wish you happiness", "Summer Evening" - songs to the words of the poet Vladimir Kharitonov recorded on CDs. In 1996, Stas Namin's group "Flowers" performs on a two-week tour "For the Future of Free Russia".

In 1997, the singer and guitarist Alexander Losev created his own project “Former vocalist of the Flowers group - Alexander Losev”, toured a lot.

In 1999, the group of Stas Namin "Flowers" gathers again, and in 2001 performs an anniversary concert at the State Central Concert Hall "Russia", dedicated to the 30th anniversary of the group, to which almost all members of the group from different years of creativity were invited. I note that thanks to this date, the legendary composer and member of the first star cast Sergei Dyachkov returned to Russia from exile. This concert Nostalgia for the real”was released on CD and DVD only in 2005!

In 2003, the Stas Namin group "Flowers" created its new program based on Russian folk songs - "Formula Ethno", a long-term dream of the group leader Stas Namin. On February 1, 2004, after numerous tours, the unique legendary leader, vocalist Alexander Losev, passes away, whose voice brought the unique success and popularity of VIA "Flowers", at all times the sound of the band was associated with his voice.

Currently, Stas Namin's group "Flowers" mainly works at the Stas Namin Music and Drama Theater, occasionally giving concerts. The theater's repertoire included musicals: "Hair" by Gault McDermot, James Rado and Jerome Ragni with the participation of domestic and American actors, the legendary rock opera "Jesus Christ Superstar" by Andrew Lloyd Weber and Tim Rice in English, "dramatic suite" - "Little Tragedies" by Alexander Pushkin, the comedy "The Creation of the World and Other Things" by Arthur Miller, for children "The Teacher of the 21st Century" by Viktor Olshansky and many others. Stas Namin's group "Flowers" includes musicians: Yuri Vilnin - solo guitar, Alexander Gretsinin - bass guitar, vocals, Oleg Predtechensky - guitar, vocals, Alan Sosiev - keyboards, vocals, Oleg Luzhetsky - percussion instruments, Oleg Litskevich and Natalia Shateeva - soloists-vocalists. A little earlier, musicians worked in the group: Valery Diorditsa - keyboard instruments, vocals and Igor Ivankovich - percussion instruments and many, many others.

“The ensemble “Flowers” works, searches, tries, and this speaks of its members as inquisitive and enthusiastic people,” these words, spoken many years ago by composer Arno Babajanyan to the musicians of the group of the 70s, are still relevant today. The musicians of Stas Namin's group "Flowers" are actively working on a new concert repertoire, perform in group concerts with many groups and ensembles. We wish them to continue the legacy of all members of the legendary ensemble "Flowers", Stas Namin's group, new songs and success in all their creative endeavors!

The first recordings at the Melodiya company. The first tour, the ban of the name and the collapse of the group.

1970 Concert at the evening in the Moscow school: V. Chugreev, S. Namin, A. Losev

1971 Performance in the 8th dining room of Moscow State University with a copper group: Y. Fokin, A. Losev, S. Namin. Also present are K. Nikolsky (left) and A. Kutikov (right)

The rock group "Flowers" was created in Moscow in 1969 by the lead guitarist - at that time a first-year student at the Institute of Foreign Languages. M. Torez - Stas Namin.

Having got acquainted with rock music early, already in the year Stas created his first group "Sorcerers", then in the year - the group "Politburo", and in 1969, having entered, he became the lead guitarist of the well-known Inyazov group "Bliki" among the students .

First composition. Namin, as before playing the solo guitar, was the first to invite Vladimir Chugreev to the group. A self-taught drummer fanatically in love with rock music, he possessed extraordinary physical strength and played a powerful rock sound. Vladimir Solovyov played keyboard instruments in the first part of the "Flowers", in the past he was a musician of the "Red Devils" group at the Bauman Institute. Even then he had his own electric organ, which gave the group solidity and a "signature" sound. There was no permanent bass player, and the bassist from Blikov (A. Malashenkov) alternately played in the group, then from Vagabundos, another Inyazov group. Elena Kovalevskaya, a student of the French faculty of foreign language, became the vocalist of the group. She possessed a performance drive that was unexpected for that time and a very beautiful soulful voice; the public took it with a bang. Such was the first composition of the Flowers group. The repertoire at that time was mainly the most fashionable hits from the repertoire of Jefferson Airplane, Janis Joplin and others.

Six months later, at some party, Namin saw Alexander Losev singing a song like “Horses Can Swim” with a guitar, and decided to try it in a group, despite the fact that Sasha sang pop songs and was not fond of rock. Stas suggested that he learn the bass guitar and learn a few songs in English from the repertoire of "Flowers". Then it was the songs of Jimi Hendrix, Deep Purple, etc.

Copper group experiment. In the year when Elena Kovalevskaya graduated from the institute and left the group, and Solovyov and Chugreev also received professions and quit music, Stas replenished the group with new musicians. He invited pianist Igor Saulsky to keyboards, Vladimir Zasedatelev to drums, Namin and Losev remained on solo and bass guitars. Under the influence of the bands “Blood, Sweat, Tears” and “Chicago” that appeared then on the musical horizon, Stas decided to try to include a “copper section” in the “Flowers”. He invited his friend from the Suvorov Musical School, trumpeter Alexander Chinenkov, trombonist Vladimir Nilov, and two saxophonists - first Vladimir Okolzdaev, and then Alexei Kozlov.

1972 From left to right: A. Losev, S. Dyachkov, S. Namin, Y. Fokin (photo in the courtyard of the Melodiya company during the recording of the first disc)

Return to the small composition. Six months later, Namin abandoned the experiment with wind instruments and even the keyboards, deciding to leave only a rock trio in the tradition of Jimi Hendrix and "" and "The Beatles", and Losev gravitated more to the stage like Tom Jones and the Carpenters, and under influenced by Namin, he leaned towards Deep Purple, Chicago and Blood, Sweat, Tears, then the arrival of Fokine, an ardent fan of Led Zeppelin, made the group even more fatal.

1974 A. Slizunov, A. Losev, K. Nikolsky, Yu. Fokin)

Carier start. Recording the first disc. In 1972, "Tsvety", as a student ensemble that won the festival of student ensembles in Moscow, managed to release a soft-rock flexible record, which sold 7 million copies, and made them famous in the USSR.

