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The first composition of the ensemble. History of the group New earthlings group

« Earthlings"- a Soviet and Russian musical group, one of the most notable groups of the VIA period in Soviet music.

Story

The first part of the ensemble

The group "Earthlings" was created by students of the Leningrad Radio Polytechnic in 1969.

1980s - 1990

In September 1978, within the walls of the rehearsal point of the Palace of Culture named after. Dzerzhinsky (abandoned by "Zemlyany" for creative reasons), the operator-administrator of "Zemlyan" Andrei Bolshev, who remained under the leadership of the Palace of Culture, takes Vladimir Kiselev (drummer and organizer of the "April" group) as his companion with the idea of collecting other musicians under the promoted name "Zemlyane", which also helps the leadership of the Palace of Culture, which at that time lost its key team. At first, no one takes the new ensemble seriously, they are considered "small Earthlings" and a new version of "April". Kiselev and Bolshev randomly change the styles of the new "Earthlings" - from Soviet pop to part-rock, Igor Romanov and Boris Aksyonov can be noted from the kaleidoscope of musicians of that time.

Vladimir Kiselev leaves the role of a drummer and moves to administrative work. In 1979, Romanov and Kiselev brought musician Sergei Skachkov as a keyboardist and one of the vocalists of VIA (ex-"Kakadu", and before that he played in the group "April" created by him, the group of the same name Kiselev, although they were not previously familiar), he was dubbed Igor Dembovsky and Viktor Kudryavtsev. From that moment on, the peculiar timbre of Skachkov's voice forever determines the band's now familiar "Zemlyanov" vocal sound.

Kiselev introduces the group to the composer Vladimir Miguley, which gives birth to a number of the most successful commercial super-hits in all respects, breaking all imaginable and unimaginable popularity records of that time. The team records when such songs as "Red Horse", "Birds", "Ocean", some of which, subsequently, become all-Union hits. In 1981, these were the songs of Vyacheslav Dobrynin and Leonid Derbenev "Forgive me, earth", as well as the song cycle "Stuntmen". However, the "calling card" of the group was the song "Grass near the house". The total circulation of the group's records, released only by the Melodiya company, amounted to about 15 million copies.

The ensemble collaborated with composers Mark Fradkin, Vladimir Miguley, Yuri Antonov, Vadim Gamalia, Vyacheslav Dobrynin. The theme of the texts of "Earthlings" concerned adventure romance, "male" professions - pilots, stuntmen, astronauts. Compared to many contemporaries, the "Earthlings" were distinguished by heavier music, energetic presentation of material, and more expressive behavior on stage. In fact, the "Earthlings" performed rock without calling themselves a rock band.

A band with an eventful history and a dramatic fate, an undisputed legend of St. Petersburg rock of the 70s and the best cure for nostalgia today, in their heyday, EARTHLYANS were famous for their excellent performance of the music of their Western idols and like-minded people - primarily DEEP PURPLE - although later they successfully combined him with his own creativity, were heroes of sessions and laureates of festivals, knew ups and downs, but managed to carry the true rock and roll spirit through all times and eras, despite any vagaries of fleeting fashion.

EARTHLYNES were born from the confluence of two creative streams: one was represented by a company from Zabaikalskaya, 4 - Leonid Strunkin (b.26.04.51 in Leningrad), guitar, Sergey Zagrebelny (b.19.11.51 in Leningrad), bass, Nikolai Tugarov (b.3.12 .49 in Leningrad), keyboards, and the other - already thoroughly "tanned" under the rays of spotlights Evgeny Yarzhin (b.01.05.52 in Leningrad), vocals, guitar, from the broken-up group ATLANTA (played at dances in Pargolovo). Who merged with whom - the “Transbaikalians” (who performed mainly instrumental pieces) with Yarzhin (sang mainly in English) or vice versa - today it’s hard to remember, but it’s known for sure that Sergey and Zhenya studied in the same LRPT group (Leningradsky Radio Polytechnic). In the same place, however, the other participants of the future EARTHLANDS also studied.

In the spring of 1969, drummer Alexander Krustam (b. 11/14/52 in Leningrad) joined the ranks of the nameless group, after which she began performing at the LRPT's recreation evenings. It was decided to spend the summer together in the TTUL sponsored camp in the village of Gruzino. There, the musicians came under the tutelage of the teacher of the subject "electric machines" (and part-time head of the college's jazz orchestra) Solomon Naumovich Yakobson. Despite the fact that many in the group had a music school behind them (Zagrebelny and Strunkin mastered the button accordion, and Yarzhin mastered the wind instruments: trumpet and viola), they clearly lacked arranging skills, while Yakobson taught them to take care of the score line. Those who did not stand the test of the scene had to be changed. Thus, a new drummer Alexei Volkov (b. 15.07.54 in Leningrad) and keyboardist Evgeny Myasnikov (b. 11.03.54 in Leningrad) appeared in the group, who worked as a music director in the same pioneer camp.

The line-up of the group, which unofficially called itself CHILDREN OF SOLOMON (or SOLOMON'S CHILDREN), continued to change: in the fall of 1969, vocalist Tamara Mishchenko, trumpeter Vladislav Baranov and cameraman Andrei Bolshev (b.14.11.50 in Leningrad) joined it. Their repertoire was quite colorful - several of their own numbers, the Soviet stage, with which the group next spring reached the final of the VIA competition of the Vyborg district, dedicated to the centenary of Lenin, and, of course, the Beatles classics. victory in the competition, someone started talking about the new name of the group.Probably, it was there that Myasnikov proposed the "comprehensive", in his words, the name ZEMLYANES. It suited everyone and tightly stuck to the group.

In the summer of 1970, Andrey Bolshev (by that time he had risen to the post of administrator in the group) learned from someone a good way to avoid military service: you need to achieve distribution at the NIIEFA. D.V. Efremov. It was a terribly secret defense institute that gave reservations for the entire time of work in it! The pioneers of the new movement were Bolshev himself and Strunkin. Subsequently, the whole group ended up at NIIEFA. Ironically, by that time the EARTHLYNES had completely abandoned the performance of any kind of Soviet pop music - the material of DEEP PURPLE, IRON BUTTERFLY, LED ZEPPELIN, ELP and other ideologically alien Western performers began to dominate in the repertoire! In the process of transforming the group, she lost first the vocalist, and then the trumpeter.

In the autumn of 1972, EARTHLANDS settled in the club of the village of Yukki, which was located in the building of an old Finnish church and had long served as the main place of communication for the youth of the surrounding suburbs. The group steadily improved its repertoire and performing technique and by the end of the season became a local star - people even came from the city to listen to it.

That is how on September 1 of the next year Andrey Shestakov (b. 29.03.55 in Kolyma, where his mother and father, a hydrographer, had been taken during a long scientific expedition, got to the performance of the EARTHLYANS in Yukki). He graduated from mathematics and music schools (accordion class), played in a school band, but never thought about a musical career, since hockey and mathematics were the main priorities in his life - he already played for one of the amateur teams and had just entered LITMO . Some fan of the group invited him to Yukki. After the concert, it turned out that Zhenya Myasnikov was also partial to hockey.

Having become friends with the ZEMLYANS, Shestakov came to visit them in Yukki almost every weekend, and Myasnikov began to study with him according to an individual program, but not keyboards, but bass guitar. Andrei did not have an instrument, so he took an ordinary six-string, sawed the pegs, put four strings on it and, without any apparent purpose, began to master a new instrument for himself.

At the end of the winter of 1973, the EARTHLANES, who already knew their worth, quarreled with the management of the club and moved from Yukki to the village club. Prigorodnoye in Pargolovo, yielding to Yukka ARSENAL, although occasionally they visited there - to jam with musicians from other groups.

