Chris Kelmi is a cult figure in Russian rock of the early 1980s. Rocker became the founder of the legendary Rock Atelier band.
Chris collaborated with the theater of the famous artist Alla Borisovna Pugacheva. The artist's calling cards were the songs: "Night Rendezvous", "Tired Taxi", "Closing the Circle".
Childhood and youth of Anatoly Kalinkin
Under the creative pseudonym of Chris Kelmi, the modest name of Anatoly Kalinkin is hidden. The future star was born in Moscow. Anatoly became the second child in a row in the family.
Interestingly, until the age of 5, the boy and his family lived in a trailer on wheels. And only after some time the construction company "Metrostroy" allocated a full-fledged apartment to the family.
It is known that Anatoly was raised by his mother. The father left the family when the boy was small. In the new family, Kalinkin Sr. had another child, who was given the name Eugene.
In the future, Eugene became the administrator of the Russian rock star Chris Kelmi. Like all children, Anatoly attended a comprehensive school. In addition, the boy went to a music school, where he learned to play the piano.
Interestingly, before receiving a passport, Anatoly decided to take his father's surname - Kelmi. Until that time, the young man was known under the name of his mother - Kalinkin.
In the same period of time, Anatoly became the founder of his own group. The new team was named "Sadko".
The group did not have a permanent composition, so the unification of the soloists of the Sadko group with the soloists of the Aeroport collective was a completely expected step.
Actually, the symbiosis of the two teams led to the emergence of a new group, High Summer. The musicians performed at the Singing Field festival in 1977, and even released 3 magnetic albums.
Behind the rocker there is also a higher education, which he received at the Moscow Institute of Transport Engineers (now the University of Communications). He spent three more years in graduate school.
However, his future profession was not connected with the hobby to which he devoted most of his time.
That is why in 1983 Kelmi became a student at the Gnessin Music College. The young man entered the pop faculty.
The creative path and music of Chris Kelmi
Until the moment when Chris Kelmi became part of the High Summer team, he still doubted whether he was on the right track. However, having felt the "taste of the stage" and the first popularity, the rocker understood that he was on the right track.
In the early 1980s, Anatoly took on the creative pseudonym "Chris Kelmi", under which he joined the Avtograph team. The musicians from this group played progressive rock, and this is the environment that Chris wanted to get into.
In 1980, the Autograph group performed in Tbilisi. After the performance, the musicians enjoyed all-Union popularity. They were invited to perform at festivals, themed events. The musicians woke up like stars.
The Avtograf band began recording their first albums at the Melodiya recording studio, as well as touring under the patronage of the Rosconcert organization.
Despite the fact that the team, indeed, was popular in the USSR, in 1980 Chris made a difficult decision for himself - to go into free “swimming”.
Kelmi in the Rock Atelier Orchestra
At the theater of the Lenin Komsomol, a popular rocker created a new group. The team of Chris Kelmi received the original name "Rock Atelier".
A mini-disc with the songs “Open the Window” and “I Sang When I Was Flying” was released at the Melodiya studio. The audience enthusiastically accepted the debut work of the new group.
Two years after its creation, the Rock Atelier team made its debut in the Morning Post television program. The audience could enjoy the performance of the song "If a Blizzard".
The poems were written by Margarita Pushkina, who in the early 1980s worked closely with the Rock Atelier group.
In the mid-1980s, Chris assembled a choir of famous musicians and singers to record the song "Closing the Circle". This song was the discovery of the year.
In a short period of time, she was popular in all corners of the USSR. Then the singer released the song "Night Rendezvous". In Soviet times, the track sounded like a Western song. The authorities did not like it very much.
Later, Chris Kelmi, along with other talented singers, presented new songs to fans, which later became hits. We are talking about the compositions: “I Believe” and “Russia, Risen!”.
But the 1990s were filled not only with the release of new musical compositions, but even then Chris Kelmi received an invitation from American MTV and went to Atlanta.