In 1973, after the second single, sold by "Melody" in an even greater circulation, "Flowers", confirming their unique style, consolidated their popularity, despite the fact that they did not appear either on radio, or on television, or in the press.

The first recordings of "Flowers" both in style and performance were, of course, a compromise that the group had to make in order for the recordings to pass the artistic council. At that time, the genre of “Soviet song” dominated the Soviet stage and there was not even pop music (David Tukhmanov, Alla Pugacheva, etc.). Therefore, even those, in today's opinion, naive romantic songs of the Flowers, stood out noticeably on the stage of that time. They were so different from the stage that existed then that they were immediately banned in all media. But even two minions released by Melodiya were enough for Flowers to gain significant popularity. "Flowers" became, as it were, the forerunner of pop and rock music in the USSR, and their songs and performances made, in a certain sense, a revolution in the song culture of the country.

In 1974, "Flowers" were called in the Moscow press "Soviet Beatles" and began a professional tour of the USSR. Their rock concerts broke stadiums, but in the same year they were stopped by the Ministry of Culture, and the name "Flowers" was banned as "propaganda of Western ideology and hippie ideas."

Stas Namin Group (1976-1980)

Recordings and tours under a new name. First media appearance and solo album.

1976 From left to right: K. Nikolsky, S. Namin, V. Sakharov, A. Mikoyan, Y. Fokin.

Having no rights to the name, "Flowers" went underground for 2 years and after a two-year break, in 1976, the group resumed activities, but under a different name - as the "Stas Namin Group", and with a changed line-up: Stas Namin (solo guitar), Konstantin Nikolsky (guitar, vocals), Yuri Fokin (drums), Vladimir Sakharov (bass guitar, vocals), Alexander Slizunov (piano, vocals) and Alexander Mikoyan (guitar, vocals). However, the ensemble was still banned from television, radio and the press. "Flowers" were only allowed to record at the Melodiya company, since circulation brought huge profits to the company, but not to the group. In the same 1976, a new hit "Old Piano" was recorded and released, and in 1977 - another disc with the hit "It's too early to say goodbye."

1980 Before the concert at the Olympics - 80. From left to right: A. Slizunov, A. Fedorov, I. Sarukhanov, S Namin, V. Zhivetiev, M. Fainzilberg, V. Vasiliev.

The first solo album of the group "Hymn to the Sun" immediately became super popular. After a 10-year ban, the official doors seemed to be opening for Flowers, and under the pressure of their already international popularity and many invitations from different countries, the authorities even agreed to release them to Poland for the Sopot festival, but only as an accompaniment to a little-known Baltic singer M. Zivere.

Taking advantage of the “warming”, immediately after the disc “Hymn to the Sun”, the group recorded two more discs at the Melodiya company - as an experiment in other genres that are not similar to the style of “Flowers”: dance “Reggae, disco, rock”. Namin wrote all the music for the disc in just a week, and the recording took two weeks. Music, lyrics and arrangements were finalized and invented right in the studio. And the album "Surprise for Monsieur Legrand" in French in the style of symphonic jazz, and Namin invited Vladimir Belousov to arrange it.

"War" with the authorities (1981-1985)

The prohibition of new songs by all artistic councils. "Unauthorized" international contacts.

Accusations at festivals in Yerevan and Moscow. Project "Child of the World"

1981 Performance of the Stas Namin Group at a festival in Yerevan (photo and article from Time magazine)

1985 Jam session "Flowers" with Udo Lindenberg (Germany), "Child of the World" choir (USA) and others at the festival of youth and students in Moscow

Having lost all hopes for a normal life and creativity, in response to long-term prohibitions, Flowers decided not to look for compromises anymore and offered the Melodiya artistic council their real rock repertoire with harsh social verses: “Nostalgia for the Real” (A. Voznesensky) , “Idol” and “I don’t give up” (E. Yevtushenko), “Empty Nut” (Yu. Kuznetsov), “One Night” (D. Samoilov), etc. These were no longer naive, romantic texts and soft sound, as in the 1970s, and the Melodiya company also closed for them.

In 1982, Flowers filmed the first video clip in the USSR for the song "Old New Year" (verses by A. Voznesensky) with openly political overtones. The clip did not even reach the artistic council and first hit the air only in 1986 in the USA on MTV.

Even Namin's unambiguously positive song "We wish you happiness", written in 1982 and, as it were, completing the romantic period of the 1970s, was banned in the media until 1985 and only with the help of the same A. Pakhmutova appeared on television during the Youth Festival and students, where "Flowers" were able to perform several times with great success. During the festival, Stas Namin's group managed to illegally record a double album with the participation of foreign musicians. The disc, of course, was never released in the USSR. But at the same festival, by a decision of the Collegium of the Ministry of Culture, “Flowers” were accused of “Pentagon propaganda” and “contacts with foreigners” (minutes of the Collegium of the Ministry of Culture).

The beginning of a free life (1986-1990)

Concerts in Moscow. First world tour.

1986 Start of US tour, York, Rochester (Harrisburg), Pennsylvania.

Apart from several trips to the socialist countries with performances for the Soviet troops, when, in fact, the musicians were not allowed to leave the military garrisons, we can say that for the first time the group "Flowers" went abroad in 1985. It was a five-day trip to West Germany through the Friendship Society (SOD), which happened by chance on days when the leadership of the Ministry of Culture was away.

But the real foreign tour of the Flowers began in 1986. It was the very beginning of perestroika. In 1986, the Stas Namin Group became the first Soviet rock band, which, after a 6-month scandal with the Ministry of Culture and the Central Committee of the party, and only thanks to the trends of the new time associated with Gorbachev's coming to power, was still able to destroy the iron curtain and go to 45 day tour of the US and Canada. Advertising of the concerts of the Stas Namin group in the USA was organized at a serious national level in the largest media, and the scandal with the cancellation of the tour could have a bad effect on the image of the beginning perestroika.

In addition to participating in the play "Child of the World", the group gave concerts for the American audience in the most prestigious rock audiences in New York, Boston, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Minneapolis, Seattle, Washington and other cities in America. There were also jam sessions and meetings with Yoko Ono, Peter Gabriel, Kenny Logins, Paul Stanley and many other legendary musicians.