The most striking event of this period was the night festival in Yucca on May 27, 1973, organized by Igor Soluyanov from THE SIXTH SENSE and bringing together ST. PETERSBURG, ZEMLYANS, MANIA, ALBATROS and SPINDLE on one stage. Oddly enough, the EARTHLANDS ended up there by accident: just the day before Lyosha Volkov celebrated his wedding, and the musicians - for obvious reasons - wanted to refuse to participate. Nevertheless, at the last moment, Myasnikov decided that he still had to go. The zagrebelny was not found, so for the first time in his life Shestakov played bass, having mastered the parts in "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" and "Child In Time". Although no places or prizes were handed out at the festival, MANIA and EARTHLY were clearly in the lead in the informal top.

Shortly thereafter, a scandal broke out in Prigorodny. The center guys from St. Petersburg brought five Swedish tourists with them. Nothing terrible happened, but having found out about it, the management of the club immediately sent EARTHLANDS to all four sides. The entire apparatus, including drums, was transported to Myasnikov's home. In the middle of June, the EARTHLANDS gave the first city concert in the Evrika cafe, after which they fell silent until autumn.

In October, they finally found where to stumble, moving to Vodkachka, to the GVS club, where MYTHS had already been based before them. It was there that Andrey Shestakov finally replaced Zagrebelny on bass, who left the music. In the same autumn, several sensational sessions took place (in the House of Sailors in Porto, in the same "Eureka", etc.), which made ZEMLYANS one of the most popular and sought-after groups in St. Petersburg. They began to play in institutions: the faculty of PMPU University, Textile, Bonch, LITMO, etc. From time to time, the group had conflicts with officialdom: most often the administration was annoyed by the loudness, and in the Voenmekh hostel on the Obvodny Canal they were forbidden to sing in English, so one instrumental sounded all evening!

In January 1974, the EARTHLANDS won another triumph - at the Festival in the Palace of Culture. Ordzhonikidze, where they went around all the recognized leaders of the underground scene and, together with MIFAs, shared all the prizes that (in their categories) were crowned by Yarzhin (a recording of his performance of Child In Time at this festival has been preserved), Shestakov, Myasnikov, Volkov and Sergey Danilov (MYTHS ).

From spring to early summer, everything went on increasing: the group played continuously, causing more and more delight of the public; she brilliantly performed the most difficult DEEP PURPLE numbers (even those that - as it became known - were overdubbed), and sometimes showed familiarity with the classics. However, the first crisis came in autumn.

Yarzhin, who at that time seriously took up vocals, under the influence of his teacher Mizina, who praised his bass-baritone, decided that he should sing exclusively in an academic manner, which is why he refused to perform certain numbers, and sang something in an unusual hard- fate of opera technique. Almost at the same time, ZEMLYAN left guitarist Strunkin, and they fell into depression. There was no work.

For the sake of earning money, Myasnikov and Shestakov settled down in the Sonnets cafe and played whatever they had to when Sergey Petrov, a great guitarist who made his debut in Lonely Hearts, then worked for Boris Dolzhenkov, served in the army, after which he played jazz-rock with REVIVAL. He knew the entire repertoire of the EARTHLY people and was accepted into the group. Almost simultaneously with him, the second vocalist Valery Zhivetiev (b.24.11.52 in Vladivostok) appeared in ZEMLANY - he played with the FLYING DUTCHMAN group as a Makarovka cadet, after which he was invited to MANIA and flashed at the memorable night festival in Yukki. In a duet with Yarzhin, who then disappeared, then appeared, he amazingly sang "Sail Away" by DEEP PURPLE.

Another recruit of the autumn draft was Alexander Suprunov (b. 2.07.53, in Leningrad); like the rest, he worked at NIIEFA, was well versed in electronics and was literally obsessed with the idea of \u200b\u200bcreating his own synthesizer design, which he eventually succeeded in. Before ZEMLYANS, Suprunov played the organ in another institute group GIRL'S TEARS. Having reformed the roster, the EARTHLANDS returned to the ranks and continued to perform at the same pace and with the same success.

In June 1975 ZEMLYAN left Lyosha Volkov, who found a job at the Nevsky Berega restaurant. His services were offered to them by the technically weak, but solidly equipped and punchy Vladimir Kiselev, who at that time was trying to raise his group APRIL. He almost took the vacancy, but then Myasnikov very opportunely remembered the drummer of the HEAVEN group, with whom EARTHLYANS accidentally crossed paths the previous autumn in the Rubin teenage club. So Pavel Tretyakov (b. 09.07.55 in Leningrad) appeared in the group, who, in addition to HEAVEN, drummed in military-mech GUSLARs and arranged EARTHLY in all respects.

Meanwhile, Zhivetiev was already graduating from the Makarov School and increasingly went to sea, so in September another vocalist Mikhail Chistyakov from LOOK AT YOURSELF was invited to the group.

All this time, the EARTHLANDS were driving around the city, using a fake paper approving their program and allowing them to perform - Bolshev got it somewhere. For a long time they got away with it, but in the fall of 1975 they got caught. The case almost ended with a meeting with the police, and although everything worked out in the end, the musicians were pretty scared.

Help came from an unexpected quarter. In October 1975, they were found by two men in civilian clothes who represented the Palace of Culture. Dzerzhinsky and invited the group to become an amateur of the police palace of culture on very favorable terms for it - to perform at holiday concerts three or four times a year, and also to represent the palace at official competitions. ZEMLYANES moved from Vodokachka (where they were replaced by MANIA, and a little later by APRIL) to Staro-Nevsky, and Myasnikov became the official leader of the group.

In April 1976 they performed at the House of Culture named after Gaza at the qualifying round of the All-Union Festival of Amateur Workers and reached the first round - largely due to the fact that they performed art-rock adaptations of the classics. At that time, the EARTHLY people tried to interpret the works of Gounod, Paganini, Lalo, Rachmaninov, Sviridov and even Shostakovich for rock instruments. To do this, the violinist Olga Prostokishina was invited to the group, and Alexander Kreiman, an excellent pianist with a conservatory school, who was fond of modern jazz and tried to bring elements of this music into the ZEMLYAN sound palette, joined them in the palace. Immediately after the competition, Prostokishina left the group for a while, and she was replaced by violinist Lyudmila Cherezova.

Around the same time, their own songs began to appear in the group's repertoire. The first of them, "We are earthlings", was composed by Myasnikov to the words of Shestakov. Later, Shestakov's classmate at LITMO Vadim Detinko (Dimin) began to cooperate with the EARTHLYANS - at first he only corrected Shestakov's texts, and then began to offer them his poems.

Summer of 1976 was spent on the road by the EARTHLY: within the framework of the White Nights festival, they performed in Sosnovy Bor, in the Estonian Sillamäe, etc. In addition, they actively worked in their palace. By that time, Petrov was lured into the LED ZEPPELIN-oriented and heavy blues in general APRIL, and guitarist and singer Viktor Kudryavtsev (b.1.02.55 in Leningrad), who had previously played at dances in Tosno, Pontonny and Saperny, came to his place.

On October 19, under the motto "In the world of modern rhythms," EARTHLANDS gave a joint concert with ORNAMENT in their palace. On March 15 of the following year, the experiment was successfully repeated. EMERSON, LAKE & PALMER and even CAN filled the EARTHLANDS repertoire during this period.

At the end of the year, the final of the competition for amateur artists was held at the Mariinsky Theater in the presence of the entire party nomenclature and other officials. Olya Prostokishina played the violin "Ave Maria". Everything was extremely solid. In December, St. Petersburg television filmed ZEMLYANS as winners of the competition for the program "Folk Art" (a half-hour broadcast, in which, in particular, their version of Georgy Sviridov's romance "The Raven Flies to the Raven" was played on March 13, 1977). Zhivetyev, who sang on the recording, again went sailing, and in the television studio he was replaced by Yuri Sorokin from GIRL'S TEARS and MELOMANOV.

