"Verasy (Verasy VIA) is a Belarusian vocal and instrumental ensemble that rattled the entire Soviet Union. They gave us such immortal hits as "Malinovka", "Zavirukha", "I live at my grandmother's house", "Carnival" and others. At the peak of popularity they gave 100 concerts a month, earned unimaginable sums at that time and bathed in the rays of glory. The collective overcame many trials and difficulties, dozens of musicians and vocalists passed through them, but every time they went on stage, they gave joy to their fans.
How the legend was created
Many are convinced that Vasily Rainchik was the founder of the VIA. In fact, "Verasy" had already existed for several years before his appearance in the team. Initially it was planned to organize a group in the style of "Pesnyars" only in female form. This idea came to the mind of Taisiya Tlekhuch, who assembled a girls' quartet. It included: Yadviga Poplavskaya, Lucina Shemetkova, Tatiana Tarasova and Taisia herself. A little later they were joined by Nadezhda Mikulich and Lyudmila Isupova. The only guy in their collective was a drummer, as they could not find a girl who would play drums masterfully.
In 1973 the group sang backup vocals with Eduard Mitsul. Then a team of accompanists led by Yuri Rymashevsky came to them with a proposal to join forces and create a single VIA. At that time they were joined by Alexander Tikhanovich, who had feelings for the soloist Jadwiga. Thus, by 1974 the first line-up of the Verasy VIA was formed.
Creative path
The newly formed group began rehearsals. At that time, the All-Union contest of entertainers was announced. There they decided to make their debut.
The first performance in the qualifying round attracted great attention of the jury and listeners. The artists were characterized by an original manner of singing and had a pure intonation. Having passed all stages of selection, they performed in the final and became laureates of the contest.
But the brilliant victory was overshadowed: after returning home they lost their leader. He was kicked out for a "drunken brawl", in which he did not enter, but only tried to disorganize the participants. But it was useless to argue with the Komsomol. "Verasy" began to look for a new director.
At the suggestion of Tikhanovich and Poplavskaya, the leading position was entrusted to Vasily Rainchik, who at that time worked part-time as a musician in restaurants and was a respected man in his circles.
After the victory, the whole Soviet Union started talking about them. They became a real discovery in the variety, so they were invited guests at any holiday. They were invited to concerts for workers of Komsomol shock construction sites, military, veterans, they sang at various military-patriotic festivals, at the International Political Song Contest in Finland and Bulgaria. And at almost every event they were honored with awards, prizes or titles. In 1976 they recorded a festival program and published the first giant CD.
From 1974 to 1980 "Verasy" did not get out of tours, festivals and competitions. During this time the line-up remained unchanged. A special pride was a joint tour with Dean Reed, a famous American performer, director and actor. They were also lucky enough to sing on the same stage with the band "Supermax" and Precious Wilson.
Their focus on their target audience contributed greatly to their popularity. The artists were well aware that the tastes of the younger and more mature generation are different. Therefore, in addition to standard pop songs, they created compositions in a fresher genre with modern rhythms. And on some posters they made a special inscription "Concert for young people".
The year 1980 was marked by the release of the legendary hit song "Malinovka". And although almost all the band members refused to perform this song, considering it "low-brow", Rainchik achieved his goal and recorded the composition. His intuition did not fail him: after the presentation at the "Song-80" the hit was heard almost from every iron.
The middle of the 80s was a busy period for them. The musicians spent most of their time on stage - they gave three concerts a day. They moved to the status of "the elite of Soviet pop music". About their earnings were legends, from the tour they returned without exaggeration millionaires.
Despite such a fruitful activity and a huge number of songs in the repertoire, they had a very modest discography. And all because the artists preferred to sing live, communicate with the audience in real time, rather than spend hours in recording studios.
In 1986, Jadwiga Poplavskaya and Alexander Tikhanovich left Veras. These two individuals were considered the backbone of the ensemble for many years. Their names are inscribed in the biography of the group in bold lines, and it was impossible to find a full-fledged replacement for them. Leaving the VIA, the couple enjoyed a personal life (being members of the VIA, they got married), and soon created their own project "Happy Accident" and organized the Song Theatre.
The ensemble began looking for new members. For some time in it soloed Julia Skorokhod, Angelica Agurbash, Nadezhda Voevodina, Irina Dorofeeva. But the ensemble could not stay afloat for long. In 1996 the ensemble ceased to exist.
"Verasy" today.
After the collapse of the group, Vasily Rainchik organized a new collective "Verasyaty" under the leadership of the Youth Variety Theater, and for a long period was engaged in its promotion. But the legendary VIA was constantly reminded of the songs that had already become "classics" among the people.
After a long break in 2007, Rainchik decided to resume the activities of "Veras" and found new soloists. They were:
- Alexandra Gorbatenko;
- Aleksey Zhos;
- Nikita Kostyukevich;
- Maria Stepushchenok.
The team of four young and talented performers today continues to write the history of the group, but they still have to work and work to the success of their predecessors. Read about further activities of the collective in the catalog of artists on the website kontramarka.de.
Discography:
Solo albums:
1978 - "Red Poppies"
1980 - "Our Disco"
1985 - "Music for All"
Mini-albums:
1975 - "Where to find such happiness"
1976 - "Smells of Chabor"
1978 - "White Birch"
1979 - "Herbs of Childhood"
1980 - "Hearing the voice of Malinovka."
1988 - "Songs on the Poems of Vladimir Neklyaev"
