"Tender May" is a musical group created by the head of the circle of the Orenburg Internet No. 2 Sergey Kuznetsov in 1986. During the first five years of creative activity, the group gained such success that no other Russian team of that time could repeat.
Almost all citizens of the USSR knew the lines of the songs of the musical group. In terms of popularity, "Tender May" overtook such well-known groups as "Kino", "Nautilus", "Mirage". Simple and understandable songs came to the listeners' taste. Well, the female part of the fans was in love with the soloist "Tender May" - Yuri Shatunov, which also provided the team with a wide army of fans.
History of group creation
The history of the famous group begins in the Russian outback. Of course, when inviting a recently admitted pupil to the amateur activity circle of boarding school No. 2, the head of the association, 22-year-old Sergey Kuznetsov, could not even imagine that very soon the whole world would know about the Tender May group.
In 1986, Sergei already had a decent supply of work. Music and text Kuznetsov wrote at the time when he served in the army. Returning to the boarding school, Sergei, together with his friend Ponamarev, began to talk more and more about creating a musical group. The only thing they lacked to create a group was good vocalists.
At the end of autumn, a certain Valentina Tazikenova became the head of the Internet. Valentina ended up on the commission that decided the fate of little Yura Shatunov. The boy's mother, who raised him alone, died at the age of 12. For a long time he wandered. Tazikenova took him to Akbulak, and in 1986 to Orenburg.
Yuri was offered the position of a vocalist, however, the boy is not interested in music at all. He spends his free time on sports. In addition, on the Internet, he does not get along with the rest of the pupils. Yuri even had attempts to escape from the Internet, but Kuznetsov stopped him.
Musical compositions that will soon be sung by all stadiums were first heard on the Internet in the winter of 1986 at a New Year's party. The organizers of the group for a long time could not figure out how to name the team. Kuznetsov decided to opt for "Tender May". This phrase was taken from his own song "Summer".
The first concert of the group Tender May
After holding their mini-concert within the walls of their native Internet, the soloists of the group record tracks on a makeshift recording studio. A week after the recording of the songs, they begin to sound throughout the Orenburg region.
The songs of "Tender May" instantly become hits. The audience is thirsty. Listeners want new compositions from the group. Kuznetsov's songs pass from house to house. They are copied from cassette to cassette.
Popularity "touches" Kuznetsov. In 1987 he was fired. The formal occasion was Shatunov's performance of a love song at a festival in honor of Lenin's birthday. After what happened, Yuri decides to leave for his mentor.
In autumn, the leadership of the Internet again resorts to the help of Kuznetsov. They ask Kuznetsov for help in organizing discos and concerts. During the holidays, he records a very high-quality soundtrack, and attracts Shatunov to record materials.
Kuznetsov recorded the tracks on cassettes. He needed to distribute the material. He gives the cassettes to his friend, who sold small items at the station. Cassettes "scatter" from the hands of a friend. Soon, the song "White Roses" will be heard from almost all corners of Russia.
One of the hits of the musical group goes to the young Andrey Razin. Andrey was just looking for young talents to record hits. Razin listens to the compositions "White Roses" and "Grey Night", realizing that somewhere far away in Orenburg a real treasure is hidden, which is worth showing to the entire Soviet Union.
Andrey Razin spent a lot of energy to find the dismissed Kuznetsov and his ward Shatunov in Orenburg. The long-awaited meeting took place. From this moment, the start and flourishing of the musical group "Tender May" begins.
The composition of the group Tender May
Razin persuaded Shatunov and Kuznetsov to move to the capital of Russia. And he returned to Orenburg again to select a few more soloists for the musical group. So in "Tender May" the second soloist Konstantin Pakhomov and backing vocalists Sergey Serkov, Igor Igoshin and others appear.
The first large-scale performance "Tender May" gives in 1988. Then the soloists of the musical group go on an all-Union tour. The success of the tour pushes Razin to the idea that the group needs to be duplicated. Now there are as many as 2 “Tender Mays”. Shatunov sings in one. In another Razin and Pakhomov.
