"Merry guys" (VIA Veselie rebyata) is a Russian ensemble that needs no introduction. It made an invaluable contribution to the development of Soviet pop music, created dozens of hits, won a lot of prestigious awards, became a seven-time winner of the "Song of the Year". The musicians often won at international festivals, performed on the same stage with the legendary bands ABBA, Boney M, Savage, C. C. Catch. Catch. This group became for many people the impetus for the start of their solo career: the biography of the VIA includes such names as Alla Pugacheva, Alexander Buinov, Yuri Peterson, Alexander Barykin, Vyacheslav Malezhik, Alexey Glyzin, Alexander Dobrynin and others. The records of the ensemble were sold in record numbers, and the songs are known by heart by more than one generation.
Formation stage
"Merry guys" began to write the history of the group back in 1966. Then pianist and composer Pavel Slobodkin created a musical group. He could hardly think that two years later his creation would become a winner of the All-Union contest.
Having gathered a team, they together developed a concept and repertoire. Most of the participants already had some experience in performing, singing in different jazz and pop groups.
The first line-up included:
- Eduard Vinnik (bassist);
- Gennady Turabelidze (drummer);
- Anatoly Kuptsov (guitarist);
- Yuri Peterson (soloist, saxophonist);
- Vladimir Noskov (guitarist).
In the following years the artists often changed: some of them started solo careers, others could not stand the tight touring schedule, others simply found themselves in another sphere of activity or settled their personal lives.
The stylistics of the songs were not determined at once. At first they performed patriotic and folkloric compositions, but with time they realized that pop, disco, beat and a light touch of rock would help them to achieve greater success. Having made adjustments to their repertoire, they became the first ensemble in the USSR to perform in such a musical genre. The name of the VIA was given in honor of the cult Soviet comedy "Merry Guys". So Slobodkin emphasized the continuity of generations and outlined the style of activity.
The first year the novice ensemble rehearsed a lot. Participants experimented with performance and arrangements, carefully selected texts. And this work was appreciated: after two years of creative activity they were awarded the title of laureates at the All-Union contest in the nomination "The best performance of youth songs". Then they were also awarded the first prize. A year later they repeated their success. And in early 1970 the Soviet Union saw the first minion of the group. Many believe that it was this event that turned the whole musical world of that era upside down. This album became a manifesto of the young generation and a new genre, opening the way for many composers, performers and bands. Moreover, the record reached record sales of 15,795,000 copies.
World fame
The success of the VIA was that they staked on their own repertoire and proved that pop rock sounds excellent in Russian. It is also important that only bright talented individuals were included in the collective. Beautiful vocals alone were not enough. They collaborated with many aspiring authors and poets who understood what modern youth needed.
Slobodkin paid great attention to the light design of the show program, sound accompaniment, staging. Having received high-quality musical and vocal sound, they became a theater of song. Each performance of the VIA "Jolly Guys" was original, professional and memorable.
In the 70's concerts of VIA always took place in full halls and stadiums. They gathered crowds of thousands of people. Albums razmetalali in a few days. The fame of the progressive ensemble broke out of the USSR.
In 1973 they took part in the International Competition of Recordings in England. They returned home with the third prize and the title of laureate. It was a breakthrough of the world level. The victory opened their way to the musical platform of the progressive West.
In the following years they performed abroad a lot. Bulgaria, Finland, Czechoslovakia, Germany, Cuba, Hungary - they were invited to these countries very often. They literally collected awards at all competitions. In the USSR, for their merits in the field of domestic art, they were approved in the status of musical theater.
The discography of the "Merry Guys" is a separate pride of the collective. From 1970 to 1991 they annually released new records.
The decline in popularity of the ensemble came in 1988. Then two bright artists - Alexander Buinov and Alexei Glyzin - left the composition. New participants could not fully replace them. In 1991, the VIA made a farewell gift to its fans in the form of a record "25 Years. The best songs."
"Merry guys" in our time
In 2005, Slobodkin gathered new young participants and resumed the work of the ensemble. They recorded compositions, released albums, toured the country. Their performances were held at major concert venues and large-scale festivals. The musicians were awarded for their great contribution to the development of domestic pop culture, were awarded the titles of laureates, but to resume the former glory of the cult VIA they were not able to.
In 2009 the lineup included guitarist Ilya Zmeenkov, vocalist and keyboardist Andrey Kontsur, trumpeter and vocalist Mikhail Reshetnikov, vocalist and guitarist Ivan Pashkov, drummer Yuri Andreev, vocalist and guitarist Alexey Cherevkov. After the death of the group's founder Pavel Slobodkin in 2017, little has been heard about the collective.
At the same time, today without the hits of the "Merry guys" no "Disco 80s" can do without them. Their songs are known by heart by everyone whose youth fell on the period of 70-80-ies. Fresh information about the ensemble you will find in the catalog of artists on the website kontramarka.de.
Discography (favorites):
1970 - "Alyoshkin's Love"
1971 - "People Meet"
1973 - "Chernobrovaya divchina".
1974 - "Love is a Huge Country"
1976 - "Golden Orpheus"
1978 - "We Must Be Friends"
1979 - "Musical Globe"
1981 - "Disco Club"
1987 - "Just a Minute"
1991 - "Merry guys, 25 years. Best Songs"
1995 - "Banana Islands"
1997 - "People Meet"
2007 - "Love is the Child of the Planet"
2008 - "Musical Globe"
2009 - "Love is a big country"
2012 - "Write Me a Letter"
2013 - "What a Beautiful World"
2014 - "Retrospective"
2015 - "Crossroads of Destiny"
