"Zemlyane" (Zemlyane) is a rock band that can be safely called a "legend". Their immortal hits "Grass by the House", "Stuntmen", "Sorry, Earth", "Believe in the Dream" have remained relevant for decades. They were idols of millions, they were equaled by beginners and established performers, and today their creativity does not lose popularity. The collective still gathers whole stadiums and pleases listeners with high-quality music.
Despite the fact that both fans and the "Zemlyane" themselves position themselves as a rock band, music critics call them a full-fledged vocal and instrumental ensemble. In their performances there are a lot of special effects and entourage characteristic of variety, at the same time the songs are diluted with metal and hard. The main theme of the lyrics is not lyrical, but more "masculine". Therefore, it is quite difficult to unambiguously define the genre.
Birth of a cult collective
The history of the group is full of life peripetias and scandals. Over the years of existence, "Zemlyane" several times disintegrated, then again resumed activity. In the composition there were often replacements, members migrated from one collective to another, started a solo career or arranged a personal life. For three years they performed under the name "Eastern Express". And returning to the former name, there was a conflict of right holders, which lasted for many years. But whatever obstacles may happen on their way, there were no insurmountable obstacles for the musicians. They continued to tour, give concerts and delight fans with new songs.
In 1969, on the basis of the Leningrad Technical School of Radio Electronics, a student musical group was created. Their repertoire consisted of covers of songs by foreign performers. A little later they began to write their own compositions. But having failed to achieve success, in 1978 most of the group left, only administrator Andrei Bolshev remained. He was joined by Vladimir Kiselev, who at that time was also trying to organize a musical band. Joining forces, they gathered a team, which became the first composition of "Zemlyans". It included:
- Igor Romanov;
- Boris Aksenov;
- Yuri Ilchenko;
- Victor Kudryavtsev.
Together they decided to radically change the style of the band, diluting the boring pop with heavy rock and metal. Gradually other musicians started to be added to them. In 1980 Sergey Skachkov joined the band, who later became the leader, inspirer and the main voice of Zemlyans.
Creative path
The first compositions of the newly formed group turned out to be quite "raw". Young and inexperienced guys needed a good producer for promotion. And they found such a producer in the person of Vladimir Migul. Under his guidance the compositions "Red Horse", "Karate", "Stuntmen" were created. Following them, the musicians performed "Sorry, Earth", "And Life Goes On". But the real commercial success brought the schlager "Grass by the House".
This composition is considered a business card of "Zemlyans", it was loved by people of different ages and professions. "The Earth in the porthole..." sounded from all radio stations of that time, the text was known by heart and adults and children. Two decades later, "Grass by the House" was officially recognized as the Anthem of Russian cosmonautics. In 2009, a whole festival was held in honor of the 30th anniversary of its writing. Several generations have already changed, and the song still does not leave the lips of Russians. No Soviet song has ever achieved such success.
In the 80s, "Zemlyane" bathed in the rays of glory. They filled their discography with hit records, which immediately swept off the shelves, gave several performances a day, traveled to all corners of the USSR.
In 1986 Igor Romanov, the leader of the project, left unexpectedly. Without him the musicians won the I Prize and a special prize at the festival in Germany. In the same year they became the first rock band from the USSR to appear on the stage of Olimpiyskiy, and even within the framework of a joint concert with the British Uriah Heep. In 1988 "Earthlings" was left by Vladimir Kiselev.
In the early 90's there was a pause in the biography of the band. Some sources claim that the reason was internal conflicts. And while the musicians solved personal issues, fans, holding their breath, waited for their return. It was Skachkov who made every effort not only to resume activity, but also to "light up" with new forces.
In 1994, the participants united again, created an extravaganza concert program "The Second Spiral Around the Earth" and went on a long tour in the largest musical venues of the country. They celebrated their 30th anniversary with performances in the Kremlin Palace, Ice Palace and Luzhniki. Such rock stars as Uriah Heep, Deep Purple, Nazareth, Black Sabbath, Animals, Supermax and others came to congratulate them.
Copyright division
Back in the Soviet Union, many popular VIAs had doppelgangers. "Zemlyans" such a fate also did not pass by. But only if some ensembles created "their own kind" for commercial purposes, the rock group was different.
In 2007, as a result of disagreements between producer Vladimir Kiselev and soloist Sergei Skachkov, a serious conflict arose. They could not decide who owned the rights to TM "Zemlyane". Skachkov performed with the existing group, Kiselev recruited new artists and wanted to present them to the public under the legendary name.
The court proceedings dragged on for many years. First Rospatent settled the dispute in favor of Kiselev, then the court canceled the decision, transferring the copyright to Skachkov. Repeated lawsuits were filed, famous Russian artists wrote letters in support of the soloist to the president himself. The dispute was resolved only in 2013, but all this "struggle" for the right to own the brand had a negative impact on the creativity of the rock band.
"Zemlyane" in the new millennium
Since the 2000s, Skachkov and his collective continued to give concerts and release albums. They performed more often at events of the format "Disco 80s", as well as rock festivals. Since 2014, they often played in Crimea and in the occupied Ukrainian regions. The current lineup of Zemlyans includes:
- Sergey Skachkov (lead singer, keyboardist);
- Sergey Kolchin (guitarist);
- Andrey Smirnov (guitarist);
- Andrey Ismagilov (keyboardist);
- Victor Levchenko (bass-guitarist);
- Sergey Serebrennikov (drummer).
For all the time of the project's existence they have published about 40 albums and compilations. They have dozens of awards, prizes, nominations and orders. This is a truly legendary band, which will surely still be able to surprise us. Information about further achievements of the collective read in the catalog of artists on the website kontramarka.de.
Discography (favorites):
1979 - "Red Horse"
1982 - "Zemlyane 82"
1983 - "Stuntmen"
1984 - "Zemlyane: Grass by the House".
1986 - "The Way Home"
1994 - "Greatest Hits"
2000 - "SOS" (S. Skachkov)
2008 - "Cold of the Soul" (S. Skachkov)
2010 - "Symbols of Love" (S. Skachkov)
2013 - "The Best and the New"
2014 - "Halfway" (S. Skachkov)