It was the singer who became the first Soviet musician whose performance was broadcast on the popular US music TV channel.
In 1993, MTV filmed and then showed a video clip for Chris Kelmi's track "Old Wolf". It was an unprecedented success.
Reducing the popularity of Chris Kelmi
The period of so-called "stagnation" in the work of Chris Kelmi began in the early 2000s. Since this period, there have been no new songs in the rocker's repertoire.
Since the 2000s, Chris Kelmi has increasingly performed at music festivals and song events. His photos appeared less and less in the media. On TV screens, the singer was also a rare guest.
Participation in the filming of the reality show "The Last Hero-3" helped the singer to slightly increase his rating. The reality show was filmed on an uninhabited archipelago in the Caribbean, not far from Haiti.
In 2003, the singer presented the last collection "Tired Taxi" to fans of his work.
In 2006, the audience could enjoy Oleg Nesterov's program "On the wave of my memory: Chris Kelmi". Chris was extremely frank with his audience. He spoke about creativity, personal life, plans for the future.
In 2007, Chris Kelmi could be seen in the program "Protagonist". During the recording of the program, the singer performed one of his most popular compositions “Closing the Circle”.
Artist problems with alcohol
The decrease in popularity negatively affected the health of the rocker. Even in his youth he had problems with alcohol, but in the early 2000s the situation worsened.
Repeatedly, Chris was detained by the patrol service for driving a vehicle while intoxicated. In 2017, on the advice of Andrei Malakhov, the singer decided to be treated.
He was accompanied by stage colleague Evgeny Osin and TV presenter Dana Borisova. Celebrities were treated in Thailand.
After treatment, Chris Kelmi returned to Russia again. The treatment definitely gave him a good result. He planned to revive the musical group "Rock Atelier". At the equipped home recording studio, the rocker prepared new material.
In addition, the performer wrote an anthem for the 25th anniversary of the Kremlin Cup in tennis and music for fanfare accompaniment to the 2018 World Cup.
Personal life of Chris Kelmi
Despite the fact that Chris Kelmi had many fans, he was married only once. He lived with his wife for 30 years.
In 1988, a woman gave birth to a celebrity son. The name of the beloved rock star sounds like Lyudmila Vasilievna Kelmi.
The Kelmi family has long been one of the most exemplary. After the head of the family started having problems with alcohol, their relationship went wrong.
Chris Kelmi decided to leave Lyudmila for the city, his wife was in Moscow. Chris Kelmi gave his son Christian a two-room apartment.
It also became known to journalists that the relationship between father and son was tense. The blame for everything is his father's addiction to alcohol.
It is known that Chris Kelmi had an affair with a girl named Polina Belova. Their romance began in 2012. Chris wanted to take Polina as his wife, but the official wife did everything to prevent her husband from getting a divorce.
Many believed that Lyudmila thus protected the property acquired in marriage. Polina Belova was much younger than Chris. They did not live in a civil marriage. Soon this novel ended.
In 2017, the artist tried to improve relations with his official wife. She stayed at his country house, but there was no close relationship.
Despite the abuse of alcoholic beverages, Chris Kelmi loved to play sports. In particular, he loved to play tennis, and was even part of the Starko amateur football team.
The last days and death of Chris Kelmi
Recently, problems with alcohol addiction have worsened. Chris Kelmi could drink for weeks without quitting drinking. Neither doctors nor relatives of the cult performer could influence the current situation.
On January 1, 2019, Chris Kelmi died at the age of 64. This happened in his country house, in the suburbs. The cause of death was cardiac arrest due to alcohol abuse.
The director of the singer, Yevgeny Suslov, told reporters that on the eve of his death, the artist felt unwell. The doctors were unable to help Chris. Upon the arrival of the ambulance, the singer died.
Relatives did everything to ensure that only close and good friends of Chris Kelmi were present at the funeral. The body of the musician was cremated, the grave is located at the Nikolsky cemetery, in the capital of the Russian Federation.
