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Thread: ID Late '80s Russian Rock Band?

  1. #1

    ID Late '80s Russian Rock Band?

    Can anyone ID this Russian rock band from the late '80s (I didn't have much luck with Google Translate)? Any of their stuff make it to CD?


  2. #2
    ALL ACCESS Gruno's Avatar
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    Gorky Park?

  3. #3
    Member frinspar's Avatar
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    I used the translation thing on my phone and wrote the text from the video title and it reads: Rock artist of the USSR (Moscow) 1989.
    So, I guess there's no band name attached.

  4. #4
    it's SIR. Play the second track here
    i.ain't.dead.irock

  5. #5
    That information helps! I'm trying to track down a late '80s Soviet rock band that a girl I dated in college listened to. It seemed to be a sort of loose concept album (teenage love) - kind of like Journey or REO Speedwagon; a mixture of plaintive slower tracks with up-beat arena rock. There couldn't have been too many of these bands active in the Soviet Union at the time, but it's a bear trying to track down sound samples.

    This is another potential candidate from 1990 Ascension - appears to be a Christian Rock band: https://goo.gl/XljreB

  6. #6
    Member TheH's Avatar
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    Some Russian Rock bands from the 80s

    Alisa
    Agata Kristi
    Autograph
    Aquarium
    Auktyon
    Aria
    DDT
    Kino
    Mashina Vremeni
    Nautilus Pompilius
    Krematorij
    Grazhdanskaya Oborona
    Voskreseniye
    Secret
    Piknik
    Zoopark
    Zvuki Mu

  7. #7
    Member TheH's Avatar
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    Autograph might fit...


  8. #8
    Autograph sounds pretty good, but too much of a 'prog' vibe; this was definitely AOR/Arena rock territory. However, I imagine some prog fans would certainly find a bit to like in this 2014 concert from Autograph:


  9. #9
    Member helicase's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by frinspar View Post
    I used the translation thing on my phone and wrote the text from the video title and it reads: Rock artist of the USSR (Moscow) 1989.
    So, I guess there's no band name attached.
    It may actually read Rock Group CCCP (Moscow) 1989. CCCP does mean USSR as you mention, but I think it may be the name of the band. At the start of the video it is shown on a screen above the stage and someone seems to introduce them as such, because I can hear them say "[gr]uppa es es es er", i.e. group SSSR (=CCCP). If it helps, the line-up appears under the video:
    vocals - Aleksandr Soloviev
    guitar - Rostislav Grigoriev
    keyboards - Vitaly Angelis (he seems to have uploaded the video)
    percussion - Igor Karmazikov

  10. #10
    Quote Originally Posted by helicase View Post
    It may actually read Rock Group CCCP (Moscow) 1989. CCCP does mean USSR as you mention, but I think it may be the name of the band. At the start of the video it is shown on a screen above the stage and someone seems to introduce them as such, because I can hear them say "[gr]uppa es es es er", i.e. group SSSR (=CCCP). If it helps, the line-up appears under the video:
    vocals - Aleksandr Soloviev
    guitar - Rostislav Grigoriev
    keyboards - Vitaly Angelis (he seems to have uploaded the video)
    percussion - Igor Karmazikov
    Attachment 7264

    the name of that band is СЭР and the album is I Believe In The Dream (1989). it's not the one Proglodite is specifically looking for but I suppose it would be in the same AOR/Melodic Hard Rock vein as SIR.
    i.ain't.dead.irock

  11. #11
    ALL ACCESS Gruno's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Proglodite View Post
    That information helps! I'm trying to track down a late '80s Soviet rock band that a girl I dated in college listened to. It seemed to be a sort of loose concept album (teenage love) - kind of like Journey or REO Speedwagon; a mixture of plaintive slower tracks with up-beat arena rock. There couldn't have been too many of these bands active in the Soviet Union at the time, but it's a bear trying to track down sound samples.
    Quote Originally Posted by Proglodite View Post
    Autograph sounds pretty good, but too much of a 'prog' vibe; this was definitely AOR/Arena rock territory.
    You sure it is not Gorky Park?



    Gorky Park (international title) or Парк Горького (Russian title) is a Russian hard rock band, that gained mainstream popularity in the United States during Perestroika. Gorky Park is famous for its kitsch use of western stereotypes of Russians, such as pseudo-traditional clothing, balalaika-like guitar design and the hammer and sickle as their logo. It was the first Russian band to be aired on MTV.