In December 1976, Suprunov parted ways with EARTHLYANS: he still worked at NIIEFA, where he assembled his own group with the obvious name SYNTHESIS.

By the beginning of 1977, the EARTHLANDS were again left without singers: neither Yarzhin nor Zhivetiev were gone, and Misha Chistyakov settled down in the Rosa Vetrov cafe and also stepped aside. For a couple of months Dmitry Solodukhin (b. 9.07.55 in Leningrad) sang with them, well-known from the SIXTH SENSE, POST and MANIA groups, and in the same March, Mikhail's twin brother Grigory Chistyakov, who started in the HEAVEN group, then sang in the OCEAN, SKY, STARS and GUSLYARS, and a year before - at the request of his brother - he performed "Smoke On The Water" with the EARTH, when they performed in the "Nevsky Shores".

And in April, the group suddenly ceased to exist for everyone. There were several reasons. First, EARTHLANDS reached a certain ceiling, but there was nowhere to go further; secondly, the musicians had a conflict with Bolshev, whose commercial aspirations ran counter to their ideology; finally, Shestakov, who continued his studies, intended to defend his diploma. Kudryavtsev went to the NORTHERN LIGHTS. Zhivetiev later sang in APRIL and FLOWERS.

At that time, Suprunov achieved for SYNTHESIS the status of a group at the NIIEFA House of Scientists in Metallostroy, which greatly facilitated the life of the musicians (all of them were officially employed there), after which he dragged Tretyakov, Chistyakov one by one, who in February 1978 defended his diploma Shestakov , followed by Yarzhina. Their duties included servicing institute holidays and banquets, where they had to play the restaurant repertoire. The rest of the time the group was left to itself.

So several months passed, but soon everyone got bored and led to an unexpected castling: in March 1979 Suprunov quit, and Myasnikov took his place, after which SYNTHESIS regained the name EARTHLY. The ZEMLYAN technical group was headed by the operator of SYNTHESIS Valery Perekalov. Two months later, the virtuoso guitarist Alexander Skryabin (b. 25.07.56 in Pskov), who once played in HEAVEN together with Tretyakov and Chistyakov, came to them.

In June 1979 the EARTHLANDS visited the "White Nights" festival in Sillamäe for the second time and became its laureates for the second time. A month later, together with KRONVERK and YABLOKO, they represented St. Petersburg at the annual festival "Liepajas Dzintars" in Latvia, where they took second place in the VIA category, losing only to the local CREDO. In addition, the violinist Olya Prostokishina, who also returned to the EARTHLY people, was awarded a special prize. (By the way, they were invited to Liepaja as SYNTHESIS). Since autumn the band started playing sessions again.

At the same time, in St. Petersburg, a dual situation developed with the EARTHLY people: while they were working under the banner of SYNTHESIS, their failed drummer Kiselyov, who was trying to raise a new version of APRIL, moved to the Police House of Culture, where Bolshev and all their regalia remained: certificates of honor, prizes, and most importantly, a copy of the billing certificate with all signatures and seals. Bolshev and Kiselyov quickly found a common language and started to organize "their" version of ZEMLANS - all the more so since the administration of the Palace believed that this name in some sense belongs to them!

After the concessionaires failed to impose their commercial offer in the form of branded equipment and work on the professional stage on the members of this group (Myasnikov and Yarzhin even went to an interview with them, but after making sure for the second time that Kiselev, as a drummer, simply "does not hold a share", abandoned this idea), and the APRIL musicians finally fled, in all directions, Kiselyov engaged ORNAMENT in almost full composition (minus its leaders Alik Timoshenko and Valya Shneiderman) and in September 1978 brought his own EARTH people onto the stage.

At first, no one took this fact seriously: the Kiselyov band was called "new" or "small" EARTHLY, especially since they soon went on a trip to the provincial philharmonic societies, changing their lineup every month, but soon advertising (and fake EARTHLYANS was actively supported by television and the Komsomol the press) did their job: Andrey Shestakov recalled how one day, having arrived at a concert, they heard behind their backs: "Well, yes, this is the second composition of the EARTH!" and realized that it was time to change the name.

Nevertheless, as EARTHLANDS in March 1980 they took part in the legendary rock festival "Spring Rhythms. Tbilisi 80", where they were invited together with KRONVERK and AQUARIUM. True, none of the St. Petersburg groups not only did not take prizes, but also brought a train of scandal with them - in part it was associated with the performance of AQUARIUM, but to a greater extent was the result of undercover intrigues.

Soon after, Yarzhin finally left the group, who was torn apart by contradictions: he simultaneously practiced academic vocals, sang in the church choir of the Vladimir Cathedral and, playing the bass guitar, led his group ARS. According to Yevgeny, "nothing good came of it: I became disillusioned with operatic singing, musically" corrupted "and ruined my composition, and later, after working for a year as a club photographer, I gave up communication with the Muses to hell, returned to engineering, but already to another defense institute, taking up personal computers and programming. There, at least, there was a concrete case, and not the chimeras that art began to seem to me."

Until the end of the year, EARTHLYANS continued to play concerts, then disappeared from sight for a while, and at the beginning of 1981 they returned to the stage under the new name XX CENTURY, which a month later (held in Babushkin Park) was changed to ATLAS. Their re-debut was an April concert at the Palace of Youth, where ATLAS and MYTHS represented the newly opened Leningrad Rock Club, although ATLAS never joined it, rightly believing that the club is hardly capable of solving the problems of famous musicians.

The composition of the EARTHLANDS, extremely stable compared to most other long-lived groups, nevertheless changed. In the winter of 1993, when the Petrovsky restaurant was closed, and the EARTHLANDS found themselves unemployed for half a year, Pasha Tretyakov left in search of a better life. He went into business and eventually parted ways with music. He was replaced by Andrei Volkov, who had not been exposed anywhere before. A year later, Grisha Chistyakov was fired, who had serious problems with alcohol. Vladimir Kharitonov became a new vocalist - in the late 80s he sang with the RADIO-ROCK group of Vladimir Gustov, and then in restaurants. A few years later, he lost his voice and left (then the second vocalist in their biography appeared in the EARTHLY people), then returned, but never managed to recover, in 2004 he disappeared completely. Finally, in January 2005, Alexander Fedotov, who came to St. Petersburg from Kazakhstan, became a new EARTHMAN.

From time to time the band could be heard at infrequent rock nostalgia concerts in St. Petersburg. For the first time this happened in December 1998 in the House of Police, which was not alien to them, in the program "Old Rock for the New Year". In ZEMLYANY Yarzhin and Zhivetiev sang again, and the classic "Child In Time" was brilliantly performed by Albert Asadullin (ex-GHOSTS, NEVA WAVE, SINGING GUITARS). The alliance with Asadullin took place again - at the Sergey Kuryokhin festival S.K.I.F. 4 in the Baltic House; veteran ARGONAVTOV Vladimir Kalinin was invited to play drums. In December 2001, having invited Zhivetyev to the microphone, the group performed at the fiftieth birthday of Nikolai Korzinin (ST. PETERSBURG, BIG IRON BELL) at the Polygon club, and in November 2002 Zhivetyev himself gathered a group for his anniversary at the Bada Boom club.

In addition to the current members of the group, Scriabin and Kudryavtsev (CONTRAST BLUES BAND) remained in the music. In 1993, Yarzhin left for Moscow for a year - to work as a computer system engineer for the Americans, and so he got stuck in Stolnaya on hearty bread. Zhivetiev, Zagrebelny, Tretyakov and Mikhail Chistyakov (now living in Finland) found themselves in business. Strunkin worked at NIIEFA. Suprunov started repairing electronic keyboards. Sergei Petrov, leaving music, worked as a bartender, and Lyosha Volkov as a driver. Shestakov, in parallel with EARTHLYANS, became a sports TV commentator for the Adam's Apple program and, in this capacity, covered the Ice Hockey World Championship. Solodukhin moved to Germany. Olya Prostokishina raised a daughter who achieved fame in Europe as a violinist. Detinko published under the pseudonym Vadim Dimin. Grigory Chistyakov died of a heart attack in the summer of 2001, and Zhivetiev passed away for the same reason in April 2007. In the 70s, EARTHLYANS recorded their music, but there is no information about the whereabouts of their recordings.