Stas Namin's band concert at the Lime Light rock club in Manhattan (New York, 1986)

This trip opened a new life for the Stas Namin Group. The band was able to fly to Japan right after the USA at the invitation of Peter Gabriel to the Japan Aid 1st rock festival. Then for several years the group toured Eastern and Western Europe, Africa, Australia, South and North America and many other countries.

Already in the 87th year, having begun to collect musicians for the new Gorky Park group he had conceived and planning to stop the work of the Flowers 2-3 years after the world tour, Namin began to help the musicians subsequently start their own careers. So, within the group "Flowers", especially for Sergei Voronov, the ensemble "League of Blues" was created, for which musicians were accepted: Arutyunov and Yaloyan. Alexander Solich became one of the founders of the Moral Code ensemble under Namin's tutelage, Alexander Malinin, having received the Flower School, began his career as a soloist. Namin also helped Losev to make an ensemble, arranging it at his Center, which also included Vladislav Petrovsky (keyboards) and Grigoryan (drums). On the basis of the musicians who also worked in the "Flowers" (A. Yanenkov, A. Marshal, A. Belov, A. Lvov), in 1987, Stas Namin created and by 1989 he promoted the Gorky Park group to the whole world . Thus, in 1989, after the end of his historic world tour, Stas Namin officially stopped the activities of the Flowers group and all the musicians began to engage in other projects.

Concert poster at the Lime Light Club (1986)

The “Flowers” group did not actually exist for 10 years (from the 89th to the 99th), but, despite the fact that only Namin owned and owns the official rights to the name “Flowers” and no one except him has any legal, nor the moral right to use it, impostors began to appear in some places on the periphery. In addition, helping Losev in creating his own group, Namin, given that Losev himself did not write songs, temporarily allowed him to perform his songs from the Flowers repertoire and even sometimes use this name. Subsequently, Losev in his solo touring activities sometimes (under the guise) also used him. But, given his difficult at that time, life situation - addiction to alcohol, and already poor health, no one made legal claims against him. Moreover, Namin supported him, allowing him to record his famous and new songs at the SNC studio, and also patronized and represented Losev himself in the press, on radio and television, in order to facilitate the development of his solo career.

During the 10-year break in the activities of the group, Namin officially used the name "Flowers" only 2 times: once in 1989 for a trip to Alaska, and in 1996 on a tour of Russia "Vote or lose". Losev's group actually participated in these projects.

After a 10-year hiatus (2000-2008)

2007 At the rehearsal. From left to right: A. Sosiev, O. Litskevich, O. Predtechensky, Y. Vilnin, S. Dyuzhikov, Y. Fokin, A. Gretsinin

In 1999, Stas Namin again assembled "Flowers" himself, no longer playing in the ensemble, but doing theater and other projects. The basis of the group was: Oleg Predtechensky - vocals, guitar, Alexander Gretsinin - vocals, bass guitar and Yuri Vilnin - guitar, then Alan Aslamazov - keyboards joined them, and occasionally performed with the group: Oleg Litskevich, Valery Diorditsa, Armen Avanesyan, Natalya Shateev. The Flowers group began concert activities, as well as the musicians of the Flowers participated in the Russian production of the musical Hair, in the production of the rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar and in other projects of the Stas Namin Theater.

Anniversary concert - 30

All participants and guests of the concert. Finale - "We wish you happiness"

S. Namin, N. Noskov, A. Gradsky, A. Romanov. "I only love rock and roll"

S. Namin, A. Losev after the performance of "Asterisk"

A. Makarevich, Y. Shevchuk, M. Chernov "We wish you happiness"

A. Abdulov, A. Romanov, S. Namin, S. Solovyov. "We wish you happiness"

Second world tour

Since 2001, the group began to tour abroad a lot, giving only exclusive concerts in Moscow.

2001 - Sweden
2001 - Israel
2001 - England
2003 - Los Angeles
2003 - Frankfurt am Main
2004 - Los Angeles, with the Formula Ethno project
2004 - New York
2005 - Los Angeles
2006 - Los Angeles
2006 - Tour in China: Beijing, Lian Yingang, Su Zhou, Yan Tai, Huhehod, Han Zhou, Ning Bo
2006 - Seoul, South Korea

Theater projects

Compound

Modern operating composition. From left to right: O. Litskevich, A. Gretsinin, N. Shateeva, Y. Vilnin, A. Avanesyan, A. Aslamazov, O. Predtechensky

Musicians who at various times played in the Stas Namin Group at the Legends of Russian Rock festival. From left to right: O. Vasiliev, A. Sosiev, V. Malikov, Yu. Vilnin, M. Pichugin, T. Antsiferova, V. Belousov, K. Nikolsky, V. Petrovsky, A. Gretsinin, O. Predtechensky, Yu. Gorkov , V. Matetsky, Yu. Fokin, M. Korobkova, S. Namin, sitting: S. Dyuzhikov, O. Litskevich

Current composition

Oleg Predtechensky - vocals, guitar (since 1999)
Oleg Litskevich - vocals (since 2001)
Yuri Vilnin - solo guitar (since 1999)
Alexander Gretsinin - bass guitar, vocals (since 1999)
Alan Sosiev - keyboards, vocals (since 2002)
Armen Avanesyan - drums (since 2008)
Natalya Shateeva - vocals (since 2000)

Musicians of past compositions

Vladimir Solovyov - keyboards (1969)
Vladimir Chugreev - drums (1969-1970)
Elena Kovalevskaya - vocals (1969-1970)
Igor Saulsky - keyboards (1970-1071)
Alexey Kozlov - saxophone (1970-1971)
†Alexander Losev - bass guitar, vocals (1970-1974 and 1981-1989)
Alexander Mikoyan - guitar (1971-1978)
Yuri Fokin - drums (1971-1978)
†Sergey Dyachkov - keyboards, vocals (1972-1973)
Sergey Dyuzhikov - guitar, vocals (1974-1984)
Vladislav Petrovsky - arrangement, keyboards (1974-1989)
Alexander Slizunov - keyboards, vocals (1974-1980)
Konstantin Nikolsky - guitar, vocals (1974-1978)
†Vladimir Sakharov - bass guitar, vocals (1976-1978)
Vladimir Vasilkov - drums (1978-1984)
Andrey Sapunov - vocalist (1978-1979)
Valery Zhivetiev - vocalist (1978-1981)
Alexander Pishchikov - saxophone (1978 -1980)
Arzu Huseynov - trumpet (1978-1979)
Igor Sarukhanov - guitar, vocals (1978 -1981)
Vladimir Vasiliev - bass guitar, vocals (1978-1981)
Mikhail Fainzilberg - drums (1978-1981)
†Kamil Bekseleev - bass guitar, vocals (1978-1979)
Alexander Fedorov - vocals (1979-1981)
Yuri Gorkov - bass guitar, vocals (1981-1988)
Alexander Kryukov - drums (1981-1987)
†Nikita Zaitsev - guitar, violin (1981-1982)
Vladimir Belousov - arrangement, keyboards (1982-1986)
Alexander Solich - bass guitar, keys (1983-1988)
Sergey Voronov - guitar, vocals (1986-1988)
Sergey Grigoryan - drums (1986 - 1988)
Alexander Malinin - acoustic guitar, vocals (1983-1987)
Alexander Minkov (Marshal) - bass guitar, vocals (1983-1987)
Alexander Yanenkov (Jan) - guitar (1983-1987)