    In 1987 guitarist Alexey Belov, vocalist Nikolay Noskov, bassist Alexander "Big Sasha" Minkov, guitarist Yan Yanenkov, and drummer Alexander Lvov (formerly from Aria) came together to form Gorky Park. Stas Namin, a famous 70's soviet musician, became the band's manager. Because Gorbachev lifted the censorship, many underground rock bands, including Gorky Park, became able to receive more widespread popularity. Later that year the band left Russia for the United States in search of a record deal.

    In the U.S. the band soon made some connections in the record business. One of the first people to take notice was famous guitarist Frank Zappa. Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora also helped them to secure a deal with Mercury Records.

    The band released a self-titled debut album in 1989, featuring initials 'GP' stylized as a Hammer & Sickle on the cover. With the fall of the Iron Curtain and a growing interest in Soviets to western countries, Gorky Park soon became widely known. The band seemed to be a kind of symbol of American-Russian friendship. The band's first video, "Bang", received MTV rotation. Their next two singles, "Try to Find Me" and a collaboration with Bon Jovi, "Peace in Our Time", received rotation on mainstream radio stations.

  12. #12
    Quote Originally Posted by TheH View Post
    Some Russian Rock bands from the 80s

    Autograph
    Aquarium
    Auktyon
    Kino
    Krematorij
    Grazhdanskaya Oborona
    Voskreseniye
    Piknik
    Zoopark
    These ones were even quite big names. Autograph and Aquarium were actually huge.
    "Improvisation is not an excuse for musical laziness" - Fred Frith
    "[...] things that we never dreamed of doing in Crimson or in any band that I've been in," - Tony Levin speaking of SGM

  13. #13
    Quote Originally Posted by Scrotum Scissor View Post
    These ones were even quite big names. Autograph and Aquarium were actually huge.
    I have some video of Authograph and I can even see a Memory Moog.

  14. #14
    I'm pretty sure it wasn't Gorky Park - I would have been able to remember that name. They sang in Russian. My ex- was from Ukraine (Rostov-on-Don), but not sure if the band was Ukranian. We dated when the Soviet Union splintered, and I had the impression the band/album was one she listened to in high school or first year or two of college. There were ballads and somewhat catchy rock songs (considering the language barrier - keep in mind, this was just as I was discovering Laser's Edge, Syn-Phonic and the whole world of underground prog). --Peter

  15. #15
    Quote Originally Posted by Rarebird View Post
    I have some video of Authograph and I can even see a Memory Moog.
    I saw a video of them performing the instrumental “S.O.S.” (one of their most progressive tunes, at least that I’ve heard) and there’s definitely a Prophet 5.
    Confirmed Bachelors: the dramedy hit of 1883...

  16. #16
    Proglodite, Атомик (Atomic) is the only other band I can think of that comes close to your description and maybe Кросс (Cross)

    Атомик
    Кросс
    i.ain't.dead.irock

  17. #17
    I can't identify this rock band.

  18. #18
    Quote Originally Posted by Progbear View Post
    I saw a video of them performing the instrumental “S.O.S.” (one of their most progressive tunes, at least that I’ve heard) and there’s definitely a Prophet 5.
    Yesterday I watched the video again and under the Memorymoog, I also saw an Oberheim OB8. That stuff wasn't cheap.

  19. #19
    Quote Originally Posted by Rarebird View Post
    I also saw an Oberheim OB8. That stuff wasn't cheap.
    After (in the mid-70s) realizing how the dilemma of popular music among youth wouldn't simply be eroded by the usual remedy (propaganda, threats, banning and barring), several Eastern bloc countries introduced the phenomenon of state-sponsored rock music activity; certain artists were awarded grants and funds by local or regional cultural committees given the performers' arrangement with the authorities to stay loyal and patriotic in lyrics and general attitude. Often this would not only guarantee them record deals and equipment etc. (as in the case of Olympic in Czechoslowakia or Locomotiv GT in Hungary) but also allow for some bands to play concerts and - albeit in rare cases - go touring, sometimes even abroad in other Warsaw Pact lands. I can't remember if this was the case with Autograph, though - although I know for a fact that one of the most famous Russian 'progressive' bands, the jazz/rock ensemble Arsenal, were heavily sponsored. Their music was mostly instrumental anyway. In some instances, as with Bulgaria's only 'symph' rock band Formation Studio Balkanton (FSB, ironically the abbreviation of today's intelligence service in Russia), the whole group actually came about as an instalment directed by the state. Those musicians were hand-picked from the conservatory in Sofia.