In addition, Razin creates a studio for orphans, which is given the thematic name "Tender May". This decision allowed Andrey to create a large number of musical groups under the same brand.
Now, the main condition for the concert is a ban on video filming. There are no portraits of the stars who came to give a concert anywhere. As a result, as reported in the film “Tender May. Medicine for the Country” (TVC) – 60 groups “Tender May” and 30 “Yuriyev Shatunovs” toured the country.
Only after the long-awaited video "White Roses" was released in 1989, fans were finally able to see the face of the real vocalist Yuri Shatunov. Andrei Razin had to disentangle the brewed porridge on his own, as he was accused of scams.
Changes in the composition of the group
Razin's scams force Kuznetsov and Pakhomov to leave the team. The guys are not ready to "cook" in a lie. In their place comes Vladimir Shurochkin. Shurochkin participated in the recording of the 8th album of the Laskovy May group.
For 5 years of the biography of "Tender May" 34 members have visited the team. Half of the members performed as vocalists and backing vocalists. Members have come and gone. But only, the departure of one soloist provoked the collapse and end of the existence of the musical group.
In 1992, young Yuri Shatunov announced to Razin that he intended to leave the group and pursue a solo career. Andrei tries to stop Yuri, because he understands that it is on him that the success of the musical group rests. But all persuasion is meaningless.
Andrey Razin for a long time does not give Shatunov his documents, trying to keep the singer "in the hands". However, in the history of "Tender May" a bold point was nevertheless put. In 1992, "Tender May" ceased creative activity.
Razin tried to restore the group in 2009. Andrei Razin led the group, and former members of the team came to his aid. However, in 2013, the same Razin announced that the band's touring activities were coming to naught.
Music of the group Tender May
The innovation of the musical group was in the style of creativity and in its orientation. During the first tour of the Laskovy May group, it became clear that the main fans of the musical group were teenagers who came to the concert unaccompanied by their parents.
The simple and emotional texts of Kuznetsov were very different from the ideologically seasoned Soviet creativity for young people. The musical compositions were very similar to energetic western hits.
The popularity of the group was given by the original appearance: jeans thrown over a naked body, bright makeup and hairstyles. The soloists of "Tender May" became real idols for the Soviet youth.
In the fall of 1988, the band's debut album was born at the Record studio, which received the predictable name White Roses. Until the end of 1988, the guys released three more albums. The media do not ignore, but support the growing popularity of "Tender May", therefore, clips of the musical group appear on television channels.
In 1989 Tender May released several more albums. The disc "Pink Evening" is especially popular, which increases the popularity of the group.
It took some pop stars 20 years to release so many albums. It took Tender May no more, no less than 5 years.
The video clips of the group also deserve attention. The clips were played on major federal channels. This provided the guys with recognition and multiplied their popularity at times.
Shortly before the departure of Yuri Shatunov and the collapse of the musical group, Tender May organized a concert tour. The children managed to visit the territory of the United States of America. The group made a huge splash.
Sweet May now
Nothing is heard about the Laskovy May group at the moment. In 2009, a documentary film was made about the musical group. Razin is actively engaged in and develops his business. Yuri Shatunov is engaged in solo work. He recently graduated from sound engineering courses.
In 2019, Yuri Shatunov told reporters that he would no longer perform the songs of the Tender May group at his concerts. In his opinion, he outgrew these songs, and now he will delight fans exclusively with musical compositions that he recorded when he left Tender May.
The team does not tour and put an end to their creative career. Andrey Razin found the "vein" of an entrepreneur in himself. For some time he served as an adviser to the mayor of Yalta. In 2022, he emigrated to the territory of the United States of America.
Long-loved compositions in a new arrangement could be heard from the lips of Yuri Shatunov. He has been touring a lot lately. The artist achieved his goal - he was educated as a sound engineer.
On June 23, 2022, Yuri's life ended. Acute heart failure took the idol of millions of Soviet and Russian fans. The artist's body was cremated. The ashes were buried in Moscow, and another part was scattered over the artist's favorite lake in Germany.