Occasionally took part in the recordings and concerts of the group

†Sergei Grachev - vocals (1970-1971)
Alexander Chinenkov - trumpet (1970-1971)
Vladimir Nilov - trombone (1970-1971)
Vladimir Okolzdaev - saxophone (1970-1971)
†Sergey Kavagoe - drums (1970-1972)
Yuri Genbachev - drums (1970-1973)
Vladimir Zasedatelev - drums (1970-1974)
Anatoly Aleshin - vocals (1972-1973)
Vladimir Polissky - bass guitar (1974)
Vladimir Semenov - acoustic guitar (1972-1973)
Mira Korobkova - vocals (1972)
†Olga Danilovich - vocals (1972)
Tatyana Vorontsova - vocals (1974)
Nina Palitsina - vocals (1974)
Vladimir Vasilkov - drums (1978-1979 and 1982-1984)
Vladimir Kiselev - drums (1978-1979)
Vadim Malikov - vocals (1978-1980)
Nikolai Rumyantsev - vocals (1978-1979)
Igor Myalik - guitar (1978)
Anatoly Abramov - drums (1982-1984)
Nikolai Chinusov - drums (1982-1984)
Victor Zernikov - trumpet (1983-1991)
Georgy Vlasenko - keyboards (1983-1986)
Alexander Alexandrov - bassoon (1985-1987)
Nikolai Arutyunov - vocals (1987-1988)
Igor Ivankovich - drums (1999-2003)
Valery Diorditsa - keyboards, vocals (1999-2003)
Vladimir Matetsky - bass guitar
Alexey Belov (White) - lead guitar
Mikhail Sokolov - drums
Alexey Belov - arrangement, solo guitar
Natalia Karakash - vocals

Group sound engineers

Valery Shapovalov (1972-1978)
Valery Spirtus (1978-1989)
Victor Pshenichny (1981-1984)
Alexander Lvov (1985-1987)

Group admins

Mark Krasovitsky (1974)
Mark Bendersky (1978-1981)
Mikhail Mitnik (1981-1983)
Vladimir Dubovitsky
Boris Krutogolov
Nikolai Agutin (1983-1991)
Victor Zernikov (1983-1991)
Vitaly Panchenko (2006-present)

Discography

Year of issue	Name	A comment
	Single “Flowers have eyes”, “Asterisk”, etc.	Firma "Melody" released a flexible disc in paper cover. Due to the huge popularity and circulation, it was reissued on vinyl.
	Single "Honestly", "Lullaby", etc.
	Single "Old piano", etc.	The first single of Stas Namin's group (after the prohibition of the name "Flowers")
	Single "It's too early to say goodbye", etc.
	Single "Summer Evening", etc.
	Album "Hymn to the Sun" "Heroic Power", "After the Rain", "Dedication to the Beatles", "Rush Hour", etc.
	Single "Jurmala" and others.	Recorded in year
	Album "Reggae-Disco-Rock" “I will find”, “Wall”, “Carousel”, “But you don’t know”, etc.	Recorded in year Disco-reggae-rock dance album
	Album "Surprise for Monsieur Legrand"	Recorded in 1981, in French in the style of symphonic jazz
----	Double album "We wish you happiness"	Recorded in the year, banned by the Artistic Council and was not released in the USSR
	Double CD and DVD albums (Life)	Audio and video recordings of the anniversary concert of the year. Includes all the best songs of the group for 30 years and unknown songs banned by the Arts Council
	Album "Village Songs"	Recorded in Los Angeles in the year in the style of ethno-rock. Special guest - Sergey Starostin
	Album "Unknown Songs +" (Life)	Recorded in the year at the festival "Legends of Russian Rock" at the SNC Theater
	Single "Summer Evening", "It's Early to Say Goodbye", "Heroic Strength", "We wish you happiness"	Remakes recorded in 2006–2007

Famous musicians about the group "Flowers"