    There was an excellent PhD dissertation on Russian 80s rock music produced here in Norway about a decade back, and I still keep the pdf. somewhere. I'll try to find it for you.
    "Improvisation is not an excuse for musical laziness" - Fred Frith
    "[...] things that we never dreamed of doing in Crimson or in any band that I've been in," - Tony Levin speaking of SGM

  20. #20
    Quote Originally Posted by Scrotum Scissor View Post
    After (in the mid-70s) realizing how the dilemma of popular music among youth wouldn't simply be eroded by the usual remedy (propaganda, threats, banning and barring), several Eastern bloc countries introduced the phenomenon of state-sponsored rock music activity; certain artists were awarded grants and funds by local or regional cultural committees given the performers' arrangement with the authorities to stay loyal and patriotic in lyrics and general attitude. Often this would not only guarantee them record deals and equipment etc. (as in the case of Olympic in Czechoslowakia or Locomotiv GT in Hungary) but also allow for some bands to play concerts and - albeit in rare cases - go touring, sometimes even abroad in other Warsaw Pact lands. I can't remember if this was the case with Autograph, though - although I know for a fact that one of the most famous Russian 'progressive' bands, the jazz/rock ensemble Arsenal, were heavily sponsored. Their music was mostly instrumental anyway. In some instances, as with Bulgaria's only 'symph' rock band Formation Studio Balkanton (FSB, ironically the abbreviation of today's intelligence service in Russia), the whole group actually came about as an instalment directed by the state. Those musicians were hand-picked from the conservatory in Sofia.

    There was an excellent PhD dissertation on Russian 80s rock music produced here in Norway about a decade back, and I still keep the pdf. somewhere. I'll try to find it for you.
    I know, I know. I have a book on 3 groups from the former DDR, which basicly says something simular.

  21. #21
    Quote Originally Posted by Rarebird View Post
    I have a book on 3 groups from the former DDR, which basicly says something simular.
    Indeed, the Puhdys were as I understand it probably the most state-sponsored of all "Eastern" European rock groups. Not that this in any way affected their appeal with large audiences. Both Karat, Electra and Bayon were also receivers of substantial grants.
    "Improvisation is not an excuse for musical laziness" - Fred Frith
    "[...] things that we never dreamed of doing in Crimson or in any band that I've been in," - Tony Levin speaking of SGM

  22. #22
    Quote Originally Posted by Scrotum Scissor View Post
    Indeed, the Puhdys were as I understand it probably the most state-sponsored of all "Eastern" European rock groups. Not that this in any way affected their appeal with large audiences. Both Karat, Electra and Bayon were also receivers of substantial grants.
    The book I have is about Electra, Lift and Stern Combo Meißen. An interesting read, but it misses an index.

  23. #23
    ^
    With Bayon and Panta Rhei (precursors to Karat), Stern Meissen and Lift were the only truly interesting progressive bands in the GDR that *I* have heard. Obviously it was difficult for them to operate at all without some sort of formal support by the state. The only Eastern bloc country where this was possible whatsoever, as far as I know, was the non-Warsaw Pact Yugoslavia.

    In Albania you could actually risk a death sentence as late as the early 80s for listening to Western radio or pop music, and especially pop/rock from their 'Titoist' arch-enemies Yugoslavia.
    "Improvisation is not an excuse for musical laziness" - Fred Frith
    "[...] things that we never dreamed of doing in Crimson or in any band that I've been in," - Tony Levin speaking of SGM

  24. #24
    here's a list of bands under AOR category and another under Hard Rock. keep in mind that it's a google translation but maybe something will stick out that you remember.

