"Hands Up" (Ruki Vverh) is a Russian pop group, whose fame is not worth talking much about. Literally everyone is familiar with their work. Having become famous in the 90s, they are still reaping the benefits of their popularity. The guys released a record number of hits, gave thousands of concerts, broke millions of girls' hearts. Sergei Zhukov and Alexei Potekhin are called the kings of the pop genre, and it makes no sense to argue with this. In the collection of awards, they collected all kinds of titles of "The Best", received a huge number of awards, medals, diplomas, prizes. They became the best dance project of the decade, and even after celebrating their 25th anniversary of creativity, "Hands Up" continue to replenish the arsenal of awards.
History of the creation of the cult collective
The acquaintance of Sergei Zhukov and Alexei Potekhin occurred in 1993. Until that moment they both made the first tiny and little successful steps in their creative career. Sergei had diplomas from a music school of piano class and the Academy of Arts, and had always dreamed of singing. Alexey did not see himself initially as a musician, he had a technical education. But when after university he got behind the DJ desk, he radically changed his outlook. He realized that he needed to realize his creative potential.
The young talents became friends at the radio station "Europe Plus", where they came to get a job. Having found common interests, they began to develop in the same direction: they began to perform together at weddings, to spin discos. They named their duet "Mr. Ray and Company" in honor of their favorite performer Ray Sleingard. After a year of cooperation the guys recorded several songs in English and mastered the DJ desk perfectly. Their discos were the best in Togliatti (they lived there for some time), the performers were adored by young people. But the guys wanted more and set out to conquer the capital.
In Moscow they successfully debuted at a rap festival, becoming winners. They were talked about in musical circles, but the fame did not last long. After all, in order to break into the world of show business, they needed financial injections. And they earned very little. For a few months the guys worked as DJs in Tbilisi, then returned to Moscow. After the second attempt to break through to the big stage they were again disappointed. And when the novice performers were ready to leave everything and go home, fate gave them a surprise. Acquaintance with people who released pirate records, led to the fact that in the compilations began to appear compositions of Sergei and Alexei. In a week their songs could be heard in cafes and shuttle buses. After some time the duo began to be invited to concerts.
From this moment begins the history of the group "Hands Up" - a collective that for twenty years "rattled" in Russia and CIS countries.
Music that became a legend
The date of the founding of the group is considered to be 1994. Although the name appeared a little later and absolutely by accident. When during the promotion period the guys sent a cassette with compositions to the radio "Maximum", they signed it "This music will make you raise your hands up". The presenters, not knowing how to announce this duet correctly, said simply: "Hands up". That's how this loud and extraordinary name of the collective appeared.
The first album Sergei and Alexei released with the help of producer Andrei Malikov. It was called "Breathe evenly." After the release of the record, the songs "Student" and "Baby" began to sound from everywhere. The budding artists shot two music videos and launched them on television. After that, fame simply fell on them. Compositions lightning climbed to the first positions of the hit parades. And a month later, the guys have already gone on a big tour.
Since 1997, "Hands Up" were at the top of popularity. They gathered full halls and audiences of thousands, gave forty concerts a month, crowds of fans did not give a pass. The life of Potekhin and Zhukov turned into a continuous tour. But the guys, in turn, did not get tired of releasing one hit after another.
In the period of 1998-1999 the musicians recorded 5 albums. And each of them was incredibly successful. It seemed that they would have to make millions on it, but as it later turned out, the unscrupulous producer replenished only his own pocket, leaving the performers "crumbs". In 2000, they said goodbye and began to record songs under their own label.
The creativity of the group was especially popular among the younger generation. Girls fell madly in love with the beautiful and energetic members of the collective, flooded them with letters, tore down fences at concerts, guarded on the street. In this regard, Potekhin and Zhukov even hired security guards.
But such success had the other side of the coin. Endless performances, touring, lack of free time and personal life began to drive the guys crazy. In addition, there was constant information about suicides of avid fans, traumatization of fans in crushes at concerts, sometimes it was simply unsafe to perform. Love and recognition crossed the boundary of sanity and turned into hysteria.
And then in 2006 Sergey and Alexey decided to leave the stage. Such a statement greatly upset the listeners. But the guys did not leave the music, but only took a short break. They continued to write their creative biography, but already apart. Potekhin organized the project "Track & Blues". Zhukov took up writing and producing.
Return to the stage
Until 2012, the former idols of millions were noticeable in narrow circles. And then there was a loud announcement, which sparked hope in many fans: "Hands Up" returns! But the joy was premature. The soloist in the group was one - Sergei Zhukov. Potekhin did not return to the band. Other musicians were not invited to the line-up.
In the same year, the album "Open the Door to Me" was released, the success of which could not come close to the previous works. Very famous became a song released in 2016 - "When we were young", timed to the 20th anniversary of the group.
Today Zhukov and Potekhin continue their creative activity. Alexei performs with his own project. Sergey reserved the right to sing under the name "Hands Up". He tours, takes part in various TV projects, regularly replenishes his discography and collection of awards. What will be the future of the legendary collective and what else they will please fans, read in the catalog of artists on the website kontramarka.de.
Discography:
1997 - "Breathe Evenly".
1997 - "Breathe Evenly" (reissue)
1998 - "Hands Up, Dr. Schlager!"
1998 - "Make it Louder!"
1998 - "Make it Louder!"
1999 - "No Brakes"
1999 - "No brakes at all"
2000 - "Hello, it's me"
2001 - "Don't be afraid, I'm with you."
2001 - "Little Girls"
2002 - "The end of pops, everybody dance!"
2003 - "I feel good with you"
2004 - "And the girls are so cold"
2005 - Fuc*in' Rock'n'Roll
♪ 2012 ♪
♪ 2015 ♪
2016 - "Ruki Vverkh - When We Were Young"