EARTHLANDS 2

In September 1978, within the walls of the rehearsal point of the Palace of Culture named after. Dzerzhinsky (abandoned by that original composition of Zemlyans for creative reasons), the operator-administrator of Zemlyans, who remained under the leadership of the Palace of Culture, Andrey Bolshev, takes musician Vladimir Kiselev (drummer and organizer of the April group) as his companion, with the idea of assembling under the hyped name " Earthlings" of other musicians, which also helps the leadership of the House of Culture, which at that time lost its key band. At first, the new composition of the group was considered rather a new version of "April", or, as it were, "small Earthlings". Kiselev and Bolshev at that time were trying to find their own face and image of the new group, they were changing the style of the new Zemlyans from Soviet pop to party rock. However, the most powerful and professional musicians of "St. Petersburg rock" have always played in the group, such as Igor Romanov, Boris Aksyonov, Yuri Ilchenko, Sergey Vasilyev, Alexander Krivtsov, Ivan Kovalev, Alexander Titov, Valery Brusilovsky, Andrey Kruglov and many others.. .

Vladimir Kiselev leaves the role of a drummer and moves to administrative work. In 1979, Romanov and Kiselev brought musician Sergei Skachkov to the group as a keyboardist and one of the vocalists of the VIA (ex-Kakadu, and before that he played in the April group he created - Kiselev's group of the same name, although they were not personally acquainted then ), previously the vocalists of the band were Igor Dembovsky and Viktor Kudryavtsev. From that moment on, the peculiar timbre of Skachkov's voice forever determines the group's characteristic and now familiar "Zemlyanov" vocal sound.

Kiselev introduces the group to the composer Vladimir Miguley, which gives birth to a number of the most successful commercial super-hits in all respects, breaking all imaginable and unimaginable popularity records of that time. The team records such songs as "Red Horse", "Karate", "Stuntmen", which immediately become all-Union hits. A little later, the songs of Vyacheslav Dobrynin and Leonid Derbenev were recorded - “Forgive me, Earth”, “But life goes on”. However, the "calling card" of the group was the song "Grass near the house." The total circulation of the group's records, released in Soviet times only by the Melodiya company, amounted to about 15 million copies.

The ensemble collaborated with composers Mark Fradkin, Vladimir Miguley, Yuri Antonov, Vadim Gamalia, Vyacheslav Dobrynin. The theme of the texts of "Earthlings" concerned adventure romance, "male" professions - pilots, stuntmen, astronauts. Compared to many contemporaries, "Earthlings" was distinguished by heavier music, energetic presentation of material, and expressive behavior on stage. In fact, the "Earthlings" performed rock, but in the official press of that time they tried not to call them a rock band.

In October 1985, Igor Romanov left the group (later he created his own metal band Soyuz, and even later became the guitarist of Alisa), who lured drummer Valery Brusilovsky with him. In 1986, Kiselev tries to radically change the image of the new line-up: the musicians are changing, a new program is being prepared, stylistically close to weighted boogie-woogie.

In September 1987, "Earthlings" received the First Prize "For high professionalism" and a special prize "For the best performance of a German song" at the International Music Festival "Schlager - 87" in Dresden (GDR). The entire cash prize of 2,400 marks was transferred by the musicians to the "Soviet Peace Fund". In December of the same year, the Zemlyane were the first of the domestic rock bands to perform at the Olimpiysky Sports Complex in a joint concert with the foreign rock band Uriah Heep.

In August 1988, the group successfully performed at the International Festival in Sopot with the songs "People of the Roads" and "Joy and Sorrow" (music and lyrics by Sergei Skachkov).

In the autumn of 1988, the founder of the ensemble, Vladimir Kiselev, parted ways with the team, organized his own production center in St. Petersburg, where he worked with young groups (such as St. Petersburg, Russians, Passengers, Everest, etc.), completely transferring the management of the "Earthlings" to Boris Zosimov (the future founder of "Muz-TV" and "MTV Russia"). According to Skachkov, “the members of the collective at the general meeting wrote to the management of the Philharmonic Society a complaint against Kiselyov for his boorish and redneck attitude towards people. And he was fired with the wording, traditional in such cases, “of his own free will.” After that, Kiselev showed no interest in the Earthlings for 15 years.

In 1989, the then super-successful Russian group Zemlyane was invited for a series of performances at his theater in Paris by the great couturier Pierre Cardin. Performances at the Pierre Cardin Theater, according to the idea of the great master, were organized jointly with the participation of Russian ballet stars.

Pierre Cardin calls them “Orient Express” for expressiveness (Orient Express is a prototype of the name of the group “Orient X-press”, see below). The group takes a new name "Orient Express", and then performs like this, in particular at the festival "Monsters of Rock of the USSR" (Cherepovets, September 1989). The image of the group changes, Yuri Zhuchkov becomes the main vocalist, in this form the group plays until the fall of 1992, when again trying to regain its old name - "Earthlings", the team finally breaks up and ceases to exist.

Recreation of the Ensemble by Sergey Skachkov

After a short break from 1992 to 1994, a group called "Earthlings" is again recreated by vocalist Sergei Skachkov. He registers the name "Earthlings" in the name of the Moscow theater of the song "Music store. "The second revolution around the Earth" - under this name a new concert program of the group was launched, with new songs and old proven hits.

In 1996, the updated "Earthlings", together with other artists, took part in the election marathon of the then President of the Russian Federation B. Yeltsin "Vote or lose."

By 1999, the composition of the group changed somewhat again, and from that moment, for a long time, it remained almost unchanged.

And in March 2004, Sergei Skachkov and Vladimir Kiselyov again join forces for a new take-off of the group.

In 2006, the "Earthlings" noisily celebrated their 30th anniversary. At the anniversary concert, famous foreign rock musicians from Uriah Heep, Deep Purple, Nazareth, Black Sabbath, Animals, Kingdom Come and many others took the stage with the legendary Russian rockers.

On November 25, 2009, a large solemn concert-festival called “This Song Became an Anthem” was held, dedicated to the 30th anniversary of writing the song “Grass at Home”, with the participation of many Russian pop stars, astronauts and various public figures. At this concert, by the decision of RosCosmos, the song "Grass near the House", which has long been deservedly the unofficial anthem of the Soviet cosmonautics, was also given the official public status of the "Hymn of the Russian cosmonautics"!

In the late 2000s, the musicians of the Skachkov group pleased their fans with the annual release of three albums of new song material at once. In 2008, the lyrical “Cold of the Soul” was released, in 2009, the joint “EARTHLYANS & SUPERMAX” (a very exclusive disc from the songs of the SUPERMAX group, performed by Sergei Skachkov and Kurt Haunstein, in Russian and English), in 2010 - New metal "Symbols of Love". In connection with the constant legal upheavals of that period, the records came out, either as the GROUP "EARTHLY", then as NP.TSDUT.ZEMLYANES, or simply as SERGEY SKAKCHKOV.

On March 30, 2010, Skachkov's "Earthlings" arrived at the Baikonur Cosmodrome to personally sing "Grass near the House" for the astronauts before the launch.

On May 9, 2010, the group performed in a concert in honor of the celebration of the 65th anniversary of the Victory Day in Sofia (Bulgaria). In 2011, the band's musicians performed at the Zielona Gora Russian Song Festival in Poland.

January 21, 2012, the then President of the Russian Federation D. Medvedev at an informal meeting with the ensemble together sang the famous "Earth in the window" ...