    AOR

    AUTOGRAPH, GALAXY, OLGA Kormuhina, earthy, EASTERN EXPRESS, Atomic, DELTA-OPERATOR, MUSIC SAFE / MUUSIK SEIF / MUSIC SEIF, ALPHA, MONOLIT, Vyacheslav Sinchukov, TSAR TSAR, COMPANY, TEO, Emanuelle, ROMAN Shabalin, ROCK ACADEMY

    Hard Rock

    AUGUST, 99%, LAMIA, FORT ROYAL, Funny pictures, SUPER R, GALAXY, JOKER, DIALOGUE, DOUBLE-1, IF, PPC, OLGA Kormuhina, MAGNET, awnings / Elena Sokolova, MONOMAH, METALLAKKORD, MONTE -KRISTO, WEB, RADIO-ROCK / RADIO ROCK, RODMIR / RODMIR, Igor Romanov, II of PETERSBURG, 33, REALITY, GORKY PARK, Pontius Pilate, XX CENTURY, THE TAMING OF MARS, MIRIADA, POLIS, dEMARCHE, hard day, BASTION, MOSCOW, MARTIN, NIGHT HEAT, TIME OUT / OUT, Black obelisk, STATUS, ASFERIKS, BLACK COFFEE, OFFROAD, Moby Dick, ABSTRAKTSION, TREK, Orgy of the righteous, BEERMEN GAME, AMALGAMA, queen of spades, GREAT REVIVAL, CROSS, AZ , ATTACK, Adept Hors, gang, computers, IN FOLIO, PO ST , NEVER, Crater, Taleon, VOYAGE, FORT ROSS, balance, GUARDS, the GAIN, VOICE OF THE PROPHET, the SVO, Alexander Nevsky, WHITE STONE, Igor Kupriyanov, BRIDGE L.T.H. , PILGRIM, Lombardy, the train left, BURNING SNOW, ACTION / ACTION, knockout, punch, patriarchal EXHIBITION, STONEHAND, ROUND, Levon Vardanyan, Factotum, D.A.O. Arthur Berkut, Alex Gorbash, SIXTH SENSE, ATLAS, Totr, NELABIRINT, TERRA INC. , PUSHKING, amethyst, Courage, Valery Gaina, Crown of Russian Empire, the ND, DELTA BRIDGE / MOST RED DAWN, CARAVAN, ALPHA DRAGONFLY / rasputin, RITE / RITE, OM (Oleg Mishin), DREAM CATCHER, PROSPECT, Moby Dick, DIRTY DOG, Dynasty, Empire, GRATA, ULTIMA THULE, TOLERANCE, CHARTER, THE VIP'S, THEY, Margenta, RED SQUARE, PIONEER, STRIKE / Alexey Strike, FOCUS, Ivan Makarov and the date, leopard, WHITE STONE, IRBIS, Oleg Izotov Elessar, HOPO, CASCADE, Constellation, ATTAC, WINDS HOUSE, Biotok GROUP Stas Namin, CARDINAL, STAYER, FORWARD, GGG / Gunnar Graps, DESSERT, heretics, OddisS , ORFOS, GRIZZLY KNOWS NO REMORSE, TIR, Auron, TOMCAT, ALICE, Ashkelon, MADISON PONY, BLACK ANGEL, Reflection, Konstantin Seleznev, CHILDREN-LIFE, coupe, ground, GENSHIR, MAGRI'S, CRUISE, ROCK 'N' RAW BOTTLED the BAND, TOK, NIGHT, Avantage, Mystery-Bouffe, HOBBIT SHIRE, SAPGIR BAND, LI.DER, STADIUM, BAD DOLL, ANGELS & DEMONS, RONDO / Alexander Ivanov, Moscow time, SPHINX, Dmitry Thursday, a voice crying, Vitamin U, RED NAILS, TO HAVE BALLS, Alexander Krylov, Alekseevskaya AREA diva ROCK sTUDIO, EAST ESKPRESS, ADDICTION FOR DESTRUCTION, Alexander Lyapin, BROWN VELVET, lIMIT, cloud EDGE, dirty work, Marshal, black MARSHAL RETRIBUTION, RIFF GALAXY, pRIZE, VANEMÕDE, RED PANTHER, THE STRANGER, OPERTRACK, PRINCIPLE OF DECEMBER, BIG JACK, PORT, KVADRAT, T.V.I.N. , Avers, O.D. , Technical assistance, the FORMULA 1, STELLA, INSPECTOR, ASPECT, wild