Appearing in the mass culture of the USSR, the group "Flowers" turned out to be revolutionary not only for its music, unlike the existing genre of the Soviet song, in which all the official VIA and soloists of the country then worked, but even for the hippy one-word name "Flowers", since at that time existing VIAs were called “in Komsomol style”: “Singing Hearts”, “Singing Guitars”, “Blue Guitars”, “Funny Guys”, “Leysya song”, etc. After the prohibition of the name “Flowers” in the new name - “Stas Group Namin" the Soviet standard was also broken by the fact that for the first time the word "group" was used, instead of the "ensemble" or VIA adopted in the USSR, and for the first time the name of a specific person, the leader of the group, sounded in the name.
The group "Flowers" and "Time Machine" were created in 1969. Makarevich was still at school, and Namin was already at the Institute of Foreign Languages. Having already a previous “solid” experience, Namin helped the “Time Machine”, performing with them at their school concerts, and taught Makarevich fashionable techniques for “pulling up” the strings. They even rehearsed almost together in the famous house on the embankment, in the recreation center "Energetikov" and performed together in the 8th dining room of Moscow State University, etc., sometimes even changing musicians (Yuri Fokin and Sergey Kavagoya played in both "Flowers" and " time machine").
In the same year, during the festival of students at the Luzhniki Sports Palace, the Flowers performed Jimi Hendrix's song "Let me stand next to your fire", flooding it as a black protest song "Let me be in the fire of your struggle." But when they started to play it, the hall began to stir, and the festival management panicked, and the group turned off the equipment. As later, many years later, the director of the Luzhniki Palace of Culture Sinilkina recalled: “I had never heard anything like this before and was seriously scared.”
In 1971, the saxophonist Alexei Kozlov played in the "Flowers". They rehearsed at the Energetik Palace of Culture and performed in clubs and Houses of Culture. One of the hits in their repertoire at the time with the brass band was "Lucretia MacEvil" from Blood, Sweat & Tears. When the "Flowers" decided to return to the traditional composition of the rhythm section, Kozlov created his own group "Arsenal", based on the musicians of the brass group "Flowers".
In the early 1970s, the authorities in Moscow banned the performances of Vladimir Vysotsky and the Flowers group as the most popular, and from their point of view, unreliable. Rare halls that dared to organize their concerts. Such places have traditionally been: the city of Dubna, in Moscow - the House of Culture of the Bauman Institute, the House of Culture of the Moscow Aviation Institute, the Institute of Foreign Languages and Moscow State University.
In the year, even before the all-Union popularity, during the concert "Flowers" in the Palace of Culture of the Faculty of Humanities of Moscow State University on the street. Herzen's fans broke the entrance doors, and the traffic had to be blocked. The concert was canceled, and the scandal reached the leadership of the University.
In 1972, during the recording of the first disc of "Flowers", in the song "Don't" the sound engineer stopped the recording, saying that the distortion on the guitar should be removed. The musicians did not even understand what he meant, since Namin played a solo on the "fuze" - an electronic effect that today has become an integral part of rock music, and then first heard at the Melodiya company.
Only in the 2000s it turned out that during the recording of the first single “Flowers”, Yuri Bashmet, who had just arrived from Lviv, participated in the string group.
During the recording of the first single, "Flowers", as a student ensemble, barely got a few hours at the Melodiya studio to record their first three songs. Unexpectedly, Losev said that he could not come to the recording, as he got tickets for the first USSR-Canada hockey match. Namin and Dyachkov literally forced him to come by force, since missing the chance and only chance to record a record on Melodiya was tantamount to suicide. Losev, having no recording experience, could not record a single song. To record his vocals in the song “My Clear Star”, more than 50 takes had to be done.
In the year when the "Flowers" began touring, their repertoire even then included songs unknown to anyone: Nikolsky - "Musician", etc. and the songs "Time Machine" - "Dolls", etc. They were even performed illegally, not to mention that it was impossible to write them down at that time.
In 1974, before the "Flowers" were banned by the Ministry, disagreements arose in the group with the leadership of the Philharmonic due to an unbearable work schedule (3-4 concerts a day). Namin, Nikolsky and Slizunov wanted to work less so that there was time for life and creativity, but it was profitable for the Philharmonic to earn millions on Flowers, despite the fact that the musicians were paid 5 rubles per concert.
From the year Losev returned to the ensemble. Many believed that Losev was Stas Namin, since Namin himself did not appear on TV.
In the 1980s, when all artistic councils banned the new repertoire of Flowers, Stas Namin decided to show his songs to composer Grigory Sviridov. Sviridov liked the songs very much, and he advised Namin not to take these prohibitions to heart, as justice would someday prevail.
In the year, at the festival of popular music "Yerevan-81", Stas Namin's group performed in the very final, and the public did not let them go for a long time. They played until 2 am. The festival was filmed by Channel I TV, directed by Evgeny Ginzburg, foreign journalists were present at the festival. Immediately after the festival, the State Security Committee of Armenia wrote a letter to the Central Committee of the party in Moscow that the Stas Namin Group was undermining the ideological foundations of the youth, and the group was expelled from Armenia. Information about the festival was banned from the Soviet media, the video recording of the festival was demagnetized, and photographic films were confiscated from photographers. Thus, there are no photo and video materials left about the festival, except for the article and photographs published in the Time magazine. When flying to Moscow, Namin's passport was confiscated at the airport.
In the early 1980s, Namin wrote a new repertoire for the group. For one of the songs - "Old New Year" to the verses of Voznesensky - a video clip was shot in the year, which became the first video clip in the USSR. The song is about the difference of 13 days between the old and the new calendar, which is actually an abyss between times. There were 2 parallel scenes in the clip: in the 1st the group sang a song at a car junkyard, and in the 2nd - in medieval costumes, books were burned at the stake of the Inquisition. Namin, knowing the result in advance, and only in order to mock him, brought the clip to television and showed it to the music editor A. Dovydenko, who played it through the internal channel, and all the editorial offices that had the monitor turned on could see it. The video was banned even before the Artistic Council and was first shown on MTV during a tour of the United States.
The song "It's too early to say goodbye" was written by Namin in English, and then Vladimir Kharitonov wrote the original Russian text. This was his first song in Russian, after which such hits as "Summer Evening", "Jurmala" and others were written with Kharitonov. Only in the 1980s, when V. Kharitonov died, Namin began to write songs directly into Russian text.
The song "We wish you happiness" was written by Namin in 1982 and was banned from radio and television for three years. During this period, one of the editors of Channel 1 TV, having taken a soundtrack from I. Shaferan (the author of the song), decided to include it in the program “Song of the Year”. Then the chief music editor of the channel, Lyudmila Krenkel, having called all the editors and authors, announced that the song “We wish you happiness” is a shame on the Soviet stage and is not worthy to be not only in this program, but in general on television. Only in 1985, with the help of Alexandra Pakhmutova, the song "We wish you happiness" appeared on radio and television, becoming a hit.
Scandal during the 1985 World Youth and Student Festival and denunciation of the group by the College of Ming. Culture in the propaganda of the American military was based on a specific fact, namely: during a performance on the shirt pocket of Sasha Kryukov (the drummer of the group), someone made out a barely noticeable design label of the Montana company. And the Montana firm, as it was announced at the College of Min. Culture, sponsored by the Pentagon. The Board was convened specifically on the issue of "Flowers", it was led by Minister Demichev and Deputy Minister - Ivanov.
During a tour in Mozambique (Africa), the Flowers Sports Palace was warned not to use pyrotechnics at the concert, as the population was frightened by terrorist attacks and panic could occur. Nevertheless, the frostbitten pyrotechnician of the group still made an explosion and the whole hall, jumping up from their seats, ran to the exit. Just because the band did not stop playing, the people gradually calmed down and returned to their places.
After touring North America in the year, Namin created the Gorky Park group from musicians who had previously worked in Flowers: Alexander Marshal, Yan Yanenkov, Alexander Lvov. Only Nikolai Noskov was invited by Namin from outside.
The tour of the Stas Namin group in Australia coincided with the tour of the Mick Jaeger group, at a time when the Rolling Stones broke up. For Namin's musicians, meeting and hanging out with the superstars gathered by Jaeger was out of the realm of fantasy, especially since during the second tour in the United States, Sergei Voronov and Stas Namin, at the invitation of Keith Richards, participated in his solo disc "Talk is cheap"

Group "Flowers"

Styles to which the performer can be attributed: Rock, Pop, Pop-rock

The group "Flowers", created in 1972, is the first national rock band that laid the foundation for pop and rock music in the popular culture of the country, which has become a legend for several generations.