In June 2014, on a physical CD-ROM and in digital stores on the Internet, the next album of the musicians of the Sergey Skachkov group appeared, under a fairly weighty and symbolic name - "Half of the Way".

Conflict of copyright holders and twin groups

Like many VIAs of the 1970s and 1980s, the Zemlyane group has twins that also claim this name. Due to the imperfection of the legal framework in the 1990s, the former members of the group performed under this name even then, and today the double compositions often use phonograms of the copyright holder Sergei Skachkov.

At the end of 2007, producer Vladimir Kiselev creates a group of completely young musicians (born in 1985-1987) under the former name - "Earthlings". Unlike the official "Earthlings" Skachkov, in this group there is not a single member from the previous line-ups, and according to Skachkov, "a new line-up is recruited every time for each specific action or one-time concert, after which they again disappear from sight." So, in April 2009, the Kiselyov team, together with the players of our national team, recorded and presented the “Anthem of the Fans” of the Russian national football team, and in the summer gives a concert at the Leningradsky railway station before the train with the fans leaves for the match of the qualifying round of the World Cup. In the fall of 2011, a completely different lineup takes part in the All-Russian Anti-Drug Campaign, performing in 12 cities of Russia ...

On December 21, 2007, the glass of the car of the director of the "Earthlings" Skachkov group was broken and a training grenade was attached to the steering wheel in order to intimidate, a criminal case was opened by the police on this fact.

There are more groups that claim the name. For example, in 2007, the Orient X-press - Earthlings group was organized, which plays to the present. The name comes from Orient Express - "Orient Express", which was given to the group "Earthlings" by Pierre Cardin for expressiveness when performing at his theater in Paris in 1989. It included ex-musicians of "Earthlings": S. Vasiliev, Yu. Belov, Yu. Babenko, vocalist A. Khramov.

Litigation begins between soloist Sergei Skachkov and producer Vladimir Kiselev, who have been creating the image of the group since the 1980s and claiming the name. In 2008, Rospatent transferred the right to the brand "Earthlings" to Kiselev. In 2009, this decision was overturned by the court, Skachkov was recognized as the legal owner of the brand and the owner of the group's official website.

The name "Earthlings" was registered by me in 1992 in the name of the Moscow Song Theater "Music Store", and in 2007, under an assignment agreement, it was transferred to the Central Children's and Youth Theater "Earthlings".
In September 2008, a certain Ordinar TV Producer Center LLC filed an application for full early termination of trademark protection due to its non-use for five years preceding the date of application. In a matter of days, Rospatent considered the application, made a decision to terminate the legal support for the Zemlyane trademark, after which two musical groups appeared - Zemlyane with a new line-up and Orient X-press-Earthlings. The groups began to tour - in Russia and abroad, without hesitation, a website for new bands was created on the Internet, they composed a legend about their alleged involvement in the legendary composition of the "Earthlings" ...

— Skachkov

In 2010, an “Open Address to the President of the Russian Federation from Russian Variety Artists” was distributed on the Internet, in which “E. and V. Presnyakovs, A. Barykin, I. Sarukhanov, A. Glyzin, other members of the popular VIA of the 70s and 80s and Roskosmos "asked "to protect the soloist of the Zemlyane group S. Skachkov from lawlessness and arbitrariness." And also Skachkov gives an interview that Kiselev has nothing to do with the organization of the group, he was only engaged in raiding and registering the name of the group in his own name.

In 2011, Kiselyov filed a lawsuit for the ownership of the brand. At the beginning of 2012, the trial of the case was scheduled ...

From the materials of the sites:

A well-known music producer in the future, Vladimir Vladimirovich Kiselev, came to Leningrad from Western Ukraine by the beginning of the 70s. Having tried his hand as a drummer in various amateur and restaurant ensembles, by the spring of 1975 he formed his own group "APRIL" as a generator of ideas. Later, V. Kiselev gets a job as a drummer in the philharmonic VIA "SINGING GUITARS", after which he again returns to the idea of \u200b\u200bAPRIL, which, moreover, in 1976 was replenished with some serious musicians from the then broken-up composition of "RUSSIANS": Oleg Gusev, Igor Romanov, Boris Aksenov and others. In search of a base in September 1978, the group receives an offer to settle at the House of Culture. Dzerzhinsky, passing through the documentation instead of the group "Earthlings" that had broken up by that time, keyboardist Evgeny Myasnikov. The composition of the newly minted "Earthlings" at that time included: Vladimir Kiselev - drums; Igor Romanov - guitar; Victor Kudryavtsev - guitar vocals; Pavel Borisov - bass, Yuri Starchenko - keyboards; Nikolai Kudryavtsev - vocals; Veronika Stepanova - vocals

The well-known Soviet composer Mark Fradkin drew attention to the group, offering to draw up a group program from his songs and giving them the opportunity to record them on an EP. Despite this, relations with the official structures of Leningrad do not add up. Like most rock bands in the country, "Earthlings" find refuge in the land of Kuzbass. Signed in August 1979 a contract with the Kemerovo Philharmonic, so. provide themselves with the possibility of legal concert earnings and performances. And they go on a big tour of the cities of Siberia and the Urals. By that time, the group was joined by multi-instrumentalist Boris Aksenov, keyboardist Yuri Dmitrienko and singer Igor Dembovsky. Gone - V. Stepanova, N. Kudryavtsev and P. Borisov. A little later, the conflict situation leads to the departure of I. Dembovsky and I. Romanov, who were replaced by Zemlyane: Yuri Ilchenko - guitar, vocals and Alexander Titov - bass. However, soon V. Kiselev manages to return Romanov to the group again, who brings with him at the beginning of 1979 the keyboardist and vocalist Sergei Skachkov, with whom they worked together in the popular at that time group "KAKADU", whose peculiar timbre of voice from that moment forever determines the characteristic specifics of the truly masculine principle of the group's inimitable "Zemlyanov" vocal sound.

Prior to the creation of the KAKADU group, Sergei Skachkov since 1974 worked in the April group created by him and his friends. Thus, at that time two APRIL groups were working in Leningrad at the same time, but their paths never crossed and they were not personally acquainted. V. Kiselev, who replaced the drum kit with administrative activities, introduces the group to the composer Vladimir Miguley, which gives birth to a number of the most successful commercial super-hits in all respects - "Karate", "Stuntmen", "Grass at the House" - breaking all imaginable and unimaginable records of popularity that time. The number of concerts and tours is growing with an inexorable progression. Such cooperation with pop poets and composers, of course, causes the most negative attitude towards the "Earthlings" from the press apologists of the independent rock underground. However, the group also has to experience no less shelling and pressure from official cultural structures: for too free and cheeky behavior on stage, for the “cosmodrome-loud” concert sound, so jarring to the provincial layman. For the technical pro-Western image and the special effects used, and the staginess of the show performances. Despite all this, such a forced policy to combine complex instrumental ballads and hard-n-heavy compositions with the canons of a mass pop song really attracted the widest and most diverse audience at that time to EARTHLANDS. But the legalization of "metal" and the emancipation of bands like "Aria" or "Cruise" makes the musicians of "Earthlings" take a critical look at the future prospects of their development. As a result, being a supporter of making the sound heavier, in October 1985 the band was left by the favorite of women's hearts - frontman Igor Romanov, who lured Valery Brusilovsky with him, who had replaced A. Kruglov on drums a little earlier. In 1986, V. Kiselev tries to radically change the image of the new composition: the musicians are changing, a new program is being prepared, stylistically close to the weighted boogie-woogie. By the end of 1986, the group stabilized in the composition: V. Kiselev S. Skachkov B. Aksenov Sergey Vasiliev - guitar Yuri Babenko - guitar Anatoly Lobachev - guitar, Georgy Tonkilidi - drums, Yuri Zhuchkov - vocals, Ivan Kovalev - bass, in the spring of 1987 And Kovaleva changes, bassist Alexander Krivtsov and the group begin a new assault on the musical Olympus. But the comprehensive legalization of rock music in the country spills onto the music market a lot of the most diverse bands that were previously underground and, despite the ongoing sold-out concerts and success at the international festival “Schlager. 87" (Dresden), the rating of "EARTHLY" among the youth audience is gradually falling. The negative connotation in the press is also received by the joint concerts of the Soviet group, which took place for the first time in December 1987, with the luminaries of Western rock, who visited the USSR for the first time, the Uria Heep group. By this time, A. Lobachev and B. Aksenov left the group. Internal contradictions of views on musical policy in the group continue to grow. In 1987, the "Earthlings" took part in the traditional hit festival in Dresden, where they received two prizes at once: "For high professionalism" and "For the best performance of a German song." The entire award - 2400 marks - was transferred by the musicians to the Soviet Peace Fund. Nevertheless , the performance in August at the Sopot-88 music festival caused surprise and delight among the public and festival participants, because it was the only group from the USSR that performed live and played rock.