honey, VISIT, COVERGIRLS, SOUTHERN CROSS, ASHES, GRAND PRIX, Andrei Rublev, League Two, STORM, The Stokes / Stokes, Peter ELFIMOV, CHIN-CHIN / CHIN- CHIN, Phoenix and tarantulas, passers-by, CRISIS, GPA, LAS VEGAS, MERTHERY, CASTAWAY ANGELS, VLADIMIR kökar, MUSIC SAFE / MUUSIK SEIF / MUSIC SEIF, Emilion, NORTHERN LIGHTS, Spartak / SPARTAK, OLDS'COOL, PEPS DIVISION, PAHMANOV, BOTTOM CRAWL, GRIMOFF, ROCOCO / ROCKOCO, JOHN GÄLT, HAIRY VIPER, HUMAN EXTINCTION, meth, Black prince, "Archive Starpera", OLD SCULL MAD, ALPHA ROCK STATE, MAD TOYS, COMPLETE STAKAN, CHERRY CREAM, PETER PAN THE BAND , LADY TROOPER, night shifts, FLOW, LOVEMACHINE, MONOLIT, BEER GUN, LEGENDA, Ivan Seliverstov, MARIA REGINA, CARE, SPONGE OF BEN, CRAZY JUMP, RoXXX, THE CONSPIRATERS, Vyacheslav Sinchukov, Alexei Chernyshev, ARC UNION, servantes , mechanical presses, the SYM, wild geese, sunset MANUAL, STORMLAND, RANDY JOHN, stop-cock, SUTENER'Y, Third Rome, MAHIDEVRAN, THE STORM, TRUTNІ present, Russians, Everest, CT, JIMI, ARTVITAE, THE STARKILLERS , ZVEROBOY, ANDREW Puchinskogo, ACATONIA, USSR, on the edge, BLACK ROSE, HOROSKOPAS, TRILLER, ANACONDA, cYCLONE, mosaics, cARNIVAL, Oorfene Deuce, leap SUMMER, trumpet call, JACKSON CRACK, layout, Rostislav Grigoriev, RECKLESS 'N' WILD , STEEL GRADE, ARISTARH, MAGNUM 44, IVANOV, WICKED RUMBLE, MAGGIE DOE, HARDBALLS, RAPIRA'Z, a second wind, M.CH.S. , Armada, WHITE TURTLE, junta MROYA, the evil Princess, ACE, HARD-TEMPLE, heavy CHARACTER, ROYAL HUNT, DANGEROUS CREW, INTER, CREED, RED CROSS, EVA, LOST PARADISE, day after day, Paul laughed, Woodcutter, CROSSBOW, THE FOXY TRICKS, NIKOLAY, Third Rome, Oleg Makeev, TIME OUT, GROUND FLOOR, DEVAKAN, Cross trumps LIVY BEACH, Trapp, a separate housing, FLAG, Sniper, LABYRINTH, Ninth Floor, FAETON, a group of good, RIF, LIVI, RED CROSS, ARTORIKS, Myastsovy HOUR, THE SITUATION, R-CLUB, ELECTRIC LAND, ROCK ARCHIVE, The Time Wanderers, trap, Captain Smollett, PRIMER, TAIZELS, time pressure, NAVARA, Cerberus, CRASH, Andrei Glebov, mIDNIGHT, Metro, RER -Soyuz, Feast, LADY JANE, a day of wrath, all-out attack, resonance, BMP, NOBLE NEST, CRISIS, THE GUESTS, KARAMAZERS% BROTHERS, BROTHERS, BILA AREA, WHITE FIRE, GOODZONE, Bosphorus, Perron, NEW TIME, the LIFE, FRUITS OF EDUCATION, PROMOTION, BLACK pRINCE, Chernyshev / KUSTARЁV, DECEMBER 32, PARK, 33.RUBLYA, Argonaut, ANDREW & COMPANY, iCEBREAKER, Roman Shabalin, Diploma, Champion, Paul KOLESNIK, AT THE EDGE OF REALITY, ADMIRAL, Ishmael DAY ANGER, ROCK ACADEMY, THE MUSEUM OF CINEMA, CONDOR, Antigone, Tintal
    i.ain't.dead.irock

  25. #25
    Member moecurlythanu's Avatar
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    Why don't you PM Levgan and see if he can help?

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