"Flowers" - The Early Years (1969-1974)
The first recordings at the Melodiya company. The first tour, the ban of the name and the collapse of the group. The rock group "Flowers" (until 1972 performed under a different name) was created in Moscow in 1969 by a lead guitarist - at that time a first-year student at the Institute of Foreign Languages. M. Torez - Stas Namin.

At the beginning of 1969, Stas Namin, still playing in Bliki, but realizing that the band's musicians were finishing their last year and the ensemble would break up, created his own new group. At that time, especially after the legendary Woodstock festival, the Flower Children hippie movement also appeared in Moscow. Hence the name that Namin took for the group.
First composition. Namin, as before playing the solo guitar, was the first to invite Vladimir Chugreev to the group. A self-taught drummer fanatically in love with rock music, he possessed extraordinary physical strength and played a powerful rock sound. Vladimir Solovyov played keyboard instruments in the first composition of the Flowers, in the past he was a musician of the Red Devils group at the Bauman Institute. Even then he had his own electric organ, which gave the group solidity and a "signature" sound. There was no permanent bass player, and the bassist from Blikov (A. Malashenkov) alternately played in the group, then from Vagabundos, another Inyazov group. Elena Kovalevskaya, a student of the French faculty of foreign language, became the vocalist of the group. She possessed a performance drive that was unexpected for that time and a very beautiful soulful voice; the public took it with a bang. Such was the first composition of the Flowers group. The repertoire at that time was mainly the most fashionable hits from the repertoire of Jefferson Airplane, Janis Joplin and others.

“... Six months later, at some party, Namin saw Alexander Losev singing a song like “Horses Can Swim” with a guitar, and decided to try him in a group, despite the fact that Sasha sang pop songs and was not fond of rock. Stas suggested that he learn the bass guitar and learn a few songs in English. Then it was the songs of Jimi Hendrix, Deep Purple, etc.”
Flowers ”performed at student and school parties and became more and more popular among Moscow youth. Then the group was invited to television for the first time - they were even filmed at the studio, but they did not get on the air.
Copper group experiment. In 1971, when Elena Kovalevskaya graduated from the institute and left the group, and Solovyov and Chugreev also received professions and quit music, Stas replenished the group with new musicians. He invited pianist Igor Saulsky to keyboards, Vladimir Zasedatelev to drums, Namin and Losev remained on solo and bass guitars. Under the influence of the bands “Blood, Sweat, Tears” and “Chicago” that appeared then on the musical horizon, Stas decided to try to include a “copper section” in the “Flowers”. He invited his friend from the Suvorov Musical School, trumpeter Alexander Chinenkov, trombonist Vladimir Nilov, and two saxophonists - first Vladimir Okolzdaev, and then Alexei Kozlov.
Return to the small composition. Six months later, Namin abandoned the experiment with wind instruments and even keyboards, deciding to leave only a rock trio in the tradition of Jimi Hendrix and Cream. He also replaced the jazz-rock player Vladimir Zasedatelev with Yuri Fokin, a drummer who, from Stas's point of view, had a better feel for rock music. And all the remaining musicians of the Flowers became in fact the first composition of the Arsenal ensemble, created by Alexei Kozlov immediately after leaving the Flowers.

In 1971, in parallel with their studies, "Flowers" also performed a lot at school parties, in clubs and institutes in Moscow (Inyaz, MGIMO, Moscow State University, Bauman Institute, etc.). At that time, rock parties were often held in Inyaz, where the most fashionable bands in Moscow played - Scythians, Vagabundes, Second Wind, Shards of Sikorsky, Mirages and many others. As another experiment, Namin, in addition to the already popular among the students "Flowers", created another group - "Village Boys and a Strange Creature", which played oriental ethnic music based on rock with bright guitar solos and lasted about a year.
In 1972, when Namin transferred from Inyaz to Moscow State University, he took his group "Flowers" with him. Regularly performing in the hall on the 2nd floor of the building of the humanities faculties of Moscow State University and in the 8th canteen of Moscow State University, famous for its rock parties, the group gathered not only University students, but also fans from all over Moscow.

Carier start. In 1972, the Flowers, as a student ensemble, managed to release a flexible soft-rock record, which sold 7 million copies and made them super popular in the USSR.

In 1973, after the second single, "Flowers" became the most popular performers in the country, despite the fact that they did not appear on radio, television, or in the press. In 1974, "Flowers" were called "Soviet Beatles" in the Moscow press and began professional tour of the USSR. Their rock concerts broke stadiums, but in the same year they were stopped by the Ministry of Culture, and the name "Flowers" was banned as "propaganda of Western ideology and hippie ideas."

Stas Namin Group (1976-1980)

Recordings and tours under a new name. First media appearance and solo album.
Having no rights to the name, "Flowers" went underground for two years and after a two-year break, in 1976, the group resumed activities, but under a different name - as the "Stas Namin Group", and with a changed line-up: Stas Namin (solo guitar), Konstantin Nikolsky (guitar, vocals), Yuri Fokin (drums), Vladimir Sakharov (bass guitar, vocals), Alexander Slizunov (piano, vocals) and Alexander Mikoyan (guitar, vocals). However, the ensemble was still officially banned from TV, radio and press. "Flowers" were only allowed to record at the Melodiya company, since circulation brought huge profits to the company, but not to the group. In the same 1976, a new hit "Old Piano" was recorded and released. In 1977, the next disc with Namin's hit "It's too early to say goodbye" was released, recorded by the same line-up.