Upon arrival at home, the media, accustomed in recent years to the constant victories of Soviet artists at the Sopot festival, passed over in silence the performance of the Zemlyans. The "Earthlings" part with V. Kiselev, completely entrusting the further management of the band to Boris Zosimov, finally leaning towards the canons of heavy metal glam. Meanwhile, on foreign trips, the musicians begin to work under the new name "ORIENTAL EXPRESS" and performed for the first time with it in our country at the "Monsters of Rock of the USSR" festival in Cherepovets in September 1989. Trying to revive the concept of courageous romanticism, as opposed to "ORIENTAL EXPRESS ", which included: Yu. Zhuchkov, S. Vasiliev, Yu. Babenko, G. Tonkilidi; to which keyboard player Vladimir Pariel and bassist Vyacheslav Makhrensky were added to replace A. Krivtsov. Recruiting new musicians, he invites you to take part in the project of Igor Romanov, who continues to tour the provinces under the brand name "Earthlings". Despite a number of joint performances, rehearsals, and the preparation of a new program in the studio, I. Romanov, based on the general crisis situation in the country and in particular in rock music, refuses to further the idea of reviving "ZEMLYANS", and at the end of autumn 1990 dissolves and own group "SOYUZ", two musicians of which joined S. Skachkov. Since that time, S. Skachkov's group continues to perform in a stable line-up (Yuri Levachev - bass Vyacheslav Makhrensky - guitar Valery Gorshenichev - vocals Vladimir Ushakov - drums) until the autumn of 1992. Returning from the "foreign chess" "ORIENTAL EXPRESS" again for some reason declares himself at home as "Earthlings", performs like this at the Formula 9 festival in Rostov-on-Don in October 1991. And in 1992, in the light of general upheavals in the country, ceases to exist ...

As time passed, the situation in the country and in show business improved somewhat, and in 1994 Skachkov tried to revive the project by attracting former ZEMLYAN musicians to the group for various one-time performances. In order to remind the viewer of himself at the end of 1994, a double CD "Best Hits" was released. The seriousness of intentions is reinforced by the search for a permanent line-up, which is ready for the fall of 1995: S. Skachkov - guitar, Yuri Levachev - bass, Gennady Martov - guitar, Leonid Khaikin - drums, keyboard player Mikhail Ivanov joins a little later and "EARTHLY" begin touring life again . In January 1996, a new program "Second orbit around the Earth" began to run in Moscow clubs with mostly new compositions. In October 1996, "EARTHLYANS" confirmed the continuing interest of the public with solo concerts at the Moscow Variety Theater, and exactly a year later - in October 1997 at the Rossiya State Central Concert Hall. By this time, M. Ivanov and L. Khaikin left, and Vladimir Rozdin appeared behind the drums. By August 1998, the "metal" keyboard player Alexander Dronov came to the group, and by the fall of 1999 a new drummer Anatoly Shenderov appeared. From that moment on, the composition of the "Earthlings" remains unchanged, although since the fall of 2001 A. Dronov and A. Shenderov have been working in parallel in the "VALKYRIE" by Kirill Nemolyaev

Like other groups of the old formation, unlike the newly minted "superstars", although largely due to the former glory of the old proven hits, they continue to tour a lot around the country, the former Soviet republics and abroad. Old hits - "Grass near the house" "Stuntmen" "Forgive the Earth" "Runway" "Way home" "Believe in a dream" "Ship" - continue to sound frequently in the rotation of all Russian-language radio stations, occasionally they appear on television, but stay in aside from the games of modern show business with its top pop-rock festivals and ignore the narcissism of all kinds of club hodgepodges and parties. Since March 2004, S. Skachkov and V. Kiselev have been joining forces for a new take-off of the Zemlyane group.

Throughout the country, and even abroad, the group "Earthlings" is known. The composition of the group changed several times. In this article we will try to trace it, as well as talk about the main events in the history of the team. First, we will briefly talk about the "Earthlings", and then dwell in more detail on the important points associated with them.

Brief history of the group

The history of this team begins in 1969. Then, however, its name was different - "April". The musicians acquired their current name in the late 1970s. At first, only English-language songs were in their repertoire. The musicians received wide recognition after they began to perform compositions in their native language. They recorded the song "Red Horse" by Mark Fradkin in 1979.

The popularity of the group increased even more when in 1982 they performed the song "Forgive me, Earth" by L. Derbenev and V. Dobrynin, as well as the cycle "Stuntmen". But the visiting card of the team is "Grass near the house" performed by S. Skachkov. Until now, it is an honorable hit of Russian feasts. This song became the anthem of the emigrants. In addition, many Russian cosmonauts took a cassette with it into orbit. The total circulation of the group's records, released by the Melodiya company alone, is about 15 million copies.

What stood out "Earthlings" among other teams

It should be noted that "Earthlings" favorably stood out among the Soviet performers. They used a lot of pyrotechnic and lighting effects, art and hard rock arrangements, and forced sound at their concerts. And the very image of the band members reminded the inhabitants of the Soviet Union of foreign rockers of the 1970s. "Earthlings" had the best sound and lighting equipment in the country. They managed to achieve the impossible from Soviet censorship: the musicians created arrangements of their songs that were not inferior in quality to the music performed by famous Western bands of that time, such as Aerosmith, Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin and even

Peak of popularity

The 1980s saw the peak of the group's popularity. At that time, the musicians used to have 30 full houses a month. In one particularly successful year, the group managed to become a laureate of as many as three international competitions: in Dresden, Sopot and Yalta. "Earthlings" were in those years even more popular than such rock monsters as "DDT", "Time Machine", "Alice". And now the famous Andrey Makarevich in the 80s acted as the opening act for the Zemlyane team (the old line-up of the group).

Collective in 2000

In November 2006, the band members celebrated its 30th anniversary. Anniversary concerts were held at the State Palace in Luzhniki and at the Ice Palace in St. Petersburg, during which famous Western performers from Deep Purple, Uriah Heep, Nazareth and others appeared on the same stage with the musicians. And on November 25, 2009, the concert-festival "This the song became an anthem." It was dedicated to the 30th anniversary of the creation of the song "Grass near the house". The concert was held with the participation of astronauts, pop stars and public figures. By decision of Roskosmos on November 25, 2009, the composition "Grass near the House", which has long become the unofficial anthem of the national cosmonautics, was now given official status.

"Earthlings" now

Currently, the group continues touring and concert activities. In addition, the musicians perform at various professional and city celebrations, as well as on television.

Now let's talk more about the history of this group.

