Aquarium is one of the oldest Soviet and Russian rock bands. The permanent soloist and leader of the musical group is Boris Grebenshchikov.
Boris always had non-standard views on music, with which he shared with his listeners.
History of creation and composition
The Aquarium group originates back in 1972. During this period, Boris Grebenshchikov and Anatoly Gunitsky decided to create a poetic and musical project. Young people have already begun to work on the first works, but for a long time the group did not have a name.
Boris and Alexander had already worked out the music for recording the first album, and only then they began to think about how to name the musical group. Aquarium is the first word that came to Grebenshchikov's mind, so they decided to stop the choice on it.
For a long time, Boris and Alexander cannot decide which direction to go in order to make their tracks available for listening. They gave their first concert in one of the restaurants in St. Petersburg. For the first performance, the Aquarium received almost nothing. The guys were paid only 50 rubles and fed with delicious food from the restaurant.
After the first concert, the guys "strengthened". They begin to actively "grab" musicians. In particular, it is known that during the creative career in the Aquarium "visited": 45 vocalists, 26 guitarists, 16 bassists, 35 drummers, 18 keyboardists and 89 more musicians who own wind and string instruments.
Even at the beginning of their creative career, the musical group had its own logo - with a dot above the letter "A". Boris Grebenshchikov explained this idea as follows: “The symbol above the letter A shows that this is not an ordinary letter, but a secret one.” In the mid-80s, a question mark appeared above the “A” logo, which indicates the onset of a complex musical group.
Debut album by Aquarium
The debut album of the musical group was released only in 1974. The record was called "The Temptation of the Holy Aquarium". Interestingly, the first recording of this album was lost. However, the soloists of the group managed to re-record it in 2001. The re-recorded album was called "Prehistoric Aquarium".
Aquarium's second record was released in 1975. The soloists of the group called it "The Minuet to the Farmer". It also cannot be found in the public domain, due to the fact that it was lost. In the spring of 1975, the Aquarium released the album "The Proverbs of Count Diffuser". The record is like a virus spreading throughout the USSR. It was the third disc that brought the first large-scale popularity to the soloists of the musical group.
Boris Grebenshchikov is simultaneously working on recording his solo album. In 1978, for his fans, Boris presented the disc “From the Other Side of the Mirror Glass”, and in 1978, together with Mike Naumenko (leader of the Zoo group), “All Brothers and Sisters”.
The peak of the popularity of the musical group Aquarium
The Aquarium group announced itself loudly at a rock festival in Tbilisi in early 1980. Having visited a rock festival with his performance, Boris Grebenshchikov lay down on stage during the performance of the song.
This trick was not appreciated by the jury members, but the audience clearly liked this turn. After the speech, Boris Grebenshchikov was fired from his job and demoted from the Komsomol.
Boris Grebenshchikov was not very upset, as he was working at full speed on the next album. In 1981, Boris Grebenshchikov presented the disc Blue Album. The musical compositions that were included in the album had an echo of reggae. In the same year, the record was accepted into the ranks of the Lenin Rock Club.
At the peak of their popularity, the guys released another disc - "Triangle", which was recorded in the manner of the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. The album was warmly received by fans and music critics.
The worldwide popularity of the Aquarium was brought by the song "Rock and Roll is Dead" from the album "Radio Africa". Then this track could be heard at rock festivals.
Rock fans "rubbed" the album to holes. At the end of 1983, Aquarium was in the top ten rock bands according to Moskovsky Komsomolets.
US album release
1986 was a very significant year for the Aquarium. The work of the musical group was included in the Red Wave vinyl collection, which was released in the United States with a circulation of 1,5 thousand. This event provided the soloists of the Aquarium group with the opportunity to officially release and present albums.
It should be noted that earlier the Aquarium released records "underground". In 1986, the soloists of the group officially released the album "White Album".
Since this period, the Aquarium has been releasing video clips that are in rotation on federal TV channels. "Train on Fire", "Moskovskaya Oktyabrskaya", "Masha and the Bear", "Brod" - these video clips immediately become hits.
The aquarium is starting to gain popularity. The army of fans of the musical group is multiplying at an enviable rate. In 1987, the group took part in the TV show "Musical Ring".
In the spring of the same year, the Aquarium is recognized as the best musical ensemble in the country, and Boris Grebenshchikov himself is recognized as the best musician. Several musical compositions sound the film of Sergei Solovyov "Assa".
The Aquarium began to give the first concerts abroad in 1988. True, then the musical group performed without their ideological inspirer Boris Grebenshchikov. At this time, BG organizes solo concerts. Some time later, the musical group presents the English-language album "Radio Silence".
Starting from the 90s, not the best period begins in the history of the musical group. Most of the soloists who were in the group tried to leave it.
Group termination
And already in 1991, the Aquarium announced to fans that the musical group was ending its activities.
Each of the team members began to engage in creative activities. In particular, Boris Grebenshchikov organized the rock group BG Band. Boris Grebenshchikov with his group traveled half the country, and, in general, the guys gave 171 concerts.
At the end of 1992, the first album of the BG-Band was released, which was called the "Russian Album". This disc included compositions that consisted of Orthodox ballads.
And when everyone slowly began to forget about the rock band, which fell apart with a bang, the guys will present the 15th album, called "Psi". The aquarium is actively starting its activities.
They organize concerts in Russia, France, Italy, Spain, Germany, India, Greece. Since 2015, the musical group has been giving the fourth convocation of the group, led by the permanent leader Boris Grebenshchikov.
Aquarium now
In 2017, the group presented a new album "Children of Grass". This includes a couple of old musical compositions, and new tracks that were written in charming Paris. In 2018, the soloists of the musical group went on a concert tour in honor of the release of the new disc.
Boris Grebenshchikov is in a hurry to please his fans. In 2019, the music world will be replenished with another album by the Aquarium group. Fans will be able to listen to the album this fall.
Aquarium Group in 2021
At the end of the last spring month, a new LP of the Russian team was released. The album was called "Tribute". The disc was "decorated" with interpretations of musical works by popular Russian rock performers. Thus, the participants of the "Aquarium" expressed their respect to the musicians.