In 1978, the line-up changed again. Due to the fact that Vladimir Sakharov was about to quit music, Yuri Fokin planned to emigrate to the USA, and Konstantin Nikolsky thought of starting his own career as an author and performer, and in order not to stop the group's activities, Stas invited session musicians to the ensemble - in the recordings and concerts of those Vladimir Vasilkov (drums), Vladislav Petrovsky, Valery Zhivetiev, Sergey Dyuzhikov, Nikita Zaitsev and others occasionally took part. As a result, a new line-up was formed: Igor Sarukhanov (guitar), Vladimir Vasiliev (bass guitar), Mikhail Fainzilberg (drums) and Alexander Slizunov (piano). In 1979, the band's disc was recorded with another hit, "Summer Evening".

In the same year, Stas Namin's group takes part in the International Festival in the Polish city of Sopot, but only as an accompaniment to the Riga singer Mirdze Zivere. Thus, after a 10-year ban, the official doors seem to have begun to open for the Flowers, and under the pressure of their already international popularity and many invitations from different countries.

In 1980, the first album of the Stas Namin Group “Flowers” “Hymn to the Sun” was released, which included the hits “After the Rain”, “Tell Me Yes”, “Heroic Strength”, etc. In addition to the main composition, Alexander Fedorov took part in the recording ( vocals), Alexander Pishchikov (saxophone), and others. In the same year, the Stas Namin Group performed as guests of honor at a rock festival in Tbilisi. With the help of Alexandra Pakhmutova, the group managed to participate in the Olympics and appear on television for the first time. The group managed to release their album "Hymn to the Sun", the circulation of which broke all records.

Taking advantage of the fact that relations with the authorities towards the group have become warmer, in the same year the group recorded two more discs at the Melodiya company - as an experiment in other genres that are not similar to the style of Flowers: the dance Reggae, Disco, Rock, the musicians wrote and recorded without preparation in just two weeks, the music, lyrics and arrangements were invented right in the studio; and the album "Surprise for Monsieur Legrand" in French in the style of symphonic jazz.

"War" with the authorities (1981-1985)

The prohibition of new songs by all artistic councils. "Unauthorized" international contacts. Accusations at festivals in Yerevan and Moscow. Project "Child of the World"

In 1981, "Flowers" performed at the festival in Yerevan and at the end of the concert they turned the audience on, playing until 2 am. Both the whole festival and the performance of the Flowers became another target of the authorities. The group was again officially accused of "undermining the ideological foundations of the country", the press was ordered to boycott the festival, and the video recording of the festival (dir. E. Ginzburg) was demagnetized. The only information was preserved only in the Time magazine, which published a large article about the festival and the group. During this period, the pressure of the authorities especially intensified, the group was not only closed again in all media and banned from giving concerts in big cities. The prosecutor's office of the RSFSR began to pursue her and follow her every step, not hiding the goal of starting a criminal case, investigating where Flowers got equipment and tools.

Having lost all hopes for a normal life and creativity, in response to the “repressions”, “Flowers” decided to no longer seek compromises and offered the artistic council of the Melodiya company their real rock repertoire with harsh social poems: “Nostalgia for the Real” (A. Voznesensky ), “Idol” and “I don’t give up” (E. Evtushenko), “Empty Nut” (Yu. Kuznetsov), “One Night” (D. Samoilov), etc. These were no longer naive, romantic texts and soft sound , as in the 70s, and the Melodiya company also closed for them.

In 1983, Flowers filmed the first video clip in the USSR for the song "Old New Year" (verses by A. Voznesensky) with openly political overtones. The clip did not even reach the artistic council and first hit the air only in 1986 in the USA on MTV.

Even Namin's unambiguously positive song "We wish you happiness", written in 1982 and, as it were, completing the romantic period of the 70s, was banned in the media until 1985 and only with the help of the same A. Pakhmutova appeared on television during the Youth Festival and students, where "Flowers" were able to perform several times with great success. During the festival, Stas Namin's group managed to illegally record a double album with the participation of foreign musicians. The disc, of course, was never released in the USSR. But at the same festival, by a decision of the Collegium of the Ministry of Culture, Flowers were accused of "Pentagon propaganda" and "contacts with foreigners."

The beginning of a free life (1986-1990)

Concerts in Moscow. First world tour.

Apart from several trips to the socialist countries with performances for the Soviet troops, when in fact the musicians were not allowed to leave the military garrisons, then we can say that for the first time the group "Flowers" went abroad in 1985. It was a five-day trip to West Germany, which happened by chance through the Friendship Society (SOD) when the leadership of the Ministry of Culture was away. But the real foreign tour of the Flowers began in 1986. It was the very beginning of perestroika. In 1986, the Stas Namin Group became the first Soviet rock band, which, after a 6-month scandal with the Ministry of Culture and the Central Committee of the party, and only thanks to the trends of the new time associated with Gorbachev's coming to power, was still able to destroy the Iron Curtain and go on a 45-day tour of the US and Canada. Advertising of the group's concerts in the USA was organized at the national level in the major media, and the scandal with the cancellation of the tour could have badly reflected on the image of the beginning of perestroika.
In addition to participating in the play "Child of the World", the group gave concerts for the American audience in the most prestigious rock audiences in New York, Boston, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle and other American cities. There were also jam sessions and meetings with Yoko Ono, Peter Gabriel, Kenny Logins, Paul Stanley and many other legendary musicians.

This trip opened a new life for the Stas Namin Group. The group immediately after the US was able to fly to Japan at the invitation of Peter Gabriel to the Japan Aid rock festival. Then for several years the group toured Europe, Africa, Australia, South and North America, and many other countries.

Difficult nineties (1989-2001)

Group "Flowers" in 1989 - 2001

In 1989, after a trip to Alaska, the composition of the Flowers group looked like this: Stas Namin - group leader, Alexander Losev. - soloist of the group, Vladislav Petrovsky - keyboards, Vladimir Dolgov. - guitar, Sergey Markin - guitar, Igor Prokofiev - bass guitar, Sergey Grigoryan - drums, Alexander Lukyanov (Pushok) - sound engineer. Production part: Evgeny Grishin, Vladimir Lvov, Sergey Lyulikov, Viktor Grishin. The director of the team was Viktor Zernikov (Tarasych).