Formation of the team "April"

Vladimir Vladimirovich Kiselev, a well-known rock businessman and music producer in the future, came to Leningrad in the early 70s (he comes from Western Ukraine). Kiselev was first a drummer, performed in various restaurant and amateur ensembles. Then he created his group "April" (in the spring of 1975). Later, Vladimir got a job as a drummer at the VIA "Singing Guitars", but after a while he decided to return to the idea of \u200b\u200bApril. The team in 1976 was replenished with new musicians from the "Russians", a broken group. It included Boris Aksenov, Igor Romanov and others.

Two groups of "Earthlings"

In September 1978, the group found its base at the DK im. Dzerzhinsky. According to the documentation, it passed instead of the "Earthlings", which had disintegrated by that time. "Earthlings", that is, Myasnikov's group, which had existed since the 70s, decided to get together at the end of 1978. The musicians took their former name and participated under it at the Spring Rhythms-80 festival. However, the group could not withstand the competition with the team of V. Kiselev, and therefore she had to change her name to "Atlas".

Group "Earthlings": the first composition

So, the group of interest to us began its existence with a new name. By that time, the following musicians were listed in Kiselev's "Earthlings":

V. Kiselev (drums);
I. Romanov (guitar);
V. Kudryavtsev (guitar-vocal);
Y. Starchenko (keyboards);
P. Borisov (bass);
N. Kudryavtsev (vocals);
(vocal).

The group "Earthlings" (1 composition) interested the well-known at that time Soviet composer. He invited the musicians to make a program out of their songs. In addition, Fradkin gave the band the opportunity to record their compositions on an EP.

The first composition of the "Earthlings" group (surnames were listed above) did not remain unchanged for very long, like all the others. After reading this article, you will see that the history of the team is quite complicated. Many musicians left him, many were part of the "Earthlings" group. The photo above was taken a few years ago.

Kuzbass

However, the relationship with the official structures of the city of Leningrad, despite this, the musicians did not develop. "Earthlings", like many other rock bands of the country, found refuge in Kuzbass. In August 1979, they entered into a contract with the group. Thus, the group secured legal concert performances and earnings. Then the musicians went on a tour around the cities of the Urals and Siberia. It should be noted that "Earthlings" were a group of "native" LenConcert only from January to November 1985. Prior to that, they visited the team operating at the Kaluga Philharmonic, then at the Tashkent Circus (since December 1985). After that, the group "Earthlings" finally moved to Moscow.

The group is updated

By that time, the team included Boris Aksenov (a multi-instrumentalist who had previously played in "Russians", "April" and "Sun"), Yu. Dmitrienko (keyboardist) and I. Dembovsky (singer). Leave N. Kudryavtsev, and P. Borisov. The conflict situation later leads to the departure of both I. Romanov and I. Dembovsky. They were replaced by A. Titov (bass) and Y. Ilchenko (guitar, vocals).

However, Kiselev soon returns Romanov to the group, who in early 1979 brings vocalist and keyboardist Sergei Skachkov with him. They worked with this musician in the Kakadu group, which was popular at that time. The peculiar timbre of Sergei Skachkov's voice from that moment determines the inimitable "Zemlyanov" sound.

Skachkov before the creation of "Kakadu" (since 1974) participated in the group "April" he created. It turns out that by that time two groups with that name were performing simultaneously in Leningrad. However, the paths of these groups did not intersect, they were not personally acquainted.

New changes

Many are interested in what the "Earthlings" group was then (composition of 1983). Not surprisingly, by this time important changes had taken place. The composition of the group "Earthlings" (1983) should be noted separately.

Kiselev decides to concentrate on administrative activities. In addition, A. Kruglov becomes a drummer. At the same time, Yu. Ilchenko left for Integral, and A. Titov went to August, and then to Aquarium and Kino. Kiselev introduces the team to the composer V. Miguley. So there are very successful in all respects, including commercially, the hits of the "Earthlings" - "Karate", "Grass at the House", "Stuntmen". These songs beat all records of popularity.

Increased popularity and pressure

With an inexorable progression, the number of tours and concerts is growing. Collaboration with pop composers and poets, of course, causes a negative attitude towards the group on the part of independent rock apologists. However, the group is under no less pressure from official structures, although outwardly they seem to be loyal to them. Musicians are criticized for being too cheeky and free on stage, for the concert sound, which is characterized as "cosmodrome-loud". The technical pro-Western nature of their image, the spectacular performances, and the special effects used cause dissatisfaction. Despite all these moments, the combination of complex ballads with the canons of the mass stage attracts a diverse and wide audience to the "Earthlings".

New line-up and image

In October 1985, the frontman I. Romanov left the band, as he was a supporter of a heavier sound. Later, Igor created a metal quintet called "Soyuz". Romanov also lured V. Brusilovsky, who had replaced A. Kruglov on drums a little earlier.

V. Kiselev in 1986 made an attempt to radically change the image of musicians. The members of the group are changing, a new program is being created, which is close in style to the weighted boogie-woogie. Finally, by the end of 1986, the composition of the team stabilized. It becomes the following:

V. Kiselev, S. Skachkov, S. Vasiliev, B. Aksenov - guitar;
Y. Babenko - guitar;
A. Lobachev - guitar;
Yu. Zhuchkov - vocals;
G. Tonkilidi - drums;
I. Kovalev - bass.

I. Kovalev left the group in the spring of 1987, he was replaced by bassist A. Krivtsov. After that, the "Earthlings" are taken to storm the musical Olympus again.

Downgrading, performances with Uriah Heep

However, by this time, the legalization of rock music in the state spills onto the scene many different bands that used to be underground. And the rating of "Earthlings" among young people, despite sold-out concerts, as well as a successful performance at the international festival in Dresden ("Schlager-87"), is gradually falling. Negative assessments of the band's joint concerts with the Uriah Heep group appear in the press. It first took place in December 1987, when the luminaries of Western rock Uriah Heep visited the USSR for the first time. Gradually, the group "Earthlings" enters the foreign stage.

The composition is changing again by this time. B. Aksenov and A. Lobachev leave the group. Disagreements continue in the team related to music policy.

Foreign tours, "Orient Express" and the end of the group

In 1987, the group took part in the Dresden festival, receiving 2 prizes - "For the best performance of a German song" and "For high professionalism". The team donated the entire prize to the Soviet Peace Fund. After that, V. Kiselev leaves the "Earthlings", who entrusts the management of the group to B. Zosimov.

In foreign trips, the team begins as the "Orient Express". And in our country with the same name, "Earthlings" first performed in September 1989. In 1991, the group returned from foreign tours in the following composition:

S. Vasiliev (guitar);
Y. Zhuchkov (vocals);
Y. Tyurin (drums);
Y. Babenko (bass);
director of the team - S. Protodyakonov.

At home, the musicians for some reason re-declare themselves as a group of "Earthlings". The composition in 1992 breaks up, as the team ceases to exist. This happened against the background of general upheavals in our country.

The revival of the team

At the end of 1994, the double disc "Best Hits" was released, the group was again looking for a permanent line-up. By the fall of 1995, the group "Earthlings" is once again changing its face. The group is replenished with the following musicians:

Yu. Levachev, S. Skachkov (bass);
G. Martov (guitar);
L. Khaikin (drums).

Later, M. Ivanov (keyboardist) joins. Again, "Earthlings" begin touring, performing new compositions. We briefly talked about the further fate of this team in the first half of the article. In 2000, the group "Earthlings" continued its activities. The composition of the group, as you can see, was not constant, but this did not prevent her from achieving success.

Name: Group "Zemlyane" (Zemlyane) Date of Birth: 1978 Age: 40 years Place of Birth: Moscow, Russia Activity: pop group Family status: None Group "Earthlings": biography

The legendary "Earthlings" is one of the most famous Russian and Soviet vocal and instrumental ensembles. The rock band, which gave music lovers the "golden" hits "Grass at Home", "Stuntmen", "Forgive me, Earth", in the 80s shone on the allied stage as a bright star. The "Earthlings" were equal, they were imitated, they were adored and called idols. The legend of the Soviet stage and today is the best cure for nostalgia for the middle generation, for those who were born and grew up in the USSR, whose youth is fanned with romance.

Over the long history of the rock band, the faces of the musicians, the names and surnames of the performers have repeatedly changed. But for Zemlyane fans, their favorite vocal and instrumental ensemble is strongly associated with the members of the "golden line-up", primarily with guitarist Igor Romanov and frontman Sergei Skachkov.

Sergey Skachkov and the group "Earthlings"

Longtime and devoted fans of the Zemlyane group know that Sergei Skachkov was not in the first line-up. The mustachioed vocalist appeared later, but it was his timbre of voice that determined the "signature" sound of the VIA, turned the "Earthlings" into favorites. Therefore, the devoted fans of the rock band took the appearance of double groups with hostility, although the "new" or "updated" "Earthlings" delight with good songs, they also have fans.

The most famous double group turned out to be the group of the same name, where Ruslan Shchukin is the soloist. Shchukin's "Earthlings" perform "classic" hits of the "golden composition", but added new compositions "Mama" and "Candle" to them. The reason for the confusion lies in the conflict between the founders and the imperfection of Russian legislation.

Ruslan Schukin and the group "Earthlings"

The group "Earthlings" appeared in 1969 in Leningrad. Students of the local technical school of radio electronics gathered a musical group. At first they performed cover versions of Western bands, and then they introduced their own compositions into the repertoire.

In 1978, the first "Earthlings" left the center where the rehearsals took place, but the team's administrator Andrei Bolshev remained. He was joined by the organizer of another St. Petersburg group, Vladimir Kiselev, in order to create a new ensemble on the basis of the Zemlyans.

The first composition of the group "Earthlings"

Bolshev and Kiselev called St. Petersburg rock performers Igor Romanov, Boris Aksenov, Yuri Ilchenko, Viktor Kudryavtsev and others. They formed the backbone of the first composition of the "Earthlings" group. The organizers of the group changed the style of the group, "diluting" pop melodies with rock and metal.

In the fall of 1980, a new vocalist Sergei Skachkov appeared in the Zemlyane group. The charismatic soloist determined the characteristic sound of the band's songs for decades.

The turning point came after the start of cooperation between the musicians and the composer Vladimir Miguley. The songs "Red Horse", "Karate" and "Stuntmen" appeared in the repertoire of the guys, which became commercial hits. The compositions of Vyacheslav Dobrynin and Leonid Derbenev added popularity, but Miguli's hit "Grass near the house" ("Earth in the porthole") instantly turned the "Earthlings" group into an all-Union legend.

The records of the rock band were sold by the millions. Only the record company Melodiya produced 15 million pieces, which music lovers instantly swept away from the shelves of music stores.

Fans called the musical group a rock band, but the Earthlings did not play rock in its purest form. "Fatal" was rather the entourage and special effects used at concerts. "Earthlings" in essence were built as a VIA, in accordance with all the laws of the pop genre.

The group's performances captured the imagination of the audience with special effects, pyrotechnics and forced sound, which were not used so often in the early 1980s. Concerts of the group "Earthlings" were built as Western rock shows, which added popularity.

Successful composers willingly collaborated with the "promoted" team: Mark Fradkin, Vyacheslav Dobrynin, Yuri Antonov wrote songs for "Earthlings". The "heroic" theme was widely exploited: stuntmen, pilots, astronauts and athletes became the main characters of the hits. Expression of the artists, spectacular performances, weighted, hard-rock sound favorably distinguished the "Earthlings" from pop bands with a sugary repertoire.

A successful fusion of heavy metal and pop genre, collaboration with star composers and songwriters in the mid-1980s raised the Earthlings group to an unattainable pedestal. But in the late autumn of 1985, the team suffered a significant loss: the favorite of the female audience, Igor Romanov, broke away from the group. The frontman lured drummer Valery Brusilovsky and went with him to pure metal. Later, Romanov became the guitarist of the legendary "Alice" with Konstantin Kinchev at the head.

In the second half of the 80s, Kiselev made changes to the style and program of the group: compositions appeared in the style of a weighted boogie-woogie.

In the fall of 1987, the star team was awarded a prize and a cash award at an international festival in Germany. And in December, the Zemlyane group was the first of the Soviet bands to perform on the stage of the Olimpiysky sports complex along with British rockers Uriah Heep.

In the summer of 1988, the Zemlyane group pleased music lovers with their appearance at the festival in Sopot, and in the fall, Kiselev left the band, establishing a production center in the city on the Neva. The team passed into the management of Boris Zosimov.

Towards the end of the 1980s, "Earthlings" with the light hand of Pierre Cardin received the name "Orient Express". So the Parisian couturier called Russian rockers for their pressure and expressiveness. The group gave several concerts at the Cardin Theatre, having arrived in the fashion capital at the invitation of the trendsetter of the global fashion industry.

The musicians liked the new name so much that the guys performed under it at the rock festival in Cherepovets. Soon the image of the group and the soloist change: Skachkov was replaced by Yuri Zhuchkov. In 1992, the group that survived the peak of popularity in the 80s left the pop Olympus and disintegrated.

After 2 years, Sergei Skachkov returns the group "Earthlings" to loyal fans. In the mid-1990s, the updated line-up went on tour with a program that received the telling name "Second orbit around the Earth."

In the winter of 2006, the Zemlyane group celebrated its anniversary - 30 years since its foundation - in the Kremlin and Ice Palaces and in the Luzhniki Sports Complex. At the end of 2007, disagreements arose between Skachkov and Kiselev, who returned to work with the Earthlings in 2004. Vladimir claimed the rights to the brand and gathered new musicians and vocalists. This is how the twins came about.

The new composition of the group "Earthlings" and Dmitry Medvedev

In November 2009, Russian pop stars performed at a concert organized by Skachkov and timed to coincide with the 30th anniversary of the hit Grass at Home. At the concert, the "golden" hit "Earthlings" corporation "Roskosmos" assigned the status of the national anthem of cosmonautics. In the spring of 2010, a documentary about this event was released for the professional holiday of pilots and cosmonauts.

In the first decade of the 2000s, the Zemlyane group, where Skachkov was still the soloist, pleased fans with three albums. The 2000s were marked by litigation between Skachkov and Kiselev for the ownership of the brand. In 2008, Kiselev won, but the following year, the court annulled the decision of Rospatent, handing over the rights to Skachkov.

In 2013, the Zemlyane group took part in a tour of rock bands supporting Russia and the president's policies. In February, the musicians visited the Crimea, giving charity concerts to residents of three major cities. The referendum on the peninsula was held to the sound of hits from Russian rockers.

In the summer of 2014, the musicians presented the fans with the Half Way album, and in September, the Zemlyane group sang for free in the places where refugees and IDPs from the Ukrainian southeast live.

The musicians have repeatedly collected humanitarian aid for the Donbass, performed in the cities of the unrecognized republics. In addition to musical gifts, the "earthlings" helped collect humanitarian supplies for the residents of Donbass.

In the early autumn of 2014, the Zemlyane group visited the cities of the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics with charity performances, giving residents unforgettable moments.

In the spring of 2016, rockers performed in Sevastopol, congratulating the residents of the city on the 2nd anniversary of the reunification of the peninsula with Russia. On Victory Day, the musicians took part in the Immortal Regiment action and gave a concert to the Russian military in Syria.

In September, the Zemlyane group, together with the finalist of the Voice project Anastasia Spiridonova, sang the sports hit Olympics-80. In 2017, the legendary team performed at the anniversary of Gazprom. On December 1, 2017, the Zemlyane group gave a concert in Tatarstan, in the city of Naberezhnye Chelny.

Fans will learn about the news in the life of the team, the history of the group, projects and the tour schedule on the official website of the Zemlyans.

Discography