In the late 80s, many musicians of the group took up their own careers: A. Yanenkov moved to Gorky Park (formed in 1987), A. Solich participated in the creation of the Moral Code group, S. Voronov and A. Malinin created their own teams. Namin himself, in addition to the Flowers group, was also involved in the Gorky Park group and the Moscow Symphony Orchestra.

In the summer of 1990, due to the sudden death of his mother, Igor Prokofiev left right from his tour of the Far East. Alexander Losev picked up the bass guitar again.

The composition of the group "Flowers" in 1990-1991: Alexander Losev - vocals, bass guitar, Vladimir Dolgov - vocals, guitars, Dmitry Reznichenko - vocals, keyboards, Yuri Rogozhin - drums (ex-group Dynamic). The legendary Alexander Lukyanov (Fluff) was sitting at the director's console.

In the difficult 90s, the Flowers group did not stop its touring and creative activities. In 1990, they recorded the famous "White Ice Floes" to the verses of E. Yevtushenko, "Purse" and "Elegy" to the verses of N. Rubtsov (music by D. Reznichenko, V. Dolgov, A. Losev), as well as "Marina" (music by D Reznichenko, V. Dolgov, A. Losev, lyrics by S. Rifkin). This English-language song was successfully played by DJs of European radio stations. From 1991 to 1999 they recorded the best songs of the Flowers group in new arrangements. “My clear star”, “To be honest”, “Jasmine branch”, “Summer evening”, “We wish you happiness” sounded modern and bright.

The composition of the group "Flowers" from 1993 to 2004: Alexander Losev - vocals, bass guitar, Vladimir Dolgov - vocals, guitars, Vladislav Petrovsky - vocals, keyboards, Vladimir Rozdin. - vocals, drums (ex-group Monomakh). Sound engineer Alexander Lukyanov.

In 1996, the group "Flowers" consisting of: Stas Namin (leader), Alexander Losev (vocals, bass guitar), Vladislav Petrovsky (keyboards, vocals), Vladimir Dolgov (guitar, vocals), Vladimir Rozdin (drums, vocals) and Sergey Latyntsov (guitar), who had lived in America for the last years, took part in the political tour "For the Future of Free Russia", who had previously played with the group. In this composition, “Flowers”, together with the groups Alice, Va-Bank, Nautilus, Spleen, Chaif, Sunday, Hummingbird, A. Makarevich, A. Malinin and other rock stars, traveled around 16 cities of Russia.

New line-up (2000-2008)

At the end of 2000, Stas Namin assembled a new line-up of musicians for his theatrical project.

Alexander Losev and the musicians Tsvetov refused to participate in this project and continued to perform under the name “Alexander Losev and the old composition of the Flowers” group ... In February 2004, Alexander Losev died after a tour of Israel.

The musicians of the Stas Namin Theater participated in the Russian production of the musical Hair, in the production of the rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar and in other projects of the Stas Namin Theater, without performing under their own name and without giving concerts. In 2001, the group began to perform as "Flowers" with their traditional repertoire.

Anniversary concert - 30

In 2001 "Flowers" played their 30th anniversary concert. This historic concert was attended by musicians who previously worked in the group, and friends of the group - the stars of Russian rock. "Flowers" performed their well-known hits for 30 years, some unreleased songs and world rock classics, which they learned from.
The concert was attended by:

Group "Flowers"

Group "Time Machine"

Group "Sunday"

Alexander Gradsky

Alexander Kryukov

Alexander Losev

Alexander Slizunov

Alexander Solich

Anatoly Abramov

Valeriy Meladze

Vladimir Vasiliev

Vladimir Zhivetiev

Vladislav Petrovsky

Dmitry Revyakin ("Kalinov Bridge")

Igor Sarukhanov

Konstantin Nikolsky

Leonid Agutin

Lyudmila Senchina

Mira Korobkova

Mikhail Fainzilberg

Mikhail Chernov

Nikolay Agutin

Nikolay Noskov

Nina Palitsina

Olga Danilovich

Oscar Feltsman

Sergei Voronov ("Crossroads")

Sergei Dyachkov

Sergey Mazaev ("Moral Code")

Sergey Ryzhenko

Stas Namin

Tatyana Antsiferova

Tatiana Vorontsova

Yuri Genbachev

Yuri Gorkov

Yuri Shevchuk

Vocal Ensemble of the Theater of Music and Drama Stas Namin

For more than 35 years, various musicians and soloists have played and recorded songs in the group, and at the same time, the "handwriting" and the individuality of the group's melodic lyrical style have remained unchanged. Famous hits: “My clear star”, “Flowers have eyes”, “Lullaby”, “More life”, “No need”, “You and me” (In the heavenly waltz ...) was recorded by the legendary soloist of “Flowers” A. Losev , “Honestly speaking” - S. Dyachkov, “Old piano” and “It’s too early to say goodbye” - K. Nikolsky and A. Slizunov, “Summer Evening” - V. Vasiliev, the entire disc “Hymn to the Sun”, including the songs “Heroic Strength” , “After the rain”, “Tell me yes”, performed by A. Slizunov, I. Sarukhanov, A. Fedorov, V. Vasilyev, A. Losev, disc “Surprise for Monsieur Legrand”, songs “We wish you happiness”, “ Nostalgia for the present”, “Jasmine Branch”, “Ball” - recorded by Alexander Losev, etc. Throughout the history of "Flowers" a few times appeared on TV, and the phenomenon of their popularity is that it arose and was supported only through concerts and recordings. The liberality of the Melodiya company, which allowed a semi-legal group to write, is simply explained: during the existence of the Stas Namin Group, more than 50 million records of the group were sold, while only Melodiya received the entire royalty for circulation, traditionally not paying performers. "Flowers" was the first rock band to emerge from the "underground" and meet the reality of the Artistic Council and official Soviet censorship. But even the forced compromise in the group's early recordings, released by Melodiya, which softened its style to soft and pop rock, revolutionized the then official Soviet song. "Flowers" became, as it were, the forerunner of Russian rock in the mass culture of the country. Several generations have been brought up on their music, many modern stars of rock and pop music have studied on it. "Flowers" is one of the few Russian rock bands born in the early 70s that still exists today. Their songs are still remembered and loved by millions of people, and the song "We wish you happiness" has become truly